TaylorMade SIM2, SIM2 Max and SIM2 Max D drivers Review

The TaylorMade SIM2, SIM2 Max and SIM2 Max D drivers all have deconstructed heads to improve MOI forgiveness and stability.

In creating the three SIM2 golf drivers, TaylorMade have taken a Formula One-style approach to engineering, stripping everything back to the bare bones and analysing how every piece can be better and deliver more. And what they’ve come up with seriously challenges conventional thinking.

RELATED: Tested – Best Drivers 2021

Every Formula One team on the grid unveils a new race car each year. On the surface each car usually appears the same as last years model. But secretly, behind closed doors engineers around the world have spent their entire year fathoming out how to eke out extra performance from every single one of the cars 80,000 components.

RELATED: Today’s Golfer Editor’s Choice Awards winners revealed!

And they do so because just a few grams saved from a handful of components or a miniscule drop in drag over an 80-lap race really can be the difference between winning and losing.

TaylorMade have never been afraid of pushing the boundaries of convention. Founder Gary Adams produced golf’s first metalwood with the Pittsburgh Persimmon driver in 1979. TaylorMade also invented and owned movable weight technology with the R7 and, of course, discovered how forward weighting in a driver increased ball speed and lowered spin, effectively creating the game’s first low spin driver with the SLDR.

And it’s pushing historical boundaries of this magnitude that the new SIM2 drivers have been set up to challenge. Here’s how.

Jump to our TaylorMade SIM2 driver reviews here SIM2  / SIM2 Max / SIM2 Max D

What you need to know about the TaylorMade SIM2 drivers

What’s the blue bit at the back?

Aluminium is a material that’s not been used significantly in driver construction for years. But it’s 66% lighter than titanium (so there’s a 9g weight saving by switching) which makes it a perfect choice for replacing titanium in less efficient areas.

The SIM2 has a new forged and CNC milled aluminium blue back ring to support the titanium face section, which also houses a new heavier inertia generating weight. TaylorMade say it’s thanks to their deconstructed thinking they’ve been able to create such a radical multi-material head design.

RELATED: Everything you need to know about the TaylorMade SIM2 fairway woods

A slippery carbon sole

It’s only when you break a driver into parts and ask why do drivers need a titanium sole that you realise they don’t. It’s just accepted convention that puts them there. The absolute best material for freeing up inefficient mass is super lightweight carbon fibre.

So TaylorMade have come up with a whole carbon fibre sole. It weighs just 12g (it’s made from nine layers of carbon fibre for extra strength over the six-layer crown) which frees up more weight to create a very different stability story compared to previous models.

Split weighting

Eagle eyed punters will notice the SIM2 is the first TaylorMade driver family for some time to not have a single model that boasts of any movable weight technology. Each of the three new models does though have a TPS weight port positioned either closer to the face or more towards the heel (depending on the model). Their job is to allow accurate swing weighting depending on the shaft golfers select.

RELATED: Which TaylorMade putter best suits you? 

A very different TaylorMade driver

If there’s one thing most brands can agree on, and there’s not much they do, it’s that Ping make seriously forgiving drivers. Rather than chasing ball speed by positioning weight forward and close to the face, Ping are happy to put a premium on MOI performance and focus on positioning more weight lower and deeper (further back), which leads to extra backspin and a fraction less ball speed, but essentially means golfers get a driver that really does work on the golf course.

The SIM2’s new construction means TaylorMade have trodden a very different path to previous models, a path where they’ve chased MOI as a priority. The new direction means all three SIM2 drivers post a forgiveness increase of between 3–15% over last years, not so unforgiving SIM models, and that’s a big step forward in a single year.

RELATED: Tested – Which TaylorMade iron is right for me?

Intelligent sweetspot

Anybody looking at wringing out extra performance from every single driver component will have the face high up on their list of where to start. TaylorMade have used inverted cone technology for years, but for the SIM2 in 2021 there’s a brand new CNC Milled pattern inside and TaylorMade say it means more of the face is now at the maximum allowable CT.

TaylorMade have also accessed all their driver fitting data to better understand where golfers actually impact shots on the driver face. And the stats have led to a change in shape of the Inverted Cone so it’s now a little more oval. TaylorMade say the idea protects ball speed even more on high toe and low heel impacts.

