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Following up on the TaylorMade Loft UP+ Event


dru_

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As you may know, I got an opportunity the weekend before the Farmer's Insurance Open at Torrey Pines to go out to Carlsbad, CA to visit with some folks at TaylorMade along with 7 other lucky guys from the web forum MyGolfSpy. Before I go any further, I have to call out that group of guys as being a fantastic group of guys to do something like this with. Top to bottom, there was not a person in the group that I would not drop everything to go on a golf outing with. That said, this opportunity was less about those guys, and very much about TaylorMade, and what they are doing this year.

 

The Trip

 

This was not one of those events where it is planned long in advance. From the time I found out to the time I boarded a plane to California was about 6 days. In hindsight, this was probably a good thing, as the excitement had me pretty worthless for a few days there. But the trip, as it was presented was simply this, fly to California for a couple of days with some of TaylorMade's marketing and R&D folks, a round of golf and visit to Torrey Pines. Sounds good? I thought so too.

So it was that I found myself on a trip to visit TaylorMade HQ. Along the way I had some preconceived notions smashed to bits, and found myself seeing TaylorMade itself a little differently.

 

Preconceived Notions

  1. TaylorMade is a phenomenal marketing company with good drivers
  2. The SLDR is not much different/better than the R1
  3. My swing is anything but average
  4. Southern California is a really, really nice place to golf
  5. TaylorMade knows a thing or two about getting the Pro's

Most of these would be disabused. I think it is safe to say that 4 and 5 were confirmed. The rest? well, we have a lot to talk about.

 

Drinking the Kool-Aid

 

Obviously, going in I had a certain impression of TaylorMade. I fully expected that impression to be reinforced by this trip. The whole thing was nothing more than cheap ( by marketing standards ) publicity for their latest products. It would be very representative of exactly what we have come to expect from TaylorMade. All of us that follow MyGolfSpy have seen the experiences of GolfSpy T. We've all had our moments of, OMG another product launch with yet another ridiculous claim about distance.

 

Well, yes, that was what this was, and yet, it wasn't.

 

Arrival & Sunday Dinner

 

Upon arrival at the hotel, we met up with our host, a very affable marketing guy named Scott Frost. It was a Sunday evening dinner that was only slightly delayed by a bunch of us still in the bar catching the end of the Seahawks/49ers game. Scott was joined by a couple of engineers from the R&D group, and two things became quickly, and undeniably evident. One, nothing was off limits in the discussions, and though they wouldn't give many answers about future product roadmaps, there was a very candid nature to the responses about both current and recent product lines. Two, these guys love the game of golf, but they also believe in the products they are building. Dinner provided some great conversation, but all too soon we were headed to bed for a big day at The Kingdom, testing out all this new equipment that TaylorMade is putting out there.

 

Monday @ The Kingdom & Loft Up+

 

Heading to The Kingdom was interesting. I love golf, and am a confessed equipment technology junkie. Four hours at The Kingom fitting center with a group of fitters that have probably forgotten more about golf equipment than I will ever learn was quite honestly the most exciting part of the pre trip itenerary. Getting there only established more of the same. How serious about the technology are they? Not only do they have the tools we think of for Custom Fitting like a good launch monitor and the tools to match head/shaft/grip combo's to each player, they also have a full motion capture studio set up to observe the entire mechanics of the swing at a very high resolution. Even with all of that technology, these fitters put each one of us into the right setups before ever looking at launch monitor data, and used the launch data for verication and minor tweaking of details. Four hours with these guys, and all of the new Tour Preferred Irons, hitting the new Tour Preferred balls on the range, working with the SLDR and JetSpeed lines, as well as the SpeedBlade lines we got to visit and ask questions. Like the night before, the answers were often brutally unfiltered. This is a different group of people from dinner the night before, but the message was the same. Love the game, believe in the product.

 

Part of this process also led to something interesting, and disabused me of an assumption. I do hit down on the ball, but that is not terribly unusual. Even further, turns out that when it comes to TaylorMade irons, after trying and testing a huge cross section of custom options, bone stock was the best fit on the irons. Consider the notion that I am ‘Special' disabused. The second part of this process really upset my apple cart. The week before we went out there, I spent a couple of hours comparing the SLDR to the R1 at a local big box store and when I arrived at the Kingdom I had very low expectations of the SLDR beating the R1, much less doing so resoundingly.

 

Going through the fitting process, we learned quickly why TaylorMade is so eager to get people to Loft Up+, and the media event that we were to attend Monday night would only go to confirm what we saw. That media event was to be held on the driving range at Torrey Pines, so after the Kingdom, lunch and a short rest, we rode down to Torrey Pines for the event.

