THE Best TaylorMade DriveRS
- SIM MAX (Best Overall)
"The TaylorMade SIM Max offers a great deal of improvement from the M6 driver. With the SIM Max, you can hit straighter shots that go even further than you thought possible. " - M6 (Best on a Budget)
"The M6 driver still has lots of relevant technology, but since the release of the SIM Max, the pricing has lowered considerably. If you had your eye on the M6, now is the time to grab one." - SIM (Best For Low Handicapper)
- M Gloire (Best For Slow Swing Speed)
- Women's SIM MAX (Best For Women)
Best TaylorMade Driver
SIM MAX
Best Overall
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KEY FEATURES
The TaylorMade SIM Max is all about speed. If you want to hit the ball further while staying on your target line, the SIM Max is a great choice to consider. Golfers are very impressed with the speed and distance that they can get from this new release from TaylorMade.
The SIM Max is built for the mid to high handicap player. However, some lower handicappers are finding that the performance of this club, combined with the feel, is making it a club they want to put in their bag as well.
TaylorMade continued with the twist face technology, and they, of course, have the speed injected face in the SIM Max as well. This allows players the peace of mind that they are getting a driver as high functioning as any technology out there. The face on the TaylorMade driver is as close to the legal limit for speed as it possibly can be.
Most of the time, if you need distance in your game, you also need some forgiveness. The SIM Max is one of the more forgiving drivers on the market. One of the things that help to add to the forgiveness is the adjustable loft sleeve. You will have a four degree window to help you set the driver to work precisely as you need it to for your game.
The SIM Max still sits at the top of the market when it comes to pricing, but with the technology and performance you get, this is expected. This is one of the best Taylormade drivers that golf has ever seen, and it will last for many years before having outdated technology.
M6
Best on a Budget
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KEY FEATURES
Each time that TaylorMade releases a new driver, their previous models drop in price. This is traditionally a great time to pick up a high performing driver for an excellent price. The TaylorMade M6 driver has the same speed injected twist face technology that the SIM Max does, but for a much lower price.
The M6 has lots of forgiveness, an adjustable loft sleeve, and overall it has very low spin as well. The M6 driver was the last in the line of M series drivers from TaylorMade. The M series drivers kept getting better each time they were released. The M6 has a much larger sweet spot than the M4 and the M2; it also has a more aerodynamically shaped club head. The shape helps the club travel through the air faster and give players more ball speed.
The M6 comes standard with the Fujikura Atmos shaft that is both lightweight and high launching. The M6 is another driver that is going to appeal more to the mid to high handicapper. This is the time to grab one of these drivers as TaylorMade will likely stop producing them altogether when they release the next driver.
SIM
Best For Low Handicapper
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KEY FEATURES
For the lower handicap golfers, distance drivers can be hard to find. Players usually have to choose between golf drivers that have feel or speed. With the SIM, lower handicappers can get the speed and feel because of this high performing design.
Many amateurs don’t understand how important feel is in golf drivers. Low handicap players do not stand on every tee box and try and hit a driver straight down the middle. They want the ability to hit a fade or a draw to give themselves the best angle into the green. With most of the distance drivers for golf, the workability is just not there.
Even the greatest players will have their shots corrected, and they will end up hitting the ball relatively straight. This can get a bit frustrating.
At the same time, it is important for lower handicap players to have the ability to hit the ball a long way. People automatically assume that low handicappers are long hitters, and this is just not the case. TaylorMade did a really great job of getting the distance technology to blend with workability in the TaylorMade SIM driver.
Players can get lots of ball speed and a very high level of adjustability as well. The sliding bar on the driver helps so that you can set this club to work exactly for your game. Whether you like to hit a bit of a drawer, a fade, or you want just to hit it straight; you can set the SIM to work for you.
Since this is considered the players model, it comes with either the Mitsubishi Diamana or the Project X shaft. These shafts will both be a little heavier and have a slightly lower launch. If you need the SIM with a custom shaft installed, that is relatively easy to find.
Most of the time, the player’s drivers are built for players with fast swing speed, but the SIM can work for mid to fast swing speeds. The speed pocket technology and the speed injected twist face are all prominent features in this Taylormade driver.
