Equipment

Highlights from the TaylorMade 2023 product testing and fitting experience live at The Kingdom!

Published

3 years ago

Jan 10, 2023

We have four extremely lucky members visiting TaylorMade’s Global Headquarters in Carlsbad, CA to experience their new Carbonwoods and irons for 2023 before they launch to the world. These members will be the first to experience TaylorMade’s new 2023 products. Follow along in the GolfWRX forums!

The four lucky WRXers — @Olde Maroon, @Kylekoz17, @gticlay, and @MFBach — got the full Kingdom experience as well as fittings for TaylorMade’s new Stealth 2 woods and irons.

Read more about the Stealth 2 family, below.

And check out some product introductions straight from The Kingdom.

TaylorMade Stealth 2 drivers

TaylorMade Stealth 2 fairway woods

TaylorMade Stealth 2 Rescues

And here are a few of the members’ comments.

@oldemaroon: “I’m sure you are all inundated with Stealth 2 content given the embargo date being today. I know personally I woke to about ten review video notifications up on YouTube, so I’m guessing you have all watched at least one of those (probably more). What can I offer you that those pros can’t? Well, for better or for worse, I can share the entire TM launch experience and the fitting experience from the perspective of a middling golfer.”

“So, a bit about me. I’m 41 with a couple kids and a busy job (like many of you), so golf has fallen to the back burner for me in the last five years or so. I currently sit at a 16 handicap (up from a low around 10) and I play about 15 rounds per year lately. I’m pretty sure I buy more clubs/shafts here on BST each year than rounds I play… As you might expect, I struggle with consistency. I’ve been a member of the GolfWRX forums for a bit over a decade, learning a ton, spending a ton, and enjoying the enthusiast environment.”

“Coming into this trip, I had never been fit before. My bag prior to the fitting was as follows:

SIM Max 9*, Tensei 1K 65x
Cobra F9 3w @ 15.5*, GD IZ 7s
Cobra F9 19h, 22h, GD IZ 85s
Titleist TS2 25h, Ventus Velo 8s
Srixon ZX5, MMT 105s
Cleveland CBX 2 wedges (50/55/60) Recoil 110 F4
Odyssey Stroke Lab 2-Ball

“As you can see, it’s a real mix of what I guessed would be correct for my skill level (limited).

“I’ll skip to the punch line and let you know where I ended up after my fitting with Chandler (who was incredible – more on that later):”

Stealth+ 9.0 (down to 8.75* and one click upright), Fuji Ventus Blue TR 6x
Stealth HD 3w (lofted up to 16*), Fuji Ventus Blue TR 7s
Stealth+ 4h, Fuji Ventus Blue HB 8s
P790 5-7, MMT 105s
P770 8-PW, MMT 105s
P770 GW (bent to 49*)
Milled Grind 3 (high bounce) 54 (bent to 53*) and 58*, MMT 125s wedge shafts

“Spider putter that shall remain a secret…but I can say that I went with a slight toe hang, which helped prevent a slightly closed face at impact.”

“I know I’m going to be jumping around, but I want to get straight into the fitting experience with Chandler (who also gave us the launch presentation for the new line of SGI irons). Chandler has worked in several roles around Taylormade and is a hell of a golfer himself, so he offers great perspectives on everything we covered. Most importantly for me, he was great at working me through my initial nerves and getting me comfortable quickly (except when the drone would buzz over my shoulder mid-swing).

“We dove straight into the big stick, which was my preference. I hoped to swing hard and punch through those nerves. Chandler had me hit my current driver (again, SIM Max 9* with Tensei 1K 65x). Historically, my preferred shot is a slight draw, and my miss is when I’m trying to control it and I get tight – then it’s a duck hook and I’m OB left. I swing around 105, a bit higher if I warm up and/or have a beer. Today, I had a bit of a block right, but the contact was okay. Launch was low at around 9* (pretty common for me). My launch angle was around neutral or even slightly negative, which isn’t typical for me but that’s the challenge with an inconsistent player.

“Chandler put me straight into a Stealth 9* lofted up one setting with a Tensei Orange 65s (because I have historically played counterbalanced shafts to help my AOA). This felt smooth and helped increase my AOA a bit, but it was a bit too loose for me and my dispersion suffered. It also spun up to above 3000 which killed my distance.

“Next up was a Graphite Design AD-XC 6s. This shaft felt great to swing and helped a bit with the dispersion, but launch was too low and spin remained too high. The result was low risers, which combined with the headwind at The Kingdom, meant loss of distance. We could do better.

“Chandler stuck a Ventus TR Blue 6s into the Stealth+ 2 head, and we saw some immediate results. The spin dropped a few hundred revs and the flight was more penetrating. Launch also went up a bit to just about 11*. The shaft felt great. I’ve previously tried the original Ventus Blue and it was a bit too spinny and loose for me. The Black was too manly for me. The Ventus Blue TR really hit that Goldilocks zone. Still, my flight started just a bit too right. Chandler said he had another tweak to make.

“He then switched it up completely, giving me a Hulk shaft. I’m pretty sure he just needed a quick pick-me-up so he wanted to watch me struggle to keep the ball on the planet. We had some fun laughing at block after block, and he casually handed me his real plan.

“Stealth+ 2 with the Ventus Blue TR 6x. When he gave me the club back, I didn’t notice that he had gone up a flex (I tried to never look at any changes he made). I immediately started belting drive after drive straight down the middle (which I cannot stress enough is not something I am usually capable of doing). Flight was noticeably higher and more penetrating. Turns out he had set it upright one degree, put the weight towards the heel, and dropped the loft a touch. With those changes, we had found the winner.

