Equipment
Spotted: TaylorMade SLDR Fairway Wood
Check out the photos of TaylorMade’s new SLDR fairway wood, which was being tested by Dustin Johnson at the Tour Championship.
The SLDR fairway wood does not have the sliding weight track that was featured on the company’s new SLDR driver. Instead, it has what appears to be a new version of TaylorMade’s Speed Pocket, which like the slot on the company’s new SpeedBlade iron has curved design that looks to cut all the way through the club’s sole. It also has an adjustable hosel that seems to have the same adjustability as the SLDR driver, 1.5 degrees up or down from the standard loft.
Johnson was the first player to test the club at East Lake, a 15.5-degree model, but according to TaylorMade tour reps it’s still up in the air if Johnson will put the club in play this week at East Lake.
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made.
From the seller: (@DLong72): “Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made. ?: $1150. ?? 100% milled collectors item from the limited releases commemorating when Ping putters won every major in 1988 (88 putters made). This was the model Seve Ballesteros used to win the 1988 Open Championship. Condition is brand new, never gamed, everything is in the original packaging as it came. Putter features the iconic sound slot.
Specs/ Additional Details
-100% Milled, Aluminum/Bronze Alloy (310g)
-Original Anser Design
-PING PP58 Grip
-Putter is built to standard specs.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.
The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.
On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.
Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.
At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.
“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.
Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.
“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.
“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.”
In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.
On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.
According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.
“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.”
See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here.
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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
View this post on Instagram
According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
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Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
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Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)
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Ludvig Åberg what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees, D4 SureFit setting)...
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P Healey
Oct 1, 2013 at 1:28 pm
I believe that the R9 was the last good driver from Taylormade. Everything with an “R” in front of it has been kind of a joke to be honest, and with the constant new releases it is tough for a purist to like Taylormade. But, the SLDR, unlike the R11s, R1, and the RBZs, has captured my attention. I like that there is actually some technology behind it, unlike recent Taylormade drivers which are just about “more adjustability!!!” I am definitely looking forward to trying the SLDR, mainly because of the notion that it is a very low spinning driver. Overall, I think that this is the first promising driver from Taylormade in a while and am excited to try it out soon. Hopefully Taylormade doesnt let me down although I am trying not to get my hopes up!
MB
Nov 20, 2013 at 9:43 pm
The SLDR once matched to the right shaft and the weighting placed by adjusting the sldr mechanism, I have improved my driving distance by 20 yds and am more accurate.
I recently played in a tournament in Fl with 3 members of my home club. I have always been shortest off the tee, (one our pro, and other 2 2-3 hcps and very long) wirh my prior Nike and R 11 before that I was always 20 yds short. But, since my SLDR and Fujikura Fuel stiff shaft, and settings with a draw bia on weights, I crushed to be longer than all but my freaky long pal, Doug. More than that consitsent in center right of tight fairways. By end of trip all were serious about getting SLDR. It Rocks
bl21
Sep 20, 2013 at 4:24 pm
Oh, sweet…. how soon until we can get one for half price?
Kc
Oct 1, 2013 at 12:56 pm
Like 🙂
Tim
Sep 19, 2013 at 10:57 am
Well I certainly have to give them a round of applause. They keep pumping out product and consumers keep buying it. The sole looks quite a bit like the RBZ (slot is a bit different). I do like the change in the paint color. For now I think I will stick with my VSteels.
Dave
Sep 18, 2013 at 8:48 pm
As mentioned, R11 and R11s didn’t have weights, the head isn’t big enough. Plus with the SLDR weight turf interaction would be even more of an issue than with the slot.
TaylorMade gets the fact that the customer base is broken into segments, innovators & early adopter consumers will always buy new b/c it’s new. Early and late majority will buy some at full and at rebate/reduced pricing. The laggards will clean out what’s left at a nice discount. Decide where you fall on that curve and buy what you can afford. I don’t understand the haters, other than TM is clearly winning the club-selling fight… It’s actually BETTER for the consumer to have this accelerated product life cycle. More options, pricing reductions which offset depreciation, etc.
Taylerhater
Sep 18, 2013 at 8:36 pm
The last good fairway taylormade had was the 07 burner TP. I played it for years until the 913FD took it out. The 913FD is a fairway finder beast!!
Dan
Sep 19, 2013 at 8:05 pm
did the same thing
Randy
Sep 18, 2013 at 5:53 pm
They have a small company named gigagolf that has been developing and put out a fairway that looks very similar to this earlier this year. It’s under their pursuit line, they also had a driver with that same slot that they put out 3-5 years ago I think. They even have similar weight cut outs.on the sole. Not a big TM fan, now they are starting to show that technology is not a priority. How do they not put a movable weight on a line that they market a SLDR sliding weight? Step backwards for TM.
