Taylormade Stealth Vs. Taylormade SIM2 Fairway Wood Comparison Overview
Having a good fairway wood in your bag will prepare you for the unexpected. While you may not need a fairway wood on every hole, you will be happy to have one if you should find yourself 200+ yards out or bogged down in the rough.
There are a lot of quality fairway woods on the market so we wanted to take two of them and test them against each other. We chose a couple of models from Taylormade for this particular test. Let’s get started!
Taylormade Stealth Fairway Wood Overview
The new Stealth models hit shelves this year and they have already turned heads at the pro and amateur level.
The Taylormade Stealth fairway wood in particular uses a unique combination of new and old features. For example, the V-steel sole panel is still there; but it is paired with a new carbon fiber crown meant to save weight and lower the CG.
The Twist Face architecture is also still present; but with an upgraded C300 steel face material. And of course, like any good Taylormade club, we have the Speed Pocket. One thing to note is that the Taylormade Stealth wood features a 190CC head while the SIM2 fairway wood is more compact.
The Taylormade Stealth fairway wood also lacks an adjustable hosel. Still, we were impressed with the ease of use of the Stealth and it’s overall distance.
Taylormade SIM2 Fairway Wood Overview
The SIM2 fairway wood features a smaller, more workable 170CC head.
Our lower handicap testers really liked this feature as it made these woods more viable from a variety of distances. The SIM2 fairway woods feature the same V-steel panel which helps pull the club down and promotes better launch; but the SIM2 has a titanium face material.
In comparison to the Taylormade Stealth, the SIM2 fairway wood had more of a dull, thud of a sound on impact as opposed to the quick, crisp click you get from the Stealth. It was also harder for our higher handicap testers to break 200 yards with the SIM2 3-wood than with the Stealth 3-wood.
It was clear that the Taylormade Stealth fairway woods played longer in general. However, both the Stealth and the SIM2 fairway woods were easy to swing and produced great launch. The SIM2 was more workable but the Taylormade Stealth was longer and more forgiving overall.
Taylormade Stealth Fairway
In 20 words or less
The TaylorMade Stealth is possibly one of the easiest and most forgiving fairway woods we have ever hit.
TaylorMade SIM2 Fairway
In 20 Words Or Less
The ultimate player’s fairway wood, small sized head gives you the ability to shape the ball with ease.
TaylorMade Stealth Fairway – First Impressions
The name gives it away on the club, at address position this thing looks mean. We all felt extremely comfortable when putting the club behind the ball. The new laser alignment clearly is working.
We tested it from many different lies, and we are safe to say the V Steel technology is incredible, on almost every shot the club just slides through any lie. The V Steel plus TwistFace is a game changer for us. The combination of these two features makes it very hard to miss a fairway.
We definitely saw some extra ball speed and distance compared to previous models from TaylorMade.
We just didn’t enjoy that it wasn’t adjustable.
TaylorMade Stealth Fairway Family
TaylorMade has an additional model to this range called the Stealth Plus, this features their Titanium model. It is the lower spinning option between the two heads.
Most of the features are the same compared to the Stealth model.
The V Steel on the sole has a 80g tungsten weight, this gives you forgiveness while improving turf interaction and versatility.
The face of the fairway is made from titanium, this allows TaylorMade to make the face extremely thin for extra ball speed and distance, and we love that it is adjustable, it has a +-2 degree loft sleeve, allowing you to get really dialed in.
TaylorMade SIM2 