Taylormade M2 Fairway Wood Review

Grab the Taylormade M2 fairway wood on Amazon here.

I was sitting in the 11th fairway of the Witch Hollow golf course in Portland, Oregon when I found myself wondering “is this Taylormade M2 3 wood really all it’s cracked up to be?”

I was about 245 out, and with my old Nike VR 3 wood, I’d usually hit it about 220 under good conditions, sometimes farther if I really connect.

I’d played a few rounds with the Taylormade M2 and spent some time with it on the range, and so far had been really impressed.

But this would be the perfect way to see if some of the distance claims really were an improvement on what I’d been using in the past.

I launched a baby fade over the fairway bunkers, and around the towering pine tree, hitting just short of the green and watching the ball roll up onto the green leaving me about 20 feet for eagle.

That’s what I’m talking about. This wasn’t the first time I hit a shot like that with the new Taylormade M2, but it’s a perfect example of the confidence this club has given me.

First Impressions

I’d like to make one quick thing clear before I go any further with this review.

I’m not a pro golfer.

I’m not the guy who reviews every single club that comes out, every single year, and can tell the difference when a gram of weight is shifted from one part of the club to another.

I could launch into all of the technical details and specifications of this club or with any other club review I do – but there are a dozen other blogs out there that already do that, and do a better job with it than I can.

So this review is for the average golfer (I’m about an 8 handicap trending towards a 12), who just wants the answer to one question “is this club any good?”

And while that is certainly a subjective question, I’ll always do my best to give you my honest opinion, as well as context for why I feel the way I do.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s jump into it!

First Impressions

I first experienced the Taylormade M2 fairway wood while I was down in Orlando for the PGA Show this past January.

I spent some time with some of the guys over at Taylormade, and at one point they handed me a M2 3 wood and said “you’ve gotta try this.” 

I stepped up to the range where there was a launch monitor setup, and smacked a perfect shot into the net 75 yard away.

251 yards.

“That can’t be right,” I thought to myself. That was a solid 20 yards farther than my typical 3 wood.

247.

252.

250.

I left that day incredibly intrigued by this club, and I couldn’t wait to have a chance to actually get out on the course with it, and see in real life conditions if my experience was a fluke or if it was the real thing.

The Taylormade M2 three wood is one of the best looking clubs I’ve seen in awhile. It has a carbon composite crown, that looks classy yet aggressive, and as far as I can tell this club is a bit of a hybrid of the M1 and the aeroburner. It seems to have more similar technical characteristics to the Aeroburner, with the look and carbon fiber of the M1.

Performance

As Taylormade has said often, they are touting the M2 as it’s longest clubs ever.

The reason for this is their “Speed Pocket” which is supposed to allow for more flexibility so that shots can launch higher and farther.

And everything I’ve seen both on the course and the range seems to back this up.

I took out my Swing Caddie 2 recently, and was routinely finding it to hit about 10 yards farther than my old Nike club.

I wasn’t quite getting the same distance I was at the PGA Show, but still enough gains to be impressed.

One of the things I love the most about this club is the sound and the feel. It’s got a dull thud that isn’t overly “tingy” like some of the previous generation Nike clubs I’ve used.

Also I don’t mean for this to be a direct comparison to Nike, it’s just that that’s my frame of reference.

My older Nike clubs feel very hot off the face (I haven’t used any of their new Vapor products), which at times can make it feel like I’m hitting it far, but the more muted tone and feel of the M2 makes me feel like I have more control over the club.

My second shot around the tree that I mentioned above is a great example of this. When I walked up to the ball I felt confident that I could work the ball exactly the way I wanted to.

And if I knew how to hit a draw, I’m sure I could do that too 🙂

Final Thoughts

While I haven’t exactly done any extensive testing of 3 woods, I can say that switching to the M2 fairway wood has not only led to longer shots, but it’s led to increased confidence in my shotmaking thanks to its incredible sound and feel.

It’s definitely not the cheapest fairway wood you’ll find at a retail price of around $250, but if you’re in the market for a new one – I honestly am not sure you can do much better than the M2.

This image from Arccos pretty much sums up my golf game perfectly. Fantastic drive off the tee, mediocre approach shot, terrible putting. At least one of those seems to be on point though 🙂

And one other, even more impressive example of the confidence this club has given me.

Yesterday I was standing on the 18th tee at Pumpkin needing a par for my first 79 on a par 72 course ever.

I striped the drive and was 234 from the pin, deciding whether or not I should layup or go for it.

I pulled out the M2 3 wood, hit a perfect baby fade to 4 feet and knocked in the putt for my second eagle, and first 77 ever.

Holy crap. I now have this for an eagle. Hopefully I can manage the 3 putt from 4 feet.

A photo posted by Sean Ogle (@breakingeighty) on Mar 31, 2016 at 9:54am PDT

I know Taylormade has made a lot of lofty distance claims in the past, but as far as I can tell, everything they’ve said about the M2 line of woods seems to be dead on.

Now to hopefully check out the new M2 Tour irons which impressed me just as much down in Florida 🙂

Grab the Taylormade M2 fairway wood on Amazon here.

One other note to add. This was my second round playing with the Taylormade Project [A] balls, and I’ve gotta say, I was seriously impressed. I usually play a ProV1 if i have them, or more often a Bridgestone e6. While the e6 still helps more with my slice, I got more distance and feel around the greens with the Project [A].

Will do a larger comparison soon, but from everything I’ve seen and experienced, the Project [A] is the best ball available in that $30 price range.