Drivers

TESTED: Taylormade R15 (vs) SLDR

BY MyGolfSpy
Nov 14th 2014
Read all comments

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New clubs are great. We’ve been conditioned as consumerists to think that newer = better. Earlier this week we gave the world the first look at the new 2015 Taylormade R15 driver. Last night we were in New York city to cover the live launch event Taylormade had for the media. Today, we tell you whether or not 2015 is any better than 2014.

From a performance standpoint the 2014 Taylormade SLDR ranked #1 in the MyGolfSpy Most Wanted testing. The SLDR took home not only the distance category but also the overall. So, the R15 has some tough shoes to fill that is for sure.

Data

We hit the new R15 side by side next to the SLDR. Both clubs were set to the stated loft position (in this case 10.5°), and both had the movable weight(s) set to the neutral position.

Here’s how the data looks:

RESULTS

As you can see, we saw a bit more ball speed with the new model, but despite the lower launch, we saw a bit more spin as well. Noteworthy is that that ball speed was slightly more consistent (based on standard deviation) with R15 than with SLDR.

Although both models are 460cc the white head of the R15 does make it appear larger than the SLDR. We’re back to the part of that science of white thing again.

From a feel perspective, we think the R15 is an improvement over SLDR, though visually I prefer the old one.

Summary

Distance = R15 Longer
Accuracy = R15 More Offline
Ball Speed = R15 Higher
Launch = R15 Lower
Spin = R15 Higher
Feel = R15 Slightly Better

Takeaway

While we’ll certainly need to spend more time with it (and have more people test), our preliminary assessment is that while R15 shows better ball speed numbers than SLDR it most likely isn’t a must upgrade for most current SLDR owners. The ability to move more weight to the heel and toe, along with the stability setting, may make R15 more attractive for golfers who require shot shape correction in their driver.

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Driver Ping G30	Hybrids PXG 0317
3/4 IRON PXG 0311XF	5-GW Srixon Z 565
SW PXG 0317	LW PXG 0311
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comments

Join The Discussion

Arfon

9 years ago

Just put 2 movable weights on sldr
Set them 1 on draw 1 on fade
10 drives
strait down the fairway longer & strait

eron

9 years ago

Picked up the white R15 (dirt cheap of course ;)). SS avg for all 114
Tested it against the g30- (45.75″ shaft no consistency), Titleist 915 (about the same # as my 913d2), callaway Double diamond ( couldn’t stop finding the heel) ***all with stock shafts in stiff
R15 produced 12* launch 1400-1500 back spin, carry 288 total 306yds 20L—weights moved apart.
It was just a good fit FOR ME. It had a solid feeling I liked, call away felt very springy- pretty good too.
like others have said it doesn’t mean they’re trying to get SLDR users to change but maybr R11/s or R1 users. As long as their product works for me, I could care less about their release cycles. It’s their business

Frank C.

9 years ago

Just upgraded from G25 stock (S tour shaft) to R15 with Fujikura V6.0 X -red- (custom). The R15 is a full 9 to 15 yards longer, spin is lower yet it flies longer than my beloved G25. I tested the stock shaft of the R15 and it is a bit weak and muted and not as good, the upgraded shaft makes it a FAR better club. I just went to buy balls wen I saw the new driver, after 5 swings I was sold. I moved the weights to the extremes and it became a very forgiving 2100 RPM machine for my swing (107 mph). At 51 I was able to move the ball quite reliably down the fairway. Both drivers are very good, just the TMR15 IS longer. Both drivers are very forgiving.

Jim V

9 years ago

This past Saturday I went to my local Golfsmith and tested just about every driver they had :-)
including
R15
Aeroburner
G30 LS
Cobra FlyZ
Nike Vapor
Callaway BigBertha Alpha
Callaway BigBertha V Seies
Titleist 915 D2
To be honest I was hoping the 915 would be the one I purchased because it’s looks are stunning.
My swing speed is right around 102 mph
For me I found the R15 to be the longest and it had significantly less spin than the others.
Even with both weights positioned right in the center I found the R15 to be very forgiving.
Needless to say I bought it.

jkessler

9 years ago

Callaway has the R15 beat by a mile on distance!!

Paul Vicary

9 years ago

Not to worry about the look of the new driver. blink and add a S onto the model in 4 months and there you have it. The new and improved black head R15s. The best thing since four ply TP

Steve

9 years ago

I have a Taylormade R5 9.5 draw driver and have been looking to upgrade for years but it still hits the ball long and straight,after 8 years of using it I’ve just found out it’s illegal for competition, so I now read about high trajectory low spin technology for longer more accurate shots.Is this a proven fact and why is my driver illegal when it’s not oversize ?
Also should I invest in a new driver because I’m sure after 8 years the driver must lose some performance.
Cheers Steve.

