In its recent history, TaylorMade has been wildly recognized for creating drivers that are immediately identifiable. Think drivers with a white crown, for example. They’ve also been great at highlighting the improvements in their technology, like Twistface, or Speed Injection.
That’s a trend that continues with the Stealth driver, which uses a carbon face to create more speed. Of course, the face is red, highlighting the new technology. The all new Stealth driver is available now both in store and online Feb. 4th.
Trade in Event
Our trade-in event is the perfect time of the year to get new clubs and take advantage of bonus savings! Trade-in Event is going on now until July 31! Trade in your old clubs & put their value plus a 50% Trade-in Bonus towards new clubs! For more follow the link – https://www.golftown.com/en-CA/tradein-event.html.
Why carbon?
The essence of the move away from titanium was that TaylorMade engineers had come to the conclusion they had pushed drivers using the metal as far as they could. That is the perspective of Tomo Bystedt, Senior Director of Product Creation for TaylorMade.
“Coming out of the M series, we saw the writing on the wall for titanium in terms of speed,” he says. “There were really no gains from a face-speed perspective. The materials from titanium had largely been mined and carbon would be the future for us. Three or four years ago we focused on that being the next great thing.”
It wasn’t the first time TaylorMade had attempted using carbon in the clubface. A Japanese spec driver used carbon, but there were concerns about durability. That’s gone with Stealth.
How is it faster?
There’s weight savings in carbon—about 20 grams, which in golf club design is a massive amount. To many that would appear to make it faster. But Bystedt says that’s not really the key reason the driver is faster. The carbon face doesn’t flex more than a titanium head, but there are efficiencies in the driver head that make the energy transfer from the strike to the ball more effective resulting in faster ball speeds. TaylorMade says ball speeds are pegged at more than 1 mile per hour faster, which translates into two yards. But in player testing, Bystedt says he’s witnessed up to four miles per hour in gain, which translates to eight yards.
“It is about ball speed,” he says. “You care about forgiveness and sound, but if it isn’t faster, you might not care. There’s better energy transfer on this driver and the result is better ball speed.”
The truth is the driver does plenty of other things—it sounds great and is forgiving—but TaylorMade recognized speed is a key to its success: “This driver will be game-changing for the industry,” Bystedt says. “Here we are and Tiger Woods is already playing.”
Is it durable?
From the start, that was the question. There are 60 layers of carbon used on the face, the precise number to make the it both flexible and durable. Despite early Internet posting board concerns, Bystedt says the face will hold up to repeated use. “Durability was always an issue and if you go online now and you read comments speculating on the face, people wonder if it’ll hold up,” he says. “Early on that was a concern, especially before we knew how it would work. The challenge is how to make it fast or durable at the same time. It is easy to do one or the other, but not both.
“How do you get it to be super quick and hold up for two or three thousand shots?” he asks. “We tested hundreds of combinations — how many layers and how they are lined up and what order they are placed together. That challenge has been very big and something we’re focused on.”
The Tiger Effect
There was a ton of early interest generated by the driver when Tiger Woods used it at his first tournament back after his car accident. Though the technology wasn’t disclosed, many wondered aloud about the new driver with the red face Woods used at the PNC, where he played with his son. Woods was involved in the development process and fell in love with the driver, leading TaylorMade to get the driver on the USGA’s conforming list quicker than expected.
“We asked how serious he was about it and once we knew he was serious, we worked hard to get it on the conforming list,” Bystedt says. “For us it was a massive validation. Tiger is very picky about his equipment and he’s not going to play a driver that he’s not in love with. When we work with him, every club has to be just right. It is hard work. We weren’t expecting him to switch quickly into this driver.”
Key tech
Nanotexture cover
The driver, which still uses Twist Face, has a polyurethane cover designed to optimize spin and launch.
Forgiving
The weight changes in the face allowed TaylorMade to make the driver more forgiving. The Stealth version of the driver offers 15% more MOI than the Stealth+ model, making it a great mix of speed and forgiveness.
Thru-Slot Speed Pocket
A flexible pocket designed to generate ball speed and offer forgiveness on low face strikes, this has been a staple of recent TaylorMade drivers.
Three versions
Stealth HD
HD means “high draw,” and that’s exactly what you get from this driver. Do you slice the ball (and let’s be honest, that’s most golfers)? If that’s the case, this is for you. By utilizing some of the weight savings in the face, TaylorMade has created a draw bias driver that’s highly forgiving.
Stealth+
The player’s driver of the lot, this is a readily adjustable driver that will appeal to better golfers. The face is 20% larger than the original SIM driver.
Stealth
The main driver in the line, this doesn’t offer the adjustable weight slot found on the Stealth+. Perfect for mid-handicappers searching for a mix of forgiveness and speed.
To learn more about the TaylorMade Stealth lineup of clubs, read more about the fairway woods as well as the irons.