Skip to content
    • Tour Homepage
    • PGA Tour
    • LIV Golf
    • DP World Tour
    • LPGA
    • LET
    • The Masters
    • The Open
    • The Players
    • US Open
    • PGA Championship
    • Ryder Cup
    • Solheim Cup
    • WITB
    • Betting
    • News
    • Features
    • Equipment Homepage
    • Reviews
    • Drivers
    • Fairway Woods
    • Hybrids
    • Irons
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Golf Balls
    • DMDs
    • Apparel
    • Shoes
    • Trolleys
    • Features
    • News
  • Buying Advice
    • Rules
    • WHS
    • Features
    • News
    • Instruction Homepage
    • Driving Tips
    • Long Game
    • Iron Play
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Learn from the pros
    • Course Management
    • Fitness
    • Mental Game
    • Nutrition
  • Giveaways
    • Top 100 Rankings
    • Travel
    • Top 100s Tour
    • Society Guide
    • NCG Golf Podcast
    • NCG Top 100s Podcast
    • Your Golf Podcast by NCG
  • Digital Magazine
National Club GolferNational Club Golfer Logo
  • TourHas submenu items

    Tour Homepage

    • PGA Tour
    • LIV Golf
    • DP World Tour
    • LPGA
    • LET
    • The Masters
    • The Open
    • The Players
    • US Open
    • PGA Championship
    • Ryder Cup
    • Solheim Cup
    • WITB
    • Betting
    • News
    • Features
  • EquipmentHas submenu items

    Equipment Homepage

    • Reviews
    • Drivers
    • Fairway Woods
    • Hybrids
    • Irons
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Golf Balls
    • DMDs
    • Apparel
    • Shoes
    • Trolleys
    • Features
    • News
  • Buying Advice
  • ClubHas submenu items
    • Rules
    • WHS
    • Features
    • News
  • InstructionHas submenu items

    Instruction Homepage

    • Driving Tips
    • Long Game
    • Iron Play
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Learn from the pros
    • Course Management
    • Fitness
    • Mental Game
    • Nutrition
  • Giveaways
  • CoursesHas submenu items
    • Top 100 Rankings
    • Travel
    • Top 100s Tour
    • Society Guide
  • PodcastsHas submenu items
    • NCG Golf Podcast
    • NCG Top 100s Podcast
    • Your Golf Podcast by NCG
  • Digital Magazine

Sign up here for our newsletter and you'll never slice a drive again. Promise.

Newsletter sign up

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
National Club Golfer Logo

© 2026 National Club Golfer | 2 Arena Park, Tam Lane, LS17 9BF

🇬🇧UK🇺🇸International
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy
Country: us Page generated at: Thursday, 29 January 2026 at 3:58:13 Greenwich Mean Time
reviews
Latest reviews
Testing TaylorMade custom fitted gear against off the shelf equipment

published: Mar 8, 2018

|

updated: Oct 4, 2023

Testing TaylorMade custom fitted gear against off the shelf equipment

James SavageLink

FacebookXInstagramYouTubePodcast0 comments

We sometimes use affiliate links to products and services on retailer sites for which we can receive compensation if you click on those links or make purchases through them.

We headed to TaylorMade’s performance centre at The Belfry to see how our off-the-shelf selections compared to fully custom-fitted clubs

TaylorMade custom fitted golf clubs

Table of Contents

Jump to:

  • review: taylormade m3 driver
  • review: taylormade m4 driver with ‘twist face’ technology

TaylorMade Custom fitted golf clubs vs. off the shelf – The methodology

Our TaylorMade custom fitted golf clubs vs. off the shelf test took place at the PGA Academy at The Belfry where TaylorMade have a state-of the art fitting bay.

Most of us are guilty of self-diagnosis when it comes to our performance on the golf course, and in particular, the performance of our golf equipment.

Some are worse than others. Then there’s our equipment editor James Savage. And worse still, advertising director Christian Maiden.

After every round there’s likely to be some excuse about loft, shaft weight, spin rate, grip size or groove width.

