Equipment
TaylorMade launches SLDR Mini
TaylorMade is betting that bigger is better with the SLDR MiniDriver, its newest metalwood that blends the forgiveness of a driver with the versatility of a fairway woods.
“The general premise is based on how our tour players are using their 3 woods,” said Brian Bazzel, TaylorMade’s product creation manager. “They’re hitting it off the tee way more than they’re hitting it off the ground.”
The SLDR Mini hits shelves on May 2, and will be available in three lofts: 12 degrees, 14 degrees and 16 degrees. It measures a beefy 260cc, about 100cc larger than the company’s SLDR and JetSpeed fairway woods, which gives the club a substantially larger clubface area. The larger size and 43.5-inch stock shaft length, which is 2 inches shorter than the company’s SLDR driver, makes it an attractive option for golfer who either:
- Hit their 3 woods primarily off the tee.
- Struggle with the accuracy of their driver.
Above: The SLDR Mini (left) and SLDR 460 driver.
Like TaylorMade’s SLDR drivers, the SLDR Mini has a low, forward CG that TaylorMade says contributes to a higher launch, lower spin and more ball speed. Its construction is more similar to the company’s SLDR fairway woods, however, with a steel frame and face and the latest version of TaylorMade’s Speed Pocket, a polymer-filled handle-bar shaped slot in the front portion of the club’s sole that also helps shots launch higher with less spin and contributes to faster ball speeds across the clubface.
Above: The TaylorMade SLDR Mini (left, 260cc) is considerably larger than Callaway’s X2 Hot 2Deep (right, 210cc). It’s also much larger than Ping’s new Rapture fairway wood (219cc), which like the Mini and 2Deep are also designed for golfers who use their 3 woods more from the tee than from the ground.
TaylorMade’s Staff Member Troy Matteson made headlines at the Valero Texas Open when he decided to take his SLDR driver and 3 wood out of the bag for two SLDR Minis: a 10.5-degree version that he used off the tee and a 12-degree version that he used as his 3 wood. Matteson has been the exception, however, as most tour players who have tested the SLDR Mini have opted for one model with a loft between 12 and 14 degrees.
TaylorMade engineers took care in the design of the SLDR Mini to ensure that it was playable both off the tee and from the fairway by adding increased curvature, or radius, to the sole of the club. That slightly decreased the clubface size, but allows the SLDR Mini to slide more easily through the turf. From the ground, Bazzel says the club’s taller, or deeper face will allow it to spin more, which will help golfers who want the SLDR Mini to land softly on the green. Off the tee, Bazzel recommends teeing the SLDR Mini with the ball about halfway above the club’s crown.
The SLDR Mini will sell for $279 with the company’s Speeder 57 shaft, which has a 0.350-inch diameter and is available in M, R, S and X flexes. A SLDR Mini TP ($379) will also be available. It comes with Fujikura’s Motore Speeder 7.3 Tour Spec shaft in R, S and X flexes and has a 0.335-inch diameter.
Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the SLDR Mini in our forum.
Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the SLDR Mini in our forum.
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- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird
With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.
On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.
Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?
Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’
So that’s why I went back.
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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?
It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.
Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.
It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.
Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.
Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.
So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?
Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?
Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.
There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.
It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.
Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.
And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?
Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’
If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’
My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’
I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”
And you’re going with it this week?
Hundred percent.
Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.
Thanks, man.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
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cmyktaylor
Jun 26, 2015 at 9:23 am
Just bought a used 14 degree Mini with a x-stiff Diamana blue shaft. I had been using a stock Taylormade Burner Superfast 1.0 3 wood (15 degree) with their stock stiff shaft to drive, but was looking for a little extra distance and a little extra control.
Found the perfect solution! The Mini is only one degree less loft, but with the stiffer and lower profile shaft, this doesn’t fly too high. The shaft is also the same length as the 3 wood, so it’s easy to control. I’ve never been able to keep up with my brothers-in-law when it comes to distance (285-300), but I don’t need to with this. I’d rather be 260-270 in the fairway (68% per golfshot) than in the woods.
I’m also able to hit the Mini driver off the deck, so my son just inherited my old Burner Superfast driver and 3 wood!
Fred
Aug 22, 2014 at 3:25 pm
Hey, I have one of these…it’s called a 975d!
Pingback: TaylorMade Driver Review - JetSpeed to Mini - The Golf Shop Online Blog - The Golf Shop Online Blog
Lee H
Apr 17, 2014 at 5:42 pm
I hit the mini SLDR today (14 degree model)…Great feel and easy to control for this 12-14 handicap. I am actually interested in hitting the 12 degree when it comes out, to replace my driver. My carry was about 10 yds further than my R1 with a similar launch. Only thing I did not like was the light 57 gram speeder shaft, which is what the standard SLDR uses as well. I think they could’ve offered it stock in 67 and then heavier in TP model.
