(Stealth Driver) Carbonwood Tech - Gimmick or Replacement for Titanium?

[Britishshooting]

I really didn’t want to want this driver however I find myself wanting it even though I don’t particularly like the look of it and have reservations on the tech.

Having tried the Stealth Plus out previously with so so results I felt smug however was aware I hadn’t been able to try the driver with a suitable shaft offering.

Now today I hit the driver, Stealth Plus in 8 degree set to 6 degree with draw setting to counter the open face, tried a lot of settings but this yielded best results. I hit it again as the pro now had a better suited shaft option the Smoke black 70g TX Shaft.

Hate to admit it as I initially firmly believed the carbonwood thing is gimmicky but it blew my current (fitted driver) out of the water.

I can say that there was on average an extra 5-8 yards in the bank for me, 23 yards on my longest drive. Most importantly dispersion was greatly improved and I was hitting a much lower window than I’m used to which is the main thing I’m after as a typically high launch/spin player that leaves the driver in the bag on high wind days.

I was fitted 12+ months ago into the Mavrik Sub Zero Triple Diamond Head with HZRDS Smoke Green (Hulk Shaft) and that blew everything out the water for me at the time of fitting.

Today with the Smoke Black 70 TX shaft it’s blown my current driver out of the water in every regard. Especially off centre strikes which I don’t get much forgiveness from at all currently.

Normally I’d be pulling the trigger immediately and placing an order but I can’t bring myself to without seeing how the first adopters of this club get on any durability issues that may arise.

Noticed this post today which is the result of 4 days of use for this driver at the PGA show. Tee strike has absolutely battered the face of this driver. Makes me think how will this club be after a year of frequent use?





In contrast this is the face of the demo driver I trialled today. It’s hit around 500 wet/gritty range balls however from rubber range tee’s. Doesn’t seem to be much in the way or durability issues. One small piece of grit hammered centre face from a dirty range ball however that’s all.



A few additional pictures against my Mavrik SZ TD:






Has anybody ordered this yet, plan to order it or refuse to on the grounds of it being a gimmick? I believe there is certainly something in the tech and taylormade seem to be sticking their eggs in this basket moving forward but if it’s ready from a durability aspect yet I’m not sure looking at the tee strike issue. Unless those using this start using brush tees / rubber castle tee’s to counter the tee strike issue which I can’t really see happening it looks like there won’t be any fit for the second hand market that aren’t battered.

 

[SimonC]

I've got one on pre-order. I have a SIM2 driver and I saw better ball speed (2mph), tighter spin rates and better dispersion when I tried the Stealth Plus with my current shaft in. It wasn't much longer on my good drives but there was definitely less drop off with poor strikes. I picked one up for £439 as I had an eBay discount code so couldn't resist after testing it out.

As for the durability I honestly can't see Taylormade putting a driver out in the market that has any issues. The nano coating may get slightly dinged up as per the photos you have posted but they won't affect playability and there is little to no chance you're going to see them once the club is behind the ball. They have a warranty anyway just in case there were any issues.

 

[Mike79]

Hit a Stealth the other night. Was consistent with it. Consistently left! Bizarre as my Titleist TS3 is a consistent fade. Maybe the Stealth (or a Sim2 Max) could be better as I’m sure with some proper set up the TM option could give me the draw I’m always chasing… might look into a better comparison between them at some point

 

[HeftyHacker]

I really didn’t want to want this driver however I find myself wanting it even though I don’t particularly like the look of it and have reservations on the tech.

Having tried the Stealth Plus out previously with so so results I felt smug however was aware I hadn’t been able to try the driver with a suitable shaft offering.

Now today I hit the driver, Stealth Plus in 8 degree set to 6 degree with draw setting to counter the open face, tried a lot of settings but this yielded best results. I hit it again as the pro now had a better suited shaft option the Smoke black 70g TX Shaft.

Hate to admit it as I initially firmly believed the carbonwood thing is gimmicky but it blew my current (fitted driver) out of the water.

