TaylorMade introduces M1 driver, fairway woods, hybrids and PSi irons

I had the privilege to attend the TaylorMade launch event for their new M1 and Psi irons at Foxwood's Lake of Isles golf course in southern Connecticut. I will be doing a full review of the M1 driver and will show some photos below, but this thread is more about the event.

TaylorMade staff players Steve Bowditch and Sean O'Hair were there along with Hank Haney. TaylorMade staff was very friendly, helpful and made us all feel welcome. We all got a swag bag with an M1 hat, a dozen prototype golf balls and a mophie juice pack to keep our mobile devices powered.

The hint of the event was "Taylor ade", which left the "M" out now for obvious reasons. Their M1 driver is the latest in a long line of TaylorMade innovation.

Below is the entrance to the range. They set up a number of fitting stations with Flightscopes. Their intent was to show each media member a view of their fitting process and to fit us to an M1 driver.

Fitting range with Flightscope in each station.

I spent some time with two fitters going over the details of the new M1 driver, Nick G. and Freddy V. I asked what the design intent of the M1 driver was. Nick replied that TaylorMade wanted to make adjustability more intuitive and improve the overall performance of the driver. They've replace the titanium crown of the R series with carbon fiber, which allows more weight to be placed lower in the head. This gives them the ability to get higher launch and allow spin to be controlled by the new T-Track weight adjustment system.

Below is a fit kit with the new M1.

The T-track has a 15gram sliding weight in the front that runs horizontal to the face. It allows the player to fine tune shot shape. Another 10g slider, that runs perpendicular to the face will adjust spin by moving the CoG back a bit. The sliders are fine tune adjusters. The primary launch angle is determined by loft.  Your swing path and face angle to path at impact will be the primary factor for ball flight. The sliders will allow you to fine tune that.

The hosel adjustment is the same as the R1 series which will allow customers to use their favorite shaft. Below, Nick is showing me the adjustment. As with the R series, the hosel allow +/- 2 degrees of loft and lie adjustment.

The T-track acts like the Speed Pocket in the Aeroburner Driver. It allows the COR near the sole to be improved for less loss of distance.

The carbon fiber crown is something TaylorMade has been working on for a while. They've spent a lot of time perfecting the sound of the driver. Other carbon fiber drivers perform well, but have a muted sound at impact. The M1 sounds like an all metal driver.

The set up view shows the carbon fiber in the head. Showing the carbon weave was a great idea to me.

Below are the "innards" of the M1.

The Psi irons are a revision of the slot technology from the RSi line. A new proprietary polymer is being used to make the irons feel and perform more like blades.

I asked Nick and a couple of others about the release cycle TaylorMade has. I said that it seems to many of our TST forum members that TaylorMade has too quick a cycle and that they are obsoleting their previous models that are then being discounted.

Nick said that they hear that feedback from consumers all the time. But TaylorMade is an innovation and technology company and that drives what they do. In addition, for consumers that don't want to pay the high price of a new to market driver, they have the option of getting a lower priced model with almost the latest technology.

I found this to be a very honest answer and got the same reply from others.

I didn't get a picture of the fairway, but it has only one track on the sole with two weights. The t-track would not have worked well on a fairway because the sole is not wide enough and the additional weight in the back would cause too much CoG shift leading to tops shots.

My next post will be the fitting session with Steve Bowditch.

The staff fitting session was a Q&A; with Steve Bowditch, Sean O'Hair, Hank Haney and TaylorMade R&D; staff. Hank Haney MC'd the session. Hank was very nice to meet in person. He is very passionate about teaching and helping golfers. This was very evident in how he engaged us. Hank is also a big spokesperson for TaylorMade.

Below is Hank on the range. For a 60 year old guy, he can hit it pretty far. He is tall too.

Steve Bowditch and Sean O'Hair discussed how they like to test clubs. Sean is a more feel/visual player. He likes to see the launch and flight more than rely on data. Steve is the opposite. He knows what the optimum numbers are and worked toward getting there. They both feel that the look of a driver, woods and irons are really important.

