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Tour equipment junkies rejoice! TaylorMade opens “The Vault”

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Last year, we discussed TaylorMade not selling the equipment that its professional staff use on Tour. And if you’re a GolfWRX forum junkie, you’ve likely seen this topic debated for years on our site.

Well, for those of you looking to get your hands on legitimate tour-issued clubs directly from TaylorMade, the wait is over. Or, more precisely, the wait has begun to see what the TaylorMade Vault holds.

The Vault (accessible here) is essentially an online store within the TaylorMade website. At undefined intervals, the company will release a limited amount of tour equipment.

As TMag’s website states:

The Vault holds rare, and collectable TaylorMade equipment you don’t come across every day. We’re talking about prototypes, limited-runs, one-offs and the occasional custom-build for a Tour pro. Most were built in our Tour Department in Carlsbad, California or our rolling, 18-wheel workshop that travels the PGA Tour. Quantities are always limited, so check back often and act fast.

So, that’s what The Vault is in theory. Let’s take a look at what it has looked like (and will continue to look like) in practice.

The Carlsbad-based company has already released an ATV prototype wedge and a very cool Ghost Tour prototype Monte Carlo 72 comparable to the model Jason Day used to win the WGC-Accenture Match Play earlier this year.

Upcoming releases include the following.

SLDR Tour Head: April 8

The head is lighter in weight than the standard SLDR, allowing a player to keep the club’s total weight down when using a heavier shaft. It appears price for this head has not yet been determined.

Screen shot 2014-03-25 at 9.28.02 AM

R1 V2 TP Head: April 1: $300

Again, like the SLDR head, the R1 head is lighter in order to accommodate a tour spec shaft. Screen shot 2014-03-25 at 9.29.14 AM

Itsy Bitsy Tour Prototype Putter: April 1: $350

As TMag’s Vault page indicates, “It’s not often a putter comes to you straight from the TaylorMade Tour department, and this face-balanced beauty is as rare as it is distinct in design.”

Screen shot 2014-03-25 at 9.32.43 AM

Tour Preferred MC Onset Irons (2011): Available Now: $1,200

When TaylorMade released the TP MC in 2011, Tour pros love the feel and workability of the club, however, as the company states, “a number of pros made a request: Give us the same head minus the offset.” Here is the result, available for your purchase.

Screen shot 2014-03-25 at 9.33.47 AM

TaylorMade junkies and lovers of all things tour issue will be champing at the bit to see what comes out of The Vault next, to be sure.

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

21 Comments

21 Comments

  1. KK

    Sep 6, 2015 at 11:51 am

    Honestly, looks like mostly old tour stuff gathering dust that TM wants to unload. But hey, more options is a good thing for golfers.

  2. Larry

    Mar 29, 2014 at 6:27 am

    A few years ago on Vacation in Vegas I was playing with 3 young men that were all hitting the same driver…on the 16 hole they ask me if I would like to hit their driver…. it was a tour van (kids brother worked for Taylormade) made driver, when he handed it to me I could feel the most balanced club I ever felt…swing easy I was told and again wow, yes even a duffer like me could feel and see a huge difference… if you ever get a chance to hit a real “tour” club you will see we are buying some real junk off the rack….

  3. Mad-Mex

    Mar 26, 2014 at 10:17 pm

    So riddle me this Batman,,,,,,,,,,,, this equipment wont do me a bit of good unless,,,,my swing matches what this equipment was built for? And second, unlike other equipment, value will just,,,,,drop and become nothing more than a “look what I got” conversation piece?

    Please enlighten me if I am way off,,,,,,,,

  4. Nick

    Mar 26, 2014 at 4:42 pm

    If they actually begin to catch up to more current equipment, which it seems they are getting closer with the latest release of the SLDR coming, this will be very intriguing. If they continue to be months and even years behind the actual release it’s a total waste of everyone’s time.

  5. Charlie

    Mar 26, 2014 at 4:41 pm

    You guys are forgetting tour issue stuff on the black market has zero warranty. Hopefully with these prices full warranty will be in effect!

  6. LorenRobertsFan

    Mar 26, 2014 at 4:14 pm

    This will be a fail. Anyone who pays $1300 for TM irons is crazy, and this stuff is so much cheaper to buy elsewhere. And most of these are old models? That’s a slap in the face by a company that always tell us that their latest and greatest is so much better than previous models

  7. Double Mocha Man

    Mar 26, 2014 at 3:44 pm

    Just bought a tour-issue, COR tested Taylormade driver off ebay.

    • leftright

      Mar 27, 2014 at 11:26 am

      Buy an Adams XTD and save money. Better driver, better quality and more technology. Heck, Justin Honea from Adams is the guy behind SLDR anyway. Best business decision in golf was TM buying Adams and the only reason TM has a slot in it’s club. Adams owns that patent for 17 years.

