Equipment

Spotted: TaylorMade SLDR 430 TP Japan driver

Published

10 years ago

Dec 4, 2013

There has been a lot of chatter in our forums over the past couple of days about the addition of a TaylorMade SLDR 430 TP to the USGA’s list of conforming clubs. Let the chatter continue, because look what just showed up on the TaylorMade Japan website!

According to the TaylorMade Japan website, the head features a 2-gram-heavier SLDR weight that the standard SLDR 460 driver. That change is made possible by the SLDR’s smaller (and thus lighter) lighter 430-cubic-centimeter head.

Much like the SLDR 460, the SLDR 430 allow golfers to choose from 12 positions on TaylorMade’s “Loft Sleeve” within a range of plus-or-minus 1.5 degrees of loft change in 0.5-degree increments to help golfers dial in their launch and spin.

Click here to read our review of TaylorMade’s SLDR 460 driver.

The SLDR 430 has the same crown graphics as the original, but the sole is charcoal-gray, applying the 460’s crown color to the entirety of the club. And of course, there’s the “Tour Preferred” badging loyalists have been clamoring for on the toe of the club. It’s not the original TaylorMade TP logo loyalists wanted, but it’s better than nothing, right?

Screen shot 2013-12-03 at 8.44.07 PM

Speculation has abounded as to whether the SLDR 430 TP will be available in the U.S. However, with the upcoming release of TaylorMade’s Tour Preferred Irons and with pros rumored to be testing the SLDR 430 TP, it seems likely that a U.S. release is in the cards.

Here are the specs and shaft options from the TaylorMade Japan website.

Screen shot 2013-12-03 at 8.41.39 PM

A look at the darker, more compact face of the SLDR 430 TP.

Screen shot 2013-12-03 at 8.43.52 PM

Here’s a look at the crown of the club, which is very similar to the 460 version.

Screen shot 2013-12-03 at 8.43.59 PM

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30 Comments

jc

Dec 23, 2013 at 7:17 pm

I got a top secret version of the badge and put it on my G25…wow, another 45 yards instantly!!!

it went so far, the usga banned the badge on other maker’s clubs…

it went so far, the FAA banned me from hitting driver near airports…

Reply Report comment
ams165

Dec 15, 2013 at 11:32 pm

Just saw on Golfdiscount.com that the 430 TP version is shipping on Dec 20th. They are taking pre orders…

http://www.golfdiscount.com/taylormade-sldr-430-tp-tour-driver

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Fsubaseball

Dec 9, 2013 at 6:05 am

The new “TP” irons can be found on the same taylormade Japan website.. They used to have black carbon ATV wedges as well as different color options on spiders. The prices are insane!

Reply Report comment
Moo

Dec 8, 2013 at 12:57 pm

Wow, Can’t wait to get one of these, and I really wasn’t looking for a new driver. But with the compact head, lighter swing weight and the 45″ shaft, it’s everything I wanted from TM. I’ve been hitting my RBZ Tour well but I’m tiring of the big white blob at the end of a long stick look:) A partial effect of playing a 3Deep off the tee recently. Can I repeat the 45″ thing!!! 46″ shafts for amateurs is just plain stupid. Really hate to have to cut down a shaft with no OEM way to adjust the swingweight. Just hoping these are not Japan only specs… And I just have to mention the goofy badge thing. The new look is way better.

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Peter A

Dec 4, 2013 at 4:09 pm

Tried out the 430 yesterday. Averaged 200 rpm less on spin numbers. This driver is going to be a runaway hit for high spin players, especially with the Speeder in it.

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Dan

Dec 4, 2013 at 2:11 pm

TMag, get something right here and you will happen to get more and more of your TP loyalists back…if that damn badge is not on the side of the club, that is an issue! If your re-create the badge, want to “re-brand” your TP line, THEN DO IT WITH THE BADGE! Get it right, quit teasing us with “prototypes that did not make the final production”. Thats garbage, to be honest. I do not like to rip apart what I feel is the greatest company in constructing ground-breaking drivers, but give us consumers what we want FOR ONCE!

Reply Report comment
- snowman
  
  Dec 4, 2013 at 3:52 pm
  
  Agree..Why the H— won’t TMAG bring back the damn badge that all the players love? This “Tour Preferred” nonsense looks like something from Spalding in the 70’s
  
  Reply Report comment
- Jon
  
  Dec 5, 2013 at 12:30 am
  
  But dan will the badge lower your scores? Do you buy a club because of cosmetics, or because of the performance?
  
