Equipment

TaylorMade M1 Tour driver heads enter The Vault

Published

11 years ago

Nov 17, 2015

The Vault at TaylorMade features one-off, limited-run and prototype equipment from the company that become available for purchase.

The latest entries are TaylorMade M1 430 and 460 Tour heads, which will be available in “very limited quantities” on Thursday, Nov. 19, and will cost $800 apiece.

According to TaylorMade, the driver heads will have a “+” symbol to ensure it’s been COR tested and the loft, lie and weight have been marked by technicians at the company’s Tour department. Each head will come with a metal shaft sleeve and a head cover.

See photos of an M1 460 Tour head below, and for more information from TaylorMade click here.

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38 Comments

Marcel

Feb 21, 2017 at 6:34 pm

Can anybody explain to me the different shortcuts written on the head?

Lie, Loft, Weight and CT is pretty clear to me but what about FA, RA1 and RA2?
FA could be the Face angle but i am not shure. Are they really all open at adress?

Thanks!

Reply Report comment
rymail00

Dec 10, 2015 at 8:58 am

Has anyone ever bought anything from The Vault? I’m not interested in getting anything but was always wondering if they let you pick weird and in between lofts like say 9* instead of the stock 8.5* and 9.5*? Or is it you say what stock loft you want and then they just send you any head spec’d close to your stock loft pick?

The last Ping driver I bought, the Rapture V2, they’d let you pick any loft and ask for a head that was slightly open and I believe they charged only like $7-10 extra to find you loft you wanted that wasn’t stock.

Reply Report comment
SAm

Nov 23, 2015 at 10:31 am

I actually think I was given a tour head by TM when i complained about the delay on delivery for my M1.

It has the + symbol on the neck, and it also has the weight number stamped onto the moveable weights – none of the others in the shop did.

Reply Report comment
Danny G

Nov 20, 2015 at 11:29 am

Just get an M1 hat. That will for sure add an extra MPH in ball speed. Find your self with a tour issued M1 hat and the sky’s the limit. Who wants to be that person that has to explain to the whole group that their club it “tour issue” and that’s why they are a yard in front. Get a proper fit don’t fall for the marketing.

Reply Report comment
Bob

Nov 20, 2015 at 2:18 am

$800 for a head with accurate specs! Just buy JDM

Reply Report comment
Nothing

Nov 19, 2015 at 10:34 pm

I have a bunch of friends on staff with Taylormade, so I get my hands on tour issue stuff….the only difference between tour issue clubs and retail clubs is the specs are a little tighter (like loft) and the face angles are open. Otherwise, the only difference is when they crack, you can’t get them replaced.

Reply Report comment
Lee

Nov 18, 2015 at 3:44 pm

I just love the way the Pro’s hit the M1 as far into the sh*t as the R15, SLDR et all. What an absolute hopelessly, desperate piece of marketing which surely nobody believes. We all know TM is in trouble but this is shameful!!

Reply Report comment
Reeves

Nov 18, 2015 at 2:30 pm

I hope all you see that when you pay $400 for a Taylormade (or any OM club) what you are getting is a COPY of what tour players use….maybe Knockoffs and off brand clubs will look a little better to everyone when you consider that is what you are buying with the OM name on it??????

Reply Report comment
- john
  
  Nov 18, 2015 at 6:34 pm
  
  lol they’re not knockoffs – you obviously don’t work in the industry or know anything about it, have you even played golf before? here is the difference for you (bar bubba and tiger who have their own custom driver designs), ones on the shelf have a much bigger tolerance for COR, loft & weight (inc. swing weight) – the Tour guys get 50 of these and pick the ones that max at 0.83 COR and have an exact loft (say 9.1 degrees or 8.7 degrees) that the player in question requires. This extra testing if put on a club for a muppet like yourself would be a COMPLETE AND UTTER WASTE OF MONEY – you can’t hit the center of the face in 100 tries, so why bother adding another $150 worth of labor to your club?
  Anyway, bash away my zero knowledge friend.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - scott
    
    Nov 19, 2015 at 9:29 pm
    
    yep he’s a little over the top with the comment but $500 bucks for a driver is the real joke in six months it’ll be half that price, six more months half thats price. So is this years model $500 dollar better then last years ? Only if you want it to be
    
    Reply Report comment
  - golfbum
    
    Nov 20, 2015 at 12:17 pm
    
    Let me get this straight? A person comments on a golf site and ask, wait let me get the quote marks right….”have you even played golf before?” So you just discounted your ability to have any knowledge on this subject. Then you go on to insult this person with the following: “This extra testing if put on a club for a muppet like yourself would be a COMPLETE AND UTTER WASTE OF MONEY – you can’t hit the center of the face in 100 tries, so why bother adding another $150 worth of labor to your club?”….I think I quoted you correctly, no?
    
    So, John, if would, please provide your USGA GHIN #….so that we can see how many times you hit the center of the club face?
    
    Reply Report comment
Christestrogen

Nov 18, 2015 at 10:03 am

I bought a tour vault sldr last year on eBay for $129….saw no difference…
It was pretty cool to have all the little measurements hand written but other than that it was seemingly the same….at least IMHO
-Christosterone

Reply Report comment
- Reeves
  
  Nov 18, 2015 at 2:36 pm
  
  Had one chance to hit a Pro Players driver (it was a Taylor Made and fit for him out of the tour van) If you ever can try it, the club was so well balanced it made my driver feel like a cave mans club. It showed me that it was not just the parts it was the guys that put them together.
  
