Old driver would not pass "the test", as Rory said.
Stealth2 is all over the place, like Rick Shiels said in his review.
Oops.
What? Carbon face drivers suffering metal fatigue ….
I'm sure Rory will do a lot of post Players testing to zero in on 'whatever', 'fargiving' driver he
can put in play confidently. It's mostly mental (for him & Jordan). 
Just like twist face, carbon face is just a gimmick.
Cwing mental fatigue?
Golf Channel/PGA tour mouthpiece McGinley is already making excuses for Rory Big Mouth, so maybe it's not the equipment.
LMAO
https://www.golfmagic.com/pga-tour/paul-mcginley-rory-mcilroy-hes-taking-more-bullets-other-players
pellmell TaylorMade just needs to get back into 'building drivers'. I don't know what they are doing now, but they have surely got away from what got them where they are.
I had a SIM 9* head that was the absolute highest launching head I've ever used, even hitting at 0 AoA. Did I get distance, of course, same as any other head. I then got a SIM2 9*. Same distance as the SIM, but at 1/2 the launch height, using the exact same shaft/adapter, and a positive AoA!
There are good reasons I don't buy TM equipment. Unless it is several years old. They made golf clubs, damn good golf clubs, back then.
Cwing Rory’s old driver would be non confirming
Normal wear and tear do not make a club non conforming.
I have never owned a TaylorMade club, I noticed that the people
I normally play golf with can not hit their TaylorMade stuff very well at all.
Luc_Van_Daele They were testing and Rory did not want to get called out. He was the one that made the choice to take it out of play, without testing it.
And yes, a club can become non-conforming due to normal play. Esp. at 115+ SS for a driver.
Luc_Van_Daele for the average golfer, true. For guys at 115+, it absolutely can. I have caved several driver faces and gave up completely on composite crown drivers back in the early 2000’s because they broke too. In LD, drivers go through a “break in” period, where you need to hit it about 100-150 times to get to optimal performance, then you get extra hot faces right before they break.
With a guy hitting hundreds of drives a day at 120MPH, I have no doubt that face has more rebound than it did new. If it was a hand selected head at the limits off the line, I bet Rory is right, it’s not going to pass. I have a DB455 I bet wouldn’t pass, that thing is hotttt, it’s hit a couple thousand balls at 115-125mph, it’s a miracle it hasn’t given up… and I bought it used. Once it cracks it’s game over, but fatigued metal has more rebound until it does.
pellmell Just like twist face, carbon face is just a gimmick.
I've only had one TM driver with Twist face (an M5) but I thought the twist face actually worked. I've never hit a driver straighter (or shorter) than that M5. I mean I hit some horrible shots that I immediately looked way right off into the woods onlt to see the ball land just off the fairway on the right.
For me the last good driver TM came out with were the Aeroburner models…Still the best for my swing speed and ungainly lunge at the ball…Haven’t found any that will force it out of the bag…Wouldn’t even look at a $600 driver, I’m a cheap geezer… I have 2 Aeroburner Blacks and 1 Aeroburner White with the Aeroburner geezer flex shafts…
I was the first one on my block to own these when they came out (1+3+5) with stiff steel. (1983)
Used my brand new credit card to buy them too, and then I started down the road of do it it myself, so never bought another OEM wood again.
- Edited
Par4QC And yes, a club can become non-conforming due to normal play.
DC300 for the average golfer, true. For guys at 115+, it absolutely can.
Not questioning this, but the equipment rules state equipment needs to pass the tests new from factory. So Rory might be right that if submitted an old driver it wouldn't pass, only there is no need whatsoever to resubmit.
IIRC - the PGA tour tests randomly on the field. Unless they suspect a bad apple....
In softball and baseball it's common knowledge that you can "break in" composite bats. They get hotter and hotter and hotter and then... Shatter. Especially the case for big hitters.
I'd bet that it's the same with a carbon face club. As the epoxy and fibers break down due to impact, they'll become more and more flexible, increasing CT/COR... Until they break!
- Edited
Rule 4.1.a Clubs Allowed in Making a Stroke
(1) Conforming Clubs. In making a stroke, a player must use a club that
conforms to the requirements in the Equipment Rules:
• A club used to make a stroke must conform not only when the club is
new, but also when it has been deliberately or accidentally changed in
any way.
• But if the performance characteristics of a conforming club change
because of wear through normal use, it is still a conforming club
- Edited
Should have read the small print
When a used club is pendulum tested (see Part 2 Section 4c(i)) in the
field and a result in excess of 257 μs is attained, the specific club will
be deemed to be damaged into a non-conforming state, based on the
presumption that it conformed when new and was included on the List of
Conforming Driver Heads.
For reference the limit for new driver heads is 239 μs with a 18 μs tollerance.