I’m not sure it’s exactly what the golf world needs, but TaylorMade-adidas Golf has unveiled a 14-degree version of its SLDR driver. The 14-degree SLRD keeps with TMaG’s push of “high launch, low spin” for its metal woods. No date has been given for when the driver will ship.
TMaG says the SLDR features a low and forward center of gravity (CG) placement making it the lowest spinning driver in company history. Because of this construction, TMaG says it is leading golfers – including PGA Tour players – to “loft up,” meaning increase the lofts on their drivers.
“We have been chasing a driver that delivers high launch and low spin, a coveted combination off the tee sought after by all golfers,” said TaylorMade Golf chief technical officer Benoit Vincent. “Having made significant industry strides with innovation advancements like movable weight, larger faces, adjustable shafts and improved aerodynamics, we are confident that we have cracked yet another code to more distance. And it’s through loft.”
Benoit has long been a proponent of higher lofted drivers for players of all skill levels. TMaG says “an unprecedented” amount of Tour players are lofting up. In fact, according to TMaG, many SLDR users on the PGA Tour have lofted up at least one degree when compared against previous driver models that do not have low and forward CG.
“Everything we thought we knew about engineering drivers has been turned on its head,” Vincent said. “I have never been more convinced that building a driver with low and forward CG is the future in metalwood construction.”
Vincent said TMaGs’s engineering team has calculated that 17 degrees of launch and 1700 RPMs of spin create the perfect combination for maximizing driver distance. The new high-lofted 14-degree SLDR driver, combined with strategically designed low/forward CG is another step closer to achieving the perfect ball flight.
TaylorMade’s 14-degree SLDR driver
