Longest Drive Comp TaylorMade SLDR Vs R1

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Longest Drive Comp TaylorMade SLDR V's R1
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41 thoughts on “Longest Drive Comp TaylorMade SLDR Vs R1

  1. I don’t understand the use of all these weird effects when you hit the
    ball. You seem like a good golfer, your videos are quality, but there’s
    absolutely NO need for these effects. If you’re going to do these, they
    should at least by justified, like a slow-mo or something, not just random
    after effects. Haven’t watched your other videos, hopefully you didn’t put
    these effects everywhere, would be a shame !

  2. Hi Rick, I just finished your demo videos for the R1 and SLDR and really
    enjoyed them. You do a great job pointing out the etchings differences and
    try and match selections which is very key. I purchased the R1 last Jan and
    played it all year. Really love it once I played around with the weights
    and loft settle for 10.5. I am 61 with a 10 hdcp and depend on technology
    to offset the inevitable loss of flexibility with age. Thanks to your vids
    I will keep it in the bag for a bit. Do you also have golf lessons on line?
    From Canton, Mi. Cheers

  3. Oh and also you should see the subtitles on this video. The maker of the
    subtitles clearly didn’t understand your accent, because the words are
    completely butchered. Its hilarious!

  4. I have the R1 and I really like it. It has a great feel, especially when
    you hit it in the sweet spot. For me, once I get fitted and choose my
    settings, I don’t play around with the adjustments, they stay the same,
    which is pretty normal. My dad has the SLDR, and I have noticed that the R1
    has a much louder, more metallic “ping” sound, while the SLDR is more
    subtle and more of a “crack” if you will. I like the R1’s sound just
    because it sounds a little more true, and when I really go after one, the
    sound is rewarding. However, this is just personal preference and
    observations, and it could have to do with the balls we play, I play a Nike
    RZN black (awesome ball). I really like this videos and all your other
    ones, and I sure am glad you took away the effects haha. Looks like you’ve
    also gained yardage and got a smoother swing recently. Keep up the awesome
    videos!

  5. Rick I don’t think for the last 2yrs Drivers are getting longer at all.
    Especially the new Ping G30.. I bought it liked it but didn’t gain
    noticeable yards , I sold it and put the R1 back in the bag.
    User preference these days.. I believe
    Great channel by the way. Cheers

  6. I get the head to head match up, but isn’t the point of a new club to take
    advantage of the newer technology? I would like to see another comparison
    utilizing the technology built into the club.

  7. Hi Rick,

    Sorry not sure if anyone has already asked this question, but if you are
    using a 9.5 in the R1, are you not supposed to Loft Up with the SLDR to
    around a 12? I have been told that you dont get the benefits of the change
    in COG and the more penetrating ball flight unless you loft up, thats where
    the distance comes from?

    By the way, I just bought the SLDR irons based on your reviews

    Cheers,

    Mark

  8. Rick..You should have lofted up to the optimal lauch angle and then tried
    it. Stewart Cink has lofted to 12 to get prime distance numbers as well as
    other PGA Pro’s. Dustin Johnson-Boo Weekley-Jason Day-Juston Rose- have all
    lofted up at least 1 degree. I bet you would have gotten more yardage. Mark
    Crossfield got fitted and got more. Its all about science now. Try it and
    post it please.

  9. Traded in my R1 for the SLDR and went back the next day and got my R1 back.
    To me it was not worth the extra jack and I did not get any extra distance
    either. 

  10. You’re not taking into account the whole design of the SLDR. It’s meant to
    have a higher loft to achieve the greater distance. Personally I’ve played
    a R1 with 9.5 degrees of loft and I got fitted for a 12 degree sldr which
    does go considerable further with much less spin.

  11. I thought the WHOLE point of TM’s claim was that it was designed for higher
    loft. A lot of the pro’ using this club have gone up 1 or 2+ degrees over
    their normal setting. So you hitting them both at 9.5 is not really testing
    TM’s claims properly

  12. Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Elvio and I’m from Milan.
    i found your video very interesting. i actually have a R11 (bought it 3
    years ago i seem to remember) and I’m really attracted to buy the new SLDR.
    but i don’t know if it’s really worth it.. your video R11 vs SLDR made me
    think it is not worth, but since I have an old R11, well, it might be!
    can you compare them?
    furthermore there are many different SLDR which I don’t understand the
    differences. which one would you recommend? consider actually i use a stiff
    shaft and my average driving distance is 270m (300 yards).
    Thank you and congratulations!

  13. The whole reason the SLDR was big was because of the CG (center if gravity)
    being placed far and forward. The R1 had the CG in the back. In order for
    the SLDR to acclaim it’s distance potential, lofting up is necessary. So
    whenever you do these test, maybe you could give the best lofts suited for
    each driver and pair those up against each other.

  14. this is not necessarily straight up because you are tired by the time you
    get to the SLDR. any good pro knows not to hit more than 3 drivers in a
    row as you start to fatigue. you could hear you starting to breathe
    harder… did you take a break?

