Popular Post revkev Posted February 26, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted February 26, 2022 Stealth An unofficial review by the Rev. As many of you may know I recently went for a Taylor Made driver fitting held at my club. During the metal wood era I have gamed drivers by TMag, Titleist, Ping, Mizuno, Adams, TMag, Ping, TMag, Ping, TMag. At 65 with a single digit handicap, a moderate driver swing speed of 95 mph and a positive AoA of 2 degrees up, I pretty much know what OEMs design theories work for my swing. I will occasional try drivers from other OEMs as opportunity presents but I can pretty much book it that either Ping or TMag will work best for me with Ping being the more forgiving and TMag being the longer of the two. Last year I caved in and went with distance, trading in my G410 for a SIM2 that I was fit for at the same fitting day. I had been using an autoflex 505 shaft in my SIM2 and when I hit it well, I hit it well, significantly longer than my recent drivers and also than with the Ventus shaft in. However it would also produce some crazy bad shots, pull hooks or blocks, at exactly the right time to spoil a round. The fitter explained that it was because the kick point was wrong for me. Additionally many of my drives were launching too high with too much spin. After some experimentation, we settled on the10.5 degree Stealth with an Aldila Ascent 60 R flex in it. This shaft is 10 grams heavier than what I had prior - we also tried S flex as my SS is a tweener. I was concerned that the combination of a heavier and stiffer shaft might not play well at the end of rounds in the hot Florida summer. My fitter agreed. We had a long discussion about shaft length. I am often fit for 45" but I have had fitters tell me I could use longer as I do have a very repeatable swing. This fitters advice was to order the driver at its stock of 45.75 and grip down if I wanted to play it shorter. The average launch was down a degree to 14 and spin rate down 500 RPMs to 2,800. On paper I was carrying the ball the same distance but getting much more roll out and certainly a flight that will be more stable in Florida's swirling late winter/spring winds. Since they were offering a special price - 10 percent over my pro's cost or a bit over $100 off the sticker price, I went ahead and ordered a new driver without trading my SIM2 in. I will sell the autoflex shaft to pay for the driver and if for some reason it doesn't work out should easily be able to recoup the cost of the driver by selling it slightly used. My driver arrived after about a three week wait - much better than what we were experiencing last season. While I've pictured it in my trunk, I opened it up there, kept the box and headed to the range, rapsodo and SIM2 also in hand. First Impressions The Carbonwood face has a unique look to it, almost as if there is still a protective coating on the face that needs to be taken off. It's got a solid feel and nice report when you hit shots with it. The heavier shaft makes the club feel heavier overall to me. Whether its true or not the club face presents as a bit closed at address, I'm not crazy about that but can live with it, many of my Ping drivers have been that way and I've gotten used to them. I did have trouble discerning my misses. One of the things that I like about the SIM2 is that my ball speed and distance stay up on misses low on the club face and yet I'm able to feel when and where I miss. Hopefully I will develop that same sense of feel with the Stealth While I had a nice uptic in ball speeds over the SIM2 in my fitting I did not see that same result in my first range session. However, I have a different shaft in the SIM 2 and my ball speeds were very good across the board on a beautiful 85 degree afternoon. My personal LM does not give spin rates so it's very hard to compare distance head to head. Carry distances, launch and consistency were similar. Hopefully the course is not overly crowded tomorrow and I will be able to hit a couple of head to head drives with it to see if if I get the greater run out that trackman was promising. One last thing before I leave you - I have not liked Taylor Made's strategy of changing names. IMO they have hurt themselves in the ball category with all the changes. I get that these changes often represent a radical departure in regards to technology but still it gets confusing to the consumer. Also confusing this time around is that the Max was the right head for a player like me in the SIM2 where as the Plus now becomes the lower spin offering in the Stealth. I could see someone going to buy off the rack making a mistake and getting off on the wrong foot because of it. Let me know if you have any questions. I will try to do a full review towards the end of March. That should give me enough time to put this club through it's paces. fixyurdivot, GolfSpy_APH, chisag and 17 others 17 3 Quote 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonSal Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Great review, Rev! Give me a heads up when you review the Titleist Howitzer. I'd be curious to know if you like it as much as I do. revkev 1 Quote Louisville Golf Persimmon___2, 4, 5, 7-woods; Epon AF-906___driving iron; Titleist T100 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-irons; Titleist T100S___48°; Edison 2.0___53º; Titleist SM-9 (T)___58º; Tad Moore Otto Hackbarth___putter; Titleist Pro V1x___ball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyBobby_PR Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 22 hours ago, revkev said: Also confusing this time around is that the Max was the right head for a player like me in the SIM2 where as the Plus now