“Coming into this, I would never have guessed I would have ended up in the plus model. The tweaks Chandler made improved my strike so much, and the club has so much inherent forgiveness, that I had better dispersion than I’ve ever had.

“Chandler was an absolute genius throughout, spotting flaws and making tweaks to address my needs. He was full of surprises, too, but more on that in a bit (typing on my phone is so slow that this report is going to take about as long as the fitting itself).”

@kylekoz17: “As for the driver, I hit a few shots with my 9* TSi3 to establish a baseline. Was hovering around 165 ball speed and ~2500 spin, something I am pretty happy with for my January swing in the north east. One thing we wanted to do was improve my descent angle which was around 40. The goal was sub 35. We tried the 8,9, and 10.5* heads. The 10.5 wasn’t a fit right away, so we spent our time finding the right combination of head and shaft between the 8 and 9 heads. For my swing yesterday, the 8* was probably the right fit, but we were also talking about a mid season swing and taking that into account when ultimately deciding on which one we would go with. In the end we went with the 9* head with Tensei Orange 65x as it was a good combination of spin, ball speed, and descent angle that we think will also be a good fit in the summer. The 8 was awesome and the 30* descent angle would run forever, but I think spin was was just a touch too low.”

“Two things about the driver that really impressed me:

“1. the efficiency of ball speed as I started slowing down after hitting a lot of balls. A couple mph swing speed less as I got tired and the ball was still jumping off the face and distance really hadn’t changed

“2. forgiveness. If I remember correctly, I was as high as 167 ball speed with the Stealth 2 Plus at the same swing speed as my TSi at the same loft, so the couple MPH gain was nice, but my misses were so good. My miss is a high spinny right shot, so when I caught shots low on the face or heel, I would always go back and check to see what spin and distance were doing. It was shocking to see the ball speeds at 162-164 with spin staying below 3k. That is unheard of for me and frankly had my fitter questioning where I actually caught the ball on the face when I said I missed it, but we confirmed my strikes with trackman. Carry distances were about 10-15 yards shorter than solid strikes.”

@gticlay: “I was most excited about hitting the Stealth2+ fairway offerings. They threw us a curveball by introducing a new model – the Stealth2HD model. It’s a new large head, mid height faced 3w that will get the ball up fast. This was almost immediately after I thanked the presenter for keeping their fairways with a deeper face, so foot in mouth on that except for it’s built for someone that is newer to golf, or that has always struggled with getting the ball up with a fairway wood.”

“I hit both the 3w and 5w’s. For the fairways, we started with the 3w and based on my irons and driver fitting, my guy already had a shaft picked out for me – the Graphite Design Tour AD DI 7X shaft. At 75g, it’s only slightly lighter than the Ozik Black Tie 80M-X that I am playing in my TI R9 “paint break” 3w now. We started with the weight in neutral but ended up with it all the way forward to help the head work for my swing. I also hit the IZ-6 shaft but it just didn’t have that feel I like in a shaft (I hadn’t known I had such a strong preference for a certain type of shaft before this). In order to see the ball flight he wanted, my fitter put the weight all the way forward saying that he didn’t think I’d have a problem losing the forgiveness the rear position offers. The sun was in my eyes so it was difficult to see my shots when they started off but by the end of the 3w fitting I was hitting it at a white aiming pole as well as my swing allows with very good numbers.”

“When we hit the 5w, I was starting to get a little tired but he came out, gave me the club and said “I think you are going to love this setup”. I hit two perfect shots and one that leaked a little right – the club was maybe the most solid feeling fairway I’ve ever hit…. well ever. I allowed myself to look at what shaft it is and it was the Blue Ventus 9-X. I hit another shaft just to be sure but no, that 9-X was love at first flight. I’ve never even hit a Ventus shaft before, so that was a nice hello nice to meet you moment.”

“Although I hit it first, the Driver was my first wood fitting. He set something up similar to my current gamer – an Epic Max LS. I hit a few different shafts but the last one was the one and it was actually something that I gamed last part of 2021 and first 2/3rds of 2022 – the Tensei Orange 65-X. Due to the very obvious graphics, I knew exactly what it was (I tried not to look at the shafts when I hit them) and it instantly felt familiar and comfortable. With a 10.5* head turned down a notch we ended up where my fitter wants me to “live” and that’s 12* launch and high 1700, low 1800 RPM. The one time I looked at the numbers it said 12.1*, 1776rpm. I have to say it felt good when the fitter next to us watched, commented how the flight looked really good and asked “how many yards did THAT one go!”. It’s not like my SS is so high but the ball was really out there on a few nutted shots. Compared to the empty aluminum can feel/sound of my previous driver the Stealth driver sounds so very nice and solid.

“So if I were to describe the Stealth2 Carbonwoods in one word – I would say SOLID. Solid feel, solid flight, solid sound. I can’t wait to game them.

*one last note – the gen1 fairway woods did NOT have the inverted cone technology “donut” in the face but they have added that to the gen2 fairways so they should be more forgiving on more of the face.

*ok one more last note – I’m not sure if they changed the white line on the top of the face, but I can’t even remember seeing it during the fitting. I never hit gen1 Stealth fairways so I can’t speak to those, but I think you have to look for the line if you want to use it vs. it being “in your face” at setup.

Follow along in the GolfWRX forums for more!

Read more about the Stealth 2 family, below.

Equipment

Tour Edge unveils all-new Exotics mini driver

Published

2 days ago

May 12, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

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.

Equipment

Srixon ZXi combo or TaylorMade P7CB/770 combo? – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

2 days ago

May 12, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

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”

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: 2024 Wilson Staff CB/Blade combo

Published

2 days ago

May 12, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

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