TaylorMade Tour Preferred CB Irons Review

TaylorMade’s flagship amateur irons have been updated for 2014, and we take them for a spin.

TaylorMade TP Irons 2014 CB HeroThe Tour Preferred CB irons are, I suppose, the spiritual successors to the RocketBladez Tour irons that I reviewed a year ago. They’re another cast set of irons with TaylorMade’s Speed Pocket technology (a polymer-filled slot cut out of the sole) that TM is hoping will appeal to a mass audience as well as the occasional better player. Ideally, these are a spectrum-spanning set of irons.

You might not expect it, but these have already made it into the bags of PGA Tour players and weekend hackers alike. Let’s see if they should earn a spot in your bag.

Volume Three Hundred Eighty-One

Major season has begun, and is there any better week than Masters’ week?

Hittin' the LinksThe azaleas must be blooming. Are you ready for plenty of Condoleezza sightings and to hear “A tradition unlike any other” about a ka-zillion times this week? It will all be worth it come Sunday and the most famous back nine in all of golf.

The weather this week in Augusta looks good after Monday. With a little luck we might get treated to a hard and fast Augusta National, which is almost always to most exciting setup. We’ll be watching coverage all week, and DVRing the Par Three Contest and opening rounds. Cannot wait!

But first, let’s hit the links.

TaylorMade SLDR Fairway and Rescue Review

Do the SLDR Fairway and Rescue live up to the hype of the SLDR Driver? And what’ s with this low-forward center of gravity concept anyway?

The TaylorMade SLDR FairwayOne of the most hyped family of clubs currently out there is the SLDR from TaylorMade. First came the driver with its signature movable weight that (yes) slides toward the toe or heel to adjust ball flight. This was not a new idea, as Mizuno and others had used a slide-able weight in the past. No, the real breakthrough technology in the SLDR family is the low-and-forward center of gravity (CG). And unlike the slider weight, the low-and-forward CG is found throughout the line, including in the fairway and rescue woods.

TaylorMade claims that the low-and-forward CG will let many players increase loft to achieve a higher launch with lower spin to promote maximum distance. This is a tantalizing prospect. In most parts of the U.S., golf remains an aerial game. Bandon Dunes and other truly firm and fast courses aside, players are almost always better off getting maximum carry rather than trying to run the ball along the fairway. Higher shots will land softer, giving us a better chance to hold the green and less chance of it running into trouble.

The SLDR Rescue looks all business at address.

There is no denying that SLDRs are generating a lot of buzz. You can spot the chrome accent all over every PGA Tour broadcast, and probably at your club, as well. The rumor is that several manufacturers will be moving weight forward and low in upcoming models. Will this be the next big thing? Let’s take a look.

TaylorMade JetSpeed Driver Review

TaylorMade tries to step up their game with the release of their latest driver, named JetSpeed, I take it for a spin to see how it performs.

JetSpeedIn the past couple of years TaylorMade launched one of the most aggressive marketing campaigns the golf industry has ever seen around a unique club named Rocketballz. The Rocketballz line was a very popular line of drivers and fairway woods. Hoping to continue on the excitement TaylorMade released Rocketballz-ier line called RBZ Stage 2. The Stage 2 line was not nearly as popular as the original, and so once again TaylorMade decided to change it up with the JetSpeed line of woods.

The audience for the JetSpeed is average golfers for whom the excitement of the movable weight technology in the SLDR line does not tickle their fancy. I was the reviewer for the SLDR driver and I was very excited about the distance gains from the SLDR driver but I was unable to hit it straight. So when the opportunity to hit the JetSpeed came along I jumped at the opportunity.

Let’s take a look at how the JetSpeed stacks up.