I can say that there was on average an extra 5-8 yards in the bank for me, 23 yards on my longest drive. Most importantly dispersion was greatly improved and I was hitting a much lower window than I’m used to which is the main thing I’m after as a typically high launch/spin player that leaves the driver in the bag on high wind days.

I was fitted 12+ months ago into the Mavrik Sub Zero Triple Diamond Head with HZRDS Smoke Green (Hulk Shaft) and that blew everything out the water for me at the time of fitting.

Today with the Smoke Black 70 TX shaft it’s blown my current driver out of the water in every regard. Especially off centre strikes which I don’t get much forgiveness from at all currently.

Normally I’d be pulling the trigger immediately and placing an order but I can’t bring myself to without seeing how the first adopters of this club get on any durability issues that may arise.

Noticed this post today which is the result of 4 days of use for this driver at the PGA show. Tee strike has absolutely battered the face of this driver. Makes me think how will this club be after a year of frequent use?





In contrast this is the face of the demo driver I trialled today. It’s hit around 500 wet/gritty range balls however from rubber range tee’s. Doesn’t seem to be much in the way or durability issues. One small piece of grit hammered centre face from a dirty range ball however that’s all.



A few additional pictures against my Mavrik SZ TD:






Has anybody ordered this yet, plan to order it or refuse to on the grounds of it being a gimmick? I believe there is certainly something in the tech and taylormade seem to be sticking their eggs in this basket moving forward but if it’s ready from a durability aspect yet I’m not sure looking at the tee strike issue. Unless those using this start using brush tees / rubber castle tee’s to counter the tee strike issue which I can’t really see happening it looks like there won’t be any fit for the second hand market that aren’t battered.

I guess that's the downside of a polyurethane face. Its the same material as a golf ball and they do eventually get scuffed. Unreasonable to expect that a face coated in the same material wouldn't do the same.

The real keenos would ensure that each ball and tee are pristine before hitting to minimise the wear I guess.

 

[Backsticks]

Gimmick, I would go for. Maybe not even a good one if there are durability issues. But Taylormade wont mind, and will just move on to next years gimmick and carbon-is-the-future will be a never mentioned history if it can last the pace and there are too many claims. No driver blows any other driver out of the water. The rules limitations ensure any difference are minimal to unmeasurable, and have zero effect on one's score. Anyway, it doesnt have Adjustable Sole Plate (ASP) technology, so it about a 10 year backward step really.

 

[Britishshooting]

Gimmick, I would go for. Maybe not even a good one if there are durability issues. But Taylormade wont mind, and will just move on to next years gimmick and carbon-is-the-future will be a never mentioned history if it can last the pace and there are too many claims. No driver blows any other driver out of the water. The rules limitations ensure any difference are minimal to unmeasurable, and have zero effect on one's score. Anyway, it doesnt have Adjustable Sole Plate (ASP) technology, so it about a 10 year backward step really.

There somewhat commited from what I’ve heard, don’t recall (may have been TXG) they have vouched that they will never do a titanium face driver/fairway/hybrid which seems a very risky claim. To be fair it’s marketing if it becomes a flop that statement will be brushed under the carpet I’m sure but they seem convinced titanium has reached its limit. Which I genuinely think is true as if you are fit for a driver, a new driver fitting doesn’t usually yield great improvement in numbers. I demo a lot of clubs I still play a Mavrik as nothing else has bettered it until I tried the stealth with a suitable shaft offering.

All marketing spiel however to play devils advocate…

The tolerances you mention are mainly limited by the properties of titanium. The carbon face of the Taylor Made is half the weight of the equivalent Titanium face. The only way to reduce that weight from a titanium face is to reduce thickness but then it becomes non conforming. Therefore that weight that is saved from the face of the stealth has been used to increase face size and add mass to other parts of the head which should help with momentum and increase speeds. This ‘in theory’ increases the spring like effect of the face which is at its limit with titanium but not the case with carbon. I don’t think this has been fully exploited yet and will likely be there marketing jargon for the model they release in 12 months.

