Equipment

2021 TaylorMade SIM2 Launch Day Report: Everything you need to know about the new equipment from TaylorMade

Published

5 years ago

Jan 19, 2021

Today was the official launch day of the all-new 2021 TaylorMade SIM2 line of clubs, which includes drivers, fairways woods, hybrids, and irons. To summarize the newest release from the Carlsbad-based golf equipment company, for TaylorMade and the SIM2 line of clubs, it’s all about refining great products to increase speed and stability without sacrificing any of the distance golfers achieved from the original line.

If are looking for in-depth information, on the ins and outs of the new designs and the technology that makes them possible be sure to check out our full launch pieces below.

2021 TaylorMade SIM2 drivers: Better performance, piece by piece

TaylorMade SIM2 driver line

Designers have taken every step to look at different materials and configurations to add forgiveness while maintaining the low spin characteristics of the original 2020 SIM design.
No more sliding weight track. The sliding weight on the standard model has been removed to save mass and increase MOI (a measurement of forgiveness).
Three different models to choose from with greater differentiation to help golfers get dialed in more effectively and find the design that is the best fit.
More precision built into every part of the driver. The only way to make a golf club, especially a driver, better is to maximize the weight properties and geometry, and by painstakingly looking at every single component and manufacturing process, that’s exactly what TaylorMade has done.

2021 TaylorMade SIM2 fairway woods and hybrids: Building on a winning platform

Fairway woods

For 2021, TaylorMade engineers are upping their game and the SIM fairway wood platform with the launch of the TaylorMade SIM2, SIM2 Max, and SIM2 Max D (for draw) fairway woods. Each is designed to improve consistency, turf interaction, forgiveness, and reshape what is possible with each model in the line.

The SIM2 Titanium has a reconfigured heavy steel soleplate to go along with its 10cc smaller size to move the center of gravity farther back in the head to increase MOI. The Max and Max D models have also gotten larger to improve forgiveness.
Unlike the SIM2 Titanium, the SIM2 Max fairway has gotten bigger and now comes in at 190cc head in the 3-wood (compared to 185 in the 2020 version) to increase forgiveness, and although the head has gotten larger, it is still easy to elevate from tighter lies with the help of the newly redesigned two-step V Steel sole.
The unofficial motto of the SIM2 Max D should be “go big or go home.” It offers the largest head size at 195cc (in the 3-wood) and also has the largest face area to help those golfers who miss a bit more than they would like to admit.

Hybrids

To build on the success of the SIM Max rescue, TaylorMade has improved the original Max rescue and are also introducing an all-new model geared towards higher swing speed players looking for a hybrid that offers adjustability and workability with the 2021 (non-MAX) SIM Rescue, thanks to input from its tour staff, including Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson.

The SIM2 Rescue draws a lot of inspiration from previous TaylorMade and (some Adams) generation hybrids, including the popular ’09 Rescue TP—except with a whole lot more technology! The profile is compact with a higher squared-off toe to have a more “iron-like” appearance from address to help golfers find the perfect transition club from long irons to fairway woods.
The new SIM2 Max hybrid brings everything golfer loved from the previous version and added a newly refined sole geometry to increase forgiveness and deliver more consistent results. The SIM2 Max Rescue has a C300 maraging steel face and comes with the now-familiar Twist Face, which only became a feature in the Rescue line last year.

2021 TaylorMade SIM2 Max and SIM2 Max OS irons

The new Cap Back is a full cavity encasing polymer cap that connects and supports the topline without touching the face. It helps produce a higher MOI since the polymer material is seven-times lighter than the steel counterpart per g/cm3 and frees up more mass to be moved low in the head to raise stability—especially for shots missed around the face, which for golfers that fit into this iron category and going to do.

Beneath the Cap Back and behind the face on the new SIM2 Max and SIM2 Max OS irons, you will find an improved Echo Damping System which features a more concentrated HYBRAR material. The damping system stretches across the entire face (from heel to toe) using multiple contact points and also utilizes a softer polymer blend to channel away more unwanted vibrations.

Perspectives from the GolfWRX forums

mycowdog: Hit the 9* sim2, about a dozen swings. Easy to hit, nice launch and spin for me. I haven’t played a TM driver. Many more to test, but I was impressed.

Stanks: Will it get the M6 outta the bag?! Looks promising!

J-Zone: Spent time with both heads today, I think people will be thoroughly impressed once they have them in hand. They look much better than the pictures, and is a very premium looking driver. Did not have time to compare to SIM1.0, but they feel a bit more firm (subjective) with a muted thwack vs a longer ringing or ting sensation.The Max will be the home run for TM people who have a very neutral delivery or want consistent spin, and the Standard is going to fit anyone who wants to cut spin but not in a super alarming way.Max launched super easy, but I can see guys needing to go up in loft if they were in standard 1.0 and went standard 2.0.

More from the GolfWRX forums

GolfWRX’s resident equipment tester, Brian Knudson of the Club Junkie podcast, had this to say

SIM2: TaylorMade kept the sound and feel great, muted and very responsive. Offers a really neutral ball flight and skilled players will love to be able to work the ball with ease and precision. Misses of the toe still keep a decent amount of trajectory, but still lose some distance. The most penetrating flight of the 3 SIM2 drivers.

