Taylormade SLDR. Falling out of love with it.

[Tashyboy]

Currently playing off 24 and at the moment struggling to get any lower.

when the. SLDR came out I had a long hard look at whether to purchase one. I have never been the longest of hitters but by and large it ended up on the fairway more often than not. I was playing with a Ping. G20 and although there was not a lot wrong with it I got fitted up for a new driver having always bought second hand.

I had a lesson and tried loads of different clubs and the SLDR cut down on spin and improved distance by about 15 yards and the spread was a lot better. 9months later I am at my wits end. I had a gud 9 holes a couple of weeks ago but I put that down to the ball and nowt else.

A pal who I had not played with for 7 months was gobsmacked at the state of my driving when I played with him a couple of weeks ago. On Friday when playing with someone for the first time he asked me before we went out how I was getting on with the SLDR. I told him atrocious and why did he ask. Coz he bought a R11 an two months later he sold it and went back to his R9 Because he could not get on with it.

it has set me thinking what do I do, lesson, sell, me flippin heads spinning. Trouble is now I'm only two seconds away from ringing PING. Gainsborough and having a proper fitting coz I got on with me last ping driver.

bloody games doin me head in

 

[rickg]

What loft did you get and were you fitted or was it bought off the shelf?

 

[JCW]

Its not the club , its the guy holding it , have lessons 1st and when you playing well after the lessons have bedded in then get a fitting and it will be more or less spot on , all clubs take time look at Rory ,.............

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Have a lesson first. Far cheaper than a new driver and it is usually the indian not the arrow

 

[Gopher]

We are all dazzled by the latest advertising spin from the manufacturers about loft, spin rates, distance, flex and adjustable heads, it makes them a lot of money.

The advice to get lessons and have a pro look at your swing is sound - it doesn't matter how good (or expensive) the club is, if the guy holding it has a flaw that needs correcting then take time to practise and get the swing sorted. When that's consistent, then have a proper fitting for a club that will last you for a while.

 

[ScienceBoy]

Its not the club , its the guy holding it.

Could not agree more, I went from 20 yard duffs to 230 yard beauties on the range with a simple takeaway adjustment. I simply added more width.

Instead of a new driver invest in a series of lessons and a range ball card or two.

The only time I ever fell out with a club is when my draw biased Ping G15 kept putting me in the left rough, even with a decent swing. I was glad to see the back of that as the bias was too strong.

 

[rickg]

It's all very well everyone saying it's not the club, it's the person holding it, but the SLDR more than any other club to date is one that definitely needs a good understanding of how it works to get the most out of it........if you play a 9 degree driver and just pick up a 9 degree SLDR, then the chances are you won't get the most out of it and will struggle.
I've seen it a few times already where guys have said they can't hit their new SLDR. Typically they have 9 degree drivers. I give them a go with mine (12 degrees) and they bomb it........LOFT up really does work with the SLDR....

Ps, if you've already got the 12 degree, then Ignore what I just said and get a lesson!! :rofl:

 

[Tashyboy]

Its not the club , its the guy holding it , have lessons 1st and when you playing well after the lessons have bedded in then get a fitting and it will be more or less spot on , all clubs take time look at Rory ,.............

Had block booking of lessons beginning of last year when I started playing again. Had a couple of follow up lessons during the season. Was hitting the ball well when driving before I purchased the SLDR. Had a fitting at local club and loft, sole weight, shaft etc etc was set up for me. A month after getting the club a had a lesson with the club to fine tune my driving but it has just got worse. What does surprise me is that it just does not seem forgiving for me. Don't get me wrong at times when I hit it well it goes well but it just frustrates me more for the many times it's not gone well.

passed lindrick today on my way back from Sheffield, it is where I had my block booking of lessons last year. Think I will give my old pal Luke a ring for a couple of lessons.

 

[CMAC]

It's all very well everyone saying it's not the club, it's the person holding it, but the SLDR more than any other club to date is one that definitely needs a good understanding of how it works to get the most out of it........if you play a 9 degree driver and just pick up a 9 degree SLDR, then the chances are you won't get the most out of it and will struggle.
I've seen it a few times already where guys have said they can't hit their new SLDR. Typically they have 9 degree drivers. I give them a go with mine (12 degrees) and they bomb it........LOFT up really does work with the SLDR....

Ps, if you've already got the 12 degree, then Ignore what I just said and get a lesson!! :rofl:

I think it works with most modern drivers these days.

 

[JCW]

It's all very well everyone saying it's not the club, it's the person holding it, but the SLDR more than any other club to date is one that definitely needs a good understanding of how it works to get the most out of it........if you play a 9 degree driver and just pick up a 9 degree SLDR, then the chances are you won't get the most out of it and will struggle.
I've seen it a few times already where guys have said they can't hit their new SLDR. Typically they have 9 degree drivers. I give them a go with mine (12 degrees) and they bomb it........LOFT up really does work with the SLDR....