  15. I’m 14 my handicap is 24 and I have a big max smart trolley and a sun
    mountain tour bag. My clubs are xhot driver, callaway xhot2 3 and 5 woods,
    xhot hot 4 and 5 hybrids and xhot 5,6,7,8,9 irons, xhot pitching wedge and
    xhot2 sand wedge and a Callaway xj putter. Do you think I deserve all this
    even though I have only been playing just under 2 years.

  16. There’s a big issue with your test. The SLDR is designed to have a lower
    spin rate. You didn’t give the data on spin, launch, or ball speed. If
    it’s spec’d the same it won’t be much further. It needs to have it’s loft
    raised.

    I am a custom fitter at Golfsmith, and I’ve run similar tests. The only
    way to properly test this is to have both the R1 and the SLDR custom fit to
    the player. And then have the player make the comparisons.

    To get an SLDR to go further you’ll likely need to increase the loft on the
    head. I’ve found that Fujikura SLDR stock shaft to play a little softer
    than the RIP Phenom of the R1. As a result one might see benefit in
    increasing a flex, or choosing a tour/tp option. That’s my feel, someone
    else might find the stock offering to perform best.

    What I’m saying is, the fact that you hit the SLDR shorter is to be
    expected. The spin rate has dropped through the floor on this head vs R1.
    It must be lofted up and if it gets a higher ball speed, at a higher
    angle, with lower spin, it will be going further. My tests have shown that
    for a player that struggles with high spin, the SLDR is the best option for
    them right now. Ironically the R1 was also a good low spin option… the
    SLDR just happens to blow it away.

    You’re looking to see 17 degrees of launch and 1700 rpms of backspin.

    You’ll notice that Taylormade knows it’s hard to get guys to raise the loft
    and have started running ads about “loft up for more distance.”

    Players who think they need an 8 or 9 degree head would also be well suited
    for a 10.5 SLDR. 

  17. Hi Rick, great videos, your product reviews are great to watch. I was
    wondering if you could do this test again but loft up both clubs to 11 or
    12 degrees. These new clubs are designed to hit them with a higher loft. I
    lofted up with my R1 driver this year and got more distance and am
    pleasantly surprised.

  18. You need to LOFT IT UP! Take the SLDR up to 11 degrees and smack it vs the
    9.5 R1. Since the SLDR is designed with a more fwd CG you will need to
    loft it up to have the same launch angle and then the SLDR “should” spin
    less resulting in more distance.

  19. Hey Rick, I like the effort on this test, but honestly I don’t think it is
    accurate and actually contributes to more confusion for the average
    consumer. You need to ensure that your clubs are tuned properly to get an
    accurate comparison. I tune my clubs meticulously, and actually just did
    an initial comparison two days ago between the TaylorMade RBZ Tour I’ve
    been playing over the last year against the TaylorMade SLDR TP I just
    purchased. I used identical shafts (I’ve very picky on my shafts.. I won’t
    even go into the importance of the shafts), both shafts spine-aligned,
    exact length, frequencies within a few cycles of each other, etc. The RBZ
    was tuned to the traditional specs we were always taught… around 2300 RPM
    spin and 14 degrees of loft for launch angle (the clubhead is a 10.5 degree
    adjusted neutral). The SLDR was tuned toward TaylorMade’s new
    recommendations (17 degree launch / 1700 RPM) although in its 12 degree
    head neutral configuration I could only muster 16.1 degrees of launch and
    1600 RPM of spin… definitely will go back for most adjustment.
    Regardless, both clubs averaged around 175mph ball speed, but with the
    SLDR tuned closer to the 17 degree launch / 1700 RPM settings the SLDR was
    consistently 10 yards longer carry and around 15 yards longer total
    distance. And, more importantly, the less-well struck shots were
    straighter as my side-spin was reduced noticeably. With the back weighting
    on the RBZ, I simply cannot get the spin rate down below 2000, so the
    option of lofting it up to the 17 degree / 1700 RPM “magic” numbers is
    almost impossible. I think that is really the benefits that TaylorMade are
    touting. We didn’t get to view your spin rates, launch angles, etc., all
    of which are very important. Without them, it is like saying a BMW is
    faster than a Porsche… how far is the track, how many curves, how long
    are the straights? Different track configurations could yield different
    results. My guess is that a 9.5 SLDR is not really the loft necessary to
    get maximum distance for you, so I don’t think that is the proper choice
    for comparison (and, to be fair, I don’t know if 9.5 on the R1 is right
    either without seeing your numbers). It looks like I will be lofting up to
    around 12.5 degrees despite a consistent 117 – 120 mph swing speed, which
    is nuts as I used to play 7.5 – 8.5 degree drivers, but if that is what is
    required I’ll gladly do it. So my point is, it is imperative that the club
    be setup properly, or else the results are, quite frankly, just not
    relevant to the average consumer. Just my two cents… keep up the good
    work though!

  20. But that wasn’t the point! Taylormade’s SLDR is suppose to have higher loft
    -> longer distance….. so obviously the distance doesn’t matter too
    much….but you should have compared BOTH in their relative adjusted
    optimised degree.

  21. I love your club comparison videos! I love to tinker with my set makeup
    and I tend to look for deals on clubs by buying a generation or two old.
    Based on your review, I feel real good about picking up an R1.

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