If you have always played Titleist players drivers and you are ready to get to something that gives you the speed and distance that you need, this is one of the best TaylorMade drivers to consider.
M Gloire
Best For Slow Swing Speed
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KEY FEATURES
If you have not tried some of the Japanese golf clubs on the market, you may be missing out. The technology offered is pretty incredible for the slower swinging golfers. The MGLoire was initially designed for the Japanese market, but it is now available everywhere.
Slow swing speed can be a hard problem to fix. It takes time and work, and for some golfers, even with all of the best tools and lots of practice, it is impossible to increase swing speed. The M Gloire was designed to help those golfers that try to get distance and can’t find anything that works. Unfortunately, distance technology and performance are a bit expensive, making the MGloire one of the most premium drivers golf has to offer.
The M Gloire is made with a variety of materials to help make it more lightweight. The best drivers for players with low swing speed are almost always lightweight. In addition to helping players increase their speed, a lightweight driver will also help golfers get high launch.
The M Gloire is a bit of a draw bias driver. If you fade the ball, the M Gloire will help you to straighten things out a bit. The carbon crown is a silver color that many players say helps them feel as though they have the confidence they need to hit great shots.
One of the most important features of a golf club for slower swinging players is going to be the shaft. A shaft must be lightweight and high launching as well. The Fujikura Speeder Evolution will check both of these boxes, but it also gives players lots of great feel. When you hit a perfect drive with this club in your hand, you will be rewarded for it.
As far as the technology in the clubhead of the M Gloire, you will notice that it has the same Hammerhead technology that the M6 driver had. It works to help make the club face light while still giving players lots of distance and forgiveness.
One of the essential things to keep in mind about the M Gloire driver is that it does not have an adjustable loft. The M Gloire was built to be lightweight, and the face technology, shaft technology, and grip all will help achieve these lower weights. The problem with adjustable drivers is that the performance in the hosel of the club increases the weight of the driver.
You will have to choose between 10.5 or 11.5 degrees of loft for your M Gloire driver. We think this is an excellent club for high handicappers or seniors who feel they are not getting the speed and distance they should be from their shots.
Women's SIM MAX
Best For Women
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KEY FEATURES
When it comes to drivers for the female golfers, speed is the number one performance factor. Women need more speed to get the performance they want out of their golf clubs; the SIM Max can provide that speed.
Not only is the SIM Max one of the best TaylorMade golf drivers for women, but it is also one of the best drivers on the market for women. The performance from the SIM Max will be very similar to the men’s; however, this club is built with a ladies shaft that will make it a bit more lightweight and forgiving.
The SIM Max is a high launch club that comes with the twist face technology. We love the adjustable loft in this driver for women. Many companies will release a driver for women that has fourteen or more degrees of loft.
This is just too much, and women golfers will end up sacrificing performance to get more forgiveness. With the right driver in a player's hands, one that is built for speed and forgiveness, the loft can be 10.5, 11.5, or 12.5, and females will have no issues getting the launch angle they need.
The SIM Max driver has a very large sweet spot that gives women confidence when they stand on the tee box; For many female golfers, distance is a real struggle. If you could get an additional ten or twenty yards off the tee box without having to change your swing, would you do it? Most women are finding that the combination of speed pocket and twist face forgiveness is helping to make the SIM Max the best Taylormade women’s driver ever.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
By now, you should feel like you have a better understanding of the TaylorMade driver choices that are on the market. There is no question that TaylorMade is one of the best companies in golf. They spend a tremendous amount of time doing research and testing to make sure that they are coming up with the highest performing clubs for golfers. Here are a few important questions to consider before deciding on which is the best TaylorMade driver for your golf game.
What sets TaylorMade apart from other golf manufacturers?
When you spend a lot of time in the golf world, you start to realize that each golf manufacturer is known for something. Things change all the time, and brands try and reinvent themselves but overall, every golf company has a strength.
