taylormade m2 tour fairway wood

TaylorMade 2017 M2 Tour Fairway Wood Review

Taylormade 2017 m2 tour fairway wood.

The TaylorMade 2017 M2 Tour fairway wood was designed with the needs of the better player in mind.  A more compact head shape and a forward center of gravity (CG) make the M2 Tour fairway wood more workable and lower launching/spinning.  TaylorMade claims the M2 Tour has the horsepower of the regular M2 fairway, but you better make sure you have the game for it before you try and bag the same fairway woods as Rory and Tiger.

First Impressions

There’s something about the regular TaylorMade 2017 M2 fairway wood that’s a little too bulky and just never really appealed to my eye, but when I first set eyes on the 2017 M2 Tour I was in love.  The M2 Tour’s footprint is indeed compact and minimal behind the ball.   Though compact, the the M2 Tour has a deeper face than you’d expect, but it wears it well with the black/white/black contrast so it doesn’t seem as deep (at least to my eye).

Obviously the white/carbon theme continues with the ’17 M2 Tour fairway wood.  I know there were mixed responses to this scheme when TaylorMade debuted it, but I love it.  The contrast looks great behind the ball and adding curvature to the white portion makes it set better to my eye at address when compared to the previous generation which had straighter lines.

How Does it Feel?

I have to tell you, the TaylorMade 2017 M2 Tour fairway wood feel is going to shake out with whether or not you’re a good fit for the club.  The standard ’17 M2 fairway wood is much more universal and has a lot of forgiveness to it.  A better player that fits the ’17 M2 Tour could very well find it to feel amazing like I did.  The face is very solid and feels like the ball absolutely launches at impact.   Being the M2 Tour is for a better striker, that feel requires a high level of precision.  This fairway wood isn’t exactly forgiving and mishit shots will let you know, but that’s what you should expect from this style of fairway wood.

The precise and responsive feel of the 2017 M2 Tour make it easier to control your shot selection.  I found it very easy to “get in tune” with club and manipulate my shots accordingly.  This statement may not make a ton of sense, but if you’ve had the experience of “lack of club awareness” then you know exactly what I’m talking about.

How Does it Sound?

One of the major focuses TalyorMade had with the 2016 and 2017 M lineups was to tune the sounds to a more appealing range for players.  TaylorMade largely accomplished this in the ’17 M2 line with the Geocoustic sole which has sound ribs on the outside to dampen vibrations and control the pitch of the club’s sound.  With good contact and some speed, the TaylorMade 2017 M2 Tour fairway wood has a solid sound to it that perfectly matches its feel .  If I could best put it into words, I’d say it has sort of a “ snap-crack ” to it when you catch one pure.

On-Course Performance

I have to tell you, I have not had this absurd of testing numbers in a long time.  The first time I tested a TaylorMade 2017 M2 Tour fairway wood, I was seeing some great data.  I thought, “eh, it’s a fluke, the machine’s probably juiced” or “maybe I’m just having a great day?”  Regardless, the data caught my attention and I was curious to see more.  I revisited testing about two weeks later and experienced more of the same.  It was pointed out to me “you’re spinning that thing as low as a driver with the same speeds.  Time to stop playing a driver.”  Compelling, but I still have a driver in the bag.

Ok, enough of the humble brag.  The point is, I understand why the M2 Tour is a popular option among TaylorMade staffers.  Finding that lower, yet playable, spin in a 3 wood is great.  By moving the CG forward, tinkering with the carbon composite crown a bit, and lengthening the Speed Pocket, TaylorMade certainly added speed to the M2 Tour.

The only point of disagreement I had with TaylorMade came in terms of trajectory.  By moving the CG forward, TaylorMade definitely brought the spin down, but they also brought the trajectory down.  In fact, the biggest reason I prefer the M2 Tour over the M2 fairway is because of its lower launch.  I hit too many short balloons with the regular M2, but with the M2 Tour I was hitting piercing bullets with just about the perfect height for my game .  Sure, you could tune this with different shafts, but I don’t generally consider the M2 Tour to be high launching.  Don’t misconstrue that information though.  If you fit the M2 Tour, shot height will not be an issue for you.

Final Thoughts

TaylorMade certainly nailed it when they set out to make a beast of a fairway wood for the better player.  With a strong ball flight and great feel, the 2017 M2 Tour fairway wood is a distance machine combined with excellent playability.   If that in itself isn’t enough, the M2 Tour looks sick behind the ball with its signature carbon crown.  More importantly, the M2 Tour fairway wood is flat out fun to hit if you have the game for it.

Stock TaylorMade 2017 M2 Tour Fairway Wood Specs

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TaylorMade M2 fairway wood review

The TaylorMade M2 fairway is geared toward speed and forgiveness but does it deliver?

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The M2 fairway wood is a long, forgiving and versatile club that will perform in every situation you need it to out on the course. Ball speed protection across the face was particularly impressive, especially on shots struck low on the face, something so crucial for a fairway wood. We really do recommend you give this a try.

Very easy to align, explosive distance and excellent versatility - easy to strike consistently from the tee and fairway

Some may want something that inspires more confidence at address

Why you can trust Golf Monthly Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

The Golf Monthly Test Team's TaylorMade M2 fairway wood review, a club that features a carbon composite crown and Speed Pocket to maximise distance

Going back to the original RocketBallz range launched a few years ago, the fairway within the lower price point TaylorMade wood line has often been the showpiece product. Bold distance claims and technological advances made it a popular choice for amateur golfers.

While last year’s AeroBurner fairway wood was all about speed through multiple technologies that improved aerodynamics, the M2 fairway wood is about creating distance and versatility without losing out on trajectory or forgiveness.

It has the same Carbon composite crown technology as the TaylorMade M1 and M2 drivers, which saves weight and allows it to be positioned in more desirable areas. It has a larger, more open Speed Pocket that increases ball speeds on shots struck low on the face and also helps reduce spin.

Finally, a fluted hosel is said to save weight as well as improve the feel and acoustics of the fairway wood.

At address, the M2 fairway has a similar low profile and mid-to-small head size at address. Because of this, it’s arguably not the most confidence inspiring to look down on at address but it’s very easy to align thanks to the contrast between the black face and the white front section of the crown and it sits absolutely flush to the turf when lining a shot up from the fairway.

This is a fixed hosel fairway wood but it comes in five different lofts to suit your needs and should provide excellent performance without the need for a full fitting, providing you get the right shaft flex.

What strikes you instantly is the incredibly hot feel off the face of this fairway wood. It’s solid and actually quite firm, because of the slightly muted acoustics, but it’s still very powerful. This doesn’t really change when hitting off the deck. The trajectory was similar to that off the tee and carry distance only came down by about 7-8 yards during our testing session from 240 to 233.

Performance from the fairway was particularly impressive, with shots tending to strike the lower portion of the face coming off just as hot and on a similar launch angle. This is encourage when hitting into par fives but combined with the relatively low spin means the M2 fairway is an excellent option off the tee of tight par fours.

The M2 fairway is available in lofts 15°, 16.5°, 18°, 21° and 24°.

If you opt to add the M2 fairway wood to your bag, take a look at our TaylorMade voucher codes .

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Joel has worked in the golf industry for over 12 years covering both instruction and more recently equipment. He now oversees all product content here at Golf Monthly, managing a team of talented and passionate writers and presenters in delivering the most thorough and accurate reviews, buying advice, comparisons and deals to help the reader find exactly what they are looking for. So whether it's the latest driver, irons, putter or laser rangefinder, Joel has his finger on the pulse keeping up to date with the latest releases in golf. He is also responsible for all content on irons and golf tech, including distance measuring devices and launch monitors.

One of his career highlights came when covering the 2012 Masters he got to play the sacred Augusta National course on the Monday after the tournament concluded, shooting a respectable 86 with just one par and four birdies. To date, his best ever round of golf is a 5-under 67 back in 2011. He currently plays his golf at Burghley Park Golf Club in Stamford, Lincs, with a handicap index of 3.2.

Joel's current What's In The Bag?  

Driver: Titleist TSR3 , 9° 

Fairway wood: Titleist TSR3 , 15° 

Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 , 18° 

Irons: Ping i230  4-UW

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 , 54°. Titleist Vokey SM9 60° lob wedge, K Grind

Putter: Evnroll ER2V  

Ball: 2023 Titleist Pro V1x

Brandt Snedeker had an embarrassed fan to thank for saving him a potentially difficult second shot at TPC Louisiana

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Fairway Reviews

Review: taylormade m2 fairway woods.

Pros:  Driver-like ball speeds in a fairway wood that’s forgiving, workable, and the more affordable option in TaylorMade’s 2016 lineup.

Cons:  No adjustability. The sound and feel is different than other fairway woods.

Who’s it for:  The M2 fairway woods can be played by golfers of all skill levels, from beginners to PGA Tour players.

• Available Lofts: 15, 16.5, 18, 21, 24
• Stock Shafts: REAX 65 (X, S, R flexes), many custom shafts available free of charge.

“1.49? Really? Again? Man, these new fairway woods are amazing.” That was me during my launch monitor testing for this review. I kept getting pretty high smash factors for a fairway wood. To quickly explain, smash factor is ball speed divided by swing speed, and the average PGA Tour smash factor for a 3 wood is 1.48.

