Equipment
TaylorMade M1 Tour driver heads enter The Vault
The Vault at TaylorMade features one-off, limited-run and prototype equipment from the company that become available for purchase.
The latest entries are TaylorMade M1 430 and 460 Tour heads, which will be available in “very limited quantities” on Thursday, Nov. 19, and will cost $800 apiece.
According to TaylorMade, the driver heads will have a “+” symbol to ensure it’s been COR tested and the loft, lie and weight have been marked by technicians at the company’s Tour department. Each head will come with a metal shaft sleeve and a head cover.
See photos of an M1 460 Tour head below, and for more information from TaylorMade click here.
Related: We review TaylorMade’s M1 430 and 460 drivers
Tour Edge Golf has today introduced the all-new Exotics mini driver, engineered to deliver a powerful combination of speed, control, and versatility in the long game.
The Exotics Mini combines a titanium face with a stainless-steel body in design to balance ball speed with stability and control, creating a versatile option at the top end of the bag.
At the core of the design is Tour Edge’s proprietary Combo Brazing technology, a high-precision thermal bonding process that seamlessly fuses a titanium cup face to a stainless-steel body into a single, continuous structure. By eliminating energy loss found in traditional multi-piece constructions, Combo Brazing is designed to deliver faster face response, more efficient energy transfer, and a uniquely powerful yet controlled feel.
The multi-material construction also allows mass to be positioned lower and deeper in the head in a bid to increase stability, while the thin titanium face is engineered to maintain ball speed across a wider impact area.
“While the initial goal was to enhance control and versatility in the long game, Combo Brazing ultimately drove measurable gains in ball speed and distance within the mini driver category. In robot testing, we’ve documented higher ball speeds, higher launch, reduced spin, and increased carry and total distance compared to leading models.” – Vice President of R&D Matt Neeley
In addition to distance performance, the Exotics mini emphasizes forgiveness through a heavier stainless-steel body that shifts mass toward the perimeter. This configuration increases MOI relative to traditional all-titanium mini drivers, helping preserve ball speed and directional stability on off-center strikes. Paired with Pyramid Face Technology from the Exotics metalwood line, the design is intended to support consistent speed across the face.
To further enhance MOI, a lightweight carbon fiber crown frees additional mass that is strategically repositioned low and deep in the head in design to improve stability and promote optimal launch with controlled spin.
“We designed the Mini to be about five millimeters shallower than other mini drivers on the market. That change improves playability off the deck. From a clean fairway lie, it can function as a strong 3-wood alternative while still providing control off the tee.” – Tour Edge CEO David Glod
An adjustable hosel system allows for loft and lie tuning to dial in trajectory and shot shape, while a fixed 13-gram rear weight helps stabilize the head through impact to improve dispersion consistency. The Exotics Mini Driver is available in 11.5 and 13.5-degree lofts in right-handed models.
Pricing & Availability
The Exotics Mini Driver is available for pre-order beginning today for $399.99 USD at touredge.com, and will be available for purchase at retail outlets worldwide on May 22, 2026.
In our forums, our members have been pitting a Srixon ZXi combo against a TaylorMade P7CB/770 combo. WRXer ‘edutch22’ is on the hunt for a new set of irons and kicks off the thread saying:
“Looking at picking up a new set of irons and think I’ve narrowed it down to Srixon ZXi combo or Taylormade P7CB/770 combo. I am currently a 5 cap and allbeit I feel irons are my weakness. My miss is a little to the toe side. I am decently steep at 4-5 down. Always thought I am high spin but recently on trackman my 7 was spinning at 5800 roughly.
My question or looking for thoughts on which one would benefit me more from a forgiveness standpoint? Or is there another iron is should be looking at entirely? I only get to play about once or twice a week, if I am not playing a 2-3 day event. Thanks in advance.”
And our members have been sharing their thoughts and suggestions in response.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- manima1: “You just can’t go wrong with Srixon ZXi7.”
- MattM97: “You have to hit them to know, the V-Sole on the Srixon can be make or break for many.”
- dmeeksDC: “P7CB is more forgiving for me than ZXi7 because my main miss is low middle and the P7CB still flies and spins great on that miss. These are both really nice irons but I like the P7CB more than the Zxi7 and the P770 (or P790) more than the Zxi5. The Srixons are larger so if that gives you confidence that is the way to go. I don’t feel like I get any benefit from the V-sole and the P7CBs live up to their high Maltby forgiveness rating so the TaylorMades have been great for me.”
Entire Thread: “Srixon ZXi combo or TaylorMade P7CB/770 combo? – GolfWRXers discuss”
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @pianoman0123 has a 2024 Wilson Staff CB/Blade combo up for grabs.