WATCH: Best 2021 Driver video

RELATED: Which Lamkin grip is best for me?

Built on solid foundations

If there’s something TaylorMade have learned over the last five years it’s how to build on what’s already good about their products. No longer are they returning to the drawing board and starting from scratch on new technologies every year.

In fact the SIM2 drivers are built on really solid foundations that span six years, stretching all the way back to the original M1’s carbon crown in 2016. But SIM2 combines that carbon crown with a Speed Injected Twist Face, a cut Thru Speed Pocket sole and, of course, the aerodynamic package of SIM (Shape in Motion) and its tail tip Inertia Generator.

SIM2 really has been years in the making and is packed with tech that’s been proven in the hands of tour stars like Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Tiger Woods.

At-a-glance: TaylorMade SIM2 Driver review

RRP: £449

Lofts: 8° / 9° / 10.5°

Stock shaft:

Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Blue 60 or Project X HZRDUS Smoke RDX Black 70

Stock grip: Golf Pride Z-Grip

Adjustable hosel: Yes (+/- 2°)

TaylorMade say the SIM2 is driver construction reinvented in a Mid-Launch, Low Spin design

12% larger face over the original (2020) SIM driver

200 – 300 RPM less spin than the SIM2 Max driver

5% more MOI than the original (2020) SIM driver

New Forged and CNC Milled aluminium blue back ring

Chalk white paint with satin carbon fibre crown and sole

16g Inertia Generator weight

SIM2 aerodynamics

Verdict: TaylorMade SIM2 Driver

Aluminium is a material that hasn’t been mentioned in driver design for decades, but incorporating it and a new carbon-fibre sole to nudge up forgiveness by 5% is serious dedication to the cause of improving forgiveness.

TaylorMade are great marketeers, but SIM2 (like its predecessor) is not just a great looking driver; arguably it’s the most alluring driver story of the year. By doing away with a weight track not a single gram is wasted, so performance is utterly tailored to the target golfer.

SIM2 is one of the best drivers of 2021, no doubt. Our data has it creating 1.4% less carry (275 yards) than our very longest, but that’s minuscule.

A carry drop-off of less than 7% also pushes SIM 2 inside our top 10 drivers for forgiveness, which is great result for a model that will find its way into so many Tour bags.

RELATED: Love KBS iron shafts? Should you try the new KBS TD driver shaft?

Launch monitor data: TaylorMade SIM2 driver

We tested all three of TaylorMade’s new big sticks for our 2021 drivers test, with TG test pro Neil Wain hitting the SIM2 and SIM2 Max and TG Equipment Editor Simon Daddow, a 10-handicapper, hitting the TaylorMade SIM2 D to see how it performed for a handicap golfer with a lower swing speed.

RELATED: Which TaylorMade iron suits me?

At-a-glance: TaylorMade SIM2 Max Driver review

RRP: £449

Lofts: 9° / 10.5° / 12°

Stock shaft:

Fujikura Ventus Blue 5 or Mitsubishi KuroKage Silver 60

Stock grip: Golf Pride Z-Grip

Adjustable hosel: Yes (+/- 2°)

TaylorMade say the SIM2 Max is the shape of forgiveness in a Mid – High Launch, Mid – Low Spin design

5% larger face over the original (2020) SIM driver

200 – 300 RPM more spin than the SIM2 driver

3% more MOI than the original (2020) SIM Max driver

New Forged and CNC Milled aluminium blue back ring

Chalk white paint with satin carbon fibre crown and sole

24g Inertia Generator weight

SIM2 aerodynamics

WATCH: Should you use a 47″ driver shaft?

Today’s Golfer verdict: TaylorMade SIM2 Max driver

Most golfers never get to see what’s inside their driver, but our pro was blown away when he saw a demo breakaway SIM2 Max head; calling the internal engineering “absolutely incredible”.

The new aluminium back ring is beautifully CNC milled and thanks to TaylorMade’s final finish to final finish construction method, not a single gram is positioned inefficiently. It’s a level of detail that just wasn’t possible a few years ago, and one you don’t get it with every brand.

What does it mean in raw data terms? The SIM2 Max was a couple of yards (that’s less than 1%) behind the Callaway Epic Max on carry distance (our longest traditional forgiving driver) which could well mean they’d switch places on a different day.