Its not my area or expertise and to be honest they can spin stories how they want to make it convey what they want. It’s not exactly the first time this tech has been used in a driver face so it’s not cutting edge in my mind maybe it wasn’t ready before and it is now albeit with potentially some durability issues in certain conditions.

 

[Imurg]

For me it's a bit of both...
It wouldn't be a TM launch without a gimmick of some sort. Why Red..? Not very stealthy when Black would have been more obvious...
They have said that they will never go back to using titanium faces but then they once said that white was the best colour for a driver head and I don't see a white Stealth on offer...
I doubt there is much, if anything, to gain from centre strikes..that is at it's limit and has been for some time.
The only place to improve is the off centre strikes and the Stealth may have something there with the weight savings.
Most of the reviews I've seen show little difference to the numbers compared to other new drivers and some have been worse for dispersion.
Find the right shaft combo and it will be as good as anything else I suspect. Pros were only picking up 2 or 3mph ball speed at their swing speeds..a 95mph swing isn't going to gain much is it..?
As to the marks on the face..in those pics the film on the face is "damaged" so to speak.
If this skin is supposed to control spin surely having dings in it isn't going to enable,e it to do it's job?
I don't know, I'm not techie enough but I would want to see what drivers are like after a couple of months of real use- out on the course..

 

[need_my_wedge]

Had a couple of hits with the Stealth on Friday afternoon. Not a fitting, we were just passing through AG and the nets were empty so had a quick play. Wasn’t swinging well, every hit went left, but more importantly, I just didn’t really like the feel off the face.

Then tried the new Callaway Rogue, which even with my dodgy swing, went straight down the middle like a missile.

I’m sure I could get used to the feel of the Stealth, but the Rogue was definitely the better club for me on the day.

If I was looking to order s new driver, I’d book a fitting slot and try the Rogue as a serious option.

 

[Shooter McPowick]

I took the pros demo down the range and out on the course yesterday, it was gusting 30-40mph so difficult to get consistent meaningful results. Initial observations were the same as you, dispersion seemed better than usual but I couldn’t tell where I was hitting the face, the face seemed numb to me.

I was really tempted until I saw those photos you posted. If that’s 4 days worth (granted it’ll take me 6 months to hit that many balls) I’m out.

 

[srixon 1]

Rory is probably selling his. ?

 

[Oddsocks]

Cast your mind back to the first white heads - the chipped like a b17ch! I’d expect the carbon to show wear quicker than the tradition face, this will no doubt force believers into a super stealth purchase in 6 months

As imurg stated it wouldn’t surprise me if that had a black insert .

 

[Tashyboy]

Having once bought the best ever driver that TM have ever made ( there words). it’s Gimmick. Good luck though to anyone that buys one.

 

[Oddsocks]

Having once bought the best ever driver that TM have ever made ( there words). it’s Gimmick. Good luck though to anyone that buys one.

Super steel bubble?

 

[Tashyboy]

Super steel bubble?

SLDR ??

 

[jim8flog]

Going back to the days when all carbon heads were to had from several manufacturers. I had a Yonex ADX Tour and you could definitely see where I had hit the majority of the time but it never affected performance.

 

[Brads]

New golfer opinion.
I wasn’t keen. I hit it a few days after the pros got it and found the head so light it was like I struggled to control it. Certainly something the pro will be bearing in mind when less skilled golfers try it and he found the whole test pretty interesting.
Gimmicky, no. For everyone, no.
Superb tech, absolutely

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Gimmick. Carbon faces have been tried before. Got a test at my club but not holding my breath of it being any sort of game changer

 

[Deleted member 16999]

It can’t be a gimmick as so many reviewers are complementing it, if was purely a gimmick they’d be slating it.

It won’t suit everyone, but if you like it and buy it, enjoy.

 

[SteveW86]

Gimmick. Carbon faces have been tried before. Got a test at my club but not holding my breath of it being any sort of game changer

Will you be recording the test? Would be good to see how it comes out for you and to see an honest independent review.

 

[ianh.90]

Curious question, if you where to get fitted for one. When would be the expected lead time of a new release driver?