I am not a PGA Tour player, so getting a 1.49 the few times I did was pretty impressive, and shows an advance in technology — not that my swing has actually improved.

To say there’s been a revolution the past five years in fairway wood design is an understatement. Hotter faces are the norm now. I’ve actually heard people say they hit their 3 woods “too far,” which sounds absolutely insane. But with fairway woods the way they are now, many are providing the same relative ball speeds as drivers, and just as much distance.

When TaylorMade released the M2, there was some chatter that it was a price-point fairway wood, and it wouldn’t be as good as the company’s M1 since it didn’t have the moveable weights and changeable shafts. This is simply not the case. The M2 contains every bit of technology as the M1, and while I didn’t test them head to head, the feedback from most golfers has been that the M2 launches higher, spins less and offers more ball speed than the M1. For that reason, it will be the longer-flying TaylorMade fairway wood for most golfers.

When viewing the clubs in the address position, it’s hard to tell the difference between the M1 and the M2. The M2 has the “ball” grooves, where there’s a centering point of no grooves in the shape of a ball. The only other difference is the M2 has a new “fluted” hosel construction, which moves a few grams of weight lower in the club head, and is said to improve sound and feel. I’m also a fan of the black-and-white painted composite crown. It seems to give off a more compact feeling to me, and makes it easier to line things up.

The face also sits square, which is a major requirement for me as well. I’ve bought and immediately sold 3 woods that have faces that are closed. I was actually worried about this, as in years past TaylorMade has sold a TP line of fairway woods, which have a more open face angle than standard models. There is no TP model in the M2 line, and what TaylorMade seems to have done is focused on making the M2 sit perfectly square.

The Results

To do my testing, I took the M2 out to my course and played a few rounds, and then took it to the range and also had a couple of simulator sessions. The data above is from The Professional’s Golf Shop using Trackman and premium golf balls. The M2 was 15 degrees with a Fujikura Pro Tour Spec 73X shaft at 43 inches (untipped).

On Trackman, I was attempting to hit fade shots off the deck each time. The results are the 10 shots that best represented the fade. Overall, the numbers are pretty consistent. There were a few really good hits that made me say, “WOW!” But there were also several shots in this bunch that I hit thin, and I expected them to come up much shorter. That is until I got the results and was impressed that the shot still carried 225-230. I left those in, as I wanted to show how forgiving this club can be.

On The Course

On the course is where the M2 fairway wood really shines. Off the deck, I was getting great numbers on the simulator, but on the course I was hitting the M2 places where I have never hit a 3 wood before.

I came close to muttering those words “too far” at one point. I used it on a par 4 to stay short of water, and I ended up only a foot short of the hazard. We’re talking 280 to the water! And distance isn’t even the best thing about this club. Well, maybe … the distance IS pretty awesome. But there’s something else that’s really good, too. It goes back to the shape, sole design and face angle. I’m able to work this club with ease around the course. I can draw, fade, hook, slice, everything really easily with this club. Whether it’s from the tee box or behind 40 trees, I’m able to do some really fun things.

As you might have seen in the data above, I was able to compare the M2 to my gamer, a Nike Vapor Fly (15 degrees with the same shaft, measuring the same length) both on the course and on the simulator. The only difference between the two clubs was that the Nike Vapor Fly’s shaft was tipped 0.5 inches.

Overall, they are pretty similar fairway woods. When hitting the fade shot on the simulator, they were almost identical. Both have great ball speeds, both are forgiving, and both pretty easily hit that shot.

But on the course, the M2 ended up being a better club for me. The Vapor Fly has an open face angle, and it is harder for me to work shots both directions. I can hit fades with it all day, but I struggle to square the face and hit draws with it. The best hits on the simulator showed the M2 as the longer of the two, and that showed up on the course as well, especially off the tee. I thought I loved an open face, but it ended up not being good for me overall and my testing proved it.

The M2 is a fairway wood that anyone can play. It’s built with a square face, neutral weighting, and offers incredible distance. It should absolutely be on a list of fairway woods for any player to check out. It has a great combination of everything that I look for in a fairway wood. The feel and sound is the only knock I have.

[wrx_retail_links productid=”98″]

Review: KBS Tour FLT Shafts

Review: Arccos and Arccos Driver

Rob has been playing golf for over 25 years with off and on segments of playing competitively. He likes to think outside of the box in all regards of life and that brings a different perspective to golf. Rob has been writing independently for more than 10 years, and is a true equipment junkie at heart and enjoys tinkering with his equipment in the search for the perfect feel and the perfect shot.

13 Comments

russell platt

Feb 11, 2017 at 8:09 pm

I have the M2 5 and 7 wood and prefer my gamer’s, the original Rocketballz 5 and 7 wood. I mean they really go, but just not as consistent.

Jun 23, 2016 at 2:14 pm

The upright lie does not bother me one bit and it shouldn’t bother you either until you hit one and decide for yourself. None of my clubs thus far have upright lies and I hit the M2 fairway just fine. My normal miss with a 3-wood is a hook and I actually hook this less than my current x2hot and less than the ping G. The one thing I really wish they would have done is made the hosel adjustable. If they would have done that I’d already have a 3 HL in my bag that is adjusted to a lower loft to open the face.

This club is 100% about distance. The shaft is longer than a traditional 3-wood and lighter than most stock options. It’s one thing to be able to carry a 3-wood 275 yards with good height off the deck and it’s another to be able to consistently hit it straight or with the shape that a certain shot demands. Switching the 65 gram shaft out for an 85 gram model vastly improved my dispersion and I only lost 3 yards carry on average. For all of you considering this club, I would look into putting a shorter shaft in the club but not necessarily upping the shaft weight as distance may be easier to come by for slower swing speed players.

Jun 19, 2016 at 5:10 pm

Shut your hole.

Fairway Wood Man

Jun 19, 2016 at 3:59 pm

Not true. They have only been the same for 7 years. Get it right Smizzypoo.

Jun 19, 2016 at 4:30 pm

You sound pretty confident for someone so vague.

By the way, it was sarcasm champ. Learn to pick it up.

I won’t be so arrogant as to say that it is a problem for anyone else. They are “good folks” and don’t deserve to be insulted.

Jun 19, 2016 at 5:00 pm

Jackson Galaxy

Jun 19, 2016 at 3:54 pm

Good club but I prefer the G Stretch feel

Jun 19, 2016 at 5:02 pm

Just look for solutions Smiz. You’ll be right. Chin up and all that.

Jun 19, 2016 at 10:28 am

I wasn’t consciously aware of the upright lie angle everyone’s complaining about but that would explain why I’m liking the club so much. I can’t stand these super flat lie angles so many of these modern fairway woods have. This is the first fairway wood with a real chance of kicking my old Titleist 904f out the bag.

Jun 18, 2016 at 11:06 pm

It may technically be square but the lie angle makes it look closed. Also, if you ground the club it has a tendency to want to close even more. A TP version with a flatter lie angle would be a welcome addition. I love the M2 driver, but the 816 alpha is the best fairway wood out there for me.

Jun 18, 2016 at 5:11 pm

Yeah. I wouldn’t buy them because of the lie angle either.

Jun 18, 2016 at 4:03 pm

I keep looking at these but also notice they sit upright…and my irons are 2 flat….

Jun 18, 2016 at 3:54 pm

Anyone have any hooky problems with the super upright lie angle on these? Or, hear any explanation from Taylormmade on why they decided to make these so upright?

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Members Choice: The Best Fairway Woods of 2017

In this edition of Members Choice, we attempt to answer the question, “What’s the best fairway wood of 2017?”

Admittedly, it’s a bit of a loaded question since golfers use fairway woods for different reasons and in different situations on the course. Some use a fairway wood strictly as an alternative to their driver off the tee; other golfers use them almost entirely as approach clubs from the turf on long par fours and par fives; the rest use fairway woods for some combination of both situations. So are we looking for the longest and straightest fairway wood, or simply the most accurate and forgiving?

The best way to determine the best fairway wood, therefore, is to pose that question to golfers who have hit them all and let them decide. Thus, we have Members Choice: The Best Fairway Woods of 2017, where GolfWRX Members describe their experiences with the latest fairway woods. With in-depth descriptions from their testing, GolfWRX Members illuminate the pros and cons of each fairway wood, providing the real information you need when making your purchasing decisions.

• Members Choice: The Best Drivers of 2017
• Members Choice: The Best Irons of 2017

Our advice when reading through this story is to think about what you want from your fairway wood. Do you want max distance, max forgiveness, or a combination of both? The feedback from GolfWRX Members on each fairway wood will lead to toward a few models that match your needs and desires. Then test them out for yourself. Everyone interprets the performance of golf clubs differently, so personal testing and professional fittings are imperative, especially in this particular category.  View the full results from the poll testing here . 

Note: Responses from GolfWRX Members have been minimally edited for brevity and clarity. 