Dr. Dean

9 years ago

Nicely done comparison of the drivers in friendly terms and everyday data. While this convinced me to stick with my SLDR 430 TP for now, I will certainly keep my eyes and ears open for additional gaming data on the R15.

Tom Busch

9 years ago

Are the shaft adapters interchangeable?

Lou

9 years ago

Listen,

I’ve seen a lot of posts about how “did you test with the same shafts in both drivers” and “why didn’t you do this or do that instead” replies and it’s really starting to get on my nerves. People need to understand that most people do NOT get fit for their drivers or clubs and that taking 2 clubs off the rack is pretty much how MOST people buy them. I think the test says a lot between the 2 drivers as it is. If I owned a SLDR, I would not upgrade to the R15. Maybe if my driver was 3 years old or more, I would consider it. Same goes for irons. The tests here are done with how the clubs are being sold to the average customer, off the rack, as they come or were intended to come. We all know putting in so and so’s shaft might work better than the stock and adding weights here or there can make it better than stock it’s just more people can relate to this as it is. The same people making these comments should realize that no one can possibly go through the seemingly limitless amount of shafts, grips, balls, weights and everything else associated with a fitting. If mygolfspy actually took the time to do this, TMag would already have 146,758 drivers out by the time the final results would be posted lol. If you have a favorite shaft or something else you want to try, go see your local fitter and try it! Thanks to the guys at mygolfspy for putting this up regardless….

Nocklaus

8 years ago

Well, I have an sldr, so of course I’m interested in the differences between the two. But if you try them out with different shafts, then I really dont know if it is the club or the shaft that is better. One shaft may fit a player better than another. I do have a favorite shaft in my driver and my point is that I could put it in the R15, IF I knew that the clubhead was actually better.
If we talk about a player with the original shaft in his sldr, he might benefit from just buying the new shaft if that is what is better with the R15…

Philippe

9 years ago

Any advice on the new RSI irons Steel vs forged and are these an improvement on the SDR irons which came out here in SA about six months ago….have been using R11 with no complaints….

shannon

9 years ago

Its important to understand the weight settings with the new version as it has two movable weights that can move independently of each other. If u want the forgivness speraed the weights apart distance put it together. It alsmost best to test the club against its self R15 accuracy vs length settings then compare those numbers to the sldr better yet give the testers their ideal setting and let them go at it

AWOL

9 years ago

I wasn’t expecting a huge improvement over the SLDR. Like what has been said a thousand times before, this driver isn’t necessarily to replace the SLDR for the the people that bought one, more like people like me who are still playing an R1 or RBZ or even Burner driver. Looks cools and i like how they will offer both white and black. I tried really hard to convince myself to pick up a SLDR but after hitting the G30 i backed off. This might be a more viable replacement for my R1. I think i hit clubs better that have higher spin and CG away from the face. But i think i will wait until i can get my hands on comparing a G30 vs R15 vs 915 vs Cobra. I think those 4 drivers are going to be the ones. Maybe the Nike too.

vinny

9 years ago

Presently using the sldr tp 460 stiff shaft 10.5 set to 9.
Did you compare the tp version?
The sldr tp 460, the set up is not pleasing to the eye.

gunmetal

9 years ago

Probably a dumb question here but do you guys test heads that have been tested for COR/CT to ensure apples to apples? And where lofts are “stated” we all know one of the 10.5’s could have been up to 11.5, one could be as low as 9.5. What about shafts? Did you swap shafts or just use the stock set ups? I don’t know if the shaft lengths and weight are the same but all 3 of these factors can easily add up to 4 yards if not 14.

If what you’re doing is comparing an off the rack set up vs another off the rack set up, that’s perfectly fine and dandy – but I don’t know if it should be characterized to indicate that one model is better than another (even if the improvements are marginal). Am I being unreasonable?

Nocklaus

8 years ago

Very good point !

peter

9 years ago

we had a deno day here and I but the sldr up against the srixion 545 driver the ball speed was 170 of the face it was longer than the sldr and the club that won hands down was the new titleist it was longer than both and way more forgiven titleist only bring out a driver every two years and this one was worth the wait even the fairway woods are unreal I think titleist are the force for 2015 clubs as there clubs are brilliant this year

Regis

9 years ago

Good Call. I’m sure you will enjoy the SLDR. I approached it a little differently. The SLDR came out in July 2013. I waited until the spring of 2014 to get mine. Still paid bust out retail but my shop gave me a very good trade in on my Titleist 910. So given the difference of what I paid versus what I would pay now I figure it cost me $100, given the fact that the trade in on the Titleist would have also dropped proportionately. So the long and short of it is I didn’t have to run around finding the loft and flex I wanted and it ended up costing me , probably, net $1 to $1.25 a round for last season and I really did love the change. Really the equivalent of leasing. So I have no regrets and I’m sure if you find the model that suits your needs you won’t either.