From the listing: “2024 Wilson Staff CB/Blade Combo. 4-8 irons are CB’s and the 9,PW are Blades. 5-PW have Project X 6.0 Shafts and the 4 Iron has a Steelfiber CW110 Stiff Shaft. Standard Length, Lie and Lofts. These are in very good condition the shafts just don’t work for me. Like new Lamkin Grips on the 5-PW and a stock Golf Pride on the 4 Iron. $525 OBO.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Marcel
Feb 21, 2017 at 6:34 pm
Can anybody explain to me the different shortcuts written on the head?
Lie, Loft, Weight and CT is pretty clear to me but what about FA, RA1 and RA2?
FA could be the Face angle but i am not shure. Are they really all open at adress?
Thanks!
rymail00
Dec 10, 2015 at 8:58 am
Has anyone ever bought anything from The Vault? I’m not interested in getting anything but was always wondering if they let you pick weird and in between lofts like say 9* instead of the stock 8.5* and 9.5*? Or is it you say what stock loft you want and then they just send you any head spec’d close to your stock loft pick?
The last Ping driver I bought, the Rapture V2, they’d let you pick any loft and ask for a head that was slightly open and I believe they charged only like $7-10 extra to find you loft you wanted that wasn’t stock.
SAm
Nov 23, 2015 at 10:31 am
I actually think I was given a tour head by TM when i complained about the delay on delivery for my M1.
It has the + symbol on the neck, and it also has the weight number stamped onto the moveable weights – none of the others in the shop did.
Danny G
Nov 20, 2015 at 11:29 am
Just get an M1 hat. That will for sure add an extra MPH in ball speed. Find your self with a tour issued M1 hat and the sky’s the limit. Who wants to be that person that has to explain to the whole group that their club it “tour issue” and that’s why they are a yard in front. Get a proper fit don’t fall for the marketing.
Bob
Nov 20, 2015 at 2:18 am
$800 for a head with accurate specs! Just buy JDM
Nothing
Nov 19, 2015 at 10:34 pm
I have a bunch of friends on staff with Taylormade, so I get my hands on tour issue stuff….the only difference between tour issue clubs and retail clubs is the specs are a little tighter (like loft) and the face angles are open. Otherwise, the only difference is when they crack, you can’t get them replaced.
Lee
Nov 18, 2015 at 3:44 pm
I just love the way the Pro’s hit the M1 as far into the sh*t as the R15, SLDR et all. What an absolute hopelessly, desperate piece of marketing which surely nobody believes. We all know TM is in trouble but this is shameful!!
Reeves
Nov 18, 2015 at 2:30 pm
I hope all you see that when you pay $400 for a Taylormade (or any OM club) what you are getting is a COPY of what tour players use….maybe Knockoffs and off brand clubs will look a little better to everyone when you consider that is what you are buying with the OM name on it??????
john
Nov 18, 2015 at 6:34 pm
lol they’re not knockoffs – you obviously don’t work in the industry or know anything about it, have you even played golf before? here is the difference for you (bar bubba and tiger who have their own custom driver designs), ones on the shelf have a much bigger tolerance for COR, loft & weight (inc. swing weight) – the Tour guys get 50 of these and pick the ones that max at 0.83 COR and have an exact loft (say 9.1 degrees or 8.7 degrees) that the player in question requires. This extra testing if put on a club for a muppet like yourself would be a COMPLETE AND UTTER WASTE OF MONEY – you can’t hit the center of the face in 100 tries, so why bother adding another $150 worth of labor to your club?
Anyway, bash away my zero knowledge friend.
scott
Nov 19, 2015 at 9:29 pm
yep he’s a little over the top with the comment but $500 bucks for a driver is the real joke in six months it’ll be half that price, six more months half thats price. So is this years model $500 dollar better then last years ? Only if you want it to be
golfbum
Nov 20, 2015 at 12:17 pm
Let me get this straight? A person comments on a golf site and ask, wait let me get the quote marks right….”have you even played golf before?” So you just discounted your ability to have any knowledge on this subject. Then you go on to insult this person with the following: “This extra testing if put on a club for a muppet like yourself would be a COMPLETE AND UTTER WASTE OF MONEY – you can’t hit the center of the face in 100 tries, so why bother adding another $150 worth of labor to your club?”….I think I quoted you correctly, no?
So, John, if would, please provide your USGA GHIN #….so that we can see how many times you hit the center of the club face?
