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Despite a different look and construction, the TaylorMade M1 fairway wood is not different than the R15 fairway wood in performance.

Introduction

If you believe the product descriptions, every new product that TaylorMade releases is chock full of “new technology” and “breakthroughs” and the M1 fairway wood is no exception.  While there’s no arguing that the construction is different – the crown is made of a carbon fiber composite – the question is, will it perform any differently on the course?

Looks

At address, the TaylorMade M1 fairway wood has the same mix of white and black carbon fiber that the drivers do, and, as with the drivers, the effect is that it makes club look very small because you can only focus on the white or the black.  Obviously a look this non-traditional will be polarizing – some will love it, others will hate it.  I don’t care for it, but I do like it better than the all-white crown of the R15.  In terms of shape and size, the M1 is average size with a slight pear shape.

Sound & Feel

Just like with the M1 driver, when you make extreme moves with the weights on the TaylorMade M1 fairway wood, you will notice big differences in feel.  Whether the weight is centered, in the toe, heel, or split, the impact sound is a medium volume “crack” that gets dull when you move off the center of the face.

Performance

Over the last few generations, TaylorMade’s fairway woods have been one step behind the drivers.  The SLDR driver had a sliding “Draw-Fade” weight, but the fairway woods didn’t get that adjustment until R15.  Of course, the R15 driver had two weights in that slot where the R15 fairway wood had just one.  Now, predictably, the M1 fairway wood has two weights.  You could make a pretty safe bet that the next fairway wood has the M1 driver’s T-Track System.

The question to ask is whether or not splitting the weight makes a difference.  In comparing the R15 to the M1, the only benefit that I found was that the M1 allows for a “weights apart” position that you obviously can’t do with just one weight.  This setting makes the fairway wood as low launching as any I’ve tested, which makes me wonder how many golfers will use it.  With the weights together and centered, the M1 is reasonably easy to elevate but is still far from high launching.

Overall, the M1 offers a lot of adjustability between the hosel settings and the weights, the forgiveness is slightly above average, and the spin is low.

Conclusion

For the TaylorMade fanboys or those that simply need to have the newest thing, the TaylorMade M1 fairway wood provides something shiny to play with.  For golfers who demand real measurable improvements before making a change, the R15 will continue to work just fine.

Buy the TaylorMade M1 fairway wood HERE

TaylorMade M1 Fairway Wood_0032

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TaylorMade M1 Fairway Wood LM Data

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Matt Saternus

Founder, Editor In Chief at PluggedInGolf.com

Matt is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Plugged In Golf. He's worked in nearly every job in the golf industry from club fitting to instruction to writing and speaking. Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.

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