Rick

9 years ago

Why does everyone feel that when an OEM releases a new product they are trying to replace product customer bought the prior year. All OEM’ s track their yearly product sales and can take an educated guess of who will be ready for a switch. My sales show that my customers who bought R11 and R 11s are prime candidates for the R15. I am sure my SLDR buyers want to kick the tires with the R15 and I will let them decide, but I will not push it, unless I see significant launch condition improvement. Products run in cycles,

labillyboy

9 years ago

Yawn… let me know when they are in the sale bin… the greatest significance is the value of your used SLDR just dropped by 50%… I might have to pick one up to try out. I’ll bet there will be a bunch of inventory from all those who are compelled to switch every time Carlsbad puts out a new shiny toy… Now get out there and start switching… I want some choices when I start looking at used SLDR’s!

Frank Tank

9 years ago

I picked up a new SLDR for $130 last month. Quite happy with it. Based on history, R15 will be half price when R17 is announced in Dec of 2015.

Dave

9 years ago

Any chane of comparing the new TM against the new Cobra?

SB

9 years ago

Thanks for doing this it was great. I would love to see this in the future as clubs get released. This helps a lot for people that are loval to a club or question if this is marketing or true innovation. Looking to see how much difference was there between the G25 and G30 or Titleist 913 to 915.

I understand why your larger best drivers of the year takes so long to produce and why you do it the way that you do. But this is great to give us some info when something first comes out to give us something to think about before the big reviews.

Brian Garrett

9 years ago

Weird, I hit R15 today and the one noticeable thing about it was the launch was higher. I didn’t use a launch monitor, but my rep said that R15 should launch higher. As far as feel/sound/distance go… it was 25 degrees outside there was no way I was getting Flightscope out.

golfingindian

9 years ago

R15 is good one…. i like it. Just want to get one.

Adam

9 years ago

Lets not forget that this is only quick fire test made to show a direct comparison between the two in the most apples to apples way possible with what i’m guessing is an even smaller than usual sample size.

This is not a “most wanted” test by any means and is not meant as an end all be all comparison of optimized performance between these 2 clubs.

cRaSh2k1

9 years ago

Just ordered two 10g weights of the bay for my SLDR. Let the tinkering begin⛳️

Regis

9 years ago

I like my SLDR a lot. I was not expecting major changes or improvement. I’ll wait for further tests before I decide whether the introduction was a bust. My guess is that from a marketing perspective changing back to white as the flagship color was not an accident. A local shop who carries pre owned and takes trades tells me white drivers and fairways are always popular.

Tomtom12

9 years ago

Here are the old tests

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apciCMfbaWw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_RDaJ8lIv4

Thom

9 years ago

Lower launch with higher spin is exactly the opposite of what I need, and I think would lead to worse accuracy numbers. So, I don’t understand the point of coming out with a product that would be less effective than a previous one. I guess some people need more spin so maybe it’s just not for me.

Revkev

9 years ago

I’d like to see the comparison between the R9 and the R15. I’m guessing there wouldn’t be a huge difference there either although the fit would have to be different for each club.

Nice work and thanks.

Eric

9 years ago

Cool, I can now make fun of every idiot who has a TM driver, the distance gained is INCREDIBLE! Really 3 yards! Is this downwind? What a joke TM is. Anyone with half a brain laughs at this company, THEY are pathetic.

golfercraig

9 years ago

Man, you must be a barrel of laughs at get-togethers. Laughing at people you don’t know, calling them idiots, just KNOWING how superior your product is to the product they chose. All due to a piece of equipment chosen to play a game. Quite an internet tough guy. Your family must be proud of how you come to the internet to tell everyone how smart you are, and how much better your driver is because they are PATHETIC! Congrats!

AWOL

9 years ago

Wow Eric tell that to the 300+ tour pros that play TMag and im sure they will be glad to hand your ass to you.

SkipThisAd

9 years ago

Oh Boy ! Not much difference between the two .I was hoping R15 Driver would be at least 15 yards longer since the RBZ 3w was 17 yards longer then.
Maybe we’ll wait to see if the R15 3w will bring us 32 more yards,( 17 from RBZ technology plus 15 from…2015 technology)
I don’t know about you guys but I’m disappointed with the results. It only means that now I have to practice, learn a new grip, new ball position, complete back swing, swing through the ball not at it and hold my finish. Also, I would need to workout ,do stretching, yoya etc,and I have read that if we have stronger/bigger a… ( gluten muscles) we’ll hit the ball longer.
PLEASE Taylormade make this driver longer, I do not want my a.. to look like Kim Kardashian ‘s.

