For the past few years I have been playing the TaylorMade RSi2 irons. I really liked the clubs and felt that I was having some of my best seasons playing with them. Then in February 2018 I was convinced to get a real fitting.

Holy shit, that was the biggest game changing 45 minutes in my golf career. If you have never been to a real fitting (not a Golf Galaxy Golf fitting), then you need to drop everything and schedule one. Let me say this again, DO NOT buy clubs without getting fit.

TaylorMade has caught its fair share of heat over the years for promises such as “17 yards longer”. I guess all the jokes left a little sting because you won’t find any such claims for the new M1 and M2 drivers, yet this may be the first driver that I actually think goes farther than most.

Way back in 2012, I posted my first iron review and it was for a set of irons I actually paid money for (the horror!). Those TaylorMade Burner 2.0’s stayed in my bag for about 2 years before I upgraded to the Rocketbladez. It seemed only natural then for me to review the new TaylorMade RSi2 irons.

Over the years of playing TaylorMade I have come to believe they are the “everyman’s” club. Basically meaning that in a pinch (like a rental set) anyone can play them and not have any real complaints. I guess what I am saying is that TaylorMade irons always have fairly classic lines, decent forgiveness, and enough distance for nearly every level of play.

In the case of the RocketBladez, which was my most recent club, I felt like they had plenty of forgiveness and good distance. So when I got the RSi2 irons I was expecting your basic version upgrade with maybe a little more of both. What I found, however, was a little different than just a rocketBladez v2.0.

Back Story:

Before getting into the nitty gritty, I need to give you a little backstory. In early Novemember 2014, I received the RSi2 irons as part of the company’s November 15th roll out media blitz. The original plan was to have the review ready by that date so that Taylormade could have a bunch of reviews on hand for those interested in upgrading their irons. Unfortunately, the set that I received came with Tour Stiff KBS shafts. Like a trooper, I took them out on the course and while I really liked how they felt, I was giving up a ton of distance due to the fact that I needed regular shafts. Lesson one…shafts matter.

Shafts, perhaps the most important feature of how a club performs and also one of the least understood. My first intention was to just swap out to regular flex KBS shafts, but after talking to a friend who plays professional golf, I took him up on his suggestion to try out Steel Fiber shafts. More on that later. So after a week blown for new shafts and another few days while I ordered some leather Best Grips, I quickly realized there was no way I could do an adequate review in time for the rollout.

As it turns out, the delay was a good thing, as I really do not like to rush an iron review. For me, I need a few months and 20 rounds before I can get a true sense of the club.

Overview:

The TaylorMade RSi2 is more of a player’s club than I originally thought it would be. First off, the top line is thinner than the RocketBladez and the club itself is smaller. What this means is that you will get a lot more feedback than with a club like the Rocketbladez. I also think that it makes it easier to work the ball (not something I can do with regularity, but I can do more so with the RSi2 than with my other clubs).

Of course, the big selling point of the RSi clubs is the face slot technology, which is supposed to provide forgiveness for mis-hits on the toe and heel. Hence the #mishitshappen hashtag TaylorMade has been promoting. For the past few years TaylorMade has utilized this technology in the sole of many of the clubs. Now, they have extended it to be part of the face of the club (with the long irons, hence you get the graduated set).

So the forgiveness/#mishitshappen claim I believe to be true, but it is tempered by the fact that the clubs are more of “player’s club” than say the Rocketbladez. In other words, it kind of evens out depending on what type of club you are coming from. If, for example, you play blades then you will think they are way more forgiving, but if you play a game improvement club, you might not notice as much. For me, I felt like I got about the same forgiveness with more control and feedback. With that said, I can absolutely hit the 3 iron with confidence which is something that is not typical of other irons I have played.

Looks:

No one ever drools over a TaylorMade iron so there is no reason to bring out the chin towel now. How do they look? They look fine. In fact, if you are a iron snob, you will much prefer the significantly thinner top line. The vertical face slots which you might think could be a distraction are a total non-issue for me.

As a comparison, you can clearly see a difference in the top line versus the RocketBladez. While not as thin as a tour blade, they are much slimmer than prior year models.

Steel Fiber Shaft:

In terms of the shaft, the stock version of the RSi2 was only used once by me since this guy cannot swing a tour stiff flex. For the record, the stock shaft is KBS which I have had plenty experience with and is fine. However, as I mentioned, I decided to experiment since I had to make a change anyhow. After consulting with Sam Goulden of TourQuest I decided to go with lesser known company called Aerotech. While you may never have heard of Aerotech, you are very familiar with guys who use their shafts as there are a number of Pros who use them including Matt Kuchar.

I know this is a TaylorMade RSi review, but I want to at least give you an overview of the Steel Fiber shafts as I think they were a critical reason as to why I like the irons so much. As a 10 handicapper with medium swing speeds, I always opted for regular steel stafts (and even wondered about trying a graphite shaft). Well, Steel Fiber shafts are like getting the best of both worlds. The technology is a touch over my head but, basically, they take thousands of ultra thin strands of steel to create a shaft that is light (to promote swing speed) and strong (to promote stability).

Like any product review, there are tons of variables that go into the final result. What I want to convey is that I firmly believe the Steel Fiber shafts have improved my distance and feel. Part of my reasoning is that I hit about 20 balls with both the RSi2 and my RocketBladez in the simulator directly after getting the irons reshafted. My distances were significantly farther with the RSi2 compared to my regular shaft RocketBladez. Yes, I could give the credit to the RSi2 irons (and maybe I do a little) but I think the primary reason was the shaft. Frankly, TaylorMade is not selling the RSi2 as a longer iron so it furthers my belief that the shaft should get most of the credit. I would direct you to the Steel Fiber website to learn more.

