Equipment
Spotted: TaylorMade’s 2017 M1 Fairway Woods and Hybrids
A slot and a sliding weight? That’s what we’re seeing in a photo of a new TaylorMade M1 fairway wood, which is making the rounds in our forum after being posted on Instagram by an account associated with custom club maker TourQualityGolf in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
The photo of the fairway wood, which presumably is part of TaylorMade’s 2017 line, has the same graphics and color scheme as the M1 460 driver that appeared yesterday on social media.
The photo of the new driver was revealing because it indicates that TaylorMade will use more carbon fiber in the design of its 2017 drivers. While the new M1 fairway wood does not appear to use carbon fiber in the same way, there are some noteworthy changes.
For one, the fairway wood’s sliding-weight track has been moved to the rear of the sole. In previous models, the M1 and the R15, a front weight track was used. According to TaylorMade, the front weight track created a low, forward center of gravity that encouraged the high-launching, low-spinning ball flight most golfers want from a fairway wood. With the weight track moved rearward, it’s clear that TaylorMade has found other means of moving the necessary amount of weight low and forward in the clubhead.
The rearward weight track also allowed TaylorMade to add a slot to the front of the club sole, a design strategy the company has been employing since its debut of the RBZ fairway woods in 2011. The slot is of the flat, handle bar-shaped variety used on TaylorMade’s M1 hybrids that were released in 2015. It is said to increase the flexibility of a club face, leading to increased ball speed, a higher launch angle and reduced spin, particularly on shots contacted low on the club face.
A photo of TaylorMade’s 2017 M1 hybrid posted in our forum by user Ricky Ross shows that the company’s new hybrids will likely take the same approach as the company’s new fairway woods. It also appears to employ a rear sliding weight track and a flat, handle bar-shaped slot on the front of the sole.
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Whats in the Bag
Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)
- 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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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
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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suhdude
Nov 14, 2016 at 2:12 pm
taylorlame. sorry bruh.
Rimjob
Nov 3, 2016 at 3:05 am
The slot of the Jetspeed with the added adjustability. Best of both worlds. These are gonna be heaters
Mats B
Nov 2, 2016 at 6:33 am
One of the first Equipment signs that Adidas and Nike are discussing an Equipment deal with Nike as a new owner of Taylor Made. Look at the yellow/green colour of the 1 in M1. Same och very simular to the one used by Nike. The fact that McIlroy and Koepka has made a move to Taylor Made Woods is just adding to the fact that soon Taylor Made will be under new wings…..
Rimjob
Nov 2, 2016 at 2:19 pm
Nah. But this comment is an indication that you’re an idiot
Yawn
Nov 2, 2016 at 9:54 pm
Cut n pasting your own dribble?
Good effort.
TomyD
Nov 3, 2016 at 2:41 am
It’s Lime not Volt… and why would they stop golf equipment to focus on clothes/shoes and buy a equipment brand few weeks later which is on sale for the same reason they cut their production… make no sense.
Mats B
Nov 3, 2016 at 6:32 pm
Tomy,
Who knows!? There’s more than one way to get to the Top! After 15 years of trying to be one of the big brands without being successful even though they had one of the greatest Sport stars in their team and then went on to sign McIlroy without any added success. I guess then it’s time for a change of direction. Even though Taylor Made has flooded the market with new equipment launches, using a 6 months lifetime cycle, they still remain in the very front edge of performance, especially on their woods, where they outperform most, if not all of the competition…..no further explanation needed….Adidas has had it for sale for quite some time now and I think it’s getting to a point where they have to let it go for a bargain, compared to what they expected. I think that Nike has made their fair share of calculations and this can be the right time to make a move and get straight to the Top, quicker and with a lot less effort than continuing to knock their own head’s into a concrete wall! I guess we’ll have to wait and see!? I may be wrong!? But I wouldn’t be surprised if Nike will be involved somehow in Taylor Made in the future. 🙂
FNM
Nov 2, 2016 at 2:43 am
I am going to murder that 3wood, I know I will
JThunder
Nov 2, 2016 at 12:36 am
Actually M1 was just over a year ago, and M2 was end of Jan 2016. That’s only “dialed back” for TM, still fast for anyone else.
Clay
Nov 1, 2016 at 10:45 pm
That hybrid looks awful. I was looking for words like Talor-Fit. It looks like a Chinese knock off of an actual hybrid.
M1 Smizzle
Nov 1, 2016 at 4:31 pm
They look sweet!
rechlo67
Nov 1, 2016 at 1:47 pm
If that 3 wood has a combination between the M2 (front slot) and M1 (track) that thing is going to be ridiculously hot.
G
Nov 2, 2016 at 12:17 pm
I agree it will be super hot
Dat
Nov 1, 2016 at 11:35 am
M1 Hybrids are gonna require a clean pick of the ball…if you have a less than ideal strike or lie the weight track will be a mud track.
Chris
Nov 1, 2016 at 11:20 am
Any idea if the weight on the sliding weights is heavier or lighter than the 2016 M1?
Greg
Nov 1, 2016 at 2:51 pm
Yes
mitch
Nov 1, 2016 at 9:55 am
why do they need new woods out already! they just keep flooding the market!
Sean
Nov 1, 2016 at 10:02 am
If they dont release until after the pga show the driver would have had a full two year cycle. Callaway and other companies have flooded more in that time period. Just saying
Alan
Nov 1, 2016 at 10:39 am
How can it be a full 2 year cycle when the original M1 was unveiled and launched in September 2015?
Shooters Tour
Nov 1, 2016 at 10:42 am
…word.
cgasucks
Nov 1, 2016 at 10:09 am
They’ve actually dialed back the release frequency. The last time they debuted new woods was a year ago and will continue to dial back its offerings, especially since it’s up for sale and don’t want to scare off any potential buyers that they’re back to their old ways (which got them in trouble in the first place).
rolltherock
Nov 1, 2016 at 10:36 am
Calm down Mitch
SteveID
Nov 1, 2016 at 12:04 pm
Mitch, does it affect you at all?
mitch
Nov 1, 2016 at 12:24 pm
I guess time just flies and it seems like it has not been as long that they have been out idk..