W

9 years ago

Question about this test, did you use the same shaft in both heads, or the stock shaft from each?

I’d be curious to see the results from someone that was professionally fit for the SLDR use their shaft, and have the lofts checked on the club heads to ensure they are comparable. Obviously that’s a big ask considering they just announced the R15, but if anyone will test it right, I know it’ll be MGS!

Luv2Golf

9 years ago

I currently have the SLDR 430 TP in my bag. Love the spin numbers it gives me. I hope to see a comparison between it and the new R15 430 as well.

dave

9 years ago

What was the core of both heads?

Nikeland

9 years ago

Reading the live tweeting of the event. All i could think about is how much Nike is glorified by the admins and Taylormade is chastised for their product cycles- It the companies decision so why does it matter.
It boils down to
Nike good- Taylormade bad

Tony Covey

9 years ago

What a perfectly myopic view of things. Live coverage depends on the event itself. If you look at what Nike has done of late in these events…breakout sessions. A tremendous amount of detailed information about each and every product in the line. We’re talking about 6-8 hours of actual insight from the manufacturer. A FULL DAY of product introductions. And yes…Nike’s people of late have provided great quotes along the way.

Find anyone who was at the event who’s willing to be honest with you…there wasn’t much to cover. This particular TMaG event was brief (Jason Day & John C. McGinley gave a roughly 1/2 hour presentation). It was HEAVY scripted (over-scripted), and contained very little in the way of insight about the actual products being released. Quite frankly, TaylorMade gave me almost zero material to work with.

As an FYI, other than EVP of Product Creation, Sean Toulon, none of TaylorMade’s metalwood product team was on-hand, nor was Product Evangelist, Tom Kroll. Those guys were all in Carlsbad introducing the product to the Sales team, in what I can only hope involved a much more technical discussion of the product. It’s next to impossible to provide detailed product info, when the guys who can provide it aren’t at the event.

Blake

9 years ago

Great review… We have some Taylormade fans in the office… One in-particular still swings the original R11… they have certainly changed in a few short years.

Lou

9 years ago

Wiil you be doing the jetspeed / aeroburner test also?

Dave S

9 years ago

Only about 10 people bought the Jetspeed so what good would it do? :)

Lou

9 years ago

Well those 10 “inquiring minds” want to know ok!! LOL

Jon S

9 years ago

Well, I’m one of the 10, also…with similar setup (12.5 Jetspeed, 11.5 SLDR, neutral L/R bias), I’ve found the Jetspeed to be about 5 yards longer than the SLDR at my 90 mph swingspeed…wonder if the Aeroburner will do better…

Regis

9 years ago

Yeah I tried the Jetspeed and I liked it but settled on the SLDR. That being said I played with 3 different guys in the last month who could bomb it and who gamed the JetSpeed and loved it. Still a couple of guys on the tour using it. Just not a commercial success.

Mackdaddy

9 years ago

Way more Jetspeed users at my club than SLDRs.

Mackdaddy

9 years ago

I would love to know what percentage of players with adjustable drivers adjust them at all? I know I have my Rocketballs Stage 2 on the lowest setting to open the face but I have noticed that most people I play with that have adjustable drivers use tham in the base settings. That would be a cool Mygolfspy survey.

Raj LP

9 years ago

This is great that you got this out already. Thanks guys. I have an SLDR 10.5 and I was curious about this the minute I saw the article about the R15. I have liked the SLDR but like you mentioned in your sldr review it’s not very forgiving. I’m curious how this rates on the forgive-o-meter. Also, I used to hit a 9.5 and got a 10.5 sldr but feel like I could’ve lofted up a little more. Wonder how that will play out for the R15 with slightly higher launch .

Dave S

9 years ago

Well, according to the “Accuracy” metric, the SLDR is actually better than the R15. This is the most important metric for me (all drivers are ridiculously long these days), so there’s about a 0% chance I purchase the R15. IMO, either stick with the SLDR you have or – if accuracy is what you seek – trade in for a Ping G30 (or G25 if you don’t want to pay the new driver premium).

Raj LP

9 years ago

Good point Dave. Do you think the R15 is more offline because it has a higher launch and possibly more hang time to veer off course?

Pacer

9 years ago

Look at the table again. The R15 does NOT have a higher launch. The R15 has a LOWER launch and slightly HIGHER spin. IMO the offline is probably attributable to the higher spin rate. Like a pitcher in baseball more spin equals more movement on breaking pitches.

AO

9 years ago

Marginal improvement, at best. Even in a limited test.

Barrie Can

9 years ago

Let me know if you need a tester, I already own a SLDR 12*.

VCURamGolf

9 years ago

You have taylormade spelled taylromade in your page title.

I thought their theory behind max distance was higher launch, lower spin? This looks like it’s lower launch and higher spin.

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