      • John

        Mar 31, 2014 at 9:59 am

        I agree it was a good idea, it puts a quality manufacturer behind a quantity manufacturer…where you’re slightly off though is the patent…I’m not sure how long they hold the patent for the slot, but it is irrelevant…companies can license that technology from them if they like, in some cases without a licensing contract…the reason other companies don’t is because there are better ways to maximize COR in metal woods, so the rest if the industry is allowing tmag/Adams to have that as their “claim to fame” because it doesn’t really provide any real benefits that others can achieve in other ways…taylormade/Adidas is a global marketing company first, golf oem second….they market the crap out of their equipment so that you (hypothetically) buy their stuff before you even hit it…someone gains one yard on a drive, they say to themselves “oh well I’m not that good so I can’t expect a whole 17 yards everytime, so I’ll take it!!!” Then they’re taylormade suckers for life…I used to work in the industry, and my god do I wish I could tell you all the cost to taylormade of manufacturing one club, it would blow your minds…btw I am no taylormade hater, I’ve used an r9 3 and 5 wood since they came out, and a couple drivers since, I just like understanding how things work and made it a point to figure out the hype behind taylormade, as well as the “haters” because I hear the word “fanboy” religiously on this site and it makes me cringe everytime I hear it mostly because it just sounds childish and dumb, but they are “fanboys” because taylormade molded them that way, consciously or subconsciously, they were dooped into brand loyalty for the wrong reasons…”Sweet, now I can by the same club DJ plays?!”…gets out credit card and pays $60o for a stock “tour club”…there is no difference other than they spend more time balancing the club and hotmelting the face, both of which have always been available to the public if you get a real custom fit

  8. Rich

    Mar 26, 2014 at 12:45 pm

    Played TM at one time till I found out from a TM endorsed player that my “tour” irons weren’t even made of the same steel let alone the same design. Was I naive, absolutely. But coming from the tennis world where the equipment is the same construction for the same model, that was completely unacceptable. This isn’t a surprise move. TM has always had a “we know what’s best for you and it happens to be more profitable” stance on equipment. “But we’ll paint them white so they’ll feel like pros.”

    • johnleg

      Mar 27, 2014 at 7:11 pm

      every company does that, derp.

    • KK

      Sep 6, 2015 at 11:49 am

      Just because someone has an equipment endorsement doesn’t mean he suddenly becomes an equipment engineer and expert. The vast majority of pros choose equipment based on feel and ball flight and know/care very little about the tech because honestly, it doesn’t matter all that much to their games. Pro V1X, DG X100, blades or AP2/AP2 equivalent, Scotty or Odyssey, TM/Titleist/Ping driver. Bam, that’s like 98% of all PGA wins. The different is in the fitting. Most guys are too cheap to go for a normal fitting. I doubt they (or you) would pony up for a tour fitting which is probably worth a few grand at least. And you don’t have a pro’s game. Why do you even want the exact same equipment that pros play?

  9. Gerard

    Mar 26, 2014 at 6:15 am

    Would love to see the comments change tune if a Titleist or a Ping did this…

    • Mike

      Mar 27, 2014 at 4:42 am

      of course they do, we’d be naive to think they didn’t.

  10. Chuck

    Mar 25, 2014 at 10:24 pm

    Bookmarked.

  11. Curt

    Mar 25, 2014 at 6:53 pm

    Come on TM. Dont put left over, old product, in the Vault. It has to be current for this to be of value to the consumer, otherwise, its just a BS way to capitalize on stuff that cant be used by pros or TMAG.
    Only newbie idiots will fall for that BS……………

  12. steve

    Mar 25, 2014 at 4:43 pm

    Seems like this is not current tour issued equipment, except for the sldr

  13. Blake

    Mar 25, 2014 at 4:29 pm

    I think this is great. I have been gaming r9 460 and r9 supertri tour issue heads for a year now (i switch back and forth between 8.5 and 10.5 degrees of loft depending on conditions). I can definitively say my tour issue heads spin significantly less than the retail r9 heads I previously owned. My swing weights also feel much better with the tour issue heads given i was fit for a 77 gram vts shaft. Tour issue heads aren’t for everyone but can make a big difference in the right person’s bag.

  14. mike

    Mar 25, 2014 at 4:16 pm

    seems to me like they’re just pushing clubs that are left over tour issue models

  15. Dumb

    Mar 25, 2014 at 3:24 pm

    WOW. I can pay double for pretty much the exact same product.

  16. J

    Mar 25, 2014 at 2:25 pm

    Overpriced equipment that can be had for cheaper on the street.

    Bravo.

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BK’s Breakdowns: Cameron Young’s winning WITB, 2025 Wyndham Championship

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Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!

Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX

Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X

Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7

Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype

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Whats in the Bag

Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)

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Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X

7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X

Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow

Check out more in-hand photos Malnati’s clubs here.

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GolfWRX Members Choice presented by 2nd Swing: Best driver of 2025

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We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here

What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.

Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.

Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.

Best driver of 2025: The top 5

5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%

Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”

You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.

4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%

Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”

You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.

3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%

Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”

@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”

You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.

2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%

Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”

@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”

You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.

1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%

Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”

@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”

You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.

Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote

Driver Vote percentage (%)
Cobra DS Adapt Max K 4.85%
Ping G430 Max 10K 3.85%
Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond 3.68%
TaylorMade Qi35 3.51%
Callaway Elyte 3.18%
Cobra DS Adapt X 2.34%
Cobra DS Adapt LS 2.17%
TaylorMade Qi35 LS 2.17%

 

 

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