TaylorMade M6 Driver Review

TaylorMade’s M6 driver features an Aerodynamic Carbon Sole Design with ‘Inertia Generator’ and a speed injected twist face to combine for maximum speed and forgiveness  

TaylorMade’s new M6 golf driver is built with the aim to create a face as close to the legal limit of speed as possible, but with more forgiveness than the brand’s new TaylorMade M5 driver.

The technology, named ‘speed injected twist-face’, makes the production of driver faces more precise, and TaylorMade believe it will place every one of their M6 driver faces on the edge of the COR (coefficient of restitution) limit.

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“Speed injected for maximum forgiveness” said Brian Bazzel, Vice President of Product Creation at TaylorMade, about the new M6 driver. “Every bit as speed injected as the M5, but with extra forgiveness.”

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TaylorMade are revolutionising the process of creating driver faces for the M5 and M6 by starting above the legal limit and dialing it back by injecting resin in to two ‘tuning slots’ in the driver face. According to the brand, this process will ensure every driver is on the limit thanks to a proprietary algorithm which calculates the right amount of resin to use for every face.

What is speed injected twist face? 

Why is that important? Even though it’s been 20 years since the driver face flex was limited by the games ruling bodies to stop how far golfers hit the ball, it has still been impossible to produce drivers which consistently hit that limit of 0.830 COR. As a result, the engineers and club factories which produce our drivers instead work within tolerances, and have to dial back face flex so all drives produced are within the rules.

What that means is that drivers across the board have a different level of ‘hotness’, and while it ensures no ‘hot’ drivers go on to the illegal side, it also means many golfers end up playing with drivers which aren’t as close to the limit as they could be, or they believe them to be. The ‘hottest’ drivers are hand picked for tour players, leaving TaylorMade estimating around 70% of retail drivers are outside the ‘hot range’ usually used by pros.

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The fact is that TaylorMade reckon production methods have made picking the hottest driver for club golfers a lottery. Until now.

For 2019 they’re removing the luck element and creating a level playing field. And they’re able to do it thanks to new speed injected TwistFace technology, which TaylorMade say will position every driver face on the edge of the rules.

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TaylorMade M6 Review: TG Verdict

Simon was the biggest fan of the M6’s speed- injected face tech, posting an average ball speed a single mph behind his fastest (Flash Sub Zero and Ping G410) which could easily be switched on a different day’s testing. We’re not here to convince you any particular driver is best; our job is much more about showing golfers how models compare.

We’ve tested the M6 on several occasions and each time our GC Quad data has supported it being among the top two or three drivers (two-three yards of carry between all three) for across the board forgiveness, ball speed and carry, without chasing low spin at all costs. This year, because the leading models are so closely matched, we feel more than ever the choice of which driver to buy boils down to personal preference, how the driver looks at address and the fitting you get. And for us, the M6 inspired tons of confidence.

Watch: How it works TaylorMade M6 driver

TaylorMade M6 Driver: What you need to know

Like the M5, each new TaylorMade M6 driver head is individually speed tested and injected with tuning resin to optimize COR across the entire face and deliver maximum ball speed and distance. The heel and toe ports in the driver face have allowed TaylorMade to maximize speed across the entire face in every driver created, delivering to each golfer a boundary-pushing fast & hot driver head.

The M6 also features Twist Face technology, which, like last year’s M3 & M4 drivers and this year’s M5 driver, provides more loft in the high toe and less loft in the low-heel to produce more consistent spin where golfers commonly mis-hit. The face of the M6 driver is also slightly taller (1mm) than the M5.

“Injected Twist Face delivers a hot, yet accurate performance package in the new M6 driver,” said Brian Bazzel, Vice President Product Creation.

How does M6 compare to other leading drivers?

“When you add optimised CG and MOI through the use of a full carbon crown and sole, the result is a complete driver that delivers on all fronts.