Forgiveness and Feel:

I have now played with the RSi2 irons for a full two months (likely about 15 rounds). Considering conditions are not exactly perfect this time of year, I feel like my game has been pretty much the same as it usually is (average score of about 83). With that said, I made a hole in one and shot my career low, 75, with the RSi2 irons. I guess, besides a not so humble brag, the reason I bring this up is that there is something to be said for a set of irons that was used for a career low and an ace.

Back in the world of normalcy, i.e. regular days, I believe the RSi2’s bring an increased level of feedback compared to prior models of Taylormade cavity back irons. For years I had to endure guys who play blades yammer on about feedback and workability. So much so that I even tried a set of blades but all I got back was “yea, that felt awful and went nowhere”. Now, with the RSi2’s, I do get some of that feedback but more in an educated way. Like, “I hit that a bit off the toe”. Unlike a toe shot with a blade however, the RSi2 eats up the mis-hit and you still end up with a decent shot. The ol’ best of both worlds.

Who should play the RSi2

I am going to come clean and say that I don’t believe anyone who is not playing golf for a living should play blades. Still, I know there are guys who like the idea. Well, if you like having feedback from your irons, the RSi2 are for you. Now if you are someone who hits the ball pretty well already and want a little more workability but do not want to give up the forgiveness then the RSi2 are for you as well.

Basically, anyone under a 14 handicap is fully safe to play these clubs. Scratch golfers can do anything they want with the ball and higher handicappers are not going to feel like they are playing with a butter knife. I am not going to deep dive into the face slot technology since I am pretty sure you have read more than your fill about it already, but I absolutely think TaylorMade has made a significant breakthrough.

My bet is that the RSi irons will be a huge hit and should be part of everyone’s basket of ideas when checking out a new set of irons.

Learn more on the TaylorMade website.

If you’re lucky, not too picky, and living your life to the fullest, you’ve probably had a relationship that you’d really rather not show up on your Facebook page. The kind of relationship you have when you’re taking a year off to find yourself, or just getting out of long-term relationship, or “this one time, at band camp”. If love is moonlight, wine, and roses this relationship is neon, Tequila, and something that gives you a rash. You aren’t proud. You swear you’ll never do it again. You feel a little guilty whenever you think about it. And if you had the chance, you couldn’t stop yourself from doing it all over again.

That’s my relationship with the TaylorMade Spider putters.

When TaylorMade introduced the first Spider putter I immediately dubbed it the Millennium Falcon. It was ungainly, with more sprawl that suburban Atlanta, and didn’t look at all like a proper putter (read “Anser”) should. It was heavy, it was white, and you couldn’t even scoop the ball up with it! Who in their right mind would ever put this monstrosity in their bag?

Then I rolled a few putts with one, and I got that feeling in my gut. You didn’t have to get all handsy to manipulate this putter. Hell, you pretty much couldn’t. The damn thing practically swung itself, all you had to do was hold on to your end. All that weight and sprawl made it nearly impossible to move this putter offline. It was going straight back and straight through no matter what you did. It really was the Millennium Falcon putter – “She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts kid.”

But if every one of these relationships was that simple, romantic comedies never would have become an industry of their own (we can debate whether that’s a good thing another day), and the course of true lust runs never smooth or some such thing. So I never put one of these bug-eyed monstrosities in my bag. Lots of people did, however. Lots and lots of people. High MOI putters sprouted like toadstools after a rain and color combinations got so outlandish that the original Spider’s white finish seems downright tame these days, but nothing ever really came close to dethroning the original. Whenever I found myself with time to kill in a golf shop I wandered over to the putter rack and rolled a few with a Spider (and there was always a Spider on the putter rack). Then I put it back in the rack, picked up my trusty Anser, and three-jacked at least one GIR every round.

The Spider continued evolving, and not even TaylorMade’s biggest critics have ever accused them of resting on their laurels. The Spider has lent it’s name and iconic white-and-black color scheme to an entire line of putters in traditional shapes, and with anchored putters on the way out and victims of the yips desperately seeking a balm for their shaky putting strokes and shattered nerves, the high-MOI Spider design goes with counterbalancing the way that peanut butter goes with jelly.

For those who haven’t been keeping track, TaylorMade introduced their latest take on the Spider theme last year. The Daddy Long Legs (DLL) design took the “legs” that moved the center of gravity of the original Spider far to the rear and made them longer – thus moving the center of gravity even farther back and increasing the moment of inertia (MOI). In fact, TaylorMade says that with an MOI of 8500, the Daddy Long Legs is the highest MOI putter they’ve ever built.

Science break: moment of inertia (MOI) is a measure of the amount of force it takes to twist an object around it’s axis. In practical golf terms the higher the MOI of a putter the more it will resist twisting on off-center hits, keeping the face square and helping the ball to go close to as far as you thought it would, in the direction you thought it would go.

Besides the innovative design, the original Spider was notable for being part of the “white revolution” from TaylorMade. TM researched how golfers’ eyes talked to our brains, and the result was a line of white club heads with black faces that, research said, created better contrast with the golf ball and drew the golfer’s eye to where they needed to focus in order to make good contact.

The Daddy Long Legs 2.0 continues this philosophy with a reversed color scheme that uses white alignment aids on a black background, framing them with the black perimeter of the putter to make it easier to start your putt on your intended line, coupled with a black putter shaft that eliminates reflection and thus distraction. The technology doesn’t stop at the hitting end though – the user interface for the Daddy Long Legs 2.0 is a 130-gram counterbalancing grip. By adding weight to the back end, TaylorMade claims to have achieved a putter that’s 60% more stroke stable than anything they’ve released before.

My first impression of the 38-inch Daddy Long Legs 2.0 that TaylorMade sent for review is that it’s big. I mean really big. I stand a towering 5’7″ (5’8″ on my driver’s license), and with my build the 38″ Daddy Long Legs comes dangerously close to being a belly putter. While unboxing it and shooting photos for this review I expected the DLL to be a bit unwieldy when the time came to put it into action. With a 395 gram head and a 130 gram grip, the Daddy Long Legs definitely has mass. When you start trying to put the ball in the hole though, all that mass doesn’t translate into feeling massive. As I spent more time with this putter I learned that this kind of contradiction is pretty much the hallmark of the Daddy Long Legs.

