Is this driver the fairway finder club golfers have been looking for?

Some people are afraid of spiders. Others tight, enclosed, spaces. My biggest fear? Put a driver in my hands and watch me shake. 

We’re meant to love tee-time. It’s a chance to open the shoulders and send one soaring. But I shrink at the prospect. The only thing that seems to ascend is my handicap. 

And, wow, how that number has elevated over the past 18 months. Once a solid single figure handicapper, I’m now on the verge of sliding well into double figures. This is never how I envisaged revisiting my teens. 

What is to blame? The big stick. My home course is tight and it’s unforgiving in places. I can hit the duck hook and I can smash the wide block. What I can’t do, so the last year has taught me, is find the short stuff. It’s been sending me into despair. 

Now I’m not naïve enough to think, or suggest to you, that the solution can be discovered solely in a new club. I’ve spent the last five months having lessons, and working on my technique, and we are making progress. 

But could a well-fitted driver also help me along the road? I went to Mark Rogers, PGA Specialist Professional at York Golf Club and a TaylorMade ambassador, to hit the new Stealth 2.  

Mark asked me to hit a few shots with my current driver to get some baseline figures and then looked at various clubface, loft, and shaft options to see what worked best for me. 

Companies will often sell a driver on distance and forgiveness, and who’s going to turn down the carrot of extra yardage? 

That, though, was not the priority. What I was really focused on was dispersion. I wanted a club that will get me into play more often than I’m currently managing. 

I was hitting my own driver (10.5 deg) with a carry of 197.7 yards (223.2 in total), with a ball speed of 125.7mph, spin of 2,553rpm, a launch angle of 15.6 degrees and a smash factor of 1.41.