Compared to the rest SIM2 Max was in front of the Titleist, Ping and Cobra, all of which are stellar competition.

Launch monitor data: TaylorMade SIM2 Max driver

We tested all three of TaylorMade’s new big sticks for our 2021 drivers test, with TG test pro Neil Wain hitting the SIM2 and SIM2 Max and TG Equipment Editor Simon Daddow, a 10-handicapper, hitting the TaylorMade SIM2 D to see how it performed for a handicap golfer with a lower swing speed.

RELATED: TaylorMade TP5 vs Titleist Pro V1 golf ball

At-a-glance: TaylorMade SIM2 Max D Driver review

RRP: £449

Lofts: 9° / 10.5° / 12°

Stock shaft: Fujikura Air Speeder 45

Stock grip: Golf Pride Z-Grip

Adjustable hosel: Yes (+/- 2°)

TaylorMade say the SIM2 Max D is draw without compromise in a High Launch, Mid-Spin design

Same face size as the original (2020) SIM Max D driver

15% more MOI than the original (2020) SIM Max D driver

New Forged and CNC Milled aluminium blue back ring

Chalk white paint with satin carbon fibre crown and sole

22g Inertia Generator weight

SIM2 aerodynamics

Verdict: TaylorMade SIM2 Max D Driver

We’ve been big fans of TaylorMade’s D drivers ever since the first M2 D-Type back in 2017. We love how the engineers have come up with some clever paintwork to beautifully disguise how the face sits a little closed at address.

It means the Max D is a serious proposition for any slicer (with a proper shaft fitting), not just slower speed players who struggle with a slice.

Amateur testing is always a little hit and miss as we rely on a similar strike pattern with each club to produce reliable comparative data. We have the SIM2 Max D down as TG Equipment Editor Simon Daddow’s second longest of the year, but that sort of top line number glosses over the results we’d see on a course.

The TaylorMade was straighter, where the Ping G425 SFT produced the most looping left shots for us. While that sort of ball flight adds distance, it wouldn’t be Simon’s best fit for the course. If you’re looking at draw drivers in 2021 the SIM2 must on your shortlist.

Launch monitor data: TaylorMade SIM2 Max D driver

We tested all three of TaylorMade’s new big sticks for our 2021 drivers test, with TG test pro Neil Wain hitting the SIM2 and SIM2 Max and TG Equipment Editor Simon Daddow, a 10-handicapper, hitting the TaylorMade SIM2 D to see how it performed for a handicap golfer with a lower swing speed.

Tomo Bystedt, Director of Product Creation at TaylorMade on the SIM2 drivers

“Forgiveness equals confidence. In 2020, we built the SIM driver that was aerodynamic, promoted favourable launch properties and had one of the hottest faces in golf. By increasing forgiveness with SIM2, SIM2 Max and SIM2 Max D, we have truly engineered a driver that has no trade- offs”

“Golfers can step to the tee box and have the freedom to swing with confidence every time. Knowing they have a driver that checks all the boxes: Forgiveness, speed and distance with a beautifully crafted aesthetic.”

WATCH: What TaylorMade say about the TaylorMade SIM2 Drivers

READ NEXT: WITB Rory McIlroy

Review written by: Simon Daddow   

Job title: Today’s Golfer – Equipment Editor

      

TaylorMade SIM2 Driver

RRP: £449

Lofts: 8° / 9° / 10.5°

Stock shaft:

Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Blue 60 or Project X HZRDUS Smoke RDX Black 70

Stock grip: Golf Pride Z-Grip

Adjustable hosel: Yes (+/- 2°)

TaylorMade SIM2 Max Driver

RRP: £449

Lofts: 9° / 10.5° / 12°

Stock shaft:

Fujikura Ventus Blue 5 or Mitsubishi KuroKage Silver 60

Stock grip: Golf Pride Z-Grip

Adjustable hosel: Yes (+/- 2°)

TaylorMade SIM2 Max D Driver

RRP: £449

Lofts: 9° / 10.5° / 12°

Stock shaft: Fujikura Air Speeder 45

Stock grip: Golf Pride Z-Grip

Adjustable hosel: Yes (+/- 2°)