becomes the lower spin offering in the Stealth. The max falls into the same category of the sim max, the m6, m4 and m2 as being the head that was “more forgiving” or “higher spin” which is what the stealth (non plus is). The plus like the sim2, sim, m5, m3, m1 have been the “lower spinning heads” and “less forgiving”. As you have been thru a few fittings lately and with the on for the stealth lineup it’s about the combo of head max shaft. As the designs change from what was the m1/2 up to the stealth line it’s possible the head may change for a golfer as well. I played m2 in both 2016 and 2017 release, however the m4 didn’t work for me and the m3 was too low spinning, same with m5/6. The sim max was my driver from that release and I found better results with the sim2 (non max) Quote Driver: PXG 0811 X+ Proto w/UST Helium 5F4 Wood: TaylorMade M5 5W w/Accra TZ5 +1/2”, TaylorMade Sim 3W w/Aldila rogue white Hybrid: PXG Gen2 22* w/AD hybrid Irons: PXG Gen3 0311T w/Nippon modus 120 Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 50*, Tiger grind 56/60 Putter: Scotty Caemeron Super Rat1 Ball: Titleist Prov1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted February 28, 2022 Author Share Posted February 28, 2022 10 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said: The max falls into the same category of the sim max, the m6, m4 and m2 as being the head that was “more forgiving” or “higher spin” which is what the stealth (non plus is). The plus like the sim2, sim, m5, m3, m1 have been the “lower spinning heads” and “less forgiving”. As you have been thru a few fittings lately and with the on for the stealth lineup it’s about the combo of head max shaft. As the designs change from what was the m1/2 up to the stealth line it’s possible the head may change for a golfer as well. I played m2 in both 2016 and 2017 release, however the m4 didn’t work for me and the m3 was too low spinning, same with m5/6. The sim max was my driver from that release and I found better results with the sim2 (non max) And this proves my point - you know what you are doing and you need to vacillate - that’s a huge issue if you are trying to market to those who don’t KC Golf 1 Quote 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted February 28, 2022 Author Share Posted February 28, 2022 I used the Stealth on the back nine today. Huge potential - When I’m hitting 6 iron into the green into a 430 yard hole with a cross wind? That's huge! brutal brutus, Kenny B, MattF and 3 others 6 Quote 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyBobby_PR Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 On 2/27/2022 at 9:19 PM, revkev said: And this proves my point - you know what you are doing and you need to vacillate - that’s a huge issue if you are trying to market to those who don’t It proves that people need to get fit to find what works best for them. It proves that blind buying head and/or shaft is going to be hit or miss. Those who are buying off the rack it don’t care what the differences are and will buy the brand they want or are used to, they will buy the loft they always play or will use the logic of I need help getting the ball in the air so I’ll increase the loft from my last one and will look for the little sticker that show the flex of the shaft and buy what flex they always buy or go with the my swing is slower so I’ll drop a flex. Quote Driver: PXG 0811 X+ Proto w/UST Helium 5F4 Wood: TaylorMade M5 5W w/Accra TZ5 +1/2”, TaylorMade Sim 3W w/Aldila rogue white Hybrid: PXG Gen2 22* w/AD hybrid Irons: PXG Gen3 0311T w/Nippon modus 120 Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 50*, Tiger grind 56/60 Putter: Scotty Caemeron Super Rat1 Ball: Titleist Prov1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted March 1, 2022 Author Share Posted March 1, 2022 2 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said: It proves that people need to get fit to find what works best for them. It proves that blind buying head and/or shaft is going to be hit or miss. Those who are buying off the rack it don’t care what the differences are and will buy the brand they want or are used to, they will buy the loft they always play or will use the logic of I need help getting the ball in the air so I’ll increase the loft from my last one and will look for the little sticker that show the flex of the shaft and buy what flex they always buy or go with the my swing is slower so I’ll drop a flex. I do think this is too much of a generalization. Most people buy off the rack or at best have an in store big box "fitting" that includes a few pokes on some sort of LM without a comparison to their current gamer. Some of those people subscribe to the theory that its the Indian, not the arrow, and that something that is close enough to a fit will work out just fine for them. Some of them are very good golfers who have bought off the rack, don't take lessons, rarely practice and often ask which goes farther the A wedge or the S one. I've seriously played with a guy just like that who was a solid 4. My comment about TMag was not meant for a guy who does his research, has been fit often enough that he knows his numbers and has a general idea of what head/shaft combo will work best for his swing. I think Taylor Made hurts itself with the constant name changes because it confuses the general public. I will stand by that statement. And yes I agree that its best to get fit, take lessons and practice. cnosil and Shapotomous 2 Quote 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Middler Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 I'm not planning to buy a Stealth, but it will be very interesting to see how carbon fiber faces stack up versus