TMAG SLDR at the 1/4 Pole

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

It has taken a while for the Minnesota golf season to get started, but here it is June already, and the overall golf game is stuck in neutral.

 

The “Hack To Jack” program has been a ton of fun, and the regular group lessons have been helpful, but so far the actual golf results have not been stellar.  Have only broken 90 twice (but then again, I only have 8 rounds in the books!), and ball striking has been off and on, mostly off…

 

After winning the SLDR in the MGS “Most Wanted Driver” contest in February, I was excited to get this bad boy out on the course and see what it could do.  Had some pretty solid launch monitor numbers with it in March, so I was ready to let the bombing begin.

 

Well…

 

So far, my work with the SLDR has been a mix between short-range mortar and an occasional Howitzer, with a stray popgun shot thrown in for good measure.

 

Some highlights: 

 

First round of the year was in Seattle while on business.  Hit a missile on the second hole that just keep flying.  I'm sure there would have been some substantial roll, but 2 days of soaking rain gave the fairway other ideas.  After a few holes, however, I fell into a pattern of shots that felt and sounded solid, had the same trajectory as the missile, but maxed out at around 200 yards. 

 

This pattern of 200-yard drives with the occasional bomb has been pretty consistent all spring.  The SLDR is a fairway finder, that's for sure, but I have been getting somewhat frustrated with the relative lack of distance.

 

At a recent Hack To Jack lesson I was able to get on TrackMan for about a half dozen swings and found that while my AOA was a relatively consistent +3.5 to 4*, whenever my swing was out-to-in the spin rate would blast into the stratosphere – resulting in a harmless pop-gun blast – with either a straight, very high ball flight or else a very, very high fade.  Launch angles were around 19-to-22 degrees (I have a 12* head), which made me think about “Lofting Down.”

 

After some work on ball-placement, set-up and grip, I did have some better results during a 9-hole quickie yesterday.  Had several shots in the fairway in the 255-270 yard range which, given my swing speed (95-97mph), may be about as good as I can do.

 

The SLDR is an interesting club – compared to the R1 I gamed last year it's a much better feeling club when struck on center.  With the R1 off-center and dead-center hits felt pretty much the same – the only way to really know if you hit the sweet spot (for me, anyway), was by sound.  With the SLDR, when you catch it, you know.  And like I said earlier, it desperately wants to stay in the fairway (unless you have the dreaded pull-hook.  Then it goes a very, very long way into the woods).

 

My conclusions at this point in the season:

 

1.     I'm committed to the SLDR – have put the R1 up for sale on Craig's List. 

2.     On a great swing, the SLDR gives great results

3.     For me, anything less than great leaves me an awfully long way from the green.

4.     Sound, feel and ball flight (except for distance) appear to be identical with a great swing and a less than great swing.  Thought I've pulverized a few only to find the ball in the 200-210 range. 

 

I have the stock shaft, and am considering getting fit for a custom shaft in the coming weeks.  Continuing work with the pros from the Hack To Jack program should help, as well. 

 

So, who else is gaming an SLDR and what are your experiences so far this season?

[Mr_Theoo]

Still gaming mine and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Got refitted and ended up doing down in loft to 10.5 as well as changed the shaft and it's brought some serious life back into

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Still gaming mine and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Got refitted and ended up doing down in loft to 10.5 as well as changed the shaft and it's brought some serious life back into

 

Were you at 12*?  What shaft did you have and what did you change to?

[Mr_Theoo]

Were you at 12*? What shaft did you have and what did you change to?

I had a 12° head set to 11.5. I had the tour ad-di 7x and switch to a project X blue 6.0.

[fozcycle]

_{I like the Project X shafts......they come out a bit stiffer than the ratings and keep me in the fairway.}

 

_{Ordered my Cobras with the PXV}

[revkev]

I've commented on my SLDR elsewhere but I'm having somewhat similar results to yours in that it's a huge fairway finder for me.  I also agree that it is much easier to tell misshits from solid hits as oppossed to the R11s.

 

Different is that I find my misshits don't loose as much distance as you're describing.  I basically have three types of shots with the SLDR - the flush, the slight misshit and the misshit - the first two fly the same way about 5 yards differently - the third flies lower and about 15 to 20 yards shorter - still straight though.

