Comparing the Taylor Made M4 to the M2

Every year Taylor Made launches a new driver. This year the M4 replaces the 2017 M2. A valid question is how much of a difference there is between the two. A couple of days ago we put this to the test. I compared both using a Trackman Launch Monitor.

I hit 24 drives with each club. Alternating from one to the other after 3 shots so not to get used to swinging just the one driver. The ball was teed at the same height for both drivers. Both drivers had 10.5 degrees of loft. The same Accra 372T M4 shaft was used in both drivers, which played at 45 inches. The ball that was used was the Titleist Pro V1. It was a nice May day, temperatures around 15 degrees Celsius and a helping breeze (around 8mph).

The main performance numbers that we looked are were club head speed, ball speed, carry, total distance, accuracy, launch angle and spin rates. Ultimately the main ones to be interested in are ball speed, carry, total distance and accuracy. Essentially a driver can be longer, more accurate or both. This is what we look for in drivers, there isn't much point in changing a driver unless the performance improves.

For the M4, the changes are the 'Twist Face' and 'Hammerhead' technology, the Twist Face changes the roll and bulge on the face potentially leading to more accuracy and the Hammerhead increases ball speed leading to more distance.

Here are the results.

Club	Clubhead Speed(mph)	Ball Speed	Launch Angle	Spin Rate	Carry (yards)	Total Distance	Height (feet)	Distance from target (ft)
M4	101.7	149.8	13.5	2745	245.7	271	94	33.42
M2	101.6	149.8	12.5	2730	242.1	268.3	87	38.95

The results are interesting.

Club and ball speed are identical. The M4 does give more distance and accuracy. It was 3.2 yards longer carry and 2.7 yards longer over all. It was 5.53 feet closer on average to the target which is 14.2% closer. Launch angle and height were both higher in the M4 too.

Conclusion

 

The M4 is this test does give longer distance and more accuracy. The distance is coming not from increased ball speed but a slightly higher flight, the launch angle was 1 degree higher and especially with a following wind this leads to just a little more carry. As the ball speeds were the same from the 2 drivers we can say that there is no real distance gain from the M4 over the M2. Distance ultimately comes from ball speed.

However there is an accuracy gain, 5.53 feet closer on average or 14.2%. This is a substantial enough improvement and does follow on from what Taylor Made are saying about increased accuracy from the Twist Face.

Should a golfer switch from an M2 to an M4? If they are looking for more accuracy, yes. If they're looking for more distance, no. The M4 does have a different sound then the M2 which can also influence the decision too.

If you have any questions, please comment.

3 More Golf Equipment Terms Explained and How They Can Help Your Game

Centre of Gravity (COG)

Centre of Gravity heights, photo by @kirkoguri on Twitter

Centre of Gravity (CG) is a point in the head that represents all the mass of head. The above photo shows the position of the centre of gravity in 4 different heads by height. Only minimal differences but enough to make the heads perform quite differently.

The CG is sometimes referred to as the sweet spot of the club. The sweet spot is the projected position of the CG from inside the club on to the club face. It is quite a small spot and is not bigger in some clubs then other.

When the ball is hit on the 'sweet spot' the club face doesn't twist or rotate and the maximum amount of energy is transferred to the ball.

The CG can be moved around the club head by shifting weight, move weight towards the toe the CG goes towards the toe (a small bit, not a huge amount). Moving the weight around influences the flight of a ball by utilising gear effect to help the golfer. More weight in the heel will promote a draw from centred strikes and straighter shots from heel strikes. The spin rate can also be influenced by moving the CG higher or lower.

Moment of Inertia (MOI)

Moment of inertia (MOI) is the measure of an object's resistance to twisting. The higher the MOI the more the object will resist twisting. For a golf club this means for shots that are mishit a head with higher MOI will twist less offline then a club with lower MOI.

In golf heads weight is moved to the perimeter to increase MOI and make them more forgiving. So a cavity back will be more forgiving then a blade. This is also the process that makes a 'sweet spot' bigger, it's not making the 'sweet spot' bigger but the club head twists less giving more forgiveness and the illusion of a bigger sweet spot.

It also helps with putters a big mallet style putter with weight moved to the extremes will not twist as much as a blade style putter meaning the ball will start more online with mishits.

Roll & Bulge

Roll is the curvature on the face of a wood from crown to sole.

Bulge is the curvature on the face of a wood from heel to toe

Bulge and roll are there to counteract what is known as gear effect. When a driver is struck off-centre, the head wants to twist, roughly about it's centre of gravity. In the period of time between impact and separation, the friction between the club face and ball adds spin to the ball in the opposite direction to the rotation of the club head. this is much the same way that in a 2 gear system, if one gear is rotated, the other rotates in the opposite direction (thus the name gear effect.) 

The purpose of bulge is to modify the initial launch direction to compensate for the shape in ball flight caused by an off centre hit. For example on a heel strike the ball will move more left to right and as a result we would like the ball to start further left to compensate for this.

Roll directly effects loft in the vertical plane on the face. A ball hit higher on the face will spin less due to gear effect but will launch higher due to the roll, a ball hit lower on the face will spin more due to gear effect but will launch lower due to roll. These compensations lead to better results from mishits.


Any questions or comments are appreciated.