other materials that have come before. I am sure TM has done their homework, so it should be a viable tech - whether it's "better" or not we'll see. Thanks for taking the time to document and share your experience. The need to change names does seem silly, I assume it's to induce sales by changing names/colors and marketing hype every year now - probably works with the conspicuous consumption & expense account crowd along with general club ho's. While Callaway stuck with variations on the Big Bertha name for at least 10 years, now it's XR, Epic, Rogue, Epic Flash, Mavrik, Epic Speed, and now Rogue ST. Next year it'll be the Mavrik Super Duper or the Epic To Infinity and Beyond? revkev 1 Quote Titleist TSR2 11° HZRDUS Red CB 50 6.0 w Lamkin UTx Midsize Titleist TSR2 16.5º HZRDUS Red 60 CB 6.0 & TSR2 21º HZRDUS Black 4G 70 6.0 w Lamkin UTx Midsize Mizuno JPX923 HMP 4-GW, T22 54.12WS, T22 58.04DC w Lamkin ST+2 Hybrid Midsize Evnroll EV5.3 Maxfli Tour & ProV1 Ping Pioneer - MGI Zip Navigator AT Payntr X 002 LE, Ecco Biom C4, Payntr X 001 F (Mesh) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC Golf Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 On 2/27/2022 at 7:35 PM, revkev said: I used the Stealth on the back nine today. Huge potential - When I’m hitting 6 iron into the green into a 430 yard hole with a cross wind? That's huge! Rev, Thank you for the review out of the box. I agree with your view that name changes are confusing. I am curious... how do you like the sound of the Stealth vs. the SIM2? revkev 1 Quote TSR 3 9.0 GD Tour AD - DI 6S Stiff TSi 3 15.0 GD Tour AD - DI 6S Stiff TS3 21 Hybrid Tensei AV Blue 65 HY Stiff U-510 19 Utility Iron HZDUS Smoke Black 6.0 Stiff 5-PW 101T Irons - KBS Tour Lite Stiff - Official Tester 2023 Vokey SM9 52 F - 12 Nippon NS Pro 950 Stiff Vokey Forged 56 M - 10 DG S200 MG3 60 - 12 NS Modus3 Tour 105 Stiff Scotty Special Select - Squareback 2 - 35” / Super Stroke Slim 3.0 Z-Star Diamond Players 4 bag Official Tester - 2021 & Loyal MCC Plus 4 Sensor User Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siamese Moose Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 2 hours ago, Middler said: ...the Epic To Infinity and Beyond? If they put a Buzz Lightyear grip on it, I might not be able to resist! revkev 1 Quote Moose, my cat, is Siamese Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoverRick Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 I had my fitting today at my club, but first over the past couple of weeks I was able to play 2 rounds with the Stealth. I hit 2 drives off every tee box with TP5X balls. My SIM2 has a slight fade bias, and the Stealth has a slight draw bias. They were basically ending up in the same area just had slightly different ball flights. On the first round, the Stealth was the clear winner by a few yards. After that I went ahead and signed up for the fitting. It then got postponed because of weather. But I took the Stealth back out on the course for a second round. The SIM2 out performed the Stealth by a few yards every time. Moral of the story, there didn’t appear to be much difference in the 2, or enough to justify the expense. However, I still had my slot, and was planning on giving it up to a friend, but he couldn’t make it, and I didn’t want to embarrass the pro by a no show. So I went and explained what happened, I also said that while I didn’t think the Stealth was worth changing to, I wanted to try the Stealth Plus since it was a lower spin head. I said my spin was way too high now with my current set up. SIM2 Max 9° turned down to 7° On a VENTUS Blue 5S shaft. I was launching at 11-12° but 2800-3300 rpm’s. I was fitted for this club last year, but I have made significant changes since then. While I have improved in every other area on the course, my distance with the driver has actually decreased slightly. Accuracy is up but obviously if I’m turning the driver down to 7°, I’m trying to cut the spin and stop the ball from ballooning. I have been hitting the SIM2 reasonably well, but because of the excessive spin it was affected by the wind much more than the others in my group. After several shaft combos, the Stealth Plus 10.5° turned to 9.75° on a Hzrdus RDX Red Smoke 6S gave me 14-15° launch with 2200-2300 rpm’s and 12 more mph ball speed. Couple that with the fantastic looks, feel, and sound and now I’m going to have to change drivers. I may be able to play a loaner configured this way tomorrow. If so this will be like moving up a tee. It is funny how the VENTUS Blue was a great shaft for me last year, and then I made swing changes. I now hit up on the driver much more. I was actually very surprised about the Hzrdus shaft fitting me although the Kai’li also was a good fit. Shapotomous, brutal brutus, goaliewales14 and 3 others 6 Quote G430LST 10.5° on T P T POWER 18 Hi Driver G430MAX 3w on T P T POWER 18 Hi Fairway G425 3H on T P T POWER 18 Hi Hybrid G425 4H on TGH 80S i525 5-U on TGI 90S SM8 54 & 60 on Wedge DF2.1 on White ProV1 Precision Pro NX7 Pro All Iron grips are BestGrips Micro-Perforated Mid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shapotomous Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 Thanks for the review @revkev ! Would lowering the loft a click help with the closed face 'look' ? Maybe @RoverRick could give some input on this too since he lowered the loft of his 10.5* ? revkev 1 Quote Modern Bag: G410 LST 10.5*, Hzrdus Smoke RDX 6.5 Flex; 915F 3w, Diamana S+ 70 S flex; Snake Eyes 18* 2h, 23* 4h & 27* 5h; JPX 900 Forged 6 - PW, PX LZ 6.0; Edison 2.0 49*, 53*, 57* KBS Tour 120 S; Heppler Fetch; Ball - MTB-X; Bag - Jones MyGolfSpy Edition! Shot Scope H4, MG600 Rangefinder Classic Bag: Driver - Persimmon; 