 

While I could write a thousand words about the event, watching the videos will certainly get you the gist, but let us focus on the important points: 17* @ 1700 RPM regardless of swing speed to maximize distance, SLDR with it's low-frontal center of gravity requires more face loft to accomplish the launch angle while still reducing the spin rates, and even with that, current technology cannot get most players there.

Sitting at the back of that presentation, the simple realisation of the problem TaylorMade faces with the market and SLDR is huge. For years golfers have been given an ideal launch that was too low and too high spin. We have been told to go low to go long, and the net results boil down to having to get people to even try a higher loft. I am up 2.5* after my fitting, and I may end up going even further as I adjust to this new launch window. Listening to the Pro's on stage echoed the same thing, but what is really compelling is the tail end of video one. When they hit a prototype driver head off a robot to 17* @ 1700 RPM using an average person swing speed, not tour pro, and get 290+ yards, that is really compelling. Until you have seen the results though, it is tough to overcome years of a different message.

 

Dinner after the media event was with more of the engineering folks and a couple of executives. Once again, there was a no limits conversation, that did include some comments that hint at direction, but more than that, there was humility in understanding where they have gone wrong in the last couple of years, as well as an understanding of the task at hand with delivering a new message. During this dinner though was another tidbit that really did not click until the flight home.

 

Tuesday @ HQ & Golf with Staff

 

After the dinner, we had alot to take in. Wednesday morning was a tour of TaylorMade HQ. While interesting on many levels, it was here that the overriding theme was really hammered home. Meeting more people around the building, talking to them, and seeing the facility, you understand the one thing that is hinted at in your interactions with TaylorMade, these people love the sport, and have a razor like focus on building the best performing product. With that focus comes a belief in the product that it is the best that permeates the marketing messages.

 

After the tour, we got to go out and actually play a round with several of the folks that had worked with us through the week. The common thread? though they came from all different departments, not a one of them came out without some game. Not only did they play, but they played well. It was eye opening, and the final peice in the puzzle as it were.

 

Wednesday @ Torrey Pines & Conclusions

 

After the prior 3 days, Wednesday was a casual walk of Torrey Pines during the Pro Am and lunch while most of the group headed to the airport at various times. It was a casual morning, and a great meal but really was a few hours of downtime while every went their seperate ways. Being east coast based, I ended up staying the night and flying out early Thursday, so I played 9 holes wednesday afternoon before heading to bed for my flight. At that point, I just sort of switched ‘off' for a few hours.

Thursday however, was a 6 hour flight with little to do but pull the pieces together. The pieces eventually form a picture. That picture is not the picture I imagined at all. It is however a picture that perfectly fits the peronsality of the people, and more to the point, it clarifies why outsiders see them they way they do. TaylorMade is a marketing company, and they are very good at what they do, but that is not in fact who they are, it is a byproduct of how they are wired. The marketing came second, and it is required by the who and how of their DNA. When you talk to the people, as people, not part of a collective that is TaylorMade, you find out that a huge percentage of them are not just golfers, but rabid, avid active golfers. Most of them played team sports at some point, often at a high level. As a rule, they are or were, jocks. Team oriented type A personalities that are driven not only to succeed, but for their team to win. Today, their team is TaylorMade, and in their world, TaylorMade will perform at it's best in order to win. It is reflected in the products, but also in the very fabric of how they market. Facts are great, and they spin facts well, but what makes the marketing messages compelling is the passion of belief. They already know they have a winner, and they want you to know it too.

 

That is the compelling bit, this is not a scrappy little company fighting to survive. They have clawed their way to the top in several golf markets. Dominating drivers, strong iron presence, growing ball and putter markets, and yet, they are unwilling to coast. That simply isn't in the genetics. This is a company of people that may have already won last years game, but this year? next year? 10 years from now? In sports, they would be looking to build a dynasty. Based upon the people we met, I would argue that they have the foundations of one, but there remain some scrappy players out there willing to give them a run for the title.

Dru - Owner, President & Janitor, Druware Software Designs

RH 13.1 Handicap in soggy Georgia 

WITB
* 1W 10.5* @ PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 3W PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff ) 
* 5W 18* Tailor-made AeroBurner ( Stock Stiff )
* 7W  Sub70 949x ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 5i-PW @ PXG 0211 ( Gen 1 )
* 52 @ Hogan Equalizer
* 56 @ Sub70 
* 60 @ Hogan Equalizer
* Carbon Ringo 1/4
* Vice Pro Plus

 

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Awesome write up Dru.  That last part reads like a roadmap for any company that wants to succeed.  Passion for your chosen industry helps drive success.  As the poet said, "when love and need are one..."