Sean O"Hair (left) and Steve Bowditch (middle), my new favorite Aussie Pro. He's from Brisbane. Sean did not hit because he tweaked his back. Brian Bazzel is the R&D; rep with the mic.

The big treat for me was seeing Steve hit. This is the first time I've seen a PGA Pro hit up close and personal. It was a wow moment.  The range at Lake of Isles is about 330 yards to the trees. Steve was reaching the trees.

Below is Steve hitting the new M1. He doesn't look like he is swinging hard, but the ball just keeps going and going. Take note of the trackman numbers.

Hit also hit a 5 iron. The new PSi irons are longer than his blades. He won't put them in the back until he dials in the distances. He did say he is really considering change to these. A 200 yard carry 5 iron that feels like a blade will do that. Steve did mention how close to blade these feel as compared to other cavity backs.

Below is his 5 iron shot. On another, Steve commented that it was a mishit while it was in the air. Hank joked, "Yeah, a 217 yard mishit."

We got to walk 3 holes with Steve B., TaylorMade's Global Product Line Manager for Metalwoods Tom Kroll, a former pro himself, and Hank Haney.  First let me say that the tees they play from are intimidating. The first was a 457 par 4. I joked that I could reach the front tee from here.

Below is Hank. He pushed it to the right into the rough.

Steve hit his about 305 yards into the left rough. I think it would have rolled through the fairway into the marsh at 370ish otherwise. He's never played the course before.

He hit one of the new PSi 9 irons to about 15 feet from 160. Pretty good for not knowing the club.

The next hole was a very intimidating par three to a small green over a marsh. Below is Steve hitting the same 9 iron. The hole was 157. The movie doesn't do justice to how intimidating it looks.

Tom Kroll on the same hole on the green with a 9 iron.

Hank chose an 8 iron. It just rolled off the back.

Next was my favorite hole a dogleg right par 4. The center of the green was 305. First Tom asked Steve to hit a hybrid to a safe spot. He aimed to just clear the fairway bunkers. Just made it!

Then Tom asked him to go for the green. Steve said, "Where is it?" Hank, having played to course said that it was to the right around the trees. You could barely make out the bunkers through the trees. He gave it a whack, below and it looked promising.

As we walked toward the green, a Golf Digest writer asked him a few questions about playing under pressure. Steve was very forth coming about his mental approach. His last win, he won wire to wire and didn't really experience the nerves. As we got closer, I could see the green. I told the group, "His ball is about 10 feet from the pin." Steve smiled and said, "Pretty good, eh?" in that Brisbane accent.

One note about the Golf Digest writer (seen on the right in the photo on the tee). I saw her on the range while she was getting fit and her husband was watching. It was their honeymoon. They were married three days before. Talk about dedication!

I had a blast on this trip.

Not sure how much we would get. Steve was getting about 10 more yards. He also commented about how much better the dispersion was. He didn't like that some longer drivers had too much.

Tom Kroll asked him about how a driver makes the bag. Steve commented that if it gave him just one duck hook, it was out!

Steve plays a fade with the driver and draws with everything else.

The did a demo where they set the M1 to neutral and Steve B. hit. Then they switched to the extremes. There was a significant ball flight change. But Steve did go on about the better dispersion with the M1. I think he was hinting that the R15 had more than he wanted.

I asked them about the Aeroburner replacement and they were not aware of anything imminent. The Aeroburner is a nice club and DJ plays it.

Why would they if they outsell Callaway? Marketing strategies are based on net positive value of sales. Also, I don't think Callaway is any more ethical. Their job is to sell new equipment to the public. That is their service. The public doesn't have to buy the clubs. TM and other manufactures want the public to want to buy the club. No one is being forced.

I did not hit the hybrid or fairway due to limited time. I did over hear TM's German head of R&D; talk about why the hybrid was black but all other metalwoods were white. He stated that it just didn't look good to the consumers.

Allow me to judge for myself please. I happen to be playing all Titleist at the moment, so I'm not easily swayed.

This thread is about the event. I shared my experience, which was my first time, for the other members. I also gave a look into the new clubs and my time walking the course with Steve Bowditch. You've turned the thread into a referendum on TM marketing practices.

If you want to discuss that, it is fine, but not the topic of this thread.