3w - Speed Slot; 5w - Tour Block; 3 - pw - Dynapower; sw - Ram Tom Watson; putter - bullseye standard or flange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyBobby_PR Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 18 hours ago, revkev said: I think Taylor Made hurts itself with the constant name changes because it confuses the general public. I will stand by that statement. Based on their sales number this probably isn’t true. Also pretty much every company has done this or still does it. Titleist completely changed their names in back to back releases. They went from the using 9 plus the year designation to TS to TSI. Ping probably has the least sensible naming convention especially when it comes to the i series. They went from i15, i20, i25 to ie1 then, i200, i210 and will be i530 if the current parents reveals anything. Callaway has two wood/hybrid lines that release one year apart. They claim they aren’t replacing the previous one and that their clubs are on two year cycles which is true because the rogue will stay in their inventory for two years before it’s replaced with another rogue release. However there will be a release of a different line later this year or early next year. This would be more confusing than TaylorMade’s naming convention. People on forums were confused when TaylorMade kept m1/2 in 2017. Those on forums tend to be more educated than the general golfing public and tend to think differently. This causes them to think the general public cares as much or pays as much attention to names, etc and will be confused. Most however haven’t worked in golf retail or around reps and demo days. The general golf public is watching tv, commercials and are making purchases off that. As for TaylorMade as I mentioned their lineup since 2016 has maintained m1,m3,m5, sim, sim2, stealth plus as the lower spin, more adjustable driver. Typically for the better player from an advertising perspective and why many see that driver have slightly more fade bias because the better player doesn’t need help hitting the ball left. Quote Driver: PXG 0811 X+ Proto w/UST Helium 5F4 Wood: TaylorMade M5 5W w/Accra TZ5 +1/2”, TaylorMade Sim 3W w/Aldila rogue white Hybrid: PXG Gen2 22* w/AD hybrid Irons: PXG Gen3 0311T w/Nippon modus 120 Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 50*, Tiger grind 56/60 Putter: Scotty Caemeron Super Rat1 Ball: Titleist Prov1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fixyurdivot Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 1 hour ago, RickyBobby_PR said: Ping probably has the least sensible naming convention especially when it comes to the i series. They went from i15, i20, i25 to ie1 then, i200, i210 and will be i530 if the current parents reveals anything Not to take the thread sideways, but I'd love to know some of the background stories/reasons how the various OEM's come up with product names. Carbon-wood is pretty damn self explanatory... most others, not so much . Quote G410 Plus, 9 Degree Driver G400 SFT, 16 Degree 3w G400 SFT, 19 Degree 5w ZX5 Irons 4-AW Glide 2.0 56 Degree SW (removed from double secret probation ) ER5v Putter (Evnroll ER5v Official Review) AI-One Milled Seven T CH (Currently Under Product Test) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted March 2, 2022 Author Share Posted March 2, 2022 8 hours ago, RoverRick said: I had my fitting today at my club, but first over the past couple of weeks I was able to play 2 rounds with the Stealth. I hit 2 drives off every tee box with TP5X balls. My SIM2 has a slight fade bias, and the Stealth has a slight draw bias. They were basically ending up in the same area just had slightly different ball flights. On the first round, the Stealth was the clear winner by a few yards. After that I went ahead and signed up for the fitting. It then got postponed because of weather. But I took the Stealth back out on the course for a second round. The SIM2 out performed the Stealth by a few yards every time. Moral of the story, there didn’t appear to be much difference in the 2, or enough to justify the expense. However, I still had my slot, and was planning on giving it up to a friend, but he couldn’t make it, and I didn’t want to embarrass the pro by a no show. So I went and explained what happened, I also said that while I didn’t think the Stealth was worth changing to, I wanted to try the Stealth Plus since it was a lower spin head. I said my spin was way too high now with my current set up. SIM2 Max 9° turned down to 7° On a VENTUS Blue 5S shaft. I was launching at 11-12° but 2800-3300 rpm’s. I was fitted for this club last year, but I have made significant changes since then. While I have improved in every other area on the course, my distance with the driver has actually decreased slightly. Accuracy is up but obviously if I’m turning the driver down to 7°, I’m trying to cut the spin and stop the ball from ballooning. I have been hitting the SIM2 reasonably well, but because of the excessive spin it was affected by the wind much more than the others in my group. After several shaft combos, the Stealth Plus 10.5° turned to 9.75° on a Hzrdus RDX Red Smoke 6S gave me 14-15° launch with 2200-2300 rpm’s and 12 more mph ball speed. Couple that with the fantastic looks, feel, and sound and now I’m going to have to change drivers. I may be able to play a loaner configured this way tomorrow. If so this will be like moving up a tee. It is funny how the VENTUS Blue was a great shaft for me last year, and then I made swing changes. I now hit up on the driver much more. I was actually very surprised about the Hzrdus shaft fitting me although the Kai’li also was a good fit. Always good to hear from you - I'm really