Stealth Wood

[Hyun Orth]

Thedriving innovation of the TaylorMade Stealth Fairway Wood is its 3D Carbon Crown. A weight-saving addition to the fairway metal, the 3D Carbon Crown allowed TaylorMade engineers the chance to shift more weight backward, a move that enhances both forgiveness and playability. The new V Steel Sole Design only bolsters the forgiveness of the Stealth, while also improving turf interaction and optimizing launch properties. Finally, the Thru-Slot Speed Pocket design makes the fairway wood extremely hot without sacrificing that added forgiveness, particularly on low face strikes.

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I looked at a few fairway woods and as a former Taylormade M6 player, I tried the Stealth Plus and Stealth as the previous generation clubs are a lot cheaper now and they meet my eye. Stealth Plus was a rocket blaster but it killed me on toe strikes. Lost golf ball territory. The standard Stealth was so forgiving. Like, way more forgiving than I thought it would be. I got on well with the Smoke Red RDX X Stiff of the stock options but launch was a smidge low hit off the deck with total distance a bit too smoky!

So I can't help you with performance just yet, but I used a TSi2 18 5W for almost a year and a half and switched to SIM 2 Ti almost 2 months ago. After I made the switch (I purchased on WRX without testing), I ordered the Stealth Plus 5W after hearing it was supposedly easier to hit. I just got my Stealth Plus 5W yesterday, but I've been playing the Stealth Plus 13.5 for around a month and a half now and I was surprised at its forgiveness. I've been using the Tensei AV Raw Blue 68g S in the Rocket, but I've also used the Tour AD-DI 7S in it too and the Tensei seems to yield the best results for me. I ordered the Stealth Plus 5W with the same Tensei AV Raw Blue shaft, but have the same AD-DI in 5W length too to compare them both.

I've been hitting the SIM 2 5W fine, but my issue with it was it seemed like the leading edge was a little sharper and dug into the ground a little more. After comparing the looks of them yesterday, I'm 100% liking the Stealth Plus looks more--leading edge is more rounded and it definitely has a slightly bigger footprint. I'm not playing again until next weekend, but will be happy to report back when I get to put the Stealth Plus into play.

works great as both a safe-tee club and obviously a club into par 5s. All other 5w I had were good off turf but not great tee clubs because they spun too much and would go nowhere in the slightest breeze.

in regards to you considering one vs your sim udi, I had a sim udi 3 I played at 20 and good shot to good shot, the stealth plus five wood is 30-35 yards longer and my five wood is as close to 19 as you can get.

im not in love yet with the 3 wood and it could just be the length I am playing it at. I might shorten that to 42.5 inches to see if I have more consistency. On good hits, the 3 wood is long and straight.

have both 3 and 5 wood. hardly every use the 3 wood, actually thinking about dumping it for just the 5W and a hybrid. 5 wood off the tee today was a nice 280 downhill, and then on a firm fairway crossing wind rolled to 290. (altitude golf is super fun). Even the bad duffed/toed/steep 2 tee shots went 250 and 260 after roll. And this was at 20.5*. Going to try just going right to maybe 18.25 and then drop in a 3H and be happy.

So.. yes, 5W at the top of the bag solo may be all that's needed after driver. Cause I'm more than ok with 260 off the tee that's more controlled/easier to swing and gap something in below it. beggars can't be choosers, and I'm not gonna beg for a hotter 3W for 10 more yards than that.

I ended up with a similar plan - have always hit my 3W mediocre unless I was able to practice with it a lot. During my fitting we tried to find a 5 wood that would be able to slot in as the only gap between driver and hybrid.

Ended up going with the Stealth+ 5W with Accra FX 3.0 and it is a great club for me. Was carrying it farther than my i20 3 wood while getting the benefit of being easier to hit than a 3 wood

Finally got mine into play today and after playing the SIM 2 Ti for the last month or so and the TSi2 for the previous year plus before that, I was very pleased with it today. Feels more powerful than both other models I've played recently and it's just super solid. I'll also say that it seemed more forgiving to me than the SIM 2, which is really the reason I was switching to it in the first place. I was really pleased overall with my TSi2 I had as well, but I wanted some more pop--Stealth Plus is giving me the pop and to me, feels just as forgiving as the TSi2.