Take the aforementioned 395 gram head, for example. It’s 16 different pieces in 8 different materials, but you never feel the pieces. The Surlyn PureRoll face insert is quite a bit harder than I’m used to and delivers a solid but clicky feel. While I’m not a fan of the feel, the PureRoll insert delivers a ground-hugging roll on the ball. Putts from the Daddy Long Legs had noticeably less hopping and skidding than putts from my regular non-insert putter.

The Daddy Long Legs 2.0 reverses the color scheme from the original. While both use the black PureRoll insert, the 2.0 mates that with a black frame and a black center weight with white alignment stripe, framed in white . I prefer this color scheme to the original, which was just too much white for my eye. Using more black makes the head look smaller and more manageable, and somehow more substantial as well. I don’t spend a lot of time looking at the sole of my putter, but the red sole plate on the 2.0 is eye-catching. To protect all this paint and plastic the Daddy Long Legs comes with a neoprene head cover large enough to double as a lady’s clutch, if your lady is the type to carry a neoprene clutch with a spider motif. If you like high-tech and high style, the Daddy Long Legs 2.0 will certainly satisfy your need for cool.

TaylorMade’s latest putter innovation is the black putter shaft. The thinking is that chrome is shiny, and shiny draws your eye. I have a very hard time thinking and putting at the same time, so I can’t tell you for sure that the black helped me avoid distraction, but it certainly didn’t add any distraction, and I prefer the look to a chrome shaft.

At the near end TM has installed a 130 gram custom Winn grip sporting the Daddy Long Legs logo to counterbalance the head. Adding weight to the butt of the putter actually increases the MOI of the head, creating what TaylorMade calls “stroke stability” – meaning that the putter is easy to swing back and through. This was very true for me. After just a couple of short sessions on the practice green I took the Daddy Long Legs to the course, and my first couple of rounds were very promising.

I immediately putted as well with the Daddy Long Legs as I had been putting with my familiar putter. The DLL has a substantial increase in stroke stability over the original Spider, and I had no trouble at all keeping the face square and swinging the putter back and through. The PureRoll insert gave good feedback, and my putts held their line well. After such a good start I had high hopes for the Daddy Long Legs.

Unfortunately it just wasn’t to be. I kept hoping to see my putting stats improve as I got more familiar with the Daddy Long Legs, but my learning curve seemed to flatline after the first few rounds. I was still putting okay, I just wasn’t putting great. In retrospect I think that it’s not really a question of the putter, it’s a question of the puttee. My natural stroke is a moderate arc, and while the Daddy Long Legs is unquestionably easy to swing back and through, the high MOI combines with my hands’ desire to arc the face – if I get it open I have a hard time closing it, and I missed putts with a block to the right. I’m also a very feel-oriented putter – my putting stroke is nothing but a mass of errors that usually cancel each other out for the fraction of a second that I’m actually in contact with the ball. The Daddy Long Legs’ awesome stability worked against my neurotic putting stroke. The Daddy Long Legs is an aircraft carrier, and I’m used to putting with a Jet Ski. If I committed to the DLL I could learn to putt with it, but a man with a dozen putters clearly has commitment issues.

If you’re looking for a high MOI putter, the Daddy Long Legs is among the highest. It’s well put together and the alignment aids work extremely well. The whole package looks high-tech and even sleek, a look complimented by the funky neoprene head cover. If you have a smooth, mechanical putting stroke, or if you want to develop one, take a look at the Daddy Long Legs. Of course you can see all of the Spider putters at http://TaylorMadegolf.com.

OK, at some point in time TaylorMade’s ability to produce new outstanding club after new outstanding club has to come to an end, right? That’s what I’ve thought since first being introduced to the new Burner 2.0’s during a Demo Day nearly three years ago, and since then all they have done is crank out great club after another with virtually zero failures.

Ever since that first swing with a TaylorMade club I’ve been a convert. I traded in all the gear I had to get those Burners in my bag. But I didn’t stop there. I soon added the Rocketballz Hybrid, then the Rocketballz 3 Wood and eventually the Rocketballz driver. That driver stayed in my bag until last fall when I was given the new TaylorMade SLDR to review.

Technological advancements in the golf industry seem to happen more frequently than a traffic jam on the 405, but nowhere does the reign of terror on distance, speed and control seem to end. TaylorMade – keeping on point with more bang for your buck with every club – has, wait for it…. done it again with the new SLDR Fairway Woods.

Let me first preface this review with a little info. I was real hesitant to do this review. I mean REAL hesitant. My struggles with the long clubs have been well documented within my site and for what seems like forever I’ve been trying to associate myself with a fairway wood that I could fall in love with. My Rocketballz 3wood is that club ever since Wade and I started working on my swing. The club is a monster and I probably hit it better than any other club in my bag.

Hopefully, you can understand why my level of anxiety was elevated. The last thing I wanted to do was bring in some alien club to my bag and destroy the beautiful relationship that was YEARS in the making. After spending some quality time learning how to hit the SLDR Fairway Wood, however, I’ve recently tossed aside my old, out of date, decrepitly aged Rocketballz 3W to the “extra club” bag that resides in the cobwebbed corner of my garage.

TaylorMade took the same technology they instituted in the SLDR Driver, moving the center of gravity lower and to the front, and replicated the wildly successful SLDR Driver with their new SLDR Fairway Woods. You’ll notice right away the crown of the club has the same finish as big brother and looks equally appealing to the eye. I have to admit I was actually a fan of the pasty white craze that overtook the industry when the R11 was released, but with the SLDR line I am much more content looking down at the silky charcoal-gray head. It practically lulls you into a relaxed state as you prepare for some Smashing!