Callaway Steelhead XR (4.08 percent)

• SwingMan:  I r ecognize that the Steelhead XR is late to the game, having just entered the market, but for a club that does everything well for GI and Players (the + models), they are long rocket launchers. Light, hot feel with pleasing metallic crack, deep face for ease off the tee, low CG (center of gravity) for ease off the deck, rounded sole gives you versatility from rough and bunkers. Forgiving and long. J36 carbon weave crown moves weight low. Because of the deep face with lot of bulge you need to lay it on the ground and it sits square. Take care when you pick it up so as not to close it. I hit it long off the tee with an R-Flex, obtaining 260-270 yards under favorable conditions — this club produces an urgent, direct trajectory with loads of roll in the lower lofts. Off the deck, 220+ with light wind; against a strong wind, 200. This club is surprising. Even the 7 wood off the deck with a higher trajectory gives you great yardage. Only caveat is that if you are in low speed range and insist on a 3 wood, you may want to order a high launch shaft instead of the mid-launch Tensei. But that’s the same advice with all 3 woods — you must be able to launch them. Callaway has several no cost shaft options. Otherwise, go with the 5 and 7 woods, which are loooong and versatile. The + models, for players and pros, are more weight forward and fade bias and arrive with a 65 Tensei CK Blue fairway shaft — smoother than the CK Blue driver shaft.
• DWtalk:  I just finished testing the 15-degree Callaway Steelhead with the Tensi Blue shaft, and it’s a great club. It’s long and my misses are either a little right or left, but very solid. I also have a 15-degree M2 that is very good also with the stock shaft but I’m going to reshaft it with the Tensi blue. You couldn’t go wrong with either club.

Further Reading:  Callaway upgrades a classic, introduces Steelhead XR fairways

Titleist 917F3 (5.28 percent)

• Peanut191:  I thought the Titleist F3 was the best combination of looks and feel, but they didn’t offer a 16.5 version, so I ordered the M2 Tour HL. I thought the M2/M2 Tour were the best distance wise, with the Callaway Epic, then the Titleist 917F3 just behind.
• II PigBimpin II:  I used to be a Taylormade loyalist when it came to woods, but I recently switched to a Titleist 917F3 15-degree and it has single handedly put me in prime position to make three eagles within two weeks. Very predictable ball flight and distance, easy to hit off the deck.
• DuckHook02:   I did try the Titleist 917F2, and if I was using it off the deck more, I’d probably gravitate towards the F2 and it’s shallow profile. However, I like the more compact look of the F3 and the lower ball flight it produces.

Review: Titleist 917F2 and 917F3 Fairway Woods

Cobra king f7 (6.40 percent).

• Steveko89:   I didn’t do nearly as much testing for my 3 wood after going up and down the racks picking out my Cobra F7+ w/ Hzrdus Yellow shaft. After settling on the driver, I said, “That 3 wood that matches looks pretty slick, let me hit a few with it.” and immediately fell in love. Has a nice traditional note at impact and the ball just flies off the face, especially with the weight forward. Probably could’ve tried a few different shafts, but the stock-stiff shaft works well enough and was able to find one used-mint on the bay for $150. Unfortunately, this was before the Cobra BOGO promo. Most of the positive shots that stick in my head from this season have come with the 3 wood, won’t be seeking out a replacement for a while.
• carcharodan1977:   Cobra F7 fairway, currently playing at 4 wood loft… it’s fantastic. Easy to swing, impact sounds great and it’s a rocket from the fairway and even bad lies. The baffler rails really work well. Such a forgiving club.
• herbst20:   Have played the Titleist 910 fairway woods since they came out. The Cobra F7 finally kicked them out of the bag. I have had an easier to hit whether it be off the team, fairway, or especially out of the rough. I love the baffler technology. I play it at 13 degrees because I am sporadic with my driver.

Further Reading:  Cobra’s King F7 and F7+ drivers, fairways and hybrids

Callaway GBB Sub Zero (7.39 percent)

• Warrick:  The (Sub Zero) 3+ was the first Epic in my bag, and it is never leaving. I have never hit a long club so consistently.
• Dobbs983:   This is a fantastic year for fairway woods. I game the Epic Sub Zero 15-degree, set to 14 degrees. Easy distance, mid launch and penetrating flight. Easy to hit off the deck and a tee. I can move it left and right, if I need to, but why bother when straight and long is so easy. The Titleist 917’s are both very close to the Epic SZ, but not quite as forgiving. They are the best looking of the bunch. The Exotics EX10 Beta is amazingly long and straight and the sole is fantastic out of the rough.
• belacyrf:   I currently game the TaylorMade SLDR fairway woods as I’ve never seen enough improvement from any new woods to make a change. However, IF I were to make a change, I would definitely move to the Callaway Epic Sub Zero. They are so forgiving and their flight is exactly what I like, plus they are long.
• PreppySlapCut:   I was very pleased when messing around with the Epic Sub Zero this week. I was able to launch the 13.5 degrees off the deck, which has literally NEVER been a strength for me. Very impressive stuff from Callaway. The Ping G400 also just seems like the next wonderful iteration from Ping.
• kejoal11:  I put the Epic Sub Zero 3+ in my bag and love it. Long off the tee, long from fairways. I love the ball flight and the fact that it doesn’t balloon on me. Very consistent with the club and by far my best purchase of 2017.
• golftech:   If you like smaller, traditional shaped fairway woods, then Callaway’s Epic Sub Zero 15-degree is the best I’ve played. For that matter, it’s the best 3 wood I’ve had since my Toney Penna persimmon in the early 80s. It’s versatile off the tee and the fairway. I’ve been hitting career shots all season including the 18th at the famous Monterey, CA course.
• ago33: I’d choose the Epic Sub Zero over the M2 Tour. Adjustable hosel is better, looks better behind the ball and more forgiving.

Further Reading:  Callaway GBB Epic and Epic Sub Zero Fairway Woods

Ping G400 (7.67 percent)

• Mwiseley10:   Love my Titleist 917, I hit it so well off the deck I use it without a tee! The Cobra Baffler felt great and has good sound but didn’t purchase. Hit the Ping G400 this morning, it hits great but d*** that profile is low!
• DNice26:  I tried the Ping G400 against my Ping G, both using my own shaft… little to no difference. The G400 looks and sounds better, but any performance benefit seemed negligible from the Trackman numbers I saw. My swing speed is about 109 mph with the driver.
• PrettyGood:   Hit the new Ping G400 fairway this morning. My current 3-wood is the 2016 PING G series, at 14.5-degrees. So, between the two models: Turbulators on the G400 are definitely more pronounced. Footprint of the G400 looks bigger, and it’s a rounder shape somewhat ( PING.com  says G400 is ~12cc larger). Sole of the G400 does look a bit flatter, but no difference hitting shots. G400 face feels more lively, and it’s louder… but no more or less pleasing to hit, just different. Switching my own shaft between the two, performance looked pretty close… G400 maybe a shade higher, if anything. G400 headcover much nicer, big improvement. That’s about it.

Further Reading:  Ping introduces new face material with its G400 Fairways

TaylorMade M1 2017 (7.88 percent)

• lowball5732:  My TaylorMade M1 15-degree is a wonder! Either off the deck or on the tee — optimal performance for me. My wife swears by her M2. She’s straight and true!
• Rdarling18:  I really hit Taylormade’s entire M family pretty good. I went with the M1 because it was most consistent for me. However both M2 models (M2 and M2 Tour) are very long.
• AWD430: TaylorMade’s M1 was giving better distance than M2 when I hit them. I do agree that the M2 head on this year’s model seems very big when hitting off the deck.
• gpleonard:   My two cents is the TaylorMade M1 HL 2017 is a monster both of the deck and from the tee… It is a go to club for me on long Par 5’s and on short Par 4’s off the tee.
• Mob:  I have the TaylorMade M1 2016 and tried it against the M1 2017 and preferred the 2016 model for some reason. I know that I am supposed to prefer the newer model, but I consistently hit the 2016 straighter. Distance was a wash.

Further Reading:  TaylorMade 2017 M1 Fairway Woods

TaylorMade M2 Tour (8.94 percent)

• AThompson_3:   Best fairway wood by far is TaylorMade M2 Tour. Exceptional feel, workability, and forgiveness. Great off the tee while also able to launch the ball off the fairway very easily. Fantastic club. Expecting it be in my bag for years to come.
• Bomber_11:   TaylorMade’s M2 Tour would get all 3 of my votes if I could do that. Wins out on distance, accuracy, forgiveness, versatility, and feel.
• Roadking_6:  M2 Tour HL is an absolute beast this far (in my testing).
• halfsumo:  M2 Tour: best look, sound, feel and performance. M1: awesome look and feel, I just decided to go with a 3HL version and since the M2 Tour spins less, I went with that to counteract the extra loft. Mizuno JPX900: second best look and feel and best stock shaft of anything out there by far.
• DeCuchi:  M2 Tour. Higher launch and less spin makes it an excellent choice. Forgiveness is on par with other top fairways makes it the cream of the crop.
• Scratchat50:   M2 Tour HL with a Project X HZDRUS 75g shaft (6.5-flex, -1 inch under std). Been searching for a great 3 wood for over 10 years. This is it!
• john443:  M2 Tour is THE 3 wood of 2017.

Further Reading:  TaylorMade 2017 M2 Tour Fairway Woods

Titleist 917F2 (10.13 percent)

• bazinky:   I’ve spent years searching for a fairway wood that I could hit with a consistent shot shape/pattern, and I finally found it in the Titleist 917 F2.
• tleader:   I went from the Titleist 915F to the Titleist 917F2. Found them very similar, perhaps a slight increase in launch and more consistent across the face on mishits. Went with the 16.5-degree so it was an easy decision.
• MJL313214:  I’ve hit the 917F2 at 16.5 degrees a good bit. It’s crazy long compared to the previous fairway woods. I like the slightly bigger look than the 917F3.