Christestrogen
Nov 18, 2015 at 10:03 am
I bought a tour vault sldr last year on eBay for $129….saw no difference…
It was pretty cool to have all the little measurements hand written but other than that it was seemingly the same….at least IMHO
-Christosterone
Reeves
Nov 18, 2015 at 2:36 pm
Had one chance to hit a Pro Players driver (it was a Taylor Made and fit for him out of the tour van) If you ever can try it, the club was so well balanced it made my driver feel like a cave mans club. It showed me that it was not just the parts it was the guys that put them together.
blake
Nov 18, 2015 at 9:36 am
I have a tour issue r9 supertri v2 and it is miles different than the retail version. Mine is 440 cc, deeper face, and launches/spins the ball a lot lower that the retail counterpart. Don’t know about the M1 but there is definitely a difference in my personal experience with gaming retail vs. tour issue.
Carlos Danger
Nov 18, 2015 at 12:53 pm
So…you basically have a Superdeep?
blake
Nov 18, 2015 at 1:11 pm
not nearly as deep in the face. just a little deeper than the retail supertri but certainly more left/right forgiveness on the face than the SD. plus it has three adjustable weights as compared to only two on the superdeep. also the head shape/profile is different from the superdeep. so, basically, NO. Not the same at all
Carlos Danger
Nov 18, 2015 at 2:05 pm
but basically…
blake
Nov 18, 2015 at 2:33 pm
basically what? not even really sure what you are refuting here.
Carlos Danger
Nov 18, 2015 at 3:36 pm
exactly
christian
Nov 20, 2015 at 4:00 am
Basically, as in they are both driver heads?
blake
Nov 20, 2015 at 3:21 pm
they are both black. so he has me there…
blake
Nov 18, 2015 at 2:47 pm
and i am in now way endorsing spending $800 for a driver head. These will cost $150-200 on the Wrx BST by summer. If you have to play tour issue, for whatever reason, buy a release cycle behind for a fraction of the price.
Rick
Nov 19, 2015 at 12:05 am
I too have an R9 Supertri v2 also. I would say the face is not noticeably larger than a stock 460cc head, but certainly the body is much more a bulbous delta shape that gives the Supertri its name. Is the face tall like a Super Deep, no.
The v2 performance is perfect for my game. Actual TM provided a CT number and an aftermarket CT test. The measured TM CT is 248 and therefore is a tour legal usable head, what makes it unique is the CT measured slightly high and toe of the tour measuring point results in a 256. Its Lie is 61.1*, Loft 9.3*, Face Angle Open 3.75*. Hot Melt Weight 202.7, Slope of 3.2 and a CI of 1.76. I do not know what the slope and CI indicate.
The club performs as well or better than all drivers I have used and or demo’d except an explosive 975J that cracked early in the century.
The Supertri R9 v2 was and is the best $225 driver investment I have made over the past 20 years. The club recently aided another subpar round.
I would recommend the purchase of a tour head if it has a CT above 244, 257/258 is maximum allowable.
Charlie
Nov 18, 2015 at 9:28 am
If I take a retail head, get it measured and stamp a ‘+’ on it, can I command $800 for it?
Billy
Nov 18, 2015 at 1:48 am
Aren’t they still made in China or in Carlsbad, CA?
Ryan
Nov 18, 2015 at 1:30 am
Low CT rejects is what they are. Why aren’t they on the tour van ? Why is the CT rating covered up ? Exactly..
ltd
Nov 18, 2015 at 3:12 am
yepper
Charlie
Nov 18, 2015 at 9:21 am
Or high CT, doubtful though.
LorenRobertsFan
Nov 18, 2015 at 10:15 am
Exactly my thoughts
Scott
Nov 18, 2015 at 12:34 pm
Since I do not know what CT means, this head is not for me.
john
Nov 18, 2015 at 6:36 pm
that is a great point lol, $800 for a driver that’s got CT blacked out
SB
Nov 18, 2015 at 1:00 am
It’s expansive but still a good offering. Did you have the opportunity to play two exact same drivers and had the feeling that one performs much better?! The tour editions are always duly checked and are more consistent. Still 800$ for head I agree 😉
Brian
Nov 17, 2015 at 10:37 pm
They will make the average hacker exactly $800 lighter.
mike
Nov 17, 2015 at 9:33 pm
none
Mark
Nov 17, 2015 at 9:21 pm
$800 for a head. Seriously. What, if any difference will these heads make to the average player?
COGolfer
Nov 17, 2015 at 11:06 pm
The difference would be found in $800 worth of lessons.
This sort of thing comes up in cycling as well. Should you spend an extra grand on a bike that weighs a pound less or could you stand to lose a few on your person…
John Triscott
Nov 18, 2015 at 12:14 pm
Great comparison.
This is the same thing as Tour Issue DG Shafts. They are just thoroughly checked. More for the peace of mind for the golfer, in this case, a PGA Tour player.
Rick
Nov 19, 2015 at 12:12 am
No, a CT driver with less than 258 conforms to the rules of golf. Professionals cannot use non CT measured drivers.
Regarding shafts, I would imagine they are hand sorted and set batched so players have a stash to back up their playing set should one snap.