When you look at Titleist, you can say that the strength is clubs for lower handicapper golfers and players. When you consider Callaway, you may say that their strength is forgiveness. Cobra tends to appeal towards the higher handicappers along with Cleveland. Who does TaylorMade appeal to?
TaylorMade is all about speed, the athlete, and the average player. If you consider yourself a fan of cutting edge technology and performance, the TaylorMade is for you. If you like to hit the ball a long way with a flashy and fast driver, TaylorMade is for you. If you want distance like most other clubs only dream of, TaylorMade is your company.
In the last several years, TaylorMade has made some large improvements in their distance technology, and they have learned how to increase forgiveness and feel without giving up on distance. Just when you think they have created the longest golf driver that we have ever seen, they release the next one that impresses us even more.
What Is The Most Forgiving TaylorMade Driver?
You will notice that when TaylorMade makes a driver, they usually put out several versions of the same club. Most of the time, there is a model that will work for a low handicapper, one for a mid handicapper, and one for a high handicapper as well.
The SIM Max driver eared the top spot on our list for the best TaylorMade driver, but the SIM Max D does not fall far behind. The SIM Max D is the draw bias version of the SIM Max. This club is intended to help golfers who slice the ball, and it will help them get a tremendous amount of ball speed.
One of the most impressive features of the SIM Max D is how square it looks at setup. WIth the face technology and the paint job they did on the SIM Max D, it does not look closed or draw biased at set up. This is important because visual aesthetics have a bit impact on the game of golf.
Another great thing about the SIM Max D is that it has an even larger sweet spot than the SIM Max. For golfers that tend to struggle with their driver, hitting the ball directly in the center of the club face can be difficult. Choosing a driver with a large and forgiving sweet spot is a must.
If you are comfortable with where your game is and know that you will be a higher handicapper for the next five to seven years, the SIM Max D is your best choice for forgiveness.
What Is The Number One Driver On Tour?
The best driver on the PGA Tour is usually determined by how many people have won with that driver during the year. Many golfers may play with a specific club, but amateurs want to know who is winning.
This year TaylorMade is standing out as having one of the highest amounts of wins out of any other driver. The two drivers that golfers are using on tour are the M5 and the SIM. You know many golfers like Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, and Jon Rahm have the TaylorMade golf clubs in their bag.
If these clubs are good enough for the pros, certainly they are good enough for us golf mortals!
Do All TaylorMade Drivers Have Adjustable Loft?
Not all TaylorMade driver have the loft sleeve. Although the adjustable loft is a great feature, there are some times that people don’t want to be able to adjust the loft in their club. This usually happens with two groups of people, the Senior golfer, and the slower swing speed player.
Senior golfers are generally not as open to adjustable loft technology because it can make the game a bit more confusing. Knowing when and if you should change your driver to better suit your golf swing can take a bit of time and patience to determine.
There is a group of golfers out there that just want to be handed a club that is right for their game and swing it. We certainly can’t blame them, and TaylorMade is well aware of this as well.
The other reason why you will see some golfers choose something other than an adjustable driver is when you need a very lightweight club. The loft sleeve on a TaylorMade driver will add weight to the club. This weight won’t be significant enough for a fast swinging player to have an issue. However, for the slightly slower players, any amount of weight counts and should be considered.
Does TaylorMade release A New Driver Each Year?
For the most part, TaylorMade releases a new line of clubs every year. This can change from time to time, but you can usually expect this to happen in January or February of a year. When they release the new driver, they will usually lower the price of the previous clubs.
This is always a very interesting time to purchase a club because you can get some great drivers at a really good price. There is, however, a risk you take waiting for a driver to drop in price could mean that it also has less availability.
You are the only one that can determine how much a new driver is worth to your game.
What Is The Best Driver On The Market
Some golfers are set on the TaylorMade drivers being the best out there. In our guide, we talked about the best TaylorMade driver, but if you look at the market as a whole, what truly is the best?
The interesting thing about golf is that what works for one golfer will very likely not work for another. For us to say that one driver is considerably better than the other is very difficult without knowing the specifications of your swing of your current equipment.
Here are a few of our favorites across all brands.