Review:  Titleist 917F2 and 917F3 Fairway Woods

TaylorMade M2 2017 (12.60 percent)

• Gnomesteel:   (The TaylorMade M2 2017 fairway wood is) l ong off the tee and easily hit off the deck with control. Best of both worlds.
• kush614:  My vote is for M2 2017, as well. Gaming a 15-degree M2 2017 with an Oban Kioyshi White shaft. Mid launch, low spin monster.
• venturagolfer87:  There’s nowhere even remotely close to me that has the M2 Tour, but my 3HL normal M2 is as close to automatic as I’ve ever been. I’ve n ever been able to hit 3 woods, to the point where for the last few seasons, the next club in my bag after driver was a 5 wood that was shortened an inch. The M2 2017 is somehow just as easy to hit, and looooooong.
• johnnylongballz72:   M2 3HL with AD DI 7X; probably the single best golf club I have ever owned.
• qwetz: I’m playing a 3HL M2 with a Mitsubishi Tensei CK Blue and it’s just a bomber from the deck or the tee.
• lordemsworth:   How do those that have hit Epic fairway feel about the sound? That dull thwack is awful. As another opinion, I found the M2 2017 easier to hit consistently than the Epic fairway. Both from tee and deck.
• Porsche928:   I had the M2 2017 and it was huge too hard off the deck. Never hit the M1 2017 but had the old M1 2016 for a demo and loved it.

Further Reading:  TaylorMade 2017 M2 Fairway Woods

Callaway GBB Epic (13.37 percent)

• mcgem:   Hands down, without a doubt, Callaway’s GBB Epic fairway is the best of this year’s crop.
• Sean2:   I have three Callaway Epic fairway woods and am quite enamored with their performance at 16/20/24 degrees. I am comfortable standing over the ball with any of these woods in my hands. I have no problem hitting the 16-degree off the turf and I find it a very good club on tight driving holes. The 7 and the 9 fly high and land soft.
• aussieb:  Tested the Mizuno JPX-900 fairway wood on a few occasions now and it’s really the best off the deck, adjustable from 13-17 degrees and the sliding weight dials it in, has a great stock shaft and sounds as good as it looks. Ping’s G400 was really solid and forgiving, didn’t spin too much and set up well for my eye. A bit of adjustability and stock Tour shafts are great. Callaway Epic had the smallest head and best ball speeds off the tee. I didn’t really care for the sound and lack of forgiveness compared to the previous two, was dead feeling but that’s mostly shaft I think.
• leftshot:  I went through a thorough fitting at Club Champion last month and had access to most of the heads on this list. So I know the answer FOR ME. Notably none of the top fits involves a club head with the standard shafts offered off the rack.  The results of my testing was: 1. Callaway GBB Epic: Distance #1 (Tied), Dispersion #1, Off-center hits #1 2. Titleist 917F3: Distance #1 (Tied), Dispersion #2, Off-center hits #3 3. TaylorMade M2 2017: Distance #3, Dispersion #3, Off-center hits #2
• rony10:  Epic. Accuracy, forgiveness and flight, distance is very good to.
• Benkross:   I just put an Epic in the bag. I tried the M2, M2 Tour, M1 (2017 and 2016) and was playing a Titleist 915F and prior a 913Fd and 909 F3 before that. The Epic sounded the best and feels awesome. The 2016 M1 was the worst feeling 3 wood I’ve ever played. I’m replacing the shaft in the Epic so I’m excited to use it this weekend.
• kgeorge78:  The Epic looks much smaller than the M2 2017 for some reason and easier to hit off the deck.

Pros: Dialing in trajectory and spin is more in the hands of the player than ever with SureFit CG adjustability. Feel and sound have improved, and 915 users will likely see a jump in distance.

Cons: If you preferred the black finish, you’re out of luck with the return of silver.

Who they’re for: Everyone who plays a fairway wood should give the Titleist 917F2 and 917F3 fairway woods a shot. They provide everything most golfers want from a fairway wood.

• Models: 917F2 (13.5, 15, 16.5, 18, 21 degrees), 917F3 (13.5, 15 degrees)
• Release Date: Oct. 21
• Price: $319 (MAP)

Right off the bat, you’ll notice a number of changes to Titleist’s new fairway woods: name, color, center of gravity (CG) adjustability, and if you’re really attentive a change in the Active Recoil Channel. I break down each of the major changes below.

Related: See the results from the Ultimate Titleist Driver Fitting Experience

What’s in a name?

In its most recent fairway wood releases — the 913 and 915 models — Titleist used the F and Fd naming system. “F” was a larger, more forgiving fairway wood that launched higher and spun more, while “Fd” was a smaller, deeper-faced, lower-launching fairway wood that reduced spin. It was a bit confusing, and didn’t mesh well with the D2 and D3 naming system the drivers were using, so Titleist went to F2 and F3, which is what Titleist used in previous models such as the 909.

If you’re confused: F = F2, Fd = F3 (easy to remember since this rhymes).

Now, the F2 (179 cubic centimeters) is the larger, higher-launching and more forgiving model, while the F3 (169 cubic centimeters) is smaller, deeper and more workable. The relationship hasn’t changed, just the names.

As with the 917 drivers, the 917 fairway woods have SureFit CG technology to give golfers the ability to tweak the draw/fade bias of the clubs. In the fairway woods, the SureFit CG system is also positioned slightly crooked, as seen in the driver, which has the same purpose; lower-spinning fades and higher-spinning draws. When in the draw position, the weight system will add spin to keep the ball in the air longer, and will decrease spin in the fade setting to keep shots from ballooning. The design also maintains the moment of inertia (MOI) of the fairway woods, keeping forgiveness high regardless of the weight setting.

In the SureFit CG system, weight is changed using interchangeable weights* or tubes, made of a mixture of different materials. The neutral weights have a uniform weight throughout, while the draw-fade tubes have a heavier side.

A Peek Inside: A 14-gram, neutral SureFit CG fairway wood weight.

When adjusting the system, golfers should look for the “+” sign, which indicates a fade setting, while a “-” sign indicates the draw setting. Note that this is opposite of the 917 drivers, as the entry port is on the opposite side (toe side) of the club head in the 917 fairway woods. A solid red circle indicates a neutral setting. Like the 917 drivers, the 917 fairway woods also have Titleist’s 16-way adjustable SureFit hosel, which offers independent adjust loft and lie settings.

*Note: SureFit CG driver weights cannot be used in fairway woods, and vice versa, due to their different sizes. 

Active Recoil Channel 2.0

While the 915 fairway woods had an Active Recoil Channel behind their faces, designed for higher ball speeds on off-center hits, the area was hollow. The channel in the 917 fairway woods is filled with elastomer, helping produce more ball speed across the face and lower spin, according to Titleist. There’s is also a face insert with variable thickness for increased speed on off-center hits.

Another change for the better is the sound and feel of the 917 fairway woods. They have more of a muted sound and softer feel at impact, which is no doubt helped by filling the Active Recoil Channel. Another benefit is that golfers won’t need to frequently clean the dirt out of the channel, as they needed to do with 915 models.

Titleist’s 917F2 (right) and 917F3 fairway woods at address.

The “liquid slate” finish on the crown is a throwback to Titleist woods of yesteryear, which is something Titleist fans may very much appreciate. Some of the classic Titleist fairway woods, such as the 980F, had a similar gray finish.

Overall performance

So what’s to be expected of the 917F2 and 917F3 in terms of performance? According to Titleist, golfers hitting the 917 versus a 915 should expect higher ball speeds, a higher launch, slightly lower spin and 4-7 yards in increased distance. It just so happens I hit the 917F2 and 917F3 versus the 915F and 915Fd, and you can see the numbers below.

The Numbers

I took the 917F2 and 917F3 fairway woods to  the Launch Pad at Carl’s Golfland in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. , where I tested them against Titleist’s 915F and 915Fd models on Trackman with premium golf balls. The fairway woods were set to my specifications (C2 hosel setting, neutral weight setting in the 917 models) with the same Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Limited D+ 80X shaft. Shots were hit with each club — order was constantly rotated, and outliers deleted — until 10 shots with each club had been recorded.

917F2 v. 915F:

• The 917F2 generated slightly less spin (-60 rpm) and a slightly higher launch angle (+0.7 degrees) than the 915F.
• The 917F2 offered more ball speed (+1.5 mph), more carry distance (+1.6 yards), and more total distance (+3.6 yards) than the 915F.

917F3 v. 915Fd:

• The 917F3 offered slightly less ball speed (-0.8 mph), a slightly higher launch (+0.3 degrees), and a little more spin (+74 rpm) than the 915Fd.
• The 917F3 increase carry distance (+4.3 yards) and offered more total distance (+6.3 yards) than the 915Fd.

Specs, pricing, availability

Titleist 917F2 and 917F3 fairway woods ($319 MAP) will be available on Oct. 21 with the following stock shafts: Aldila Rogue M-AX, Fujikura Speeder Pro Tour Spec and Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Limited D+, S+ and M+.

With the purchase, consumers will receive either a 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18-gram neutral weight (the 12-gram is stock) and a matching draw-fade weight. Additional weights can be purchased for $40, or SureFit weight kits are available for $180 with every weight.

