M2 Driver Completes M Family with M Style and Serious Performance
TaylorMade has completed the M family with the introduction of the M2 driver, fairways, rescues and irons. Now available at TGW, we interviewed the experts at TaylorMade to give you the inside scoop of how advanced the M2 is and how it makes the M family complete after the introduction of the M1 driver.
TGW: How does the more fixed design of the M2 compare to the maximum adjustability of the M1?
TaylorMade: The M2 comes equipped with loft adjustability (+/-2*) and a multitude of settings for loft, lie, and face angle. However, to someone in the market for a new driver, there is certainly a difference in adjustability between M1 and M2. Ultimately, it comes down to determining which features will benefit the golfer the most. In the case of M1, we created a driver that delivers distance and forgiveness, with the added benefit of personalization. With left/right and high/low adjustability made possible by our proprietary T-track weight system, the golfer now has the power to find the perfect ball flight. With M2, the focus was less on personalization, and more on maximization. What we mean by maximization is that we took the most sought-after qualities in a driver, distance and forgiveness, and developed a product that was engineered to maximize each of these.
TGW: What benefits do golfers see from fixing the center of gravity low and back?
TM: The benefits from low-back CG give the golfer the best of both worlds when we talk about distance and forgiveness. The key here is the low location of the CG, made possible by the use of carbon in the crown of the club. The CG projects so low on M2 – resulting in massive distance – that we were able to move it back, as well, which gives the golfer added forgiveness. The finished product yields an impressive combination of distance and forgiveness, where the pursuit of both of these benefits does not come at the expense of the other.
TGW: The M2 features a Speed Pocket like last year’s Aeroburner but it is re-designed, tell us about this feature.
TM: The new Speed Pocket further enables our two key pay-offs with M2: distance and forgiveness. The presence of the Speed Pocket works in tandem with the high MOI of the clubhead and thin face, resulting in a massive sweetspot, and thus, maximum forgiveness. The M2 fairway boasts our most flexible Speed Pocket ever, resulting in unprecedented fairway wood performance. The Speed Pocket also adds speed via face flexion, and it partners with the aforementioned low CG projection to achieve that highly sought-after high launch/low spin trajectory. This is a new speed pocket on the M2 driver because we were able to accomplish the above while reengineering it to perform optimally even with the presence of the adjustable loft sleeve in the heel.
TGW: M1 and M2 now both feature carbon composite in the crown, is this the future of drivers?
TM: We spent over a decade of trial and error with carbon composites, yet we were always able to find better performance from innovations around titanium construction – that is, until M1 and M2. Now that we have surpassed titanium performance with carbon crown clubs, we can’t wait to see where multi-material construction will take us in the years to follow. We look at carbon construction as a new platform, and we are at the beginning of the runway.
TGW: Finally, what has the Tour response been like for the M2 and will we see any pros playing it?
TM: M2 will be launched on tour at the Farmer’s Insurance Open. Between M1 and M2, we have never felt more confident about having the best options at driver for the best players in the world. Just like average golfers, many tour players are constantly in search of maximum forgiveness – so long as it does not come at the expense of ball speed – and M2 is the perfect club to meet those demands. Nonetheless, many tour players like to dial in every aspect of ball flight, and there is simply no better driver in golf today at doing that than the M1. All in, we expect a nice mix between M1 and M2 being put in play from the get go.
This same theory applies to fairway woods, as well. Simply based on the added distance and overall performance of the M2 fairway, we expect many of those to be put in play right away. And for those players in need of some extra fine-tuning, we expect them to find great success with M1.