Aside from the available stock shafts and grips and the fact it’s a bad ass on the course, the appearance on the top of the club is where most of the similarities with the driver end. The underside of the club continues the TaylorMade trend of a modern approach to club design. Sharp edges and a bold metal finish highlight the club’s hidden beauty along with one familiar piece of technology, the Speed Pocket.

Our first sightings of the Speed Pocket came back on the Rocketballz fairway and rescue clubs and it appears it’s here to stay. Anytime a club manufacture continues with a successful feature and then makes improvements to it you know they’re on to something. This time around the TaylorMade engineers decreased the size of the speed pocket and chose to fill it in with a polymer so there’s no more clean-up after every swing. And a big thank you to the man in the white coat who obviously had been playing with a Rocketballz Fairway club and was clearly just as frustrated as everyone else with that little flaw. Bravo sir, bravo!

Aesthetics aside I was eager to get out and see how well the club did what it was designed for. Which I’m certain is why you’re reading this, so let’s get to it.

Not having any time to work with the club since I received it, mainly in part to some pretty long soccer weekends, I broke a cardinal sin and took a virgin club with me to the course to use it for my round. The first swing I took with the club was about 20min before we were called to the first tee. I even waited to pull of the wrapper. Freeing the club from its plastic prison and feeling like I just won the lotto, I tee’d up a low ball and let it fly.

This is when things went incredibly south for me, and quick! I likened it to performance anxiety. The simple task of hitting a golf ball, weather I reared back and let it fly or just tried to punch it 75 yards down the fairway, became a daunting task. I couldn’t make decent contact at all! I looked over to the new club in my bag and proclaimed “This never happens to me I swear!” but the SLDR wasn’t interested in my shortcomings.

That’s what a serious lack of practice can do to your self-confidence. Fearing a blow-up hole on the horizon I was unwilling as ever to pull the SLDR from my bag throughout the round. When I approached a hole that required less than driver I reluctantly pulled it. With my inner stress at an entirely new level I stepped up to the tee box and absolutely cranked one.

I swear, off in the distance, I heard my old Rocketballz fairway wood from the garage back home scream out “Nooooooooo!” as the ball went hurling through the air. It was the perfect swing at the perfect time and the results were perfect. The next couple of swings I took with it literally amazed me. The ball flight, albeit much lower than I was used to, was outstanding and several times when the ball came to rest approximately 230 yards down the fairway I was utterly speechless, as were my partners.

Wanting to feel that level of excitement with every swing had me spending the next couple of days at the range. With the 12 different loft adjustments that can be made there is a learning curve that goes into getting the club dialed in so it will perform. I highly recommend seeking out a professional fitter if available so you can see some actual results on the factors of your ball flight. I recently took my SLDR Driver into Golf Galaxy and was shocked at how much distance I increased my drives with a simple adjustment to the loft. With the SLDR fairway wood, lofting the club up really changed how the ball reacted much more than I had expected when comparing the similar adjustments I made with the SLDR driver. That reason alone is justification for seeing a pro.

Once it was correct though (final adjustment landed me at +.5°) I started really seeing what makes the SLDR special. An easier swing at a higher loft equaled more distance and greater control. Who doesn’t want that from a fairway club? When you add in the fact that the launch angle is lower than my previous fairway wood, it just gives me another weapon off the tee in the blustery weather conditions we often have here in the Vegas valley. The wind can be a beast at times but now I’m more prepared for such situations with the SLDR in my bag.

Chalk up yet another successful club innovation for team TaylorMade. The SLDR Fairway Wood has firmly supplanted my previous “go to” club, the Rocketballz 3W, and has me pondering another upgrade with the SLDR Rescue now available as well.

You can read all about the SLDR line of fairway woods on the TaylorMade Website. The SLDR Fairway Wood retails for $249 and can pretty much pickup one at any golf retailer in the country.

Being self employed, I end up playing a lot of mid-week golf with random guys I run into at the course. One day last summer I was just about to tee off when a big athletic young guy rolled up and asked if he could join me. Now the reason I recall this particular person is because he was dressed head to toe in TaylorMade gear including the latest polo, shorts, hat, driver and irons (he may have literally rolled out of a TMAG advertisement).

Each year we sit down to come up with a list of the absolute best products we have reviewed in the past 12 months. Not only is this task mentally taxing because we have to choose between hundreds of good products, but also because of the fact that each product is typically reviewed by only one of us.

Here is something new . . . TaylorMade has another driver on the market, the JetSpeed. Yea, we know, they have released about 14 new drivers this year but the fact is they are not so much trying to get you to upgrade every 3 months; instead they just want to make sure they always have at least one driver on the “just released” shelf. I mean, if you are gonna buy a new driver then you might as well get the newest new driver right?

It’s an old joke by now, but it really is tough to tell what even TaylorMade thinks of each driver they put out. Is the JetSpeed bigger and better than the Rocketballz? Better than the SLDR? I think the best way to answer that question is by price point: the JetSpeed retails a cool $100.00 below the new SLDR driver, so it’s safe to say that the JetSpeed is aiming for the medium price range. What I expect from a club in this category is top-tier performance and maybe a few less bells and whistles.

Turns out I’m a genius, because the JetSpeed actually is a fairly dramatic change from most of the drivers that have hit the market in the past 18 months in that it is only “partially adjustable”. While most drivers allow you to adjust loft and angle, the JetSpeed only allows for loft adjustment. For this guy, that is a welcome reprieve. Maybe I am alone in this camp, but I have never adjusted the angle. It comes neutral and I leave it neutral. I am just more comfortable getting a club that fits my swing rather than a DIY version. God knows I don’t need to add another lever to the tweaking arsenal.