 

What's in the bag:
 
Driver:  :titelist-small:TSR3; :wilson_staff_small: DynaPWR Carbon
FW Wood: :wilson_staff_small: DynaPWR 3-wood; :titleist-small: TSR 2+
Hybrids:  PXG Gen4 18-degree
Utility Irons: :srixon-small: ZX MkII 20* 
Irons:;  :Sub70:699/699 Pro V2 Combo; :wilson_staff_small: D9 Forged;  :macgregor-small:MT86 (coming soon!); :macgregor-small: VIP 1025 V-Foil MB/CB; 

Wedges:  :cleveland-small: RTX6 Zipcore
Putter: :cleveland-small: HB Soft Milled 10.5;  :scotty-small: Newport Special Select;  :edel-golf-1:  Willamette,  :bettinardi-small: BB8; :wilson-small: 8802; MATI Monto

Ball: :bridgestone-small: Tour B RXS; :srixon-small: Z-STAR Diamond; :wilson_staff_small: Triad

Stat Tracker/GPS Watch: :ShotScope:


 
Follow @golfspybarbajo

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Great write up Dru, makes me want to go back and do it all over again.

Driver:   :callaway-small: Epic 10.5 set to 9.5 w/ Tour AD-DI 44.5

FW:   :cobra-small: F6 baffler set at 16º

Hybrid:  NONE
Irons:   :taylormade-small:  3i 2014 TP CB  4-PW 2011 TP MC w/ TT S400

Wedges:   :nike-small: 52º :nike-small: 56º  :edel-golf-1: 60 º w/ KBS C-Taper XS Soft-stepped

Putter:   :ping-small: Sigma G Tyne 34 inches Gold dot

 

 

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I really do miss California. Can't remember the last time I saw the sun at this point.

 

Plus hanging out with MGS'ers is way more fun than anyone would expect. Any chance you have to get to one of the various Opens, get there!

 

 

Well there is sun on the East Coast - I just was outside on my cell phone.  It's 78 and sunny here.

 

Great write up Dru - you let us experience what you experienced through your pen.

 

Thanks!

 

Can't wait for my SLDR to get here so that I can have at it.

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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Excellent write up, Dru.  You did leave out one important item though.....you got to play with the legend himself at La Costa. :D

 

I figured that since that was the day that culminated with a Facebook post about how I drank too much that day and a 6am 4 mile run through the neighborhood above the resort to get that stuff out of my system, it probably didn't need mentioning.  Besides, I didn't want to leave HighFade an opportunity to brag that he beat you :)

Dru - Owner, President & Janitor, Druware Software Designs

RH 13.1 Handicap in soggy Georgia 

WITB
* 1W 10.5* @ PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 3W PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff ) 
* 5W 18* Tailor-made AeroBurner ( Stock Stiff )
* 7W  Sub70 949x ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 5i-PW @ PXG 0211 ( Gen 1 )
* 52 @ Hogan Equalizer
* 56 @ Sub70 
* 60 @ Hogan Equalizer
* Carbon Ringo 1/4
* Vice Pro Plus

 

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Okay the beat down aside can we go back to that higher window for a bit.  You guys have mentioned that a few times throughout your posts.  When I demo'd the 10.5 it was noticably higher than my current driver but nothing so obnoxious that I'd have trouble getting used to it.  I've demo'd a 12 but not outside, only into a net, so it's harder to tell.

 

How high should I be looking for?  Something that appears uncomfortable until it hits and bounces?  The 10'5 launched high but flattened and stayed in the air for quite some time - it flew to where my current driver runs out.  I couldn't really see how well it bounced and rolled because it went over the crest of a ridge.

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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You don't see it until you are out in the open, but when you hit the ball, your initial reaction is that it rises fast, more like what you expect from a well struck 6 or 7i and then it just stays up there in this pretty, long arc.  Really deceptive, and it takes some adjustment.  I have depth perception issues to start with, so the first few times I saw this, I was certain that I popped it up off the crown, but then I see where the ball comes down and have a WTH moment.

Dru - Owner, President & Janitor, Druware Software Designs

RH 13.1 Handicap in soggy Georgia 

WITB
* 1W 10.5* @ PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 3W PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff ) 
* 5W 18* Tailor-made AeroBurner ( Stock Stiff )
* 7W  Sub70 949x ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 5i-PW @ PXG 0211 ( Gen 1 )
* 52 @ Hogan Equalizer
* 56 @ Sub70 
* 60 @ Hogan Equalizer
* Carbon Ringo 1/4
* Vice Pro Plus

 

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Did any of all y'all hit the Jetspeed, or was it 24 / 7 SLDR?