The Takeaway

Any golfer with an older version of a Titleist fairway wood, especially one with a silver finish, will find the switch to a 917 fairway wood an easy and valuable transition.

Not only do the fairway woods offer CG adjustability for fine tuning trajectory, but they also have a softer feel and more muted sound than the 915 versions while providing more carry distance and more total distance. You’d be hard pressed to show me an all-around better fairway wood in the current market.

• See what GolfWRXers are saying about the 917 fairway woods in our forum. 
• Our review of Titleist’s 917D2 and 917D3 drivers.

Review: Callaway Great Big Bertha and Alpha 816 fairway woods

Pros: The Great Big Bertha is Callaway’s most forgiving fairway wood, and the Alpha 816 can be configured with two different CG positions (forward and back), giving better players the ability to alter launch conditions independent of loft. Both fairway woods offer some of the fastest ball speeds we’ve seen in testing. 

Cons:  Unlike Callaway’s Great Big Bertha and Alpha 816 drivers , the fairway woods don’t allow golfers to move CG more toward the toe or heel.

Who’s It For?: The Alpha 816 is designed for better players, especially those in search of a flatter trajectory. The Great Big Bertha targets golfers who need more forgiveness or want to hit their fairway woods higher. 

Fairway woods or “metals,” as the old timers at my club like to call them, are packed with just as much technology and performance as their larger brethren. And for all the attention drivers garner, fairway woods occupy a crucial space in the bag of any any golfer.  

To fill that crucial space, however, different golfers need different solutions. “What kind of fairway wood do I need and what do I need it to do?” If you’re interested in a new fairway wood, that’s the question you should be asking yourself. And  Callaway has two new answers for golfers to consider.

Big Bertha Alpha 816 ($299.99)

When it comes to packing as much technology as possible in a fairway woods, few models can match Callaway’s Big Bertha Alpha 816. It’s the first Callaway fairway wood to use the company’s Forged Composite Crown, which helps lower the center of gravity (CG) to reduce spin. It has two adjustable weights (16 grams and 3 grams), allowing golfers to adjust the CG location to alter spin and launch conditions independent of loft. 

If you want to hit the Alpha 816 lower, position the 16-gram weight in the forward weight port and the 3-gram weight in the rear weight port. If you want to maximize forgiveness or need a higher ball flight to improve carry distance, swap the weights. Positioning the heavier weight in the rearward position will also add a bit of draw bias to the club, while moving it forward makes the clubs slightly more fade biased. 

Great Big Bertha Alpha 816 ($249.99)

The next option is the Great Big Bertha. Like the 816 Alpha, it comes with the 8-way Optfit hosel adjustable hosel. While there are no moveable weights on its sole, the hosel provides a 3-degree range of adjustability, and each of the three possible loft settings can be paired with a unique lie setting — neutral or draw.

The Great Big Bertha lacks the CG adjustability of the Alpha 816, but its target audience won’t be interested in that. It’s for golfers who can be helped by a slightly higher-spinning fairway wood, those who prefer a fairway wood with maximum forgiveness, or both.

Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 (top), Great Big Bertha

Now that pretty much every OEM offers some type of fast-face technology, being the “longest” fairway wood doesn’t carry the same weight that it used to carry, but the Great Big Bertha and Alpha 816 are extra long. They’re likely two of the longest, if not the longest fairway woods currently available in their classes.

Both clubs were tested on a FlightScope X2 Monitor at 5000 feet of elevation. Results show the average of 15 shots, tossing out the two best and two worst as well as any obvious outliers.

Through testing, both the Great Big Bertha and Alpha 816 exhibited excellent feel and responsiveness, especially on shots hit slightly toward the toe or heel. Give credit to Callaway’s extremely thin and light Forged Hyper Speed Face Cup, which improves ball speed on shots hit across the face.

It’s no coincidence that Callaway’s XR  (2015) and X2 Hot fairway woods  (2014), which also used Face Cup technology, were the top-ranked fairway woods in our Gear Trials Club Test  in their respective years. The technology continues to churn out some of the fastest ball speeds we see in our fairway woods tests. 

Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 (Left), Great Big Bertha

When it comes to looks, the fairway woods don’t appear all that different from one another at address, but there is a size difference — the Alpha 816 is 165 cubic centimeters, while the Great Big Bertha is 182 cubic centimeters. The Great Big Bertha uses Callaway’s Chevron logo as an alignment aid while the Alpha 816 has no alignment aid, but both fairway woods are all-business at address thanks to their matte black crowns.

I reviewed Callaway’s Alpha 815 fairway woods last year, and in the review I made mention of just how much of a change in ball flight I saw when the orientation of the 30-gram and 3-gram weights were switched. Apparently, being able to reposition 27 grams of weight proved to be too much, as Callaway received feedback that many golfers preferred weight configurations that were less severe. S o with the Alpha 816, there’s a little less than half (13 grams) of weight to move back and forth. That’s enough for a noticeable change in ball flight, but it’s less than than it was with the Alpha 815.

It’s my hunch is the vast majority of players who bag the Alpha 816 will find the rearward weight setting to work best, as it’s still a low-spinning fairway wood in that configuration, and offers extra forgiveness, too. As you might have noticed in the testing data, I generated an average of 1 mph more ball speed with the Alpha 816 moving the weight rearward, creating the longest overall shots.

Tech Talk: Learn more about the technology in the Great Big Bertha and Alpha 816 fairway woods. 

Distance and accuracy are generally the most important factors when it comes to fairway woods, but for some players it’s more important to be able to use a fairway wood confidently from the tee, fairway and short rough.  Both the Alpha 816 and Great Big Bertha are good performers from the tee and the ground, but I was particularly impressed with the turf interaction and playability of the Great Big Bertha. Credit its nimble and forgiving Warbird sole for that. 

On the launch monitor, and more importantly on the course, the Great Big Bertha was tenacious and had a penchant for high-flying bombs. It’s so easy to catch the ball a bit heavy or thin with a fairway wood, especially when they lie isn’t perfect, but  the more I hit the Big Bertha the more certain I was I could hit any shot required.

If you’re a better golfer, or one who generates high amounts of spin, you’ll want to see what Callaway’s Big Bertha Alpha 816 can do for you. It’s offered in three lofts (14, 16 and 18), which is plenty because of the dual-CG and loft adjustability. It’s a top choice for golfers who want to maximizing the distance they hit their fairway wood or fine tune the perfect ball flight.

The majority of golfers will see as good if not better results from the Great Big Bertha, however, which is offers one of the categories best blends of distance and forgiveness — along with a highly playable sole design that makes shots from the turf a breeze. It’s offered in a variety of lofts as well (15, 18 and a 20-degree Heavenwood that has the length of a 4 wood). Callaway also offers non-adjustable 21- and 24-degree models for slower swing-speed golfers.

Last but not least, each of the fairway woods can be equipped with a variety of premium shafts — many offered at no upcharge — that can seal the deal for shaft-conscious consumers and helps justify the premium price of the Great Big Bertha ($249.99) and Alpha 816 ($299.99).

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TaylorMade M2 Fairway Review

Performance wise the TaylorMade AeroBurner fairway was hard to beat, but for some it lacked a little in looks, sound and feel.

With the M2 Fairway, TaylorMade has fixed this by combining the best bits of the AeroBurner with the best of their M1 fairway .

The M1 was their first fairway to feature a graphite composite crown and at the time of writing is the only major manufacturer to do so currently in the market. Using it in the M2 means that they save weight compared to a steel crown as it is 14g lighter, which then lowers the Centre of Gravity (CG) as the majority of weight is in the all-steel chassis.

As well as the sole, this manifests itself in the white leading edge that contrasts with the classy black crown and face to act as an effective alignment aid.

It also gives a dramatic look at address, which will be familiar to M1 users although there are a couple of slight differences. The head of the M2 is a little deeper front to back and also a little more rounded. The M1 is a little more toe heavy in the shape and the crown does not fall away as sharply to the rear and TaylorMade say that their Tour players prefer this style of club for how it looks and plays.

However the big difference is really in the sole. The M1 had two sliding weights, but in the M2 these have been replaced with the wide looking Speed Pocket of the AeroBurner, but in black this time.

This swap happens in the M2 driver too, but rather than just looking like a cut and fill, the Speed Pocket has had a bit of visual attention to give the M2 fairway its own personality.

The smile shape of the slot is similar to the AeroBurner fairway , but is part of a wider cut-through Speed Pocket that enables the thinner nickel-cobalt alloy face to flex more at impact.

Compared to the M1 fairway, the M2 Speed Pocket is more flexible for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it is more flexible because the bottom of the face is not attached to the sole and can flex more. In the M1 there is a steel bridge over the top of the sliding weight channel that connects the two.

Secondly, the presence of the two adjustable weights makes the M1 Speed Channel more rigid too, so by having a more flexible Speed Pocket, the M2 generates 400-500rpm less spin at impact.

The fixed hosel from the AeroBurner also comes across and not only does this save cost, it also saves weight and gives a streamlined look. This works well in a fairway as I don't think adjustable hosels are as compulsory as they are in drivers nowadays. The hosel is called a Thick Thin Fluted hosel as you can see from the ribbed design that saves weight and maintains strength.