Wayne
Sep 18, 2013 at 2:38 pm
What a scam! I still play the 200 steel 3/5 woods reshafted with an Arthur Xcaliber T6.
joro
Sep 18, 2013 at 1:07 pm
Face it, newer is not always better, but it does pull out the suckers that think they buying a game, or the egotists who have to have the newest. Wise people spend their money on a GOOD teacher.
andy
Sep 18, 2013 at 12:42 pm
haha! how absurd.
chris
Sep 18, 2013 at 11:38 am
Combination of the R9 and RBZ fairway woods
Anthony
Sep 18, 2013 at 10:38 am
I’m not sure why more people aren’t happy about this. I think it would be difficult for TM fans who want to upgrade to the newest driver technology to play a gray driver with matte white fairway woods. i think it’s great to maintain a consistency of look throughout the set.
MFB
Sep 18, 2013 at 10:16 am
Wait about 6 months and you can get it for half price when the new SLDR2 woods come out.
gary
Sep 21, 2013 at 2:36 pm
Lol too true.
paul
Sep 21, 2013 at 4:48 pm
Im hoping titleist comes out with a new driver so i can pick up a 913 d3 soon.
OP
Sep 18, 2013 at 9:23 am
Its just looks like the R9 fairway with new graphics. Yawn!
David Winchester
Sep 18, 2013 at 5:57 am
To my eyes the head looks like the old Titleist 906 range.
Popo
Sep 18, 2013 at 1:55 am
TM should provide us with a “Slot-cleaning” stick
JD
Sep 17, 2013 at 11:34 pm
This thing looks graat, SOOOOOO happy the white trend has come and gone, despite that last statment, I’m still gaming a superfast 2.0 TP 3w and a R11s 5w, love them both, been hard to get out of the bag. Interested to hit this, IMO taylormade makes the best fairway woods.
Desmond
Sep 18, 2013 at 11:09 am
You’re jerking us around, right?
TM makes very unfriendly fairway woods.
The stock shafts are of poor quality, the heads are not exactly high launching, and the stock lengths are a prescription for failure.
Cannon
Sep 17, 2013 at 10:48 pm
Taylormade is making its return to golf clubs and taking a break from the toy industry…
Andrew
Oct 14, 2013 at 9:02 pm
I totally agree with you this club looks great and classic, but you gotta admit those “toys” are pretty fun. R1 owner*
Desmond
Sep 17, 2013 at 10:13 pm
I’m waiting for them to sell the fairway wood for the rest of us … you know, the guys with moderate swing speeds.
Tried the RBZ and Stage 2 – failures for normal guys.
Bye, TM.
eg
Sep 17, 2013 at 9:38 pm
the speedpocket there looks like a smiling minion
Dan
Sep 17, 2013 at 9:26 pm
reminds me of the burner TP 3W
cj
Sep 17, 2013 at 8:45 pm
I might actually like this TM fairway wood
Rick
Sep 17, 2013 at 7:42 pm
This is Taylormade being bored and putting their marketing department to the test.
“Can we take a club we released last year (RBZ fairway wood, original), paint it grey, call it a Little Hamburger, and still get people to buy a “new” club!? Let’s try!”
NG
Sep 17, 2013 at 9:33 pm
Well done- first negetive comment! I propose you have your eyes checked…first things first, the speed pocket is totally different by the look of it so your statement the have restamped an painted this club is a load of…!
pooch
Sep 17, 2013 at 6:13 pm
Looks like a deep face for a lower trajectory. Better have some swing speed.
Billy
Sep 17, 2013 at 5:22 pm
I like these better than the driver, and I am not a TM fan at all.
NG
Sep 17, 2013 at 4:16 pm
Best looking fairway I’ve seen in a long time from TM, almost has a Vsteel look about it….and with speed pocket, I’m in!
R
Sep 17, 2013 at 2:46 pm
if the feel and sound are as good on this wood as they are on the driver i’m buying
Lloyd
Sep 17, 2013 at 1:55 pm
Well wot can I say I want one or two now great looking club perfect match for the SLDR driver
Will o'the Glen
Sep 17, 2013 at 1:49 pm
The Marketing Team seems to be wagging the dog at TaylorMade.
KK
Sep 17, 2013 at 1:45 pm
SLDR without the SLDR feature. Kinda like a Speedblade without the blade. I think TM is doing this intentionally to annoy discerning golfers and TM critics. Next, they will turn bladed putters into precision mallets, hybrids into driving hyper-irons and 3 woods into inverted mega-swing tour driving pistons.
MorikawaTMaG
Sep 18, 2013 at 12:47 am
you wont see a diffrence in woods, its like why they didnt have the movable weights in the r11 and r11s woods
yomomma
Sep 17, 2013 at 1:35 pm
It doesn’t even have a sliding weight! haha this is an entirely different concept then the SLDR driver, so why the same name…?
Alex
Sep 17, 2013 at 4:53 pm
Being so die hard Titleist and being so against Taylormade I can’t really believe I’m saying this but I actually like the look of this club.
Cannon
Sep 17, 2013 at 10:46 pm
Has a finish that looks similar to old titliest woods.
joe
Sep 19, 2013 at 2:58 pm
hahaha… totally agree… it does look nice though
MorikawaTMaG
Sep 17, 2013 at 1:12 pm
nice!