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What’s new? How much does it cost? And how does it perform? Tom Irwin brings you the low down on TaylorMade’s new Stealth 2 HD fairway wood
The Stealth 2 HD fairway wood is the high-draw model in the Stealth 2 fairway wood family. So how does it perform? You can find out in our TaylorMade Stealth 2 HD fairway wood review.
Fairway woods are one of strengths, and I currently game a SIM 2 3-wood so I was looking forward to trying these.
There are three new Stealth fairways. The HD is the High Draw model, it has the biggest CC and the lowest profile.
Like the others in the range, it is a thing of beauty and is incredibly easy to use. It was hard to stop ripping high flying draws off the range tee in Portugal. It really is a lot of fun to use.
PROS
CONS
The TaylorMade Stealth 2 HD is the largest and easiest to use of the three models in the Stealth 2 fairway wood line up. At 200cc, it is significantly larger than the Plus model, which is just 170cc. The Stealth 2 sits in the middle at 185cc.
Don’t misinterpret this to mean that the HD is cumbersome. Far from it. It shares the same sleek looks as its little brothers. A gloss black crown gives way to a black alignment line with just the centred TaylorMade logo fon a classic-looking head.
The extra CC is used up on heel-to-toe length, as the head is also the lowest profile of the three Stealth 2 iterations of fairway woods. I love how it sits on the turf and shares the patented V Steel sole with Stealth 2, making it feel similarly versatile.
It is quite a big departure from previous TaylorMade fairway woods, that 200cc head is definitely bigger than we are used to seeing, and is ultra high MOI, as opposed to low spin. The therefore larger and more low-profile sole helps the club hug the ground at address and makes it easier to achieve a high launch.
It is a pleasure to keep flicking ball after ball away. It just seems effortless. Stealth HD has the highest MOI of any TaylorMade fairway wood and this really comes into play off the deck where it is super easy to flight shot after shot.
I don’t really want to stop hitting this club. It is super flattering. I am a pretty competent fairway wood player but this is so easy to use I can see it helping people who struggle with lofted woods from the deck.
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It is also slightly draw-biased due to some internal weighting meaning it is easy to turn over from right to left. I am less keen on this as my natural shape is left going left, so on the course, this might give me some concerns. On this range with the Trackman though, it is sensational. I feel like by moving the weight back in the head and lofting up, I could get the playability of the HD without bringing in that fear of missing left.
As we reach the limit of face tolerances, the story is about forgiveness and this is certainly the case with the Stealth 2. These are certainly the easiest to use TaylorMade 3-woods I have tried.
Contributing to that is what TaylorMade call Advanced Inverted Cone Technology. In simple terms, the face has variable thicknesses, so weight can be distributed to where you need it most. They also all feature twist face which now seems to be a permanent fixture for TaylorMade metals. Always a good sign that tech is working.
I think this will HD 3 Wood will bring new players to TaylorMade, whose perception may have been that their tendency is to build super powerful, low spinning metals. Here is a club that is as easy to use as anything out there.
The data was gathered on a grass range with a Trackman, from tee peg. I also took the Stealth 2 Plus out on to the course and played 3 holes. A dog leg left, a dog leg right and a straight hole from a high tee downwind. .
I hit shots off a hanging line from around 240 yards on a soft golf course with all of the 3 woods on test and this alongside the new Ping was by far and away the easiest to lauch, that low profile head and super low CG was able to send the ball high enough to climb over a significant false front where some of the low spinners were falling short. This is where a club like this becomes a serious consideration as a gamer, if you are looking for high flying, 2nd shots, as opposed to penetrating tee shots from your fairways then take a look at HD, I will be.
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To test this product we travelled to West Cliffs a leading European golf course just North of Lisbon. The idea was to get some warmer weather and escape our frozen British courses. It of course rained, a lot, was very windy. Each of our test team were allocated a category of golf clubs, fairways, or a specific type of driver or iron.
We gathered data on a Trackman 4 or FlightScope. We used Titleist Pro V1 for all tests. The samples we have are either fully fitted for our testers or ordered in our assumed specs. We are then able to optimise performance by swapping shafts and playing with the adjustability. As well as that dry testing all of the product was tested on course in a comparative environment with other product from the same category. We recognise that no testing process is perfect and just aim to be fair in our treatment, transparent in our process and candid in our feedback.
Available: Now
RRP: £299
Lofts: 16°, 19° & 22°
Shafts: Fujikura Speeder NX Red
More information: TaylorMade Website
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