Ps, if you've already got the 12 degree, then Ignore what I just said and get a lesson!! :rofl:

I got a SLDR 5 wood Rick , hit it lovely with little effort around 230 down the middle and have used it a lot on long tough par 4`s just to keep the ball in play leaving a longer 2nd shot . But i spent a whole afternoon down the range hitting the club and now got it down to a tee , glad i done the ground work 1st

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Have a lesson first. Far cheaper than a new driver and it is usually the indian not the arrow

So how many clubs have you had ?

 

[Birchy]

If you lose confidence with a club on this scale where you are seriously questioning is it the one for you then IMO you might as well get rid of it.

You need to be happy with the clubs in your hand when your are out there to play your best stuff.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

It's all very well everyone saying it's not the club, it's the person holding it, but the SLDR more than any other club to date is one that definitely needs a good understanding of how it works to get the most out of it........if you play a 9 degree driver and just pick up a 9 degree SLDR, then the chances are you won't get the most out of it and will struggle.
I've seen it a few times already where guys have said they can't hit their new SLDR. Typically they have 9 degree drivers. I give them a go with mine (12 degrees) and they bomb it........LOFT up really does work with the SLDR....

Ps, if you've already got the 12 degree, then Ignore what I just said and get a lesson!! :rofl:

Spot on - I went from a 11 Degree R1 to a 14 Degree SLDR - the difference was remarkable - no need for a lesson.

 

[fundy]

Spot on - I went from a 11 Degree R1 to a 14 Degree SLDR - the difference was remarkable - no need for a lesson.

Just because it worked like that for you doesnt mean its the same for others. I had a very clear technical fault with the driver that wasnt repeating with any other club. Fixing it in a lesson far cheaper than getting another club

Without knowing ops specs etc hard to tell but on the basis it sounds as though he had a compehenesive fit then either it was a bad fitting or a lesson may be the best option

 

[the hammer]

Got to say, I bought a 15deg. "3 wood" SLDR 2 weeks ago, its awesome, the driver has now left the bag.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Just because it worked like that for you doesnt mean its the same for others. I had a very clear technical fault with the driver that wasnt repeating with any other club. Fixing it in a lesson far cheaper than getting another club

Without knowing ops specs etc hard to tell but on the basis it sounds as though he had a compehenesive fit then either it was a bad fitting or a lesson may be the best option

Everyone will be different - when I saw you playing it looked more a confidence issue

But the answer isn't always a lesson - it might be a set up of the club or lack of confidence etc just don't think it's right to dismiss it could be an equipment prob

 

[hovis]

So how many clubs have you had ?

Oh no you didn't. Why not just walk up to a lion and poke him with a stick

 

[fundy]

Everyone will be different - when I saw you playing it looked more a confidence issue

But the answer isn't always a lesson - it might be a set up of the club or lack of confidence etc just don't think it's right to dismiss it could be an equipment prob

No but you in effect dismissed the lesson

For me, yep confidence a big issue but last session with Alistair found a quite key technical error too, one im still trying to get ironed out sadly lol

 

[Airlie_Andy]

Had block booking of lessons beginning of last year when I started playing again. Had a couple of follow up lessons during the season. Was hitting the ball well when driving before I purchased the SLDR. Had a fitting at local club and loft, sole weight, shaft etc etc was set up for me. A month after getting the club a had a lesson with the club to fine tune my driving but it has just got worse. What does surprise me is that it just does not seem forgiving for me. Don't get me wrong at times when I hit it well it goes well but it just frustrates me more for the many times it's not gone well.

passed lindrick today on my way back from Sheffield, it is where I had my block booking of lessons last year. Think I will give my old pal Luke a ring for a couple of lessons.

I believe this is due to the forward COG on the SLDR its great for reducing spin but not so good for keeping the club stable on off centre hits. Your old Ping driver would have been more forgiving on off centre hits.

 

[Foxholer]

I think it works with most modern drivers these days.

Pretty much agree! It's just that the TM Loft Up campaign has legitimised the higher lofts - as opposed to OEMs lying about what the true loft is!

That said, I still use a low spin 9* (or less!) head and can still get 18* of Launch! The 9.5 (or was it 9) SLDR I used to check out a couple of shafts, the other day, flew pretty well!

As for the OP, go for a lesson/checkout wit a Pro. It's quite possible that you are now trying to eek out even more yardage from the SLDR when all you really need to do is let the swing flow! Oh and it was probably 'new Driver' syndrome (works great until you pay for it) anyway!