Andrew Noyce
By Andrew Noyce

It's not often a golf club gets a birthday party but when you've had a first year like the SLDR driver you can see why TaylorMade thought it was a good reason to celebrate.

Not a quiet family gathering or a trip to a soft play centre for the SLDR's 1st birthday but an "intimate" gathering of 200 of its closest friends at the Trump International Golf Links in North East Scotland.

TaylorMade SLDR Driver 1st Birthday

The Scottish Open is where it all began for SLDR in Europe so it made sense to head back to the homeland of golf with the 2014 edition taking place a few miles away at Royal Aberdeen.

This made it possible for some surprise guests to attend as TaylorMade Tour staff players Justin Rose, Stephen Gallacher, Richie Ramsay and Johan Carlsson shared their experiences with the SLDR and how "lofting-up" has benefited their games. However the party was not restricted to VIP's with TaylorMade inviting a large number of amateur SLDR devotees to the event.

In the last 12 months the SLDR Driver has become the number one played driver on both the PGA & European Tours and has picked up numerous accolades for design and performance.

TaylorMade SLDR Driver

As you'll know, unless you've spent the last year under a rock, the key performance driver of the SLDR is TaylorMade's belief in a low/forward centre of gravity that promotes a higher launch angle, lower spin-rate and ultimately higher ball speed.

These launch characteristics are enhanced by more loft and TaylorMade have gone to great lengths to educate golfers in the advantages of "lofting-up" throughout their range of metalwoods, a concept that went against previously accepted logic but one that has paid spectacular dividends.

The pro's were quick to cotton on to the benefits.

Scot, Stephen Gallacher, who 'lofted up' to an 11 degree SLDR, explained the benefits to the assembled crowd citing the SLDR as the biggest factor in retaining his crown at this years Dubai Desert Classic.

The 13th and 18th holes clinched it for me. In previous years’ I had to sacrifice shots by taking my 3-wood off the tee as I couldn’t clear the trees. Now, with my new higher lofted SLDR driver I’m seeing much higher launch conditions and greater distances. I sailed the trees and this gave me the chance to out-do some strong scores.

TaylorMade's Justin Rose

From the start TaylorMade have been keen to illustrate the benefits of "lofting-up" to all golfers not just the pro's and the amateurs invited to the party are evidence of this.

Greg Pearse, TaylorMade Golf’s Marketing Director, re-iterated this point at Trump International Golf Links:

We are hugely proud of what the SLDR has achieved in the past 12 months for golfers at all levels of the game. Increasing your loft on your driver is here to stay and we believe this is the future for golfers who want more distance, improved consistency and ultimately better scores. Thousands of golfers have already embraced more loft, with many going as high as 16-degrees, and I’m sure we’ll being seeing more success with SLDR as the year continues.

As part of this drive TaylorMade are encouraging amateurs to share their SLDR "lofting-up" stories via their social media channels with some eye catching results.

TaylorMade are so confident that "lofting-up" will help your game that they offer the "Loft-Up" Guarantee enabling golfers to test the products on the course backed by a full 30-Day Money Back Guarantee if you don't see see the promised performance benefits. Alternatively you can exchange the club for a different loft or different model within the SLDR family until you find a driver that you are happy with.

That extended SLDR family keeps getting better with golfers now able to choose between the SLDR Driver, the SLDR S, the SLDR S Mini, the SLDR 430 as well as a range of SLDR fairway woods and hybrids.

So happy returns to the TaylorMade SLDR driver and we look forward to seeing what is in store for year two.

TaylorMade SLDR Driver Family

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TaylorMade SLDR Driver - Product Details

UK Launch16 August 2013
UK Launch RRP£349
USA Launch09 August 2013
Handicap Range
Low
High
GolferMens
Hand AvailabilityLeft, Right
Left Handed Lofts9.5°, 10.5°
Right Handed Lofts8°, 9.5°, 10.5°, 12°, 14°
MaterialTitanium
Head Volume460 cc
Club Length45.5 inches
Swing WeightD4
AdjustabilityLoft, Weight
Shaft NameFujikura Speeder 57
Shaft TypesGraphite
Shaft FlexRegular, Stiff, X Stiff
Shaft Weight55-61 grams
GripTM 360
Manufacturer's WebsiteTaylorMade Website

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