TESTED: TaylorMade M2 driver

MODEL AND SHAFT PLAYED: TaylorMade M2 9.5° driver, fitted with a regular-flex graphite shaft.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: I like the design and the feel of the club. The black and white combination on the clubhead doesn’t faze me, but at address it feels comfortable and sits on the ground in a way that helps achieve proper alignment. I also like the grip.

VERDICT: Contact-wise, the TaylorMade M2 driver really performed. I gauged the distance against a playing partner who normally drives the ball a similar distance to me and I out-drove him several times. When I put a proper swing on it and got through the ball, I picked up ten to 15 metres easily. There’s a real ‘thump’ to the M2, a sensation at impact that tells you it’s a good strike. The accuracy was impressive, although I’m mostly a reasonably straight driver, and the height was good – and I like how the M2 is adjustable for loft to optimise trajectory. After a stretch of not playing particularly well off the tee, this driver was a welcome addition to the bag for a round.

WHAT I LIKED: How easy it was to get extra distance straight away. Several times I thought, “That didn’t feel sweet,” yet when I got to the ball it was further down the fairway than usual.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: Not a thing.

MODEL AND SHAFT PLAYED: TaylorMade M2 10.5° driver, fitted with a regular-flex graphite shaft.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: I normally use a stiff-shafted driver and I can notice the extra ‘whip’ to this one. The aesthetics are good and the white strip across the front of the clubhead helps with alignment – not necessarily centring the ball but aligning the clubface.

VERDICT: Perhaps because of the shaft, I found I had to swing the TaylorMade M2 driver a lot slower but because of that, the easier swings really seemed to allow me to load up for impact. My first drive went long and several others were noticeably longer, and by enough to convince me it was due to more than just the regular-flex shaft. It was accurate and forgiving. If I didn’t overswing the M2 and respected the club, I got distance and accuracy with plenty of carry, even into the breeze. And that good rhythm filtered through the rest of my game as I swung my irons well, too. I adjusted the loft nearer to 9° or 9.5° and that produced a good balance of carry and roll, but perhaps less roll than I’m used to.

WHAT I LIKED: Swing it easy, and the M2 goes a long way – a surprisingly long way.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: Only that I felt like I couldn’t really swing hard with it.

FACTS & FIGURES

SUITABILITY: All golfers.

SHAFTS: In addition to the stock Fujikura Pro shaft, TaylorMade offers multiple additional premium custom shaft options.

LOFTS: Available in 9.5° and 10.5° lofts, plus a HL loft option. The 10.5° and HL are also available in women’s.

LEFT-HANDED MODELS?: Yes, except in the HL model.

HOW MUCH?: $649.

TAYLORMADE SAYS: “Following the remarkable success of M1, TaylorMade Golf unveils M2 drivers, fairways and Rescue clubs to complete the M family. In the M2 driver, engineers have utilised the same proprietary multi-material combination, including the seven-layer carbon composite crown found in the M1, to develop a line of products that deliver two highly sought-after performance benefits: distance and forgiveness.

“Similar to M1, the M2 product line meets the challenge of delivering more performance to players of all skill levels with the utilisation of multi-material construction. From the outset, the key product deliverable for the M2 line has been to deliver maximum forgiveness without sacrificing distance. TaylorMade has achieved this by leveraging the weight savings from the carbon crown and redistributing the discretionary weight to the sole of the club, resulting in a low and slightly farther back centre of gravity. This ultimately gives many golfers what they want: distance and forgiveness, without compromise. The result is a family of clubs that delivers hot trajectories with massive sweet spots and maximum forgiveness.”

Contact TaylorMade on 1800 700 011 or visit www.taylormadegolf.com.au