The Stealth is the brand new line of drivers from TaylorMade, one of the most recognizable brands in golf. In this TaylorMade Stealth driver review, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the stealth drivers:
- Stealth
- Stealth Plus
- Stealth HD
Specifically, I’ll go over:
- How to buy the TaylorMade Stealth
- Similarities and differences in the Stealth vs Stealth Plus vs Stealth HD drivers
- TaylorMade Steath drivers vs TaylorMade SIM2 comparisons and differences
- Key features I like in this new golf equipment
After you read this Taylormade stealth driver review, let me know if you think the hype is worth the price down at the bottom of this guide.
How to Buy the TaylorMade Stealth Driver
Buy your TaylorMade Stealth today from Amazon, PGA Tour Superstore, or Global Golf:
Stealth
Stealth Plus
Stealth HD
What is the TaylorMade Stealth Driver?
The TaylorMade Stealth Driver is the latest club in the company’s driver collections. The Stealth is designed for golfers at every level and there are three different models to make everyone happy.
TaylorMade has made some lofty claims about the new Stealth club, promising:
- Extra carry distance
- Consistent ball flight
- More ball speed no matter what your swing speed is
- Less off cenre hits
The red, carbon fibre face has received a lot of discussion in the golf industry since it released on January 4th, 2022. I got the opportunity to try out all three drivers in the Taylormade Stealth drivers lineup for this review.
The face of the driver consists of 60 sheets of carbon fiber topped by a layer of polyurethane, which increases ball speed. This makes the Stealth have a favorable strength to weight ratio. As soon as you pick up the Stealth to enter a course, you will immediately feel the weight savings. It’s sleek, light, and flexible. It features the same asymmetric sole panel that the SIM2 driver comes with, which means there’s even extreme rear weight.
Overall, this new club offers increased performance while still providing great forgiveness, impressive distance and ball speed.
Key Features
As this is a new era for TaylorMade, they’ve added a ton of great features into Stealth drivers over previous models.
Carbon Fiber Face
The Stealth driver comes with a carbon face, consisting of 60 sheets of carbon arranged in such a way that it guarantees higher ball speeds and smooth energy transfer. This change the driver face is what most new users will notice.
TaylorMade is calling the new material Carboonwood and it is a change of direction from the traditional titanium face found on most driver heads. The big advantage of the new carbon fibre face is that it makes the club 40% lighter while being 10% larger than the SIM driver.
Carbon driver faces add more flex to the head. TaylorMade claims that the Stealth transfers more power back to the golf ball, allowing it to travel a further distance at slower swing speeds. In addition, TaylorMade claims that users will swing between 3 and 5 MPH faster than they did with traditional titanium drivers.
Nanotexture Coated Face
The head of the Stealth Driver is encased with a polyurethane cover. Polyurethane is injected into a mold that creates the grooves and sawtooth texture in the club head. It helps to make sure your club performs well in wet conditions, where pure carbon is compromised.
This cover features nanotexture technology, which helps to fine tune spin and launch to optimize total distance irrespective of your playing conditions.
According to TaylorMade, for enhanced forgiveness on strikes, the Nanotexture face technology works alongside the company’s Thru-Slot Speed Pocket and Twist Face.
Inertia Generator
The Stealth Driver also comes with an asymmetric inertia generator to create or facilitate optimal speed at impact or at the moment before impact. It aids you in increasing your swing speed during your downswing. The inertia generator helps the club to refine aerodynamic properties.
Golfers can also place additional weight at the rear of the club for greater forgiveness, higher launch angle, and higher MOI.
Sound & Feel
If you are worried that carbon fibre might change the sound and feel of the club in a negative way, don’t fear. When you make contact with a golf ball, it is the vibrations that create the sound you hear.
TaylorMade has focused parts of testing on the new Stealth drivers to be specifically on sound and feel. Vibration frequencies travel through the club head in a similar way to other drivers, ensuring similar feel in all conditions.
With these features in all Stealth drivers, TaylorMade believes that they have a true winner that will dominate golf for the next five years. You can test out whether this is true yourself on the golf course.
Next, I’ll go into more detail about the three different models that you can buy the new driver in.
TaylorMade Stealth Driver Models
With three different Stealth models there is an option for most golfers.
Stealth
The Stealth is the standard model of the driver. It is most suitable for amateur or inexperienced golfers. The base Stealth model has 15% more moment of inertia (MOI) to provide more spin (between 200 to 300 RPMs).
The weight saving from the carbon lets you position more mass deep in the head. It supports Lamkin’s Crossline grip style and the shaft is made of Fujikura Ventus Red 5 and Aldila Ascent Red 60. The loft or the angle created between the ground and the clubface can be adjusted from 9 to 12 degrees.
Otherwise, the base Stealth contains all of the key features we went through above.
The price tag to buy the Stealth currently stands at $579.99 USD.
Stealth Plus
The TaylorMade Stealth Plus is the lowest spinning driver in the group and is made for those golfers who want a bit more control over their club. The Stealth Plus contains a 10g sliding weight track on the sole, allowing you to adjust your shot shape by shifting mass.
As with the standard model above, the Stealth Plus also supports Lamkin’s Crossline grip style and the shaft is made of Project X HZRDUS Smoke RDX Red 60 and Mitsubishi’s Kai’li White 60. The loft varies between 8 and 10.5 degrees.
The price tag of the TaylorMade Stealth Plus model stands at $599.99 USD. For just an extra $20 for the sliding weight, we think the Stealth Plus is worth it for even amateur golfers.
Stealth HD
Of the three models, the Stealth HD has the highest MOI but with similar back-spin like the standard model. The inertia generator is very close to the heel of the club.
Stealth HD drivers also come with a High Draw design in order to minimize your slice and have the highest level of forgiveness.