  Reply Report comment
Pricey

Dec 4, 2013 at 1:40 pm

But how much……..? $699 with TP shaft upgrade? Ya gotta be kidding me. Ya might as well go find a R9 T stamp or R11S T stamp on Ebay you’ll hit those just as good

Reply Report comment
- Tyler
  
  Dec 4, 2013 at 1:44 pm
  
  Or just wait a few months and buy one for half the price.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Holdma Deeek
    
    Dec 4, 2013 at 5:15 pm
    
    You should wait a few months and Holdma Deeek
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Bob R
      
      Dec 5, 2013 at 4:54 pm
      
      HAHAHAHAHHAHA^^^
      
      Reply Report comment
      - totebagger
        
        Dec 6, 2013 at 11:32 am
        
        sip the the TM koolaid and holdma deek you totebaggers
        
        Reply Report comment
Conrad

Dec 4, 2013 at 1:04 pm

looks great

Reply Report comment
Carter

Dec 4, 2013 at 12:32 pm

This looks exactly like my new driver. haha

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Andrew

Dec 4, 2013 at 12:29 pm

That is a very, very nice looking club.

Reply Report comment
Big_5_Hole

Dec 4, 2013 at 11:57 am

This is one driver I’ll be testing this spring. I liked but didn’t love the first SLDR, this might be the one……

Reply Report comment
Jay

Dec 4, 2013 at 11:14 am

I don’t get the obsession with having the TP logo on everything. Who cares? Isn’t it about how it performs anyway? I could care less about trying to impress my friends with little logo’s but would rather hit it by them 30yds.

Reply Report comment
- KCCO
  
  Dec 8, 2013 at 2:27 pm
  
  Like the all charcoal, could careless about badge….just hope TMAG sticks a small head driver to retail shelf, sick of huge 460’s
  
  Reply Report comment
markb

Dec 4, 2013 at 11:00 am

Looks like it still has the glued on toe plate cover that kept falling out on the regular models and had to be screwed in on tour drivers. Did they change the glue?

Reply Report comment
Tyler

Dec 4, 2013 at 10:53 am

Why does TM release different clubs in Japan?

Reply Report comment
- christian
  
  Dec 5, 2013 at 6:35 am
  
  This driver will probably come to the US market as well, but otherwise TM, Callaway, Titleist, Cleveland have whole lines of JDM only clubs. Usually forged, usually pricey. It’s because the golf eqipment market in Japan is double the size of the US one with less than half the population. Brands bring out their most “premium” stuff in Japan, and then they might release a watered down version a couple of years later in the US market. Or sometimes, as in the case of the Anser line from Ping, interest is so great in the US that they will offer the JDM stuff (Anser Forged irons) in the US too. And as a thank you the then get clobbered with negative comments about being “insanely expensive”.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Nattysurf
    
    Dec 6, 2013 at 3:26 am
    
    Japan golf equipment market is not even close to being 2X the US – it is less than 50% of the US.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - hebron1427
      
      Dec 6, 2013 at 5:23 pm
      
      probably true, but the prices that japanese consumers will pay for similar products is astronomical.
      
      Reply Report comment
Scott F

Dec 4, 2013 at 10:30 am

that all black 430 SLDR is niceeee looking they should’ve did the TP badge though. Why not listen to the golfers here who are your ultimate focus group? 90% or so would say go with badge on TP. Love the looks of the MC and Im not a TM player. Glad to see that TM finally figured out that golfers don’t want white clubs or NASCAR graphics or dials that no one can figure out.

Reply Report comment
Mike

Dec 4, 2013 at 10:26 am

This will be available in the US…

Reply Report comment
Keith

Dec 4, 2013 at 9:25 am

Oh I want one so bad, if this is anything like the 460 it is going to be the best of 2014! It would be awesome if they would let us get our hands on this gorgeous black one too, Com’on Tmag you can do that for us!

Reply Report comment
John

Dec 4, 2013 at 8:53 am

Take away crown graphics and put tp logo instead… Bam, instant perfection.

Reply Report comment
Patrick

Dec 4, 2013 at 8:50 am

When will it be hitting shelves in the states?

Reply Report comment
Xerpro

Dec 4, 2013 at 8:33 am

Sign me up….Might be the one that can knock out the original SFTP.
All Black looks awesome!!!

Reply Report comment

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

2 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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