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What’s new? How much does it cost? And how does it perform? Jack Backhouse brings you the low down on TaylorMade’s Stealth 2 plus hybrid
How does TaylorMade’s new tour-inspired hybrid perform? Find out in our TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus hybrid review.
This hybrid really suits my eye as an anti-left golfer. The new carbon crown has moved the centre of gravity around so that despite its small profile, it is still forgiving and easy to launch.
This is perfect for golfers who are looking for a smaller-headed, more neutral hybrid that can be used off the tee for safety or from the fairway as a second shot club.
PROS
CONS
Just looking at it, I think this might be a hybrid I could game. The head is small, it doesn’t sit closed like most hybrids, and it has an air of workability about it that gives me confidence. It feels like more of a precision tool to me, more surgeon’s scalpel, less butcher’s cleaver. I also really like how the carbon crown looks at address.
Hybrids are a difficult club to fit golfers for. How often do you use it in an average round? When would you use it? What club would it replace? How far does it need to go? What kind of flight would you like to see with it? and so on. When players find a hybrid they hit well that goes the correct distance, they are pretty hard to replace.
The TaylorMade Stealth 2 plus hybrid may just cause an issue for better players, as this hybrid is undoubtedly an improvement on players’ hybrids of the past.
This hybrid is certainly small behind the ball with its iron-like head design. For consistent ball strikers, this won’t be an issue, and they may even like it as you do feel like you might be able to shape your shots a lot easier, but for higher handicappers, it may not be the most confidence-inspiring.
I tested the Stealth 2 plus hybrid on a really breezy day, so I have included both the ‘actual data’ and the data where the wind was removed using FlightScope’s environmental optimizer setting. The first thing to note is how straight the shots went, and by that, I mean how not left they went.
It is usual for hybrids to be fairly upright and with a draw bias centre of gravity, as higher handicappers generally use them. TaylorMade’s Stealth 2 Plus hybrid, however, is flatter and can be made a lot flatter than the standard Stealth 2 hybrid, so the pull hook a lot of good players see with hybrids can be avoided.
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I was pretty pleased with the carry distance the Stealth 2 plus hybrid gave me; an average of 207 yards on a flat calm day, is absolutely ideal for my gapping, as it would work as a four-iron replacement club. TaylorMade’s inverted cone technology means that ball speed on any strike location stays high, and distance stays consistent, which is what you want from an iron replacement.
TaylorMade have added a carbon crown to this year’s hybrid, which is an upgrade on the previous model. It has allowed them to lower the centre of gravity, making it easier to launch. My launch angle was only 11.8 degrees, with the 22-degree head, which is still pretty low but suitable for the course I play and how I see shots.
I really like how adjustable the Stealth 2 Plus hybrid is. You can move the lie angle 3 degrees and the loft 4, which allows you to really dial in your flight. Adjustable hybrids seem to be becoming less common in the marketplace, but I think ‘better players’ are looking for that kind of precision.
Forgiveness is a huge factor when choosing a hybrid, and although I got the ball moving quite well out of some scruffy lies on the side of the range at Sand Moor, I don’t know how easily a mid-to-high handicapper would find success using it.
I did enjoy this in testing, and it has captured my interest as a non-hybrid user. It will live in my boot as an option to take out onto the course for further testing.
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Available: Now
RRP: £239
Lofts: 17°, 19.5°, 22°°
Shafts: Mitsubishi Kai’li Red
More information: TaylorMade website
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