But don’t worry, with a few turns of a wrench they’ve dialled themselves in ahead of their next trip to the 1st tee. They should both know better but simply can’t resist the urge to tinker.

TaylorMade custom fitted golf clubs

 

But with the firm belief that they know best, we sent the pair to essentially fit themselves into a new driver and then compare the performance to some properly custom-fitted golf clubs.

We’ve already seen the phenomenal success of the new TaylorMade and M3 and M4 drivers in their first few months on tour.

But which models would work best for James and Christian? They’d soon find out it’s far from a simple 50-50 call.

Taylor made custom fitted golf clubs

With the M3 there’s a 460cc and a 440cc head to choose from with four different loft options.

The M4 comes in a regular and draw-bias D-Type model with four loft options. But then there’s dozens of shafts, adjustable hosels and moveable weights.

Luckily, expert fitter Neil Wain was on hand…

TaylorMade custom fitted golf clubs vs. off the shelf – The results

James Savage
Handicap: 17

TaylorMade custom fitted golf clubs

DRIVER CHOSEN OFF THE SHELF: TaylorMade M4, 9.5 ̊, Project X Hzrdus Yellow shaft.

RESULTS: Average carry 230, average total 256. Tendency to miss left with toe strike.

TaylorMade custom fitted golf clubs

DRIVER FITTED INTO: TaylorMade M4, 9.5˚ (+2˚ on loft sleeve), Project X Hzrdus Black.

Advertisement

RESULTS: Average carry 246, average total 267. Very tight dispersion, straight down the line.

TaylorMade custom fitted golf clubs

Neil had his work cut out with James who had a better idea than most about what works best for him. But with a change to a slightly firmer shaft and adding a bit more loft, Neil was able to add 16 yards of carry and straighten the ball flight.

TaylorMade custom fitted golf clubs

Christian Maiden
Handicap: 8

TaylorMade custom fitted golf clubs

DRIVER CHOSEN OFF THE SHELF: TaylorMade M3, 9.5 ̊, Fujikura Pro 73 shaft.

RESULTS: Average carry 214, average total 245. Nearly every miss low and to the right.

TaylorMade custom fitted golf clubs

DRIVER FITTED INTO: TaylorMade M4 D-Type, 10.5 ̊(+2 ̊), Fujikura Pro 53.

RESULTS: Average carry 235, average total 255.

TaylorMade custom fitted golf clubs

The driver set-up which worked best for Christian was night and day from what he had chosen. The D-Type model along with a lighter shaft really straightened out his ball flight as it allowed him to square the face more easily. Better launch and a bit more spin increased carry by 20 yards.

TaylorMade custom fitted golf clubs

TaylorMade custom fitted golf clubs vs. off the shelf – NCG verdict

With both players, we have seen a gain of 20 yards.

That’s what can be gained from properly custom-fitted golf clubs.

With Christian it was a wholesale change into a lighter softer shaft and a more forgiving head with draw bias.

[skylab_video id=”134719″]TaylorMade M4 Driver Review featuring Dustin Johnson[/skylab_video]

With James it was simply a shaft change but the results were the same – an extra 20 yards of carry.

James was happy with the drives he was hitting with the M4 he selected originally but he wasn’t getting maximum performance.

He could have walked away with the TaylorMade M4 in the spec he selected and been fairly happy.

But when spending £350 on a new driver surely you want the performance to be optimised?

And they only way to do that is to work closely with an expert fitter, try a load of different shafts, lofts and set-ups and fine tune to product to it’s maximum potential for your swing.

Advertisement

To book a TaylorMade fitting, visit their website.

TaylorMade M3 driver

Review: TaylorMade M3 driver

Read full article - Review: TaylorMade M3 driver
TaylorMade M4 driver

Review: TaylorMade M4 driver with ‘Twist Face’ technology

Read full article - Review: TaylorMade M4 driver with ‘Twist Face’ technology

Advertisement

Comments (0)

Leave a Comment

No comments yet. Be the first to comment!