  Reply Report comment
blake

Nov 18, 2015 at 9:36 am

I have a tour issue r9 supertri v2 and it is miles different than the retail version. Mine is 440 cc, deeper face, and launches/spins the ball a lot lower that the retail counterpart. Don’t know about the M1 but there is definitely a difference in my personal experience with gaming retail vs. tour issue.

Reply Report comment
- Carlos Danger
  
  Nov 18, 2015 at 12:53 pm
  
  So…you basically have a Superdeep?
  
  Reply Report comment
  - blake
    
    Nov 18, 2015 at 1:11 pm
    
    not nearly as deep in the face. just a little deeper than the retail supertri but certainly more left/right forgiveness on the face than the SD. plus it has three adjustable weights as compared to only two on the superdeep. also the head shape/profile is different from the superdeep. so, basically, NO. Not the same at all
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Carlos Danger
      
      Nov 18, 2015 at 2:05 pm
      
      but basically…
      
      Reply Report comment
      - blake
        
        Nov 18, 2015 at 2:33 pm
        
        basically what? not even really sure what you are refuting here.
        
        Reply Report comment
        
        Carlos Danger
        
        Nov 18, 2015 at 3:36 pm
        
        exactly
        
        Reply Report comment
        
        christian
        
        Nov 20, 2015 at 4:00 am
        
        Basically, as in they are both driver heads?
        
        Reply Report comment
        
        blake
        
        Nov 20, 2015 at 3:21 pm
        
        they are both black. so he has me there…
- blake
  
  Nov 18, 2015 at 2:47 pm
  
  and i am in now way endorsing spending $800 for a driver head. These will cost $150-200 on the Wrx BST by summer. If you have to play tour issue, for whatever reason, buy a release cycle behind for a fraction of the price.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Rick
  
  Nov 19, 2015 at 12:05 am
  
  I too have an R9 Supertri v2 also. I would say the face is not noticeably larger than a stock 460cc head, but certainly the body is much more a bulbous delta shape that gives the Supertri its name. Is the face tall like a Super Deep, no.
  
  The v2 performance is perfect for my game. Actual TM provided a CT number and an aftermarket CT test. The measured TM CT is 248 and therefore is a tour legal usable head, what makes it unique is the CT measured slightly high and toe of the tour measuring point results in a 256. Its Lie is 61.1*, Loft 9.3*, Face Angle Open 3.75*. Hot Melt Weight 202.7, Slope of 3.2 and a CI of 1.76. I do not know what the slope and CI indicate.
  
  The club performs as well or better than all drivers I have used and or demo’d except an explosive 975J that cracked early in the century.
  
  The Supertri R9 v2 was and is the best $225 driver investment I have made over the past 20 years. The club recently aided another subpar round.
  
  I would recommend the purchase of a tour head if it has a CT above 244, 257/258 is maximum allowable.
  
  Reply Report comment
Charlie

Nov 18, 2015 at 9:28 am

If I take a retail head, get it measured and stamp a ‘+’ on it, can I command $800 for it?

Reply Report comment
Billy

Nov 18, 2015 at 1:48 am

Aren’t they still made in China or in Carlsbad, CA?

Reply Report comment
Ryan

Nov 18, 2015 at 1:30 am

Low CT rejects is what they are. Why aren’t they on the tour van ? Why is the CT rating covered up ? Exactly..

Reply Report comment
- ltd
  
  Nov 18, 2015 at 3:12 am
  
  yepper
  
  Reply Report comment
- Charlie
  
  Nov 18, 2015 at 9:21 am
  
  Or high CT, doubtful though.
  
  Reply Report comment
- LorenRobertsFan
  
  Nov 18, 2015 at 10:15 am
  
  Exactly my thoughts
  
  Reply Report comment
- Scott
  
  Nov 18, 2015 at 12:34 pm
  
  Since I do not know what CT means, this head is not for me.
  
  Reply Report comment
- john
  
  Nov 18, 2015 at 6:36 pm
  
  that is a great point lol, $800 for a driver that’s got CT blacked out
  
  Reply Report comment
SB

Nov 18, 2015 at 1:00 am

It’s expansive but still a good offering. Did you have the opportunity to play two exact same drivers and had the feeling that one performs much better?! The tour editions are always duly checked and are more consistent. Still 800$ for head I agree 😉

Reply Report comment
Brian

Nov 17, 2015 at 10:37 pm

They will make the average hacker exactly $800 lighter.

Reply Report comment
mike

Nov 17, 2015 at 9:33 pm

none

Reply Report comment
Mark

Nov 17, 2015 at 9:21 pm

$800 for a head. Seriously. What, if any difference will these heads make to the average player?

Reply Report comment
- COGolfer
  
  Nov 17, 2015 at 11:06 pm
  
  The difference would be found in $800 worth of lessons.
  
  This sort of thing comes up in cycling as well. Should you spend an extra grand on a bike that weighs a pound less or could you stand to lose a few on your person…
  
  Reply Report comment
  - John Triscott
    
    Nov 18, 2015 at 12:14 pm
    
    Great comparison.
    
    This is the same thing as Tour Issue DG Shafts. They are just thoroughly checked. More for the peace of mind for the golfer, in this case, a PGA Tour player.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Rick
      
      Nov 19, 2015 at 12:12 am
      
      No, a CT driver with less than 258 conforms to the rules of golf. Professionals cannot use non CT measured drivers.
      
      Regarding shafts, I would imagine they are hand sorted and set batched so players have a stash to back up their playing set should one snap.
      
      Reply Report comment

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