As with the other two models, the HD also supports Lamkin’s Crossline grip style and Fujikura AirSpeeder 45 stock shaft. The loft varies between 9 and 12 degrees.
The HD retails for $749.99 USD. This is a heavy jump over the Stealth Plus. During my indoor testing of the club, I wouldn’t say I could pick the HD out of an unmarked lineup.
Overall, getting your hands on any of the Taylormade stealth drivers will improve your game. And between the Stealth vs Stealth Plus vs Stealth HD, the difference isn’t crazy noticeable. The increased ball speed with less effort on all of these golf clubs fits well into the modern golf game.
All of these Taylormade drivers come with access to MyStealth, which is a customization feature for picky golfers who want to stand out. Below, I’ll break down this in more detail. After that, we have a quick comparison between the Stealth and the previous generation SIM2 drivers.
MyStealth Overview
MyStealth is TaylorMade’s program for golfers to enable them to easily customize their clubs to match their playing styles. With MyStealth, you can change the face color between 6 different options:
- grey
- orange
- blue
- yellow
- green
- red
You also have the ability to customize your body color and crown finish too.
You can also change the sole decal color between 8 different color options:
- volt
- pale blue
- gold
- green
- orange
- red
- black
- blue
Finally, you can choose between a mono or colored head cover.
The program features fully customizable shaft and grip components and is offered in 9 and 10.5 degrees lofts. MyStealth is only available for those that purchase the Stealth Plus variant, with several cosmetic combinations.
You can visit the official TaylorMade website in order to access the MyStealth program.
What I Like About the TaylorMade Stealth Driver
After getting a chance to hit the Stealth, Stealth Plus, and Stealth HD driver in real life, I can see why it is popular. The club head feels heavy, despite the use of carbon in the head. This has allowed TaylorMade to focus weight in strategic areas that make contact with the golf ball.
The head was also noticeably larger than the SIM2 driver. This contributed to a massive sweet spot on the driver when I hit it. Even the Stealth Plus model, which is made for tour players, is more forgiving than usual.
I loved how easy it was to get power with this club. My launch monitor showed a slight increase in club head speed verses other clubs that I tried, which helped me get a few extra yards of distance on average.
It feels like Callaway, Cobra, and Ping will be copying the Stealth design soon with their own version of the Carbonwood.
What I Didn’t Like About the TaylorMade Stealth Driver
Despite the massive sweet spot on this club and the optimal weighting, I didn’t find the Stealth to be the easiest club I hit on the same day. The Callaway Rogue ST felt like it had a better launch with some more effortless power.
By contract, the Stealth driver had a lot of power but was a bit more inconsistent to hit. You are probably splitting hairs by comparing the Jaguar and Lamborghini of golf drivers, but I walked away feeling like you had to be an intermediate or better golfer to use the Stealth well.
Also, the price point is going to be a turn off for some for sure.
TaylorMade Stealth vs TaylorMade Sim2
The Stealth Driver and the Sim2 have significant differences, with the former laced with a red face and a black head. The latter has a predominantly light blue colorway, plus, a forged aluminum feature.
The most immediate difference is the use of carbon fibre in the Stealth, which we’ve went over in detail already. It is noticeably lighter than the traditional titanium face on the SIM2.
The Stealth Driver also has a 10% larger face than the previous version, giving golfers more club to hit the ball. The Stealth Driver also rewards golfers with good shots and good distances down the fairway.
Both drivers have similar levels of forgiveness and CT. While they both produce impressive distances, spin rates, ball flight and ball speeds, the new TaylorMade Stealth Driver produces better numbers in these areas.
In summary, the Stealth Driver has the following selling points:
- Adjustable head.
- Extreme rare weighting
- Inertia generator
- Carbon face
On the other hand, the SIM2 has the following selling points:
- Speed injected twist face
- Milled face for ball speed
- Endless adjustability and customization.
- Full carbon sole with 16g steel weight.
In my opinion, the ball flight on the the TaylorMade Stealth drivers are a bit more consistent. The bigger driver face is a nice selling feature as well.
TaylorMade Stealth on Amazon
If you want to learn more information about the driver or purchase it worldwide, check out the Amazon listings below.
Verdict
Overall, I think the new TaylorMade drivers do a great job at minimizing off centre hits and giving you more speed in your swing. The Stealth or Stealth Plus are both worth the similar price that they come in. The HD is for those with the extra budget only.
Other manufacturers have come out with carbon face drivers before, but TaylorMade is the king and this release legitimizes the material.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the new TaylorMade Stealth driver?
The new TaylorMade Stealth Driver comes in three variants. The standard Stealth retails for $580, the Stealth Plus for $600, and the HD for $750.
What is the release date of the TaylorMade Stealth?
The new TaylorMade driver models are already available for order on major golf retail websites in North America and across Europe. The club became available on February 4, 2022.
Which Stealth driver is the most forgiving?
All of the TaylorMade stealth drivers are more forgiving that other drivers because of the 10% larger club head and 60 layers of carbon fiber that make the club head 40% lighter. The carbon face makes the driver much more forgiving than previous models like the SIM2.
However if you want some better granularity, the Stealth Plus comes with a sliding weight which can further adjust your club to how you like.
Which professional golfers use the TaylorMade Stealth driver?
A lot of top tiered golfers have already switched or plan to switch to the TaylorMade Stealth. Both Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods have been using the driver in professional competition lately.
The TaylorMade Stealth, Stealth HD, and Stealth Plus are in a prime position to change the game of golf. We’ll be watching its adoption rate amongst amateur and professional golfers closely to see if it is a winner or not. Pick your Stealth up today and be apart of the revolution.
Last update on 2024-11-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