Titleist: Titleist TS3 Driver
Cobra: Cobra Speedzone Driver
Callaway: Callaway Mavrik
Cleveland: Cleveland Turbo Launcher
Ping: Ping G410
Testing Criteria used for Evaluation
Now that you have all of this great information about the best TaylorMade drivers on the market, it’s time to make sure you get yourself the right one. Even after you have the model narrowed down, there is still quite a bit of decision making to be done. Making the right choices when you purchase the club could be the difference in this being a long term or a short term investment.
Model Year
As we mentioned, when TaylorMade comes out with a new driver, they lower the price on the driver from the previous year. This can become a tough decision for many players. Is it worth it to save a little money on the old driver or purchase a new one with all of the latest and greatest features.
We have a few tips that will help you decide which model year makes more sense for you to buy.
- If you have not purchase a driver in the last six to eight years, you can choose between current model or the previous years model and still see a tremendous increase in performance
- If you are a very low handicapper looking to compete and play in tournaments and events, always go for the newest technology available
- If budget is not an issue, go for the newest release
- Research the differences between the two versions of the driver; if the major differences are pain points in your game, then go with the model that will serve you better (For instance, the feel is better in the SIM Max than the M6, if you are a feel player, go with the SIM Max)
Shaft
With the way the golf world is today, everyone thinks they need a custom fitting and a custom shaft in all of their golf clubs. Although custom shaft manufacturers would love for us to tell you that this is essential, it is not essential.
If a golfer shoots 98, chances are they are playing a variety of shots that they shouldn’t be playing, they are missing some putts, their chipping needs work, and they are probably not that great at course management. If they have a golf shaft that is a $200 upgrade will all of those other mistakes and poor shots go away?
If you don’t want to pay for a custom high end shaft, don’t!
TaylorMade puts great stock shafts in their clubs, and all of their testing is done with these shafts in place. When they say a driver is ten yards longer than a previous model, it has a lot to do with the shaft that is in that driver.
The most important thing about the shaft you choose for your driver is making sure that it is the right flex. TaylorMade driver is offered in a variety of flex options from Extra Stiff, Stiff, Regular, Senior, and Women’s. Have your swing speed tested to make sure that you get the proper shaft in your new TaylorMade driver.
Loft
As you saw from our list, many of the TaylorMade drivers are adjustable. This adjustability makes choosing the loft on your club a little bit easier. If you purchase a 10.5-degree driver you will be able to use the loft sleeve to take you from 12.5 to 8.5.
The only major consideration when it comes to the loft is making sure that the loft you choose will accommodate the angles that you need for proper launch.
For some slower swinging players, the 13.5-degree loft is going to be important to get the ball flight and height that they need out of the driver. If you choose the 10.5 degree TaylorMade driver, it will not increase to 13.5 degrees of loft. You will need to choose an 11.5 degree. The same example could be set up for someone who likes to hit a very low golf ball (usually the higher swing speed golfers).
Price
If you have been driver shopping for a little while, you have probably picked up on the fact that drivers are expensive. The good news is that TaylorMade drivers are no more expensive than some of the other clubs on the market.
The companies that are known for having the best pricing when it comes to a driver are Cobra and Cleveland. When you look at Callaway, TaylorMade, and Titleist, all the pricing will pretty much be the same. The good news is that every single one of the TaylorMade drivers has top of the line parts and quality.
Conclusion
| NAME | EDITOR'S CATEGORY | PRODUCT |
|---|---|---|
| SIM MAX | Best Overall |  |
| M6 | Best on a Budget |  |
| SIM | Best For Low Handicapper |  |
| M Gloire | Best For Slow Swing Speed |  |
| Women's SIM MAX | Best For Women |  |
There are lots of great Taylormade drivers on the market. Trying to say which is the absolute best TaylorMade Driver can be a bit tricky. Luckily the SIM Max has some great features that really set it apart. With the Twist face technology and the speed injected face, you really can’t ask for better performance from the club head. When you look at the feel and the sound of this TaylorMade, it really does set it apart from previous models. Regardless of which TaylorMade you end up with, chances are you will have it for many years, and it will end up helping you lower your scores. What more could a golfer ask for!