Out on the course and you immediately experience the M2's other main benefit over the AeroBurner and that is the sound and feel. The carbon composite crown working with the hosel gives a lighter sound than before and it is also more solid and pleasing on the ears.

This is where the Fluted hosel comes in too bizzarely. When TaylorMade make the Speed Pocket bigger, they get more performance, but it also affects the sound and not in a good way. The Carbon Composite crown helps improve the sound, but not enough.

Traditional hosels don't really affect sound, but the shape of the Fluted hosel does and TaylorMade has designed it so that the sound vibrations it makes cancels out the less desirable ones from the Speed Pocket and that is what gives the M2 fairway its great sound.

The hosel design also means that it weighs the same as before even though it is longer, which means that it does not raise the CG height. Plus it is also more flexible so that unlike the AeroBurner they can bend it to adjust for lie if required and that means they don't need the weight of an adjustable hosel that would also raise the CG. Clever stuff.

The AeroBurner head lacked a little in feel, but went so far that nobody really cared that much. The M2 gives you that distance, but with the sound and feel too and it had me sold at that point.

Using SkyTrak on our range, the numbers were impressive. Even though the AeroBurner feels light, the M2 feels just as easy to swing and I was consistently achieving higher club head speeds, with some up as high as my driver swing speed of 100 mph.

The lower CG of the M2 was giving around a 1° higher launch with lower levels of spin that was adding 10 or more yards to the carry distance on average. Yes, you read that right.

TaylorMade has been saying off the record that their private testing was showing even bigger gains than that, so I feel confident in saying that the M2 is going to be longer for most players than the AeroBurner, which was hardly a slouch itself.

The stock TaylorMade Reax shaft is pretty good and there are other types available through custom fitting at no extra cost, which is good to see.

The flight was medium to high and the performance from the tee and the turf was equally as good, so I am struggling to find anything that would put you off the M2, as even the price is pretty fair for what you are getting.

Depending on your swing speed, you may find it worth trying out the 16.5° 3HL head instead of automatically reaching the for the 15° 3-wood if your launch angle hitting from the turf is around 10° or less. The M2 is not only spinning less than M1, but also less than most other fairways, so if you don't generate enough launch to get it high enough, you won't get the distance advantage of that low spin.

To prove the point, in the last 3 years TaylorMade's sales of the 3HL has gone from 10% of fairway sales to 25%, so it would be worth testing this option together with the 18° 5-wood.

The M2 fairway is probably TaylorMade's best fairway since the transformational RocketBallz models. It looks the part, sounds and feels great and delivers better performance than the M1 for less money.

Well done TaylorMade.

Golfalot TaylorMade M2 Fairway Review

M2 unfairway - carbon crown, m2 unfairway - sound & feel, m2 unfairway - head shape, m2 unfairway - speed pocket.

TaylorMade M2 Fairway Wood - Product Details

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User Reviews

So I just played my first round with my new but used 2017 m2 3 wood and all I can say is WOW!! I used it off the tee quite a bit and had no problems getting solid distance out to 175+. Compared to my other 3 wood that I’ve used which was from a beginners club set I bought 3 years ago I was left standing in shock. Used it a good bit off the deck as a second shot and was still getting amazing shots. The slice I had with my previous 3 wood GONE. So that took a few swings to adjust because I was compensating for a slice but once I wasn’t I was good to go. If you're in the market for a new 3 wood I would highly recommend the TaylorMade M2 even if you find it used.

Huge improvement over Titleist 913. Longer, straighter, higher, more forgiving. Also seems easier to hit from tight lies. Great fairway woods.

M2 15 deg Fairway - what more can i say - the driver is now stored in the garage. I have read recent articles disregarding the accuracy / benefit of a 3 wood v Driver. This is the most consistent wood I have ever used & for distance it is right up there with my driver. A very happy 14 handicapper.

Once again great review. Real time reviewing by "real" golfer. Enjoy all of your club testing and input. Just bought this M2 and turned in my Callaway GBB. Could not be happier.

Agree. I was just fitted for the M1 9.5 and the M2 3hl and have either been on Par 5's in two or very close. As the book titled "Every Shot Counts" states distance does matter. These two clubs provide strokes gained on the field.

I always hit my AeroBurner great and loved it, but this thing is unreal. I hit several off the tee this weekend averaging about 270 yards and the longest was 285 - I never hit the AeroBurner that far. Love it, out drove playing partner every time and he was using driver!

This club just added 15 plus yards to my fairway shots with a 3 wood. I use to have a Taylormade Burner. I got this one with the senior flex and the 3HL. Wow what a difference. I was able to par two Par 5's for the first time ever!

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TaylorMade M2 Fairway Wood Review

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50 Words or Less

Introduction.

A few years back, TaylorMade brought sexy back to fairway woods with RocketBallz.  This year, they’re trading on the RBZ legacy in their marketing for the M2 by claiming it’s even hotter and easier to hit.

The M2 fairway wood is just a smaller version of the M2 driver , so it’s a “love it or hate it” look.  I do like the fact that the two-tone crown makes the club look much smaller than it is, but overall I’m not a fan.  In terms of size, the M2 is pretty average for modern fairway woods: medium face depth, round, and nearly symmetrical.  One interesting thing is that the face looks a bit taller in the toe than it does in the heel.

Sound & Feel

As much as possible, I try to be objective about sound and feel.  Some people like traditional and quiet, some like loud and explosive.  But when it comes to the TaylorMade M2 fairway wood, I cannot equivocate: this is the worst sounding club I’ve hit in years .  Hitting a ball with this is like smashing a club into a block of wood.  I’m not a huge sound and feel snob, but the sound of this club made me want to put it away…forever.

Performance

Sound aside, the M2 fairway wood does post some impressive numbers.  When you catch one flush, the ball speeds creep into driver territory and the spin is very low .  This makes it a strong choice off the tee or when you’re just trying to hit it as far as possible.  For players who need to hit precision fairway wood shots that hold greens, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere .  In terms of launch, the M2 is a bit higher launching than RBZ and other previous TaylorMade FWs, but I would not rate it as the easiest to launch of highest launching fairway wood.

Buy the TaylorMade M2 Fairway Wood HERE

TaylorMade M2 Fairway Wood_0208

TaylorMade M2 Fairway Wood_0209

TaylorMade M2 Fairway Wood_0212

TaylorMade M2 Fairway Wood_0213

TaylorMade M2 Fairway Wood_0215

TaylorMade M2 Fairway Wood_0216

TaylorMade M2 Fairway Wood_0217

TaylorMade M2 Fairway Wood_0218

*Free hat to the first person to guess the acronym and post it in the comments.

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25 Comments

Great! How am I supposed to get anything done today with this riddle hanging over my head? Consistently finding fairways lowers scores Clubs faking feel lack substance Can’t freaking fake love, Steve Club fitting fuels lovely strikes I read this site every day, I should know the unofficial motto. Must be too early.

Lots of good guesses! I may drop a hint about who’s on the right track in a few days.

Club F*cking Feels Like Sh*t?

HINT FOR ALL:

Adam got 3/5 words correct.

Can’t Finish first Lovie Smith Since you’re in Chicago, I guess you can relate?

Ouch. That one could definitely work, but, thankfully, none of us live and die with the Bears.

Can Find Fairway, Love Sound!

How about Club face feels like sh*t or Club face feels like it sounds

Just picked up this club with the Aldila Rogue Black 70 shaft and it has changed my 3 wood game around instantly in a very positive manner. I think anyone that considers this club should first look at the 3HL at 16.5*. The 16.5* IMO balances out the low spin mid launch you get from the standard set up at 15*and provides a mid to high launch for around 10 extra yards of carry with the additional spin. But I think this club works best for someone who has above average distance, uses their 3 wood as I do more to hit to a precise target or area on the fairway off the tee and for going for greens on Par 5s in two. The higher launch and spin at the 16.5* with this club can be a game changer as if you get it to launch high the mid spin and higher launch I have seen to hold greens on Par 5s on multiple occasions. I think this fairway wood’s benefits come on depending how the golfer utilizes their 3 woods.

As for the cons with this club the lighter head did take some getting used to as it felt a little lighter than the listed swing weight but it only took a couple of range sessions to get comfortable with it. I may have noticed it more because I prefer a higher swing weight than normal. Also with the stock shaft it didn’t have a great sound as mentioned by Matt but with the Aldila it has a low toned click which I don’t find to be a deterrence. IMO it just doesn’t have as much sound and feel as we are used to with many other clubs out there but for me the higher performance was well worth the trade off for some feel and I can still get a little feedback on the feel for where i hit the ball. Fantastic review Matt! Thank you for providing!

I’ll give this one last try. If 3 of 5 words in the previous guess are correct I’ll assume the profanities are not a part of the unofficial PIG motto (that’s more in the realm of he guys over at MyGolfSpy, but I digress.)

Club [blank] feels like [blank]

Club functions feels like stone? Club failed feels like sand?

This is the unofficial motto, so profanity is not off limits.

Can F*ucking Feel Little Sh*tty….at least that is what it felt like when I hit one this week.

Club Face Feels Like Shit

I couldn’t really get the M1 past 220 carry and I have similar swing speed with the 3 wood (max 94 mph) so I think I have to give this one a try strictly based on your launch monitor data numbers. :-)

Thanks Matt.