curious about your comments about the appearance of the faces. Do you have both drivers set at neutral? I draw both but as you know having played with me, I can and eventually will draw anything. Whether it's true or not the SIM face set at neutral appears square to me while the Stealth definitely appears closed - very similar to what you've observed. I will be playing around with settings whenever I can get to the range. I'm also going to try the Ventus Blue in the Stealth - why not? @Ricky Bobby - I would agree that Taylor Made and some of the other OEMs have determined through marketing studies that it is best to make these changes. I still wonder about that choice and from comments here it would appear that I'm not alone. I'm not impressed by a huge increase in sales as a rationale for saying it's okay. Everyone had a huge increase in sales last year. I'm happy about that and hope that some of the spaghetti sticks - as big as a pain as it is to get a tee time in Florida right now pace of play is staying at around 4 hours and it's great that so many people are playing golf. Quote 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bens197 Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 I'd like your take in a few weeks when you've got some post-honeymoon and a larger sample to compare against the SIM2. While we wait, are you happIER with the Stealth thus far or would you be just as well going back to the SIM2? PMookie 1 Quote Titleist TSi3 Fujikura Speeder NX Blue 60X TaylorMade SIM2 3 wood Fujilkura Ventus Blue 7-X Titleist U505 2 Tensei 1K Black 85 X Titleist T100 4-P Nippon Modus 3 120X PING S159 50-S 55-H 59-T DG X100 Vokey SM8 50, SM9 54 & 60 Nippon Modus 3 120s L.A.B. MEZZ Max Broom Accra 47" 79.5* Srixon Z-Star XV Currently testing the 2024 PING S159 wedges… https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/63483-testers-announced-ping-s159-wedges/ Was testing, still loving the 2023 Titleist T100 Irons 4-P https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/60456-titleist-t-series-irons-2023-forum-review/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted March 2, 2022 Author Share Posted March 2, 2022 1 hour ago, bens197 said: I'd like your take in a few weeks when you've got some post-honeymoon and a larger sample to compare against the SIM2. While we wait, are you happIER with the Stealth thus far or would you be just as well going back to the SIM2? Honestly, it's too early for me to tell. Also someone asked about the sound, it is more muted in the Stealth, I don't know if that's good or bad but I had no issues with the sound of the SIM2 but I'm one who is not overly picky about sound to begin with. What I have noticed is that I'm not yet able to discern where I caught the ball on the clubface with the Stealth. That's something that I'm going to be watching for. Also I don't seem to curve the Stealth quite as much as the SIM2, that would be very good. I can get the SIM2 hooking pretty good at times. KC Golf, bens197, PMookie and 1 other 4 Quote 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bens197 Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 28 minutes ago, revkev said: Honestly, it's too early for me to tell. Also someone asked about the sound, it is more muted in the Stealth, I don't know if that's good or bad but I had no issues with the sound of the SIM2 but I'm one who is not overly picky about sound to begin with. What I have noticed is that I'm not yet able to discern where I caught the ball on the clubface with the Stealth. That's something that I'm going to be watching for. Also I don't seem to curve the Stealth quite as much as the SIM2, that would be very good. I can get the SIM2 hooking pretty good at times. Sounds like enough contrast in some pretty significant areas so thats good. Play well Rev, thanks for sharing. Quote Titleist TSi3 Fujikura Speeder NX Blue 60X TaylorMade SIM2 3 wood Fujilkura Ventus Blue 7-X Titleist U505 2 Tensei 1K Black 85 X Titleist T100 4-P Nippon Modus 3 120X PING S159 50-S 55-H 59-T DG X100 Vokey SM8 50, SM9 54 & 60 Nippon Modus 3 120s L.A.B. MEZZ Max Broom Accra 47" 79.5* Srixon Z-Star XV Currently testing the 2024 PING S159 wedges… https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/63483-testers-announced-ping-s159-wedges/ Was testing, still loving the 2023 Titleist T100 Irons 4-P https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/60456-titleist-t-series-irons-2023-forum-review/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted March 2, 2022 Author Share Posted March 2, 2022 47 minutes ago, bens197 said: Sounds like enough contrast in some pretty significant areas so thats good. Play well Rev, thanks for sharing. Thanks and you're welcome - I will do a full review the beginning of April - by then I should have a really good sense of the Stealth - it normally takes me about a month to get used to a driver. Thus far it is reminding me of the Ping 400 LST in regards to launch and ball flight - that would be a very good thing from my perspective. PMookie and bens197 2 Quote 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisag Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 4 hours ago, fixyurdivot said: Not to take the thread sideways, but I'd love to know some of the background stories/reasons how the various OEM's come up with product names. Carbon-wood is pretty damn self explanatory... most others, not so much . ... The amount of research companies put into focus groups and internal brain storming has to be exhausting. And even then results can be over turned by any higher up that decides a change is needed or wanted or just a pet project. They also depend on feedback from retailers which I think is a