Taylormade Stealth 2 Plus Sliding Weight

[jtowns43]

I have a question regarding this model.  I played with someone new over the weekend that has this club and said he was told my a club pro that if you move the sliding weight all the way to the "fade" setting, that it increased the speed.  I did not get how this could be or what the logic may be behind it.  My worst miss is a high slice, but tried it out mid round.  I did not notice much of a difference, but did hit a few pretty good ones.  Any thoughts?

Edited May 8, 2023 by jtowns43
updated info

[Hook DeLoft]

If you consistently hit it on the toe, then moving the weight towards the toe might increase your ball speed some. Otherwise, I can’t think of any reason moving the weight toward the toe would increase speed. 

[Shlax]

On 5/8/2023 at 6:29 PM, jtowns43 said:

I have a question regarding this model.  I played with someone new over the weekend that has this club and said he was told my a club pro that if you move the sliding weight all the way to the "fade" setting, that it increased the speed.  I did not get how this could be or what the logic may be behind it.

If we're talking about adding mass further from the hands (i.e., approximate anchor point/axis of rotation in the downswing) therefore increasing total leverage for a given swing speed, I feel like that would be the kind of adjustment that doesn't bring any measurable gain to most amateur golfer whatsoever. If it gives someone confidence, it's already more effective than the sliding weight itself.

For ball speed purposes, adding weight toward the toe of the club might actually cause the opposite effect.

• The sliding weight impacts the location of the center of gravity of the club head and more importantly, with regards to the rotational aspect of the face from the attachement/rotation point: The hosel.
• Moving the weight all the way to the "fade" setting (toward the toe) would slightly reduce the closure rate of the club face by increasing the moment of inertia (MOI) (i.e., the center is gravity is moved furter away from the axis of rotation of the face: The hosel). The face is then "less closed" and "more opened". This is what promotes fades.
• Sliding the weight in the "draw" setting (toward the heel) creates the opposite phenomenon: The club face is easier to shut because the center of gravity is closer to the axis of rotation (reduced MOI). As a result, the face closes at a higher rate in order to be "more closed" at impact.
• In both settings, the fact that the club face closes in preparation for impact makes the toe of the club head travel slightly faster than the heel. This speed difference is higher if the weight is slided all the way to toward the heel rather than the toe because of the higher closure rate in the former scenario. This is also why it is often said that the "ideal" strike location is slightly above the center of the face and slightly toward the toe.

In conclusion, and all else being equal, sliding the weight all the way to the "fade" setting versus "draw" setting actually decreases ball speed and this effect is magnified the closer the strike location is to the toe of the club.

Edited May 11, 2023 by Shlax
Few typos.

[RollingGreens]

On 5/8/2023 at 6:29 PM, jtowns43 said:

I have a question regarding this model.  I played with someone new over the weekend that has this club and said he was told my a club pro that if you move the sliding weight all the way to the "fade" setting, that it increased the speed.  I did not get how this could be or what the logic may be behind it.  My worst miss is a high slice, but tried it out mid round.  I did not notice much of a difference, but did hit a few pretty good ones.  Any thoughts?

Haven’t touched mine since getting it. The driver is really weight optimally for me so I haven’t tinkered too much 

[jtowns43]

Got it. Seems weird because it came from someone who should certainly know better, but I just could not make sense of it.  So if my worst miss is a high spin slice to the right (by not rolling my wrists and thus keeping the club face open) I should go back and change the setting all the way to draw like I originally had, correct?