As much as I want to say that this is a revelation that just came to me, trying a 9-wood is something that I have been considering for a long time going back years. Long irons are hard to hit, and whether you play a lot or not, trying to hit an iron that is going to carry at least 185 yards can be a tall order.

Not only that but using a higher lofted fairway wood to get out of the rough and advance the ball is something that can help make the game easier for any golfer, including professionals at the highest level.

As you might expect, having a 9-wood makes hitting the ball higher and farther so much easier. The biggest improvement in my game has come from par-3 proximity, especially on holes in the 200-210 yard range. Rather than seeing mostly inconsistent results with my longest iron, the 9-wood makes getting 200 yards of carry feel almost effortless, and on top of that, the ball also has a much higher peak height, leading to a steeper angle of descent that stops my pellet on a dime.

TaylorMade officially graduated from its SIM and SIM2 club lines, which were first revealed in 2020, and brought a new Stealth lineup to the market for 2022. While the Stealth driver has taken the market by storm, and for a good reason, the Stealth lineup of fairway woods deserves its own moment in the spotlight. It offers forgiveness, incredible distance, and an appearance that makes even the most elementary ball strikers thirsty for more.

I have had my Stealth 3 wood for three months, replacing a Callaway Big Bertha Steelhead given to me when I started playing several years ago. The Big Bertha is nearly 30 years old, according to my research. It was the best club in my bag for a long time; I was most consistent and felt that it was made for me in a way. However, the time came when I questioned whether I should stick with the old faithful Big Bertha or try the new kid on the block. I made the switch, and I could not be happier.

I got mine with the Golf Pride Align Grips and a Fujikura Ventus Red Shaft. Typically, I have used the Align Grips on all of my Fairway Woods, Hybrids, and Long Irons, which is what feels most comfortable to me. It also came about an inch longer than my Big Bertha is, so I was sure to have it cut down when it got here.

One of my favorite features is the matte-finished head crown. On the Titleist TSi2 Hybrid, the glossy face is definitely a distraction, especially on Sunny days. While it all comes down to personal preference, the matte finish is much cleaner and less distracting than other options.

Going from a Steelhead 3 wood to one predominantly comprised of carbon fiber and steel, the first huge difference is the weight. Even friends who have fairway woods from the past two or three years feel the weight difference in the Stealth compared to their clubs. The lack of weight still provides a striking bit of stability through the backswing and downswing, helping create better consistency from shot to shot.

Contact results are fed by not only the lack of weight, but also the enhanced V Steel design TaylorMade equipped on the Stealth. It is extremely rare that fat or chunked shots occur with this club, even with tight or difficult lies.

Joey Klender is a reporter covering Equipment, Footwear, and Apparel. A huge golf fan, he calls a certain week in April his favorite of the year. Inspired by the likes of Woods, Palmer, McIlroy, and Koepka, Joey plays over 100 times a year in the South Central Pennsylvania area. When he isn't golfing, he is probably thinking about golfing, but he might be watching other sports, writing, or playing poker.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The family of TaylorMade Stealth fairway woods and hybrids, which do not feature the carbon-composite face technology of the Stealth drivers, nevertheless feature new uses of carbon composite in the crown while expanding playability with lower centers of gravity, redesigned soles and two distinct options in both fairway woods and hybrids that emphasize workability and forgiveness to differing degrees.

The Stealth Plus is slightly larger than the SIM2 Ti but still produces low spin. Further helping to lower the center of gravity is how the front part of the face has lowered the heel and toe regions to present a 12 percent larger face compared to SIM2 Ti. In total, the Stealth Plus is significantly more stable on off-center hits, with an 18 percent higher measured moment of inertia compared to the SIM Ti from 2020.

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