Overall, a solid club. I love my 14.5 original RBZ Tour 3 wood. But I could see carry the 12 SLDR along with it.
steven hansen
Sep 2, 2014 at 2:18 pm
Well I bought the 12 regular shaft and cant hit it. Super clunky, I have a RBZ 17 hl and hit the pooooooh out of it, back to Dicks the 12 SLDR Mini goes
luke keefner
Apr 8, 2014 at 12:54 pm
wait for next spring and
buy it for $125
pk20152
Apr 9, 2014 at 7:09 am
Next spring? you mean next month… they’ll have it’s replacement out next week. Then it’s replacement’s replacement the week after….
luke keefner
Apr 21, 2014 at 6:24 pm
I stand corrected
Gary
Apr 8, 2014 at 11:17 am
I have to assume that since the length is 43 1/2″ that the head weight is the same as a #3 wood (210 grams). They have copied the same concept as Hireko Golf (component company) has had for the past 2 years in making a shorter length, heavier head weight, extra loft driver.
Yam
Apr 8, 2014 at 2:27 am
Why is it not adjustable???? That makes no sense whatever! What if I wanted to quickly try a different 3-wood shaft?
Brick
Apr 8, 2014 at 12:53 pm
It makes total sense….the adjustable version will be released in about 3 months when TMAG hits their forecasted benchmark in sales with this version…pretty smart business wise.
Mark
Apr 7, 2014 at 9:36 pm
Currently, there is no pre-order option for an x-stiff on the non-tp version. Hope they change this once the club is out. Would rather pay $280 than $380 for a large 3 wood.
Jim
Apr 7, 2014 at 4:56 pm
It does look good but probably not going go sell very many. I prefer the look of the ping rapture to all of the said mini drivers. But neither one is for me. Ill stick to my g25 driver 3 wood and 3 hybrid
steve
Apr 7, 2014 at 3:16 pm
I love sliders
steve
Apr 7, 2014 at 3:23 pm
260CC is the new driver size? Cool I am going to the garage and getting my 975d, 260cc also. I bet this thing can’t compare to my old 975d.
Larry
Apr 7, 2014 at 10:04 pm
I have a 15 year old Callaway Hawkeye driver that works fine as a “3” wood replacement…these club companines are really streching to make money to pay thier pros….
Lucas
Apr 8, 2014 at 7:36 am
Steve your an idiot.
Elliott
Apr 10, 2014 at 7:42 pm
Lucas, you should realllllllly work on your use of your and you’re when calling someone an idiot.
ya
Apr 8, 2014 at 6:35 pm
Don’t count on it…
David McCuiston
Apr 7, 2014 at 3:14 pm
Appears to be a big fairway wood that is hard to hit off the deck, available in 12 degree loft. Already done!
Even the pro was using a 10.5 degree that isn’t available.
Make the 10.5 or 9.5 degree fairway sized driver that is primarily for off the deck.
Jason
Apr 7, 2014 at 11:47 am
I don’t see this being a great seller.
Gerard
Apr 7, 2014 at 10:43 am
This is already available in Australia, I’ve hit it a few times and it does fly pretty damn well. Noticeably further than my 3 wood off the tee and easy to get up off the deck.
Not the biggest fan of the colour scheme though, leaves a bit to be desired I reckon.
David
Apr 7, 2014 at 2:58 pm
Can i ask what loft did you try? 14 or 12 degree?
Gerard
Apr 8, 2014 at 4:53 am
It was the 12 degree, really nice club. But it feels like more of a beefy 3 wood than a small driver.
David
Apr 8, 2014 at 11:19 am
Cool – thanks I’m going to order one today! Appreciate the feedback
Ben
Apr 7, 2014 at 10:09 am
looks like a B to try and take off the deck
J
Apr 7, 2014 at 10:08 am
3 – 400.00 for a fairway wood.
Way to help grow the game Taylormade…. You brazen hypocrits you!
Thumbs Up!!
joe doaks
Apr 7, 2014 at 10:29 am
What a ridiculous comment.
greg norm
Apr 7, 2014 at 10:34 am
Heads up! The days of it being cool to be hyper-critical of everything TaylorMade does have past. Your comment isn’t cool.
Jeff
Apr 7, 2014 at 10:49 am
No, it’s still cool. We haven’t even received our order of Jetspeed stuff and now the big stores are already offering ‘buy a Jetspeed Driver rcv a Jetspeed fwy wood or hybrid free’ deals.TM has no interest in the small guy.
Alex
Apr 7, 2014 at 6:22 pm
Fulfill your duties and keep tailor-made happy and you wouldn’t have an issue. I’m sure you jacked them around at one point and now they’re jacking you around. You need them more than they need you. Its sad you don’t realize that.
Alex
Apr 7, 2014 at 6:22 pm
TaylorMade**
Jeff
Apr 8, 2014 at 12:01 pm
Haha Alex….you seem to know it all. No, never jacked them around. Bills paid on time etc. Do we need them ? No. We sold more Titleist drivers last season than Callaway and Taylor Made combined. What’s more, we can still sell Titleists at the same price today as last year. The R1s we have are being sold at 50% off. I’m not saying Taylor Made is no good, just saying they are not interested in the smaller guys. Their prerogative I suppose.
Jeff
Apr 8, 2014 at 12:05 pm
On a side note, do you realize the absurdity of your comment ? The retailer is one of their customers. The customer is supposed to fulfill their duties and keep the manufacturer happy ??????
ya
Apr 8, 2014 at 6:37 pm
LOLs
c masty
Apr 7, 2014 at 10:07 am
Where’s the slider?
Matt
Apr 7, 2014 at 9:56 am
How does it compare to the ping rapture?
Sldr
Apr 7, 2014 at 8:54 am
Love the look of this