TayloMade's Tour Diary - Pros Gaming M2

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

TaylorMade's Tour Diary for the Northern Trust Open -- kinda of interesting to see how many are gaming the M2 instead of the M1, and why....

 

 

 

Following a dramatic victory along the shores of the Monterey Peninsula by TaylorMade Tour staffer Vaughn Taylor, the tour truck headed south to Pacific Palisades and the historic Riviera Country Club, host of the Northern Trust Open since 1926.

One of the players' favorite stops of the year, it was a busy week for the Tour team as the momentum of M has shown no signs of slowing down.

This week, there are 46 M drivers in play (24 M2 & 22 M1), which is more Callaway, Ping, Nike, Bridgestone, Cobra, and PXG combined.

Here are more notable equipment changes made by our Tour staffers this week:

Dustin Johnson put new irons in play for the first time in 2 years. Dustin switched to PSi Tour due to increased consistency with flight and distance gaps.  His misses are also performing more similar to his solid shots.

DJ also switched out of his M1 driver to an M2. He originally didn't like the softer sound and feel of M2 but after weeks of testing on trackman, DJ couldn't deny the performance gains on off-center hits.

Justin Rose is now fully M2 in driver, 3 and 5 woods. He was the earliest adopter of the M2 driver for the forgiveness. The fairways were initially too long for his gapping but he continued to test as he wanted the added forgiveness in his fairways as well. He ultimately went with higher loft and overall shorter club length to reach his desired distance gapping.

Shawn Stefani has been playing an R11s since 2012. He switch to an M2 driver this week, which is a HUGE testament to its performance. The low back CG has helped Shawn achieve a more repeatable flight.  Ball speeds and launch conditions were massively improved from his R11s and he was excited to tee it up with the new big stick at the Northern Trust.

Ernie Els has been playing in Europe and arrived at Riviera with M2 driver, M1 3-wood, PSi Tour and a TP X '16 golf ball. He added a M1 5-wood for Riviera to hit it higher and land it softer on the expected rock hard greens that tend to firm up over the weekend.

Retief Goosen switched out of his AeroBurner driver for an M2 9.5°. Ball speed was a little faster off the center,but M2 has far less drop off in ball speed with off-center shots compared to his Aeroburner.

Brian Harman tested a number of M1 and M2 fairways this week.  He opted for M2 for the forgiveness and the way the club interacted with the turf.  M2 is longer than anything he's played so he can add additional loft, which ultimately makes it easier to hit consistently.

John Huh introduced a PSi Tour/CB combo this week. John prefers the look and feel of PSi Tour (8-p), but plays 4-7 in the CB variation for added height and forgiveness with longer irons. He also put an M2 19° degree hybrid in the bag which he carries 225 yards with zero roll out, perfect for the firm Tour greens.

[jbil8802]

Seems like forgiveness is the big buzz word here.

[PlaidJacket]

The guy I have working with lately on the Cobra Fly-Z driver suggested to me a M1 or M2? the other day. But, I just don't care much for the black and white look.  However, if TM would pay me I'd hit it. 

[Fireinthehole]

Interesting read. 

 

I have the M1 now and when Im on its a howitzer, but I liked the more "explosive" feel of the R15, I've come to find. Might try to the M2, even though my "mishits" are an open face from no release and don't exactly want to be 40+ further and even more offline.

[Kor.A.Door]

I hit the M2 three wood the other day, I put it against the XR16 three wood, I'm not looking for a three, but I already hit all the drivers, anyway, I hit the XR and was like this is nice, carry about 240-250, roll 260-265. I hit the M2, and this thinks stupid long, I was carrying 260-270, roll out to 280-285, no settings were changed when switching clubs, easily 15-20 yards longer, not sure if that would translate to the course, but I will be taking it against the XCG6 very soon. For most of us who couldn't use a bit extra distance.