“We’ve softened Twist Face a little, which was at the request of Tiger Woods. Where M3 and M4 needed a 2° open face angle to look square, M5 and M6 are much more like 1 – 1.5°, we’ve also tweaked the top edge so it looks a little straighter too.”

What is Twist Face? | Does Twist Face actually work?

In addition to the changes in the face, there’s 54% more carbon fiber than the previous M4 model which means 46g of weight (a quarter of the head weight) is located low and deep, creating what TaylorMade like to call the Inertia Generator. The face is slightly deeper with a smooth and fast crown, giving a more aerodynamic shape to help every golfer break their speed potential.

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There’s also a more flexible Hammerhead sole slot which helps expands the sweetspot, preserving more ball speed on off centre hits.

An M6 D-Type driver (9° / 10.5° / 12° with a 45g Evenflow Max Carry shaft) is also available, which has more draw bias and a lighter overall weight to help golfers stay away from the right side of the golf course.

Watch: TaylorMade M5 vs M6 drivers

TaylorMade M6 Driver: Key Technology

Speed Injected Twist Face – a new Twist on Twist Face

There are four key features to the design of Speed Injected Twist Face that allow TaylorMade to maximise ballspeed;

1. Ultra-thin Titanium face with redesigned Inverted Cone Technology (ICT)
2. Reengineered, more-flexible Hammerhead 2.0 slot
3. Internal support foam with variable amounts of injected resin.
4. A proprietary algorithm to tune each head, which is inspected, measured and then tuned for maximum speed and to ensure conformity.

Watch: 2019 Driver Test – M6 vs Flash vs G410 vs F9

The drivers have been designed with a thinner, more flexible face, in fact, initially designed above the legal limit before going through the tuning process, a process in which resin is injected to ensure maximum speed for each head. The injection process utilises two new tuning ports on the face of the driver (both M5 & M6 models) and a proprietary algorithm to ensure the appropriate amount of resin is used, systematically dialing in the speed for each driver face.

A significant benefit of the thinner, faster face design is that it provides the M5 and M6 drivers with faster off-center COR, effectively increasing forgiveness. The new face design is optimised with up to a 20% reduction in thickness that results in a 66% larger sweetspot in the M5 drivers over the M3 and more than 100% larger than the original M1 in 2015.

Aerodynamic Carbon Sole Design with ‘Inertia Generator’

Featuring the same 6-layer carbon composite crown as the M5 driver, the 2019 M6
drivers adds a complete carbon fiber sole, allowing for significantly more discretionary weight to be used elsewhere in the clubhead – as much as 54% more than its predecessor, the M4. With the weight savings, engineers were able to create a sleek, aerodynamic shape inclusive of the new ‘inertia generator.’ The inertia generator houses the additional discretionary weight extremely low and back for maximum forgiveness while lowering the CG compared to previous models.

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TaylorMade M6 D-Type Driver

The M6 D-Type driver brings the same performance features found in the M6 driver into a draw-biased, easy-to-launch package. TaylorMade engineers have utilised a combination of technologies to create a significant amount of draw bias to help golfers prevent a right miss.

The key feature is the optical engineering that creates a high-contrast topline masking configured to make the face angle appear more open than the actual face angle, resulting in the golfer returning a more closed face at impact. In addition, the centre of gravity is moved slightly toward the heel to further aid in delivering a square clubface to the golf ball. The combination of these features provides the M6 D-Type driver up to 20 yards more draw bias than the standard M6 driver.

TaylorMade M6 Driver

• RRP: £449
• Lofts: 9° / 10.5° / 12°
• Stock shafts: Fujikura Atmos Black 6  / Fujikura Atmos Orange
• Adjustable hosel: Yes
• How much loft change: +/- 2°

TaylorMade M6 D-Type driver

• Lofts: 9° / 10.5° / 12°
• Stock shaft: Project X Evenflow Max Carry 45
• Adjustable hosel: Yes
• How much loft change: +/-2°