The popular TaylorMade M1 Driver
by Donnie Baucom, AmateurGolf.com Equipment
Panel
We’ve all had it, that uncomfortable
feeling
of a conflicted mind that can’t choose
between two seemingly contradictory beliefs.
Psychologists call it cognitive dissonance and
it’s what TaylorMade fans might be
experiencing ever since the company released its
new M1 and M2 drivers. Luckily, AmateurGolf.com
equipment panelist Donnie Baucom is here to bring
harmony to your conflicted mind.
The launch of the new M1 driver earlier this year
brought huge hype with its new look. It uses what
looks like a piece of carbon fiber taken straight
from a racecar and molded into the back of the
driver, added another adjustment slot and claimed
to be the number one driver again. Then TaylorMade
decides to release an M2 driver that looks identical
to the M1 without the adjustments and with a price
difference of $100 ($499.99 vs. $399.99). I’ve
done the research and the testing so let’s
take a look at the differences in construction and
performance.
TAYLORMADE M1 DRIVER
TaylorMade’s R15 was a very successful
driver. It wasn't record breaking as far as distance
went but it was good enough to put in your bag. The
R15 had 11 PGA Tour wins in 2015, not too shabby.
Most of those wins came from Jason Day who
averaged 313.7 yards off the tee and finished 3rd in
driving distance. Dustin Johnson, using the
AeroBurner TP, topped the charts with 317.7 yards.
The distance came with a cost, however, as Jason
Day and Dustin Johnson both finished 162nd in
driving accuracy, hitting just 55 percent of fairways.
Let's hope with the new M1 and M2 we can find
some more fairways as well as hit it a long way.
As far as construction goes, what's this bad boy
made of? The answer is in the name of the driver. M
stands for Multi-Material and TaylorMade claims this
is the key to their drivers’ performance. The
construction is highlighted by a proprietary 7-layer
Carbon Composite Crown that is precision-formed
and built ultra-thin, ultra-light and high strength to
maximize weight savings. This allows for a better
constructed weight-loaded sole and more overall club
head weight lower for a more efficient power
transfer. So in layman's terms, more boom.
New for the M1 is the T-Track system that consists
of both a front and back track with 25 grams of
adjustable weight:
- Front Track: 15 gram weight to provide
multiple draw, neutral and fade settings
- Back Track: 10 gram weight adjusts for
multiple high, medium and low launch and spin
settings
TaylorMade claims this to be a more
"personalized" system to cater to
multiple swings. I decided to give it a test to see if I
could maximize my performance. After every
adjustment possible, I found that where you put the
weights had no significant effect on any drive hit. I
even did a blind test to see if we could change the
ball flight with draw and fade setting and nothing
changed. I’m not convinced that a change in
ball flight due to weight adjustments is anything
more than a placebo effect. See launch monitor
numbers below.
After hitting a few drives with the M1 I noticed
some vast fluctuations in trackman numbers. I would
either have very little spin or too much. I couldn't
find that sweet spot of 2000-2300 spin that
maximizes distances and accuracy. Too low of spin
and you get the knuckleball effect that floats. Yes, a
knuckleball is ideal for max distances but it's the
hardest ball flight to control. When hit perfectly
straight it goes forever, but when miss-hit, it squirts
and won't ever come back. It requires perfect robot
like swings in order to capitalize on this. If you have
too much spin, then the ball balloons and won't roll
when it hits the ground. As you can see in the
pictures the carry distance of a 1600 rpm ball only
carried 265 but rolled out to 302 and the 2700 rpm
ball carried but still only went 305.
The M1 was probably the least forgiving driver I
have hit in a long time. It was actually quite
frustrating how hard it was to maximize distance. In
order to create more accuracy I had to sacrifice ball
speed. When doing this the M1 just became an
average driver that was harder to hit. Keep in mind
that your results might vary, and based on the
number of M1's in play on Tour and with better
amateur golfers, it's likely that my results are
specific to my swing type and preferences.
TAYLORMADE M2 DRIVER
Side by side the M1 and M2 look identical from the
top. The M2 is basically an M1 without the
adjustment slots on the bottom and is $100 cheaper
than the M1 at $399.99. Does it hold its weight
against its big brother of the M1 or is it just a high
handicapper driver with big boy looks?
On paper what's actually different? The M2 still
has the same Multi-Material construction that the M1
has. TaylorMade claims to have added a massive
sweet spot which includes a higher MOI (moment of
inertia), inverted cone technology and a better
designed speed pocket. Another key feature is the
internal acoustic engineering which controls
vibrations and pitch to produce a solid, hot and crisp
sound. Just when I thought I was actually hitting
solid shots I learned I was being tricked with some
acoustic engineering.
Actually, I really was hitting it solid and the
numbers below prove it. I was blown away with how
the M2 outperformed the M1. It was very forgiving,
hot and produced great distance with optimal spin
rates.
The M2 produced very consistent smash factor
numbers and proved straighter, more forgiving and
longer than the M1. I felt that I didn't have to swing
perfectly every shot to maximize its performance.
Instead, the club allowed me to swing freely and the
ball flew the way it's supposed to. I was
consistently around 2000-2300 rpm almost every
swing and even the miss-hits outperformed M1's
solid shots. It makes me wonder if TaylorMade
made a mistake somewhere introducing this club at
a lower price point. Between the two clubs the M2
definitely fits me better.
Which is exactly the point.
TaylorMade has two drivers in the
"family" as they're calling it, and if you
go out and grab the one that most Tour players have
in the bag (The M1) you might be missing out on a
club that's $100 less expensive and fits your
swing better. That's the way it worked out for
me. I can manage to sacrifice some adjustable
weights and spend $100 less to get better
performance. With the money I saved, I’ll
buy a new stylish outfit or some new shoes. You
need to look good when you are dead center and
deep in the fairway.