huge mistake but that is just my educated guess. I remember retailers complain to Bridgestone that the J33 was "too with no shelf appeal" although better players on golf forums absolutely loved them. So Bridgestone blinged up the J36 with frosty silver in the cavity and blue and white racing stripes. Feedback came back from retailers that they didn't go far enough with color AND they went too far with color AND they used the wrong colors AND the color combination was wrong ... so Bridgestone decided to ignore feedback and decide internally what is best for their future irons. ... All I know is I would hate to be in those meetings fighting to change a name or fighting to keep a name with my job potentially on the line when in all likelihood the performance is what makes or breaks sales. fixyurdivot and bens197 2 Quote Driver: Qi10 10.5* ... Ventus Red Velocore 5R Fairway: Qi10 5 wood ... Kai'li Blue 60R Hybrids: 430 Hybrid 22*... Diamana LTD 65r DHy #4 ... Steelfiber 780Hy Irons: '23 T200 5-Pw ... Steelfiber i95r Wedges: Vokey 50*/54*/58* ... Steelfiber i95r Putter: Sport-60 33" Ball: Maxfli/ Maxfli Tour/TP5x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyBobby_PR Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 4 hours ago, revkev said: I would agree that Taylor Made and some of the other OEMs have determined through marketing studies that it is best to make these changes. I still wonder about that choice and from comments here it would appear that I'm not alone. I'm not impressed by a huge increase in sales as a rationale for saying it's okay. Everyone had a huge increase in sales last year. I'm happy about that and hope that some of the spaghetti sticks - as big as a pain as it is to get a tee time in Florida right now pace of play is staying at around 4 hours and it's great that so many people are playing golf. Some people here complain and gripe purely for complaint and griping. But again in general forum golfers dive into things way deeper than the general golfer and question things like names, colors, head covers and so on. It’s not just the last year, TaylorMade is #1 or 2 consistently in woods sales year after year. If there was confusion or whatever that wouldn’t happen. Especially when a brand like titleist had some of the easiest naming conventions as you knew what model you were looking based on the year destination 915, 917 as the last two releases before the TS line. So if there was confusion and that impacted how a person buys then why would titleist not out sell TaylorMade and callaway. Quote Driver: PXG 0811 X+ Proto w/UST Helium 5F4 Wood: TaylorMade M5 5W w/Accra TZ5 +1/2”, TaylorMade Sim 3W w/Aldila rogue white Hybrid: PXG Gen2 22* w/AD hybrid Irons: PXG Gen3 0311T w/Nippon modus 120 Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 50*, Tiger grind 56/60 Putter: Scotty Caemeron Super Rat1 Ball: Titleist Prov1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonMUSC08 Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 (edited) Thanks for the unofficial review @revkev. I too have a hold of the regular Stealth 9deg with "Ventus" Red (TM Ventus, not velcore); Won one in an online contest. I currently game a TM M6 as TM's have always suited me best. The one round i've put in with the Stealth has been great. The misses seem much smaller than with my M6. I'll try to put together an unofficial review myself too. I have had a tendency to hit a slight fade with the Stealth so going to try ticking it 1deg towards HIGHER on the sleeve to close the face a. hair and see how that does. Edited March 3, 2022 by JonMUSC08 meant to say fade, not draw. oops revkev and fixyurdivot 2 Quote Charleston, SC HDCP 13.0 Driver: M6 9* with 65g Stiff Mitsubishi Tensei Red shaft 3 wood: G425 stiff shaft 5 wood: Stealth 2 stiff shaft 4-gw irons: JPX 921 Hot Metal w/ X-stiff KBS 130gr shafts (soft stepped) Wedges: MG3 52, 56, 60 Putter: 34" Scotty Cameron 12.5 Ball: ProV-1x Tracked By: MGS Tester '20 - G710 Iron Review MGS Tester '19 - Precision Pro NX9 HD Pro laser rangefinder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted March 2, 2022 Author Share Posted March 2, 2022 47 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said: Some people here complain and gripe purely for complaint and griping. But again in general forum golfers dive into things way deeper than the general golfer and question things like names, colors, head covers and so on. It’s not just the last year, TaylorMade is #1 or 2 consistently in woods sales year after year. If there was confusion or whatever that wouldn’t happen. Especially when a brand like titleist had some of the easiest naming conventions as you knew what model you were looking based on the year destination 915, 917 as the last two releases before the TS line. So if there was confusion and that impacted how a person buys then why would titleist not out sell TaylorMade and callaway. I think that you know full well that I don't complain just to complain. In my eyes my concern is legit. Fair or not Titleist is saddled with a reputation for being a Players only brand. TMag and Callaway have been 1 and 2 for some time and are likely to stay that way with Ping often chomping a bit behind. They won't change, I don't pretend that they will, they do make a quality product and they are convinced that how they market works. I'm simply pointing out a concern that I have and have had for some time across the board about the brand. @JMusc correct me if I'm wrong but if you go higher you are more likely to draw the ball even further. I think you want it a click more open. Does the face look a bit closed to you? PMookie 1 Quote 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoverRick Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 