Under the proverbial hood the TaylorMade JetSpeed incorporates the new Speed Pocket, which is supposed to promote less spin and greater ball speed for shots hit low on the club (where most mis-hits occur). Additionally, they also filled the Speed Pocket in with a polymer so you don’t have to clean out the slot after you chunk your driver (or in the case of the fairway woods, after every shot). You can get the JetSpeed in three different lofts and adjust each one with plus or minus 1.5 degrees of loft. This actually makes sense to me as tweaking the loft seems a lot less intrusive to your swing.

So yea, you are probably gonna add another 17 yards to your game (heavy sarcasm). Actually, I, along with TaylorMade will make no such claims, but I am intrigued by the idea that a club is designed to perform better when the user screws up. It seems like most clubs are designed to perform for when you swing perfectly without much concern for how most people swing the club.

Speaking of which, isn’t it time for someone to design a new Robbie Robot that has a nasty over the top swing? Or one that can, for no discernible reason, yank it dead right (they could call it the Murley Machine). Anyhow, you get the idea, we all have less than perfect swings so it is at least comforting to know TaylorMade was thinking about us when they designed the JetSpeed.

Picking up the JetSpeed for the first time, it is noticeably lighter, which of course is a result of TaylorMade wanting to promote a higher swing speed. This is not to say if feels too light or whippy, it just doesn’t feel like you are swinging a mallet. The sound is not a big thwack nor a whimpy ting. Just right in the middle where it neither annoys you or makes you take notice.

From an aesthetics standpoint, the TaylorMade JetSpeed is also fairly plain Jane in comparison to some of the blinged out versions we have seen recently. The JetSpeed has a simple matte black crown with subtle alignment markings. Frankly, I am thankful to move away from white crowns as they have always seemed too bright for me. Bright clothes, yes, bright driver heads, no. In my mind the JetSpeed seems to just harken back a few years. Whether it be limited adjustability, matte black crown, or the stripe on the head cover, the vibe is way different than recent TaylorMade drivers.

Now for the Three Guys Golf test lab. What, you didn’t know we had a fancy test lab? It is called “my home course” that I have played 500 times and know exactly how far I can, and usually do, drive the ball on every fairway. The results: I hit the ball as far as I usually do. Sometimes I hit it really well and it goes far (I actually had my career long drive on #17) and sometimes I don’t hit it very well and it does not go far. Guess what, I am a 10 handicap and that is how it goes for us.

Overall, I really do like this club. For me, there was no break-in period. You know how with some drivers it just does not feel right and you need to gain a symbiotic relationship with it? The JetSpeed was easy to hit right out of the gate and it never felt squirrelly. Making it more appealing is that it is relatively cheap. Because it has no angle adjustment, you can basically save $100.

This makes total sense to me. Why pay for something if you don’t want it. If you don’t like sunroofs then don’t get the $1000 upgrade – duh.

So if you are in the market for the latest and greatest but want to maybe save a few bucks, check out the TaylorMade Jetspeed.  You can learn more on the TaylorMade website.

My switch to TaylorMade clubs happened a few years ago after I attended a demo day and became completely infatuated with the Burner 2.0 irons. Soon after I also added a few of their longer clubs to my bag, including their Rocketballz woods. So, when it came time to review the new Taylormade SLDR driver, suffice it to say, I was pretty jacked to see what she could do.

Interestingly, the buzz surrounding the SLDR Driver has come with plenty of heckles from the peanut gallery. Frankly, most of the negativity is not directed at the club but rather the supposed audacity of TaylorMade to release what seems like their 8th driver of 2013. Well, let them poke fun because I am more than happy to to see what the latest technology could do for my game.

As a point of reference, my current driver is the TaylorMade RBZ, so the switch to the SLDR should not have been a huge change if the nay-sayers were correct. However, after getting the SLDR dialed in correctly at the range and then taking it to the course, I doubt very much the RBZ will ever see the inside of my bag again.

It is no secret that the key to more distance comes from the combination of  increased ball speed, high launch angle and low spin rate. How to actually build a club that best accomplishes this is at the heart of the “driver wars”. In the case of the SLDR, Taylormade chose to move the Center of Gravity or the “CG” lower on the face to promote higher ball speed. Additionally, they moved the CG forward to reduce the spin. Finally, they discovered that most golfers benefit from increased loft (up to 2 or 3 degrees) so they made the loft more adjustable than most other drivers to allow for a more optimal loft than you might believe.  In real terms this means a perfect recipe for more distance.

There are two adjustable features on the SLDR, the first being the namesake for the club. The 20g SLDR weight, emblazoned in a magnificent blue, runs horizontally along the bottom of the club and is adjustable to 21 different locations which allows the player to make adjustments to set up for a fade shot (set towards the toe) or a draw (set towards the heel). This is unlike anything I had ever seen in a driver before and it’s the foundation for how TaylorMade was able to achieve the lower CG.

The other adjustable feature is the loft of the club. Much like the other versions of TaylorMade drivers this is no different. Loosen the screw move the shaft to the desired loft and lock the screw in place. There are a total of 12 positions with a range of plus-or-minus 1.5°. The SLDR comes in 3 different loft options: 9.5° 10.5° and HL. For our review we received the 9.5° head with the Fujikura Speeder 57 stiff shaft.

When I held the club in my hand for the first time I felt more like a gawker at the Guggenheim than an anxious blogger. The SLDR is so visually appealing it would serve just as well as a modern art piece in your living room. The silver/grey paint tone is simply gorgeous and a perfect contrast to the chrome button-back TaylorMade used to assist with alignment. Unlike many of the previous TM drivers, the SLDR is noticeably toned down with more subtle stripes and paint scheme.

Looks aside the driver is a monster. I’m by no means a big hitter but I certainly felt like one during the sessions on the range and then on the course. The ball absolutely explodes off the face and the higher ball flight you’ll get from selecting an elevated loft takes nothing away from the distance. To this point, guys in my foursome were stunned (and a bit confused) when I showed them I had the loft set at 11°.