I am not sure what I am missing here. Best sounding and feeling fairway wood I’d ever hit. M2 3 wood HL. Reminds me of my old tour exotics cb2 4 wood with a much bigger sweet spot.

Carbon Fiber Feels Like Shit

An excellent entry, but a little too specific.

Cant Fake Feeling Like Shit

2/5. 3/5 is we modify the ending of one word a bit.

Center Fairway Feels Like Shit

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M4 vs M2 Fairway

By tim583 February 20, 2018 in Equipment

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Has anyone compared the two? I was sold on the M2 until I saw the info on the M4, and the split weighting has got me wondering if it will be a better club. My last FW stayed in the bag for 3 years, so wondering if it's worth the marginal cost for a long term decision.

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Feb 21 2018

Feb 20 2018

Jan 19 2019

Split weighting?

Yes they split two weights on each side of the face vs the middle on the M2 to preserve off center hit speed.

I figured some gear ho out here has evaluated both.

Interesting. When I played the 16 m1 3wood I split the weights and lived that setup until I hit the 17 m2. Wonder if the weight split is more front or rear positioned. If front weighted then they're likely trying to lower ball flight

I think it’s rear set up. I’m surprised there isn’t much feedback on the woods yet.

BennettSmed1

I have been playing the M4 fairway for about 3 weeks now, it is a monster. Perfect launch off the ground and a beast off of the tee. Highly recommend.

I can't get past how the silver part of the head looks like cheap plastic.

I also have a 2017 m2 that I did some shaft play with and have an optimal setup now.

I thought the same thing at first about the silver, but i got used to it and actually prefer it over the white now.

PostandGhost

I can't believe these don't come with TwistFace. It's just like the JailBreak stuff, hold it off the fairways until the next product launch.

Do you play the same shaft in your driver as you do for your M4 fairway? Also are you playing the 3 wood or the 3hl?

I dont, I have the Kuro Kage in the Fairway (15 degree 3 wood) and play the NV 65 x in the driver.

typically those who hit the driver want straighter -- fairways are usually for those who want to shape shots. i think that in order for you to change the bulge/roll that much on a fairway, you would see very dramatic, varied results with regards to flights/shapes compared to what you'd like to, or typically see from hitting fairway shots.

Qi10 LS / 8* (dialed to 8.75*) / HZRDUS Smoke Green 60 6.5

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Played the M2 and M4 fairway 3 woods. The M4 is far better or me. I don't know why, it's just easier to hit and feels and looks better.

Driver:  TM iQ10 10.5*

3 Wood: TM Stealth2 16.5*;  7 Wood: TM Stealth2 21*

Irons:  Srixon ZX5 4 - P

SW:  Titleist SM9 F 50* and S 56*

Putter:  TM Spider TourZ

Thanks for the feedback. I might have to take it to the store and take a whack with the m4. I love this site.

2016 M2 fairway wood is still in my bag having tested everything TM has made since then. It's the tour issue deep face version.

That being said, out of 2017 M2 and M4 I'd go M4 all day long.

M4 Tour will be my next 3-wood though.

I demo'd both the M2 and M4. When hit in the center or slighly off center, they performed very similar. I can't say off a brief demo whether splitting the weights in the M4 will give an appreciable benefit in forgiveness to the M4 over the M2. Maybe the biggest difference was the feel off the face. The M4's new face material (Ni-CO C300 alloy) feels springier. I'm sticking with my M2 fairway for the time being as I know how it performs for me and I'm satisfied with the distance/forgiveness it provides.

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2016 M2 fairway wood is still in my bag having tested everything TM has made since then. It's the tour issue deep face version.   That being said, out of 2017 M2 and M4 I'd go M4 all day long.   M4 Tour will be my next 3-wood though.

I tried 2016 M2, 2017 M2, and the M4.

I also went with the 2016 M2 as I got similar numbers from all 3 fairway woods.

Ray Jackson

Presumably its a no brainer that the ball speed will be faster off the M4 fairway than the Aeroburner TP fairway. I have both and feel that the 18* M4 flies further than my 16.5* aero.....need to get on Trackman to confirm.

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St Petersburg & Moscow in Style - Winter

• Explore the majestic St Petersburg & Moscow on private city tours
• Admire the rich Russian history, art and architecture
• Travel to Moscow on a highspeed train
• Enjoy the local cuisine in stylish restaurants

Lower Volga Voyage

• Visit magnificent Red Square and Kremlin and examine the collection at theKremlin’s State Armory.
• Experience Russia’s diverse musical traditions at lively folk music performances
• Explore Volgograd, the site of the decisive battle of World War II’s eastern front

Volga Dream Russian River Cruise

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White Russian - 7 days

• Discover Moscow's UNESCO-listed Red Square, home to spectacular St Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin's Mausoleum and the historic GUM Department store
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• Take in the highlights of St Petersburg including a guided tour of the exquisite Church on Spilled Blood, Peter & Paul Fortress and Cathedral
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Vodka Shot - 6 days

• Explore the beautiful city of St Petersburg, including the exquisite Church on Spilled Blood, Peter & Paul Fortress and Nevsky Prospekt
• Marvel at the dazzling array of art and exhibits in the world-famous Hermitage Museum, at the Winter Palace in St Petersburg
• Discover a lavish residence of the tsars on a day trip to Catherine Palace at Tsarkoe Selo (winter: mid-October to April) or Peterhof Palace and gardens (summer: May to mid-October)
• Take in the highlights of the capital on a walking tour, visiting Moscow's famous Red Square, home to the historic GUM Department Store, Lenin’s Mausoleum and spectacular St Basil’s Cathedral
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In Transit: Notes from the Underground

Jun 06 2018.

Spend some time in one of Moscow’s finest museums.

Subterranean commuting might not be anyone’s idea of a good time, but even in a city packing the war-games treasures and priceless bejeweled eggs of the Kremlin Armoury and the colossal Soviet pavilions of the VDNKh , the Metro holds up as one of Moscow’s finest museums. Just avoid rush hour.

The Metro is stunning and provides an unrivaled insight into the city’s psyche, past and present, but it also happens to be the best way to get around. Moscow has Uber, and the Russian version called Yandex Taxi , but also some nasty traffic. Metro trains come around every 90 seconds or so, at a more than 99 percent on-time rate. It’s also reasonably priced, with a single ride at 55 cents (and cheaper in bulk). From history to tickets to rules — official and not — here’s what you need to know to get started.

A Brief Introduction Buying Tickets Know Before You Go (Down) Rules An Easy Tour

A Brief Introduction

Moscow’s Metro was a long time coming. Plans for rapid transit to relieve the city’s beleaguered tram system date back to the Imperial era, but a couple of wars and a revolution held up its development. Stalin revived it as part of his grand plan to modernize the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 30s. The first lines and tunnels were constructed with help from engineers from the London Underground, although Stalin’s secret police decided that they had learned too much about Moscow’s layout and had them arrested on espionage charges and deported.

The beauty of its stations (if not its trains) is well-documented, and certainly no accident. In its illustrious first phases and particularly after the Second World War, the greatest architects of Soviet era were recruited to create gleaming temples celebrating the Revolution, the USSR, and the war triumph. No two stations are exactly alike, and each of the classic showpieces has a theme. There are world-famous shrines to Futurist architecture, a celebration of electricity, tributes to individuals and regions of the former Soviet Union. Each marble slab, mosaic tile, or light fixture was placed with intent, all in service to a station’s aesthetic; each element, f rom the smallest brass ear of corn to a large blood-spattered sword on a World War II mural, is an essential part of the whole.

The Metro is a monument to the Soviet propaganda project it was intended to be when it opened in 1935 with the slogan “Building a Palace for the People”. It brought the grand interiors of Imperial Russia to ordinary Muscovites, celebrated the Soviet Union’s past achievements while promising its citizens a bright Soviet future, and of course, it was a show-piece for the world to witness the might and sophistication of life in the Soviet Union.

It may be a museum, but it’s no relic. U p to nine million people use it daily, more than the London Underground and New York Subway combined. (Along with, at one time, about 20 stray dogs that learned to commute on the Metro.)

In its 80+ year history, the Metro has expanded in phases and fits and starts, in step with the fortunes of Moscow and Russia. Now, partly in preparation for the World Cup 2018, it’s also modernizing. New trains allow passengers to walk the entire length of the train without having to change carriages. The system is becoming more visitor-friendly. (There are helpful stickers on the floor marking out the best selfie spots .) But there’s a price to modernity: it’s phasing out one of its beloved institutions, the escalator attendants. Often they are middle-aged or elderly women—“ escalator grandmas ” in news accounts—who have held the post for decades, sitting in their tiny kiosks, scolding commuters for bad escalator etiquette or even bad posture, or telling jokes . They are slated to be replaced, when at all, by members of the escalator maintenance staff.

For all its achievements, the Metro lags behind Moscow’s above-ground growth, as Russia’s capital sprawls ever outwards, generating some of the world’s worst traffic jams . But since 2011, the Metro has been in the middle of an ambitious and long-overdue enlargement; 60 new stations are opening by 2020. If all goes to plan, the 2011-2020 period will have brought 125 miles of new tracks and over 100 new stations — a 40 percent increase — the fastest and largest expansion phase in any period in the Metro’s history.