13 hours ago, revkev said: Always good to hear from you - I'm really curious about your comments about the appearance of the faces. Do you have both drivers set at neutral? I draw both but as you know having played with me, I can and eventually will draw anything. Whether it's true or not the SIM face set at neutral appears square to me while the Stealth definitely appears closed - very similar to what you've observed. I will be playing around with settings whenever I can get to the range. I'm also going to try the Ventus Blue in the Stealth - why not? I didn’t really say that it appeared one way or the other. The red face on the Stealth draws the eye and it has a curve to it. I just said that the ball flight was different. SIM2 fades and the Stealth draws. However, I am getting (see what I said there, apparently my mind is made up.) Stealth Plus. I did not notice it looking closed at address compared to the SIM2, but I have not hit the Plus side-by-side with the SIM2. Actually have never held them at the same time. Today, perfect weather today, I borrowed a Stealth Plus from the Pro Shop. It was 9° and on the Kai’li 6S not the 10.5° on the RDX, but I was fitted with the 10.5° turned down 3/4° and thus open 1 1/2°. This I set to 9.75° but that closed the face 1.5°. The Kai’li was the shaft the fitter first picked for me, but for whatever reason, I preferred the Hzrdus Red Smoke RDX. But this was close enough. I went to the range and then played 18 holes with it. My back and knees were sore on the range and that never changed today. I swung the club terribly and for the most part when days like this happen, I go with more club and a “3/4” swing with everything but the driver. With that I just try to do my best. I fully tested out the forgiveness of this club. The center of the face is pristine. The low heal and high tow got a solid workout. Based on the monitor numbers I was expecting major improvements maybe 25 yards with a good swing. Unfortunately, I didn’t make any good swings. What I did see was probably 15-20 yard improvements on bad swing to bad swing, mainly in roll. But twice I just knew I wasn’t going to clear the hazard only to see it barely clear and when I got over there it had run out to almost, but not quite, to the area I would consider a “decent” drive. Bottom line is on a bad ball striking day I was able to scratch out an 80 because the poor strikes were still in play. Granted I only hit it 12 of those 80 strokes and 1/2 the time I still had to hit from a less than ideal location, but it was enough to convince me to go ahead and take the plunge. Shapotomous and revkev 2 Quote G430LST 10.5° on T P T POWER 18 Hi Driver G430MAX 3w on T P T POWER 18 Hi Fairway G425 3H on T P T POWER 18 Hi Hybrid G425 4H on TGH 80S i525 5-U on TGI 90S SM8 54 & 60 on Wedge DF2.1 on White ProV1 Precision Pro NX7 Pro All Iron grips are BestGrips Micro-Perforated Mid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonMUSC08 Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 15 hours ago, revkev said: I think that you know full well that I don't complain just to complain. In my eyes my concern is legit. Fair or not Titleist is saddled with a reputation for being a Players only brand. TMag and Callaway have been 1 and 2 for some time and are likely to stay that way with Ping often chomping a bit behind. They won't change, I don't pretend that they will, they do make a quality product and they are convinced that how they market works. I'm simply pointing out a concern that I have and have had for some time across the board about the brand. @JMusc correct me if I'm wrong but if you go higher you are more likely to draw the ball even further. I think you want it a click more open. Does the face look a bit closed to you? @revkevi meant to say i fade it a little bit. oops . So i guess that kinda helps confirm what im reading; if i go slightly higher then it should help get me to straight or slight draw. I am horrible about really seeing if a club looks open or closed at address. Sounds weird but drivers always appear open to me; maybe bc i can see the face?? I wish there was somewhere i could try a autoflex or real ventus somewhere without a hassle.... revkev 1 Quote Charleston, SC HDCP 13.0 Driver: M6 9* with 65g Stiff Mitsubishi Tensei Red shaft 3 wood: G425 stiff shaft 5 wood: Stealth 2 stiff shaft 4-gw irons: JPX 921 Hot Metal w/ X-stiff KBS 130gr shafts (soft stepped) Wedges: MG3 52, 56, 60 Putter: 34" Scotty Cameron 12.5 Ball: ProV-1x Tracked By: MGS Tester '20 - G710 Iron Review MGS Tester '19 - Precision Pro NX9 HD Pro laser rangefinder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyBobby_PR Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 15 hours ago, revkev said: I think that you know full well that I don't complain just to complain. In my eyes my concern is legit. Fair or not Titleist is saddled with a reputation for being a Players only brand. TMag and Callaway have been 1 and 2 for some time and are likely to stay that way with Ping often chomping a bit behind. They won't change, I don't pretend that they will, they do make a quality product and they are convinced that how they market works. I'm simply pointing out a concern that I have and have had for some time across the board about the brand. Didn’t say you were one to complain just to complain but that there are people on this forum that are that way, just like every other forum and in life. Not saying the concern is or isn’t valid, but rather that this isn’t something the general golfer has. I play the vast majority of my rounds with random people. I’ve played with an older guy who got for pxg and had a full bag