While we at Three Guys Golf pride ourselves on doing exactly zero scientific testing of equipment, I can say that I am 100% sure that I believe the SLDR is 10 yards or so longer than my RBZ. In my opinion, the SLDR is the best driver I’ve swung since picking the game back up four years ago and I have no plans on removing it from my bag. Sorry RBZ. It was fun while it lasted.

The SLDR comes in 3 configurations; the standard model like we tested which retails for $399, a TP or Tour version for those guys who actually get paid to play that retails for $499 (different loft configurations and a different shaft are the differences), and a ladies version that also sells for $399.

You can learn more on the Taylormade website

Rocketbladez Review:

A year ago I reviewed the Taylormade Burner 2.0.  Honestly, I loved the Burner 2.0’s and they remain a great seller for Taylormade. I actually wonder if  Taylormade wishes Burner 2.0’s were not so sweet because it makes it much harder to come up with a compelling reason to upgrade. Still, who am I to pass up a chance to check out the new RocketBladez technology.

After the huge success of the Rocketballz, Taylormade decided to take that same technology and put it smack dab in the middle of the irons. Taylormade calls it the speed pocket and you can see it on the 3 iron through the 7 iron.

I have been playing with the RocketBladez for nearly three months now and have zero complaints. They share many of the same characteristics of the Burner 2.0. In terms of distance, the RocketBladez  are similar to the Burner 2.0, which tend to fly farther than most other irons. However, I think the the Bladez are slightly more forgiving. Specifically, I was never a fan of the Burner 2.0 four iron, but with the RocketBladez, I love it.

The biggest difference for me is the ball fight. I find that a well struck ball has a really nice piercing trajectory, more so than with the Burner 2.0. The RocketBladez just seem to go a bit higher and come off more true.

So let’s talk tech. Taylormade research showed that the majority of amateur mishits occurred below the sweet spot of conventional irons, which is usually located at the center of the face (specifically around the 3rd groove). Hence, they wanted to design a club that allowed for greater forgiveness in this area. What Taylormade found was that by incorporating the slot technology used in their woods, the irons are able to provide more spring, forgiveness and consistent distance off the face.

In the case of the RocketBladez, they added a cool polymer from 3M in the slot that keeps out dirt and debris, but doesn’t dampen the spring-like effect of the ultra-thin face of the club. In short, the slot technology coupled with the inverted cone design on the back of the club gives the irons a longer, higher shot trajectory that also turns out to be more consistent over a wider area of the face.  Let’s see…longer, higher, straighter and more consistent – can I have seconds?

As for looks, the RocketBladez are quite appealing with the use of some subtle color on the back of the club. While they do not stand out with screaming flash, they are unique enough to get compliments from other players. Even though it may be hard to justify an upgrade from the Burner 2.0, they are certainly worthy of a hard look if your set is becoming dated. Not only are these clubs perfect for mid-handicappers, they have the workability required for scratch golfers as there are a number of pros who play basically the stock version of the club.

You can check out all of the specs and learn more on the Taylormade website.

 
TaylorMade Pre-owned Iron Sets from TaylorMadeGolfPreOwned.com
 

Never one to rest on their laurels, TaylorMade recently sent us the newest version of the Ghost Spider putter, the Ghost Spider S. I just realized I have no idea what “rest on one’s laurels” means, but I’m pretty sure it works in that sentence. Anyway, having been fortunate enough to review last year’s model, it only made sense for me to have a go at the new Ghost Spider S so we could compare apples to apples (or insect to insects).

Truth be told, Adam sprung the newer model on me about 5 minutes before we were teeing off in a “toughie day” tournament. Normally I would never mess with the putter mojo within such close range of a tournament, but this one tourney was on the silly side and I was dying to try out the new putter. So on to the practice green!

Keep in mind that I was a big fan of last year’s model, and it’s been the only putter in my bag since I first tried it out. In a nutshell, the Ghost Spider was big, crazy looking, and super-stable. As a man wrestling with the yips, it was a lifesaver . . . it was the closest I had come to a point-and-shoot putter, and this was something that I needed at the time.

At first glance, the Ghost Spider S appears to be a bit smaller and cleaner than it’s predecessor. The head is indeed 20% smaller than the previous model (dubbed “Itsy Bitsy Spider” in the development stages), and it looks as though they decided to drop the “crazy” and just make a simple, efficient mallet putter. If you look closer, you realize that the same Spider shape is in play, but somehow they’ve tweaked the putter head to disguise the funky skeleton of the Spider line.

Little bit different, right? The biggest change, aesthetically, is that TaylorMade went with a black centerpiece and a single straight line for alignment. While the elimination of the old basketball court/male-gender-symbol look is the most obvious change, the fact that the centerpiece is now black is also a significant difference. TaylorMade says that the new centerpiece minimizes distraction – I can’t speak to that simply because I am essentially a moron, but I think it looks a bit more sleek and I certainly had no trouble lining up the face. And for you Star Wars geeks out there, don’t worry, it still looks like a storm-trooper. One thing to note – when standing over the club, there is a clearly raised portion of the black alignment aid that you can’t really see in the above picture. It looks cool, and also seems to play a role in lining up the putt. See below:

The Ghost Spider S still utilizes the Pure Roll insert with ridges designed to maximize, well, a “pure roll”, but that’s not to say it’s the same insert – TaylorMade has definitely tweaked the feel on this go’round. Again, I liked the old putter’s feel, noting that it was rubbery (which sounds bad) yet surprisingly still cool and satisfying on impact. The new Spider S has toned down the rubbery feel, heading more towards the ‘click’ direction, at least as far as a rubber insert can head in that direction without wearing tap shoes. The end result is a feel that smacks more of the top of the line putters. Solid and tight – not soft, not hard, just right in zee middle.

Pure Roll!