SIM2 Max: Very stable head and little higher ball flight than the SIM2. Little more spin than SIM2, can see a little rise with shots into the wind. Shots hit off the low heal carry straighter and farther than last year’s SIM Max. Straighter misses for me on all shots that I was hitting.

SIM2 Ti fairway: The sound and feel are really good and love the smaller profile from address. Slightly more of a “crack” sound at impact. Could really feel the ball compress off the face and it seemed to really come off hot. Ball launches higher than last year, even on miss hits. Toe and heel mishits stay on line really well, would easily keep those shots in the fairway. Fairway just wants to get straight, little harder to work the ball and flight shots down. Pretty neutral ball flight with maybe just a touch of natural draw.

SIM 2 Max fairway: Good sound, little more metallic and higher pitched than its titanium sibling. Head is very stable and might have offered a little more forgiveness than the Ti. Higher ball flight and little more spin, but well struck shots carry a long well. Slices and hooks tend to have a little less curvature to those shots.

SIM2 Max Hybrid: High ball flight that carries a good distance. Easy to square up the club and find the center of the face repeatedly. Shots hit low on the face still get way up in the air and carry really well. Harder to hit fades since there is some draw built into the head, but overall the ball wants to go straight.

SIM2 Rescue: Sound and feel are very muted, heavy “crack” at impact. Penetrating ball flight that is flat, but you can still get the ball off the turf without too much effort. Pretty straight ball flight with more emphasis on the ball wanting to fall right. Easy to work the ball and flight it down as low as you would like. Shots even struck on the toe didn’t draw much and still stayed on a better line that I expected from a smaller club head.

Here’s what the biggest YouTube testers and reviews have to say on the new line

From the Twitterverse

I would say the SIM2 has split opinion on looks!! What do you think? Review here as well ?? https://t.co/lQQ5w1ygl1 pic.twitter.com/6XZTEWs6J9

— Peter Finch (@PeterFinchGolf) January 19, 2021

?TaylorMade website is listing Tiger with the new SIM2 Driver for his bag setup, however no fairway wood change shown. He’s usually very slow to switch the fairway woods. ?: @TaylorMadeGolf pic.twitter.com/SABcuDbqBq

— TWLEGION (@TWlegion) January 19, 2021

Where it started Where we are pic.twitter.com/6S9B2iGoAA

— Ryan Barath ????? (@RDSBarath) January 19, 2021

My #SIM2 !!!!!!! @TaylorMadeCA pic.twitter.com/A4w7Td2ysN

— Mark Zecchino (@ZeeManGolf) January 19, 2021

Whats in the Bag

Christiaan Maas WITB 2026 (June)

Published

7 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D LS (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7TW (5-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold X100

Wedges: TaylorMade Prototype (50-SB09), TaylorMade MG5 (56-HB12, 60-LV07)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400

Putter: TaylorMade TP Juno

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Christiaan Maas’ clubs here.

Equipment

TaylorMade MySpider Tour and Tour X: More customizable build options now available

Published

8 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

TaylorMade Golf’s MySpider program underwent a substantial overhaul over the last month. Firstly, the company launched the option to customize the Spider ZT model, and now the program has returned with the MySpider Tour and MySpider Tour X.

The revamped page now gives golfers complete control over every visual and functional detail of their putter on the popular Tour and Tour X head, with every cosmetic idea thought of. In MySpider Tour, golfers can choose from four head finishes, 16 paint fill colors, nine Surlyn face insert colors, three aluminum insert options, six sightline configurations, and four hosel options — L-neck, small slant, double bend, center shaft. Six sightline options are available in MySpider Tour, including the optically engineered True Path alignment system. MySpider Tour X gives builders the option of four head finishes, four hosel configurations, and five sightline options, also including True Path alignment.

One of the more interesting features of the new MySpider program is the availability of three distinct face insert options. Along with the usual Surlyn Pure Roll insert trusted by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, which can be customized from nine colors, golfers can now also select firmer options. Two are offered with the black aluminum Pure Roll insert, slightly firmer than the traditional insert, or for the firmest feel, golfers can choose from two colors of milled aluminum inserts.

Another fun addition to the MySpider Tour is the ability to use the “Tommy Sightline.” The custom alignment aid design, which was first drawn onto Tommy Fleetwood’s putter by PGA Tour Rep James Holley, is based on the milled sightline on his Spider ZT head. There are five shorter lines on the left and right of a longer central line serving as the traditional short line alignment aid.

See below for the full specifications sheet for MySpider Tour and Tour X:

MySpider Tour

MySpider Tour X

Equipment

Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory

Published

10 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.

So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?

Driver

2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)

McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.

What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)

The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.

Fairway woods

2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X

The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.

The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.

Irons

2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0

The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.

With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.

Wedges

2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.

Putter

2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.

Ball

2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)

As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Grips

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC

Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.