of their clubs plus a staff bag from them, he is scotty Cameron club member and a team titleist member. He got Callaway clubs fit the next year. He had no idea about lofts, lie or anything else, it was all about the distance he was getting. Ibe played with guys who bought used and others who buy off the rack. They couldn’t tell you what driver A or driver B from a company was designed to do. One guy had a Ping g400 max because he heard it was the most forgiving. It didn’t stop his swing from hitting a huge slice. My old group that I played with for over 20 years are all the general golfer and have zero clue about club or shaft design, they buy based on what they’ve always played and adjust shaft flex based on the concept they are older and slower. I’ve had conversation after conversation with these guys and they all see what the pros play and if they want to switch from whatever brand they currently have they will use whatever is most successful on tour. To me there’s not as much confusion as people want to say there is. Using the sim2 lineup and the stealth lineup as an example. They have made significant changes in the design with the size of the face, materials, weighting. Sliding weight has been brought back into the design. This track alone has changed over time on each release. For the general golfer if they bought m2 then playing the m4,m6, sim max, sim2 max and now stealth will work for their needs. Someone who has made swing changes, tinkered with shafts and maybe not made adjustments for swing weight due to length of shaft, weight, etc and does fittings they will potentially see some difference that affect their ball flight characteristics. Impact location, club delivery can all change. Shafts role are for weight and feel. We’ve seen people have success keeping the same shaft from head to head and others that have had shafts not work in a new driver. I’ve had this happen with driver and 3w in the sim and sim2 lineup. Again as you saw with the stealth lineup, getting fit will make sure the golfer is in the most optimal setup and that assuming from release to release that things will be the same isn’t true, and that blind buying based on terms like low launch, low spin, stiff tip or whatever else a manufacturer uses and whether the golfer is buying to tinker or not will probably lead to money not well spent Quote Driver: PXG 0811 X+ Proto w/UST Helium 5F4 Wood: TaylorMade M5 5W w/Accra TZ5 +1/2”, TaylorMade Sim 3W w/Aldila rogue white Hybrid: PXG Gen2 22* w/AD hybrid Irons: PXG Gen3 0311T w/Nippon modus 120 Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 50*, Tiger grind 56/60 Putter: Scotty Caemeron Super Rat1 Ball: Titleist Prov1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMookie Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 @revkev, I was at the golf store yesterday and took a look at address of the 10.5 Stealth you’re playing and at the standard loft setting it does look closed, the 9 I have does not. I figured it was the combination of the additional loft, and the red face being so visible giving my eye that sense. Curious as to if it’s just as square as the 9 in reality. revkev 1 Quote Driver: Ping G430 Max 9*, Ping Tour 70X Fairway: Ping G425 15*, Ping Tour 70X Hybrid: Ping G425 22*, Ping Tour 80X Irons: Ping i230 4-GW, TT DG X100 Wedges: SMS 50D/54V/58DModus 130 stiff, +1” Putter: EAS 1.0 Ball: Titleist 2023 AVX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 2 hours ago, JonMUSC08 said: @revkevi meant to say i fade it a little bit. oops . So i guess that kinda helps confirm what im reading; if i go slightly higher then it should help get me to straight or slight draw. I am horrible about really seeing if a club looks open or closed at address. Sounds weird but drivers always appear open to me; maybe bc i can see the face?? I wish there was somewhere i could try a autoflex or real ventus somewhere without a hassle.... If you wanted to PM me I have an autoflex 505 with a TMag adapter that I'm going to sell - maybe we could work out some sort of trial period, if you wanted to give it a whirl - it will launch the ball for sure and I would think would be great at straightening a slice. Quote 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonMUSC08 Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 1 hour ago, revkev said: If you wanted to PM me I have an autoflex 505 with a TMag adapter that I'm going to sell - maybe we could work out some sort of trial period, if you wanted to give it a whirl - it will launch the ball for sure and I would think would be great at straightening a slice. I appreciate the offer but its ok, i'll manage. Heck, maybe this click higher fixes the problem. revkev 1 Quote Charleston, SC HDCP 13.0 Driver: M6 9* with 65g Stiff Mitsubishi Tensei Red shaft 3 wood: G425 stiff shaft 5 wood: Stealth 2 stiff shaft 4-gw irons: JPX 921 Hot Metal w/ X-stiff KBS 130gr shafts (soft stepped) Wedges: MG3 52, 56, 60 Putter: 34" Scotty Cameron 12.5 Ball: ProV-1x Tracked By: MGS Tester '20 - G710 Iron Review MGS Tester '19 - Precision Pro NX9 HD Pro laser rangefinder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 I played 9 with LarryD at his club today after another video lesson the beginning of the week. Hadn’t hit balls since the lesson other than into the net. Hit it pretty well today after the first couple of holes hit irons very well actually. More important to this thread hit several very good drives with the stealth. Larry cracked several long ones with it also. 15 yards or so longer than the M4 he’s currently gaming. GolfSpy_BNG, MattF and brutal brutus 3 Quote 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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