And actually, what I just implicated about the insert I think can be said for the new Ghost Spider S overall – this version takes a significant step out of the radical/not for everybody category and into the premier club category. Simply put, the Ghost Spider S wants to be taken more seriously than it’s predecessor, and I think it has earned that respect. TaylorMade has subtly fine-tuned every aspect of the putter, maintaining the Spider heritage based on high MOI and stability, but ultimately creating a brand new top of the line club.

I will not be adjusting these weights, but you can.

Let me put it this way, this is the first time I’ve ever played with a putter that I would believe costs $250 or more (it doesn’t, it retails at $179.99), which I think of as a whole new level. As a lefty, and a frugal lefty to boot, I rarely get to stroke a Scotty Cameron or a nice Rife or any of the other big boys over $200 . . . when I do, the feel of those putters is something I don’t quickly forget. With the new Ghost Spider S, I finally have an idea of what it’s like to play a round with one.

You can see the whole line of TaylorMade putters on their website.

You may have noticed the one big, white putter that a lot of guys are using on Tour lately . . . it’s the Taylor Made Ghost Spider putter. It’s big. It’s white. And the one thing that jumped out at me when I first witnessed Beau Hossler and his grillpiece wielding it at the U.S. Open – it’s square.

Next time my clubs will be free!

As a man who was fully immersed in a case of the yips with my 2 more-traditional putters, I was ready to give a mallet putter another shot. And what I found on TV as well as in the store was that the Ghost Spider seemed like a slightly new version of the mallet putter so we figured it was worth a review. And to be clear, the putter head is big by most standards, but not ridiculous or clunky like some misguided efforts made in the past by manufacturers hoping to reduce “twist”. In other words, go to a store and try every mallet putter on the rack – the Spider will not feel bigger than any other model, but somehow it stands out as unique, and sometimes that is all our brain needs to think a flatstick has the answer.

So like any good yips victim, I put the Spider in my bag and have used it for about ten rounds now. I’m not very technical when it comes to putting, so I may not have all the scientific info that you are craving, but I can say that this thing is basically as close to a “point and shoot” putter that I’ve ever tried. I was able to immediately eliminate the true shanks that had haunted my putting game for the last few months . . . it’s just an easy club to take back, swing through, and put a good stroke on. Within the first round I played with the Spider, my foursome was already commenting on what a good roll my putts had.

Aside from not being technical about putting, I was also clearly just a very bad putter for the last few months, so I understand that this could make my opinions decidedly less relevant to some of you out there. Fair enough, and for that reason I’ll point out yet again that this is just one Golf Guy’s opinion:

– The Spider has Taylor Made’s “PureRoll” insert with ridges designed to promote a better roll coming off of the clubface. I am always indifferent to whatever technology companies put in their putter faces, and I generally call BS on that stuff seeing that so many guys on Tour still use good old metal blades and get the job done (oh how I cringe when I see Tiger using that circuit board on a stick). One thing to make note of, however, is that the insert produces a truly unique feel to the putter, definitely different from the Odyssey inserts. It’s nothing crazy or out on the fringe, just different, and to me it feels a bit more energetic and still solid. Any friend of mine that tried the club would immediately notice the different feel of the face on impact . . . it’s hard to describe (mainly because I’m an idiot), but I’m going to try anyway: it’s like it makes no apologies that it is a rubber insert, but somehow you don’t feel like it’s cheesy, it’s just a solid, good feeling strike. And as disgusted as I am with myself for knowing this/benefiting from this, it seems to be super forgiving on mis-hits, because most strikes feel great. I’m sure this is also a testament to the putter head itself, because a mis-hit is seriously hard to produce with this putter.

– Given how the putter performs, the shape and design of the club kind of take a back seat and I don’t really applaud or dislike any one particular aspect. The alignment aid makes sense on paper, but my first thought was that it might be distracting. In practice, I don’t really see much genius to it when I’m standing over the ball, but it’s also not a distraction, it’s almost an afterthought because somehow the whole clubhead lends itself to lining up in the right direction. Plus, I honestly don’t have the bandwidth to try and figure what the heck is going on with that alignment design, it’s like a Picasso drawing to me, so as they say on MTV, “I’m over it”.

If forced to come up with an overall way to differentiate this putter from others, I would say that the Taylor Made Ghost Spider gives me the sense that I’m aiming a path towards the hole that is 2 inches wide, while other putters make me feel like I am aiming a line that was drawn with a pencil. In other words, in my mind, putting with the Spider is like painting with a wider brush, and I honestly have no idea if that’s a positive thing or a negative thing for most golfers. For me, it has worked wonders as I am putting a great roll on the ball and not getting too caught up in the details . . . and draining a lot of putts. Still, I’d be interested to know if someone with a better putting stroke would prefer the more precise vibe of other putters, or maybe they would put the alignment aid to better use than my ADD-addled cranium and make the Spider just as precise.

The bottom line is, if you’re anywhere close to considering a new putter, the Ghost Spider must be on the list of new sticks to try.  Its increased presence on Tour is reason enough, but I think most folks will understand what’s going on once they swing it a few times. Like my one friend who can also appreciate struggling with the flatstick said, “this putter should be illegal”.

You can see all of the Taylormade equipment on their website and other high res images on our Facebook Gallery.

TaylorMade PureLite 3.0 Stand Bag Review: Believe it or not, there are still golfers out there that like to carry their bag – no pull cart, no llamas, just a good old-fashioned stand bag. For 18 holes, even! I admittedly kissed that world goodbye about two years ago when a buddy let me use his old pull-cart. While I may have lost a bit of my man card on that day, my shoulders rejoiced. To my defense, I am probably only about ten years away from socks-n-sandals, but I know the younger kids wouldn’t be caught dead doing anything but double-strapping their sticks (see: every high school and college golf tournament on the planet). So my point is, there’s still a place in the universe for the good ol’ carry bag, so when it came time to try out the TaylorMade PureLite 3.0, I had no choice but to eat my Wheaties and revisit the on/off world of lugging my clubs. On to the review.