 

As I'm working with my teacher I'm anxious to get to driver and fool with the settings under a watchful eye and with a launch monitor.  I'm still finding that 12 degrees and two clicks towards fade seem to work best for me.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

I've gone from slight fade bias to neutral with mostly good results Rev, but the distance differences are still baffling to me.  Both feel flush, but I'm sure the more out-to-in my path is the more spin is imparted and the shorter the travel time.  That said, I've hit bombs with fades, draws and straight shots.  The pop-gun shots are mostly fades or straight.  Trajectory looks the same, it's just a shorter walk to get to them….

[hckymeyer]

I've probably got around 20 rounds in with my SLDR now, however only about 4 or so have been in "warm" weather.  I'm really holding off on distance comments until I can play a few more times in actual summer types of temperatures.  So far though I'm very pleased.  I've hit some absolute bombs (for me) with it and overall I feel like my mis-hits are better.  I don't notice as much distance loss or left/right variance on misses as I have with previous clubs.  I've also had a few that I hit and immediate though "missed that one" but then get out there and it's as far or farther than a well struck shot.

 

I haven't tinkered with the club at all since getting fit at the Kingdom and it's not coming out of my bag any time soon.

[JBones]

I've been demolishing courses with my SLDR.  I've been hitting fairways at a clip of 80% and at an average of about 310, which includes a season long 373 last round (GPS and laser measured).  My home course is a little over 7200yds and I have brought it to it's knees with the SLDR.  I've shaved two strokes off my average, due to the blend of distance and accuracy, dropping to a 74.6 scoring average on the season.  So, needless to say, it won't be leaving my bag anytime in the near future.

[revkev]

I've been demolishing courses with my SLDR.  I've been hitting fairways at a clip of 80% and at an average of about 310, which includes a season long 373 last round (GPS and laser measured).  My home course is a little over 7200yds and I have brought it to it's knees with the SLDR.  I've shaved two strokes off my average, due to the blend of distance and accuracy, dropping to a 74.6 scoring average on the season.  So, needless to say, it won't be leaving my bag anytime in the near future.

 Unless I find it in the trunk of your car and make an extraction.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

 Unless I find it in the trunk of your car and make an extraction.

 

Mine might need an exorcism, Rev.  Do  you do those?

[revkev]

Mine might need an exorcism, Rev.  Do  you do those?

Yes I do send it to me and I will be glad to take care of it.

[JBones]

 Unless I find it in the trunk of your car and make an extraction.

You won't, it sleeps between my wife and I. LOL

[markb]

I revisited the SLDR today, something I thought I would never do, but a buddy wanted to unload his 12 degree 460 for $200. I can sell it on Ebay for more than that, so I bought it.

Backstory: I bought a 9.5 degree 460 back in August of last year and hated it. I couldn't get it off the deck even when I dialed up to eleven. I didn't find the face very forgiving and many shots just came off feeling dead. But this was before the whole "Loft up" campaign, which got me thinking that maybe I was playing the wrong loft.

Cut to today. Still have a SLDR version of my Opti's shaft, so that factor is the same. Took it to the range for a big bucket side by side with my Opti, set it to 12 and slight draw. It was just fine. Ball flight looked normal, forgiveness felt normal. It didn't look particularly long, so I took it out to the course for a quick 9, hitting two balls on each hole. Hit 5 of 6 fairways, 2 drives measured 295 to 300, and it tied the Opti winning 3 drives each. 2 other SLDR drives were hit badly, I thought, but they skidded out with that low spin to 250 to 270. It sounded a little tinny and you can really feel the mishits, but I felt pretty confident with it.

I'm not ready to dump the Opti, but I can't really complain about the SLDR anymore.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Time for an update --

 

Went to Spokane on business last week and rented clubs.  The set had an ooolllld Cleveland Launcher with a shaft I had never heard of - and I was mashing the thing long and straight - my best were every bit as long as the SLDR's best, and the rest were very good - better than the pop-gun shots.  So being a "ho," it was off to eBay...

 

Went to a group lesson for the Hack To Jack program when I returned, and discussed my SLDR woes with the pro.  He told me what I already knew somewhere -- the SLDR with the stock shaft just wasn't right for me.  Kept trying for consistency but it just wasn't coming -- so on the way home I went to the local 2nd Swing Golf store in Minnetonka to see about a different shaft.  We tried a few - with only marginal improvement.  Even tried different SLDR heads - nothing.  So for kicks, he handed me an Xhot2 with the Aldila Tour Green shaft -- LM #'s were immediately better for both distance and accuracy.  Tried a few other combos but the Cally was it!