Facts: 14 lines Opening hours: 5 a.m-1 a.m. Rush hour(s): 8-10 a.m, 4-8 p.m. Single ride: 55₽ (about 85 cents) Wi-Fi network-wide

Buying Tickets

• Ticket machines have a button to switch to English.
• You can buy specific numbers of rides: 1, 2, 5, 11, 20, or 60. Hold up fingers to show how many rides you want to buy.
• There is also a 90-minute ticket , which gets you 1 trip on the metro plus an unlimited number of transfers on other transport (bus, tram, etc) within 90 minutes.
• Or, you can buy day tickets with unlimited rides: one day (218₽/ US$4), three days (415₽/US$7) or seven days (830₽/US$15). Check the rates here to stay up-to-date.
• If you’re going to be using the Metro regularly over a few days, it’s worth getting a Troika card , a contactless, refillable card you can use on all public transport. Using the Metro is cheaper with one of these: a single ride is 36₽, not 55₽. Buy them and refill them in the Metro stations, and they’re valid for 5 years, so you can keep it for next time. Or, if you have a lot of cash left on it when you leave, you can get it refunded at the Metro Service Centers at Ulitsa 1905 Goda, 25 or at Staraya Basmannaya 20, Building 1.
• You can also buy silicone bracelets and keychains with built-in transport chips that you can use as a Troika card. (A Moscow Metro Fitbit!) So far, you can only get these at the Pushkinskaya metro station Live Helpdesk and souvenir shops in the Mayakovskaya and Trubnaya metro stations. The fare is the same as for the Troika card.
• You can also use Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Rules, spoken and unspoken

No smoking, no drinking, no filming, no littering. Photography is allowed, although it used to be banned.

Stand to the right on the escalator. Break this rule and you risk the wrath of the legendary escalator attendants. (No shenanigans on the escalators in general.)

Get out of the way. Find an empty corner to hide in when you get off a train and need to stare at your phone. Watch out getting out of the train in general; when your train doors open, people tend to appear from nowhere or from behind ornate marble columns, walking full-speed.

Always offer your seat to elderly ladies (what are you, a monster?).

An Easy Tour

This is no Metro Marathon ( 199 stations in 20 hours ). It’s an easy tour, taking in most—though not all—of the notable stations, the bulk of it going clockwise along the Circle line, with a couple of short detours. These stations are within minutes of one another, and the whole tour should take about 1-2 hours.

Start at Mayakovskaya Metro station , at the corner of Tverskaya and Garden Ring,  Triumfalnaya Square, Moskva, Russia, 125047.

1. Mayakovskaya.  Named for Russian Futurist Movement poet Vladimir Mayakovsky and an attempt to bring to life the future he imagined in his poems. (The Futurist Movement, natch, was all about a rejecting the past and celebrating all things speed, industry, modern machines, youth, modernity.) The result: an Art Deco masterpiece that won the National Grand Prix for architecture at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. It’s all smooth, rounded shine and light, and gentle arches supported by columns of dark pink marble and stainless aircraft steel. Each of its 34 ceiling niches has a mosaic. During World War II, the station was used as an air-raid shelter and, at one point, a bunker for Stalin. He gave a subdued but rousing speech here in Nov. 6, 1941 as the Nazis bombed the city above.

Take the 3/Green line one station to:

2. Belorusskaya. Opened in 1952, named after the connected Belarussky Rail Terminal, which runs trains between Moscow and Belarus. This is a light marble affair with a white, cake-like ceiling, lined with Belorussian patterns and 12 Florentine ceiling mosaics depicting life in Belarussia when it was built.

Transfer onto the 1/Brown line. Then, one stop (clockwise) t o:

3. Novoslobodskaya.  This station was designed around the stained-glass panels, which were made in Latvia, because Alexey Dushkin, the Soviet starchitect who dreamed it up (and also designed Mayakovskaya station) couldn’t find the glass and craft locally. The stained glass is the same used for Riga’s Cathedral, and the panels feature plants, flowers, members of the Soviet intelligentsia (musician, artist, architect) and geometric shapes.

Go two stops east on the 1/Circle line to:

4. Komsomolskaya. Named after the Komsomol, or the Young Communist League, this might just be peak Stalin Metro style. Underneath the hub for three regional railways, it was intended to be a grand gateway to Moscow and is today its busiest station. It has chandeliers; a yellow ceiling with Baroque embellishments; and in the main hall, a colossal red star overlaid on golden, shimmering tiles. Designer Alexey Shchusev designed it as an homage to the speech Stalin gave at Red Square on Nov. 7, 1941, in which he invoked Russia’s illustrious military leaders as a pep talk to Soviet soldiers through the first catastrophic year of the war.   The station’s eight large mosaics are of the leaders referenced in the speech, such as Alexander Nevsky, a 13th-century prince and military commander who bested German and Swedish invading armies.

One more stop clockwise to Kurskaya station,  and change onto the 3/Blue  line, and go one stop to:

5. Baumanskaya.   Opened in 1944. Named for the Bolshevik Revolutionary Nikolai Bauman , whose monument and namesake district are aboveground here. Though he seemed like a nasty piece of work (he apparently once publicly mocked a woman he had impregnated, who later hung herself), he became a Revolutionary martyr when he was killed in 1905 in a skirmish with a monarchist, who hit him on the head with part of a steel pipe. The station is in Art Deco style with atmospherically dim lighting, and a series of bronze sculptures of soldiers and homefront heroes during the War. At one end, there is a large mosaic portrait of Lenin.

Stay on that train direction one more east to:

6. Elektrozavodskaya. As you may have guessed from the name, this station is the Metro’s tribute to all thing electrical, built in 1944 and named after a nearby lightbulb factory. It has marble bas-relief sculptures of important figures in electrical engineering, and others illustrating the Soviet Union’s war-time struggles at home. The ceiling’s recurring rows of circular lamps give the station’s main tunnel a comforting glow, and a pleasing visual effect.

Double back two stops to Kurskaya station , and change back to the 1/Circle line. Sit tight for six stations to:

7. Kiyevskaya. This was the last station on the Circle line to be built, in 1954, completed under Nikita Khrushchev’ s guidance, as a tribute to his homeland, Ukraine. Its three large station halls feature images celebrating Ukraine’s contributions to the Soviet Union and Russo-Ukrainian unity, depicting musicians, textile-working, soldiers, farmers. (One hall has frescoes, one mosaics, and the third murals.) Shortly after it was completed, Khrushchev condemned the architectural excesses and unnecessary luxury of the Stalin era, which ushered in an epoch of more austere Metro stations. According to the legend at least, he timed the policy in part to ensure no Metro station built after could outshine Kiyevskaya.

Change to the 3/Blue line and go one stop west.

8. Park Pobedy. This is the deepest station on the Metro, with one of the world’s longest escalators, at 413 feet. If you stand still, the escalator ride to the surface takes about three minutes .) Opened in 2003 at Victory Park, the station celebrates two of Russia’s great military victories. Each end has a mural by Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli, who also designed the “ Good Defeats Evil ” statue at the UN headquarters in New York. One mural depicts the Russian generals’ victory over the French in 1812 and the other, the German surrender of 1945. The latter is particularly striking; equal parts dramatic, triumphant, and gruesome. To the side, Red Army soldiers trample Nazi flags, and if you look closely there’s some blood spatter among the detail. Still, the biggest impressions here are the marble shine of the chessboard floor pattern and the pleasingly geometric effect if you view from one end to the other.

Keep going one more stop west to:

9. Slavyansky Bulvar.  One of the Metro’s youngest stations, it opened in 2008. With far higher ceilings than many other stations—which tend to have covered central tunnels on the platforms—it has an “open-air” feel (or as close to it as you can get, one hundred feet under). It’s an homage to French architect Hector Guimard, he of the Art Nouveau entrances for the Paris M é tro, and that’s precisely what this looks like: A Moscow homage to the Paris M é tro, with an additional forest theme. A Cyrillic twist on Guimard’s Metro-style lettering over the benches, furnished with t rees and branch motifs, including creeping vines as towering lamp-posts.

Stay on the 3/Blue line and double back four stations to:

10. Arbatskaya. Its first iteration, Arbatskaya-Smolenskaya station, was damaged by German bombs in 1941. It was rebuilt in 1953, and designed to double as a bomb shelter in the event of nuclear war, although unusually for stations built in the post-war phase, this one doesn’t have a war theme. It may also be one of the system’s most elegant: Baroque, but toned down a little, with red marble floors and white ceilings with gilded bronze c handeliers.

Jump back on the 3/Blue line  in the same direction and take it one more stop:

11. Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Revolution Square). Opened in 1938, and serving Red Square and the Kremlin . Its renowned central hall has marble columns flanked by 76 bronze statues of Soviet heroes: soldiers, students, farmers, athletes, writers, parents. Some of these statues’ appendages have a yellow sheen from decades of Moscow’s commuters rubbing them for good luck. Among the most popular for a superstitious walk-by rub: the snout of a frontier guard’s dog, a soldier’s gun (where the touch of millions of human hands have tapered the gun barrel into a fine, pointy blade), a baby’s foot, and a woman’s knee. (A brass rooster also sports the telltale gold sheen, though I am told that rubbing the rooster is thought to bring bad luck. )

Now take the escalator up, and get some fresh air.

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