Taylormade RocketBallz Fairway Wood Review: Some clubs we have no loyalty to (driver), some we nearly marry (putter), some we just  hang on to for no particular reason (irons) and some we barely think about (fairway woods). For me, I have aways been pretty happy with my 3 wood whether it was an old Taylormade or Ping G10. I just wanted to be able to hit it 200ish and know it would go pretty straight. Mostly it was to knock the ball down the fairway on a par 5 or make an easy swing on a short par 4. However, there are those times in which you need to carry water thats 215 so you want to feel good about your 3 wood (or your 7 iron if you are Tiger Woods). Given the fact I have never been accused of being a long hitter, I was therefore more than willing to give the Taylormade RocketBallz fairway wood and its promised 17 yard gain a test drive.

From a distance perspective, we at Three Guys Golf try to give you the scoop but without launch monitors and all that, all I can tell you is that I hit it farther on my home track than I usually do. I know my distances well enough to clearly say that much. The one area I did struggle with the Taylormade RockeBallz fairway wood was hitting it off of a tight lie. I think because the club is taller than most, I was catching it thin and hitting it low. The good news, is that it runs like the devil. With that said, I did get it figured out and can now hit it from any lie. While I may only hit it 3 or 4 times a round, I do love when it is “RocketBallz Time”

The club itself is really good looking (unless you are not a fan of the white club). On the back you will notice the “speed pocket” behind the face. This is supposed to create the extra distance. One draw back of the speed pocket is that it is akin to a dustbunny magnet. Depending on the conditions of your course, you may find yourself regularly having to use a tee to dig out the dirt or grass that has been forced inside of it. Not a huge deal but something I never had to worry about with my other fairway woods.

So lets just talk Taylormade for a moment. I sure get the sense that these guys are ahead of the curve in terms of driver and wood technology. Again, if you have come to Three Guys Golf looking for specs or actual evidence you have come to the wrong place, but if you want a review based on opinion and pure conjecture – bingo, I’ve got that for you. From what I have read, Taylormade went back to the drawing board with the Taylormade RocketBallz and designed the whole thing from the ground up. Hence the deeper face, speed pocket and large head. I know every company is trying to make a great wood, but it sure feels like Taylormade is laser focused on making the best darn woods in the business.

Finally, I just wanted to touch on the sound. While it has no real effect on the ball flight, I dig the springy whack the club makes. It just seems to tie the whole club together. When I picked up golf seriously in 1999, Taylormade was the first 3 wood I owned, now 12 years later it is again back in my bag, and likely to stay there for quite a while.

Taylormade Burner 2.0 Irons Review: Like most guys, I hate shopping unless it is for a new car or new golf clubs. And like cars, I go from, “I don’t need new clubs”  to “I must have new clubs NOW”?  The new club bug bit me the moment I snapped my 6 iron on the range. I simply took it as a sign from the golf gods . . . who am I to refuse?

Part of the fun of buying new clubs is the research that goes into the decision. Whether it is poking through the bags of guys in your foursome, spending 2 hours on MyGolfSpy reading every review possible, or hitting a bucket of balls in an indoor driving range, a.k.a. Golf Galaxy –  picking out a new set of irons is simply more fun than should be legally allowed and therefore should never be shortchanged. Hint, go read about 40 other reviews before you go buy the Taylormade Burner 2.0 or any other club if for no other reason you will be that much more excited about buying them.

For the past 4 years I have been playing Ping G5’s and have been quite happy with them. They are a good mix of performance and improvement. The obvious choice was to simply get the G20 but I wanted to expand my proverbial horizons. The irons I narrowed it down to, after twelve hours on the internet and 4 golf magazines, were Titleist AP2, Taylormade RocketBallz, Cobra S2, Mizuno 800 and Taylormade 2.0

First, let me be clear on how I buy irons. While performance is important, I want to fall in love. I figure if you don’t fall in love you have no chance to make it over the long haul. I mean these babies are gonna be in my bag longer than my first marriage, and since not every round is going to be “one for the ages” I do not ever want to question my equipment. Therefore, all of the clubs I initially picked out to demo had already made the first cut in terms of looks. I had no doubt that I was going to be perfectly content to look down the hosel of any one of these beauties.

Ok, now to my “scientific research”. I took a 7 iron from each of the sets and stepped into the launch monitor. That day, I was swinging pretty well and all of the clubs went more or less straight about 154 yards, except the Taylormade 2.0, which went about 168 yards. Seeing this huge difference, I went back to the other clubs and really tried to put a good swing on them but could never break 160 yards. Normally, I would somehow chalk this up to subconscious activity but I have heard that this is in part because they are slightly de-lofted. In either case, I appreciated the extra distance since I am not known as a long hitter. My review after having now played with these clubs for over a month – I can say with certainty that they go farther.

Working through the set, I thought they had similar control to the PINGS but with a bit more zip. I also like the fact that each iron has a slightly different mass in that the longer irons are a bit thinner to add distance while the shorter irons are thicker to add control.

As for looks, I typically like a nice shiny steel club but I really dig the Taylormade Burner black on the toe and heel, plus the cavity back looks super cool. Again, if you don’t love the looks of a set of irons, don’t buy them no matter what. Just like that girl you thought you could learn to love despite her goofy quirks, it ain’t gonna happen.

Having gone through the honeymoon stage with these clubs, I am still very pleased. Along with the added distance, the control is quite good and being an 11 handicap, I have no illusions of “working the ball”. If it goes straight you will not get any argument from me. With that said, you can absolutely put a draw on this ball (I have seen my playing partners do it).

Finally, these puppies have just come way down in price since the Rocketballz release. Now I liked the Rocketballz, but not $300 more. In fact, I would have likely chosen the Burner 2.0 regardless of cash considerations, so the fact that they were nearly 1/2 price was simply a bonus.