 

So….we made the trade.

 

Brought the driver to Colorado with me this week - and absolutely loved it.  Hit 11 of 14 fairways Wendesday - and the misses weren't bad at all.  And distance - albeit altitude aided - was dandy.

 

Gave the SLDR a pretty reasonable shot - and despite the fact I hit some bombs with it, I couldn't get the consistency I needed out of it, and 190 to 200 yard drives just don't cut it.  Might have been the shaft, who knows, but once it gets in between the ears there's very little that can be done about it.  It's the Indian, not the Arrow, but once the Indian is convinced he can shoot the arrow he has, he has to get a different arrow.  

 

Postscipt -- while impulse shopping for an old Launcher on eBay, I found a listing for a Cleveland Custom XL driver, described in "like-new" condition for $40 plus shipping.  Couldn't pass that up!  It arrived today and it was not as described.  Instead of "like-new," it was "brand-new," still in the plastic.  

 

It's better to be lucky than good!

[fozcycle]

Yeah, I bought a new Cleveland Classic for $40, used it for two weeks, then I let a friend try it out.....it's been in his bag for a year! He kills it, with his swing....he's handicapped(fused vertebraes) and plays from the Senior Tees, but seems to swing it very well.

 

Like you said Barbajo, It's better to be lucky than good!

[whiskey golf]

I like Cleveland drivers, especially the Classic. I wouldn't mind having one, my dad has one and I like it a lot.

[markb]

I played another 18 with the SLDR and my Opti side by side off of every tee.   SLDR won 4 of the holes, Opti won 3 and 2 were absolute ties.  (Yes, that's only 9 holes, I know.  My course has 5 par 3's and I hit driving iron 4 times).   It is very very close.   SLDR found the fairway 7 times, Opti only 4 times.   Both have the same shaft, cut to the same length.

 

You know how hard it is to compare two consecutive drives since you never hit them the same?  Well, on the 5th hole I hit the Opti first and absolutely nutted it as well as I ever have.  Straight down the center line, it hit and bounced about 5 times.   Then I somehow duplicated the swing with the SLDR, same exact line and nutted it again.   Slightly lower ballfilght, but it hit and bounced 7-9 times.  I measured them with my GPS shot feature.   311 for the Opti, 314 for the SLDR.  

 

It's very hard to tell which one is the better driver.  And I'd say that I'm probably maxed out with my swing speed with this shaft on both heads. The Opti feels good on just about every shot, even when it isn't hit well.  The SLDR rarely feels good but the balls still get out there.  The SLDR seems to go straighter, I rarely hit a hook or draw with it and I've never hit a fade.  Even though it is a 12 degree club set to 12 and the Opti is a 9.5 set to 10.5, both with draw bias, the SLDR goes lower and has a more piercing flight.  When faced with a headwind, I'd pick the SLDR.

 

I think it will come down to forgiveness and the tricky part of this equation is that the SLDR sounds and feels bad -- yet it delivers.   The Opti sounds and feels great, but the after-round analysis shows me that it sprays a few left and a few right and with high spin comes more pronounced draws and fades.  I can't deny that I'm keeping more in the fairway with the SLDR and once I got the sucker lofted up, I'm happy with its ball flight. 

 

About a half dozen more rounds and maybe I'll know something.

[OlStick]

The SLDR woods are for real.  The flight consistency, shot dispersion, and distance are the best in any set I have ever used.  I have the driver, 3-wood, 5-wood, and 3-hybrid. My GHIN indexed handicap is 4.9.

 

On a related note, after playing these woods for several months, I bought the Taylormade Speedblades, 4-iron through PW.  Same great results.

 

I will always keep my Cleveland RTX Black wedges.  They REALLY spin the ball, more than any clubs I have ever used.

[markb]

Played another 18 with Opti and SLDR side by side.  This time the Opti kicked the SLDR's ass. winning nearly every hole by a big margin.   Just couldn't seem to catch the SLDR solid, what can I say?

 

But speaking of Speedblades -- oh my Lord what good irons they are for single handicappers as well as GI duffers!   I hit a 3 iron about 265 yesterday, further than my 3 wood.  They don't like to be hit on the toes or high on the face, but when you dial them in they go high and far and dead straight.