Clubs: TaylorMade SIM family of drivers, fairway woods and hybrids
What’s new: The SIM, SIM Max and SIM Max-D drivers all feature advanced geometric shaping that adds forgiveness and improves aerodynamics beginning 3 feet prior to impact, which also helps increase clubhead speed. A raised crown and sole reduce drag but a resulting high center of gravity is lowered by the Inertia Generator, a heavy steel weight at the rear of the club. An ultra-lightweight chromium carbon crown helped reduce the weight of the clubhead. The driver also features a Speed Injected Twist Face, which helps improve ball speed on off-center hits, and several adjustable features, including sliding weight technology that allows for up to 20 yards of draw or fade bias and a loft sleeve that can adjust the loft, lie angle and face angle of the clubhead. The SIM features a 460cc clubface while the SIM Max’s clubface is 8 percent larger. The SIM Max-D has an 18-percent larger clubface and features a draw-biased design that helps promote draws.
There are also three models of the fairways woods (SIM, SIM Max and SIM Max-D), all with a V Steel design and sole that improves turf interaction and playability from various lies, Twist Face and Speed Pocket.
The SIM Max rescue features a reshaped leading edge that works with the V Steel design to further improve playability and ball-striking conditions.
What the company says: “The history of driver design has been about prioritizing tradeoffs. You could have great launch conditions, but poor forgiveness. You could have great forgiveness, but at the sacrifice of distance. You could have an aerodynamic shape, but with less than optimal launch conditions. But through the use of multi-material technology, we’ve developed a new shape that optimizes performance in all three areas. It’s forgiving, fast and promotes the ideal launch conditions.” – Tomo Bystedt, TaylorMade’s senior director of product creation
Price and specs: Driver – SIM ($549.99; lofts: 8, 9 and 10.5 degrees), SIM Max and Max-D ($499.99; lofts: 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees); fairway woods – SIM ($399.99; lofts: 14, 15 and 19 degrees), SIM Max ($299.99; lofts: 14, 15, 18, 19, 21 and 24 degrees) and SIM Max-D ($299.99; lofts: 16, 19 and 22 degrees); rescue – MAX ($249.99; lofts: 19, 22, 25, 28 and 31 degrees)
Availability: Jan. 10 (pre-order); Feb. 7 (retail)