 

:titleist-small: TSr2 on tensi blue stiff

:cobra-small: Speedzone 3-wood on Tensi blue S

:callaway-logo-1: Epic Max 5 and 7 woods on HZRDUS  Reg flex

:callaway-logo-1: Paradym 9 wood on HZRDUS reg flex

:taylormade-small: P770 / P790 combo set on Ventus R-6 shafts 6-AW

:mizuno-small:  T22 Denim Copper 54°, 58° on Kinetic X Trajectory 

:EVNROLL: ER3 or,

:edel-golf-1: E.A.S. #4   (“Fang” or “Adele”)
 

:titelist-small: ProV1x, or, Maxfli Tour X

:callaway-small: .Org 14 cart bag

Adidas Tour 360 , or Sketcher shoes

 

 

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Somehow I missed this write up Dru. Great job. How'd you remember it all with so much alcohol in your system?

There is no spoon.

WITB
TaylorMade M3
Callaway Diablo 15°
Callaway Diablo 18°
Callaway Steelhead XR Pro 4-W
Mizuno TP-4 50, 54, 58
TaylorMade Rossa Monza Spyder

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Somehow I missed this write up Dru. Great job. How'd you remember it all with so much alcohol in your system?

That's the key

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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That's the key

 

Funny thing is this is more true that I should admit.  What the people that weren't there have probably guessed at this point is that I am not usually a heavy drinker.  I rarely have more than 2 drinks in a week.  Tuesday, I covered my weekly intake for two months. Easily. VERY easily, I probably covered a 3rd month too, with enough padding to scare the fourth month too. 

 

Fortunately, I am not a morose drunk. I tend to get louder, and since I don't generally have many limits or inhibitions sober, let's just say that the boundaries that might normally exist didn't by the time the evening wound down.  Add to that, I simply lack the genetic makeup to even feel embarrassment, the fact that I had splashed water down the front of my shirt meant about nothing to me.  HighFade has an absolutely hysterical picture of drunk me that he is gentleman enough to have not shared to this point (truth is, he can, it is all in good fun).

 

That said, my hangover cure was to get up at 4:45AM, put on my running shoes and go for a 3.5 mile run through the neighborhood above the resort. ( some fantastic homes up there ). For someone that was well and truly hammered Tuesday night when we made it to our rooms, I would note that I was in no way ill effected Wednesday morning :)

Dru - Owner, President & Janitor, Druware Software Designs

RH 13.1 Handicap in soggy Georgia 

WITB
* 1W 10.5* @ PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 3W PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff ) 
* 5W 18* Tailor-made AeroBurner ( Stock Stiff )
* 7W  Sub70 949x ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 5i-PW @ PXG 0211 ( Gen 1 )
* 52 @ Hogan Equalizer
* 56 @ Sub70 
* 60 @ Hogan Equalizer
* Carbon Ringo 1/4
* Vice Pro Plus

 

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Err. 5:45, not 4:45

Dru - Owner, President & Janitor, Druware Software Designs

RH 13.1 Handicap in soggy Georgia 

WITB
* 1W 10.5* @ PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 3W PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff ) 
* 5W 18* Tailor-made AeroBurner ( Stock Stiff )
* 7W  Sub70 949x ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 5i-PW @ PXG 0211 ( Gen 1 )
* 52 @ Hogan Equalizer
* 56 @ Sub70 
* 60 @ Hogan Equalizer
* Carbon Ringo 1/4
* Vice Pro Plus

 

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If you could market that you'd be a wealthy man.

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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If you could market that you'd be a wealthy man.

 

It's not really a big secret. If you ever notice, people that are working out regularly (more than 1k calories per day fitness burn) metabolize alcohol faster than those that don't. It isn't something often looked at, but between the over hydration that goes with the fitness level (ask those guys how often they saw me without a water bottle in my hand) and the metabolism...  Well, you get the picture

Dru - Owner, President & Janitor, Druware Software Designs

RH 13.1 Handicap in soggy Georgia 

WITB
* 1W 10.5* @ PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 3W PXG 0211 ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff ) 
* 5W 18* Tailor-made AeroBurner ( Stock Stiff )
* 7W  Sub70 949x ( HZRDUS Smoke Black X-Stiff )
* 5i-PW @ PXG 0211 ( Gen 1 )
* 52 @ Hogan Equalizer
* 56 @ Sub70 
* 60 @ Hogan Equalizer
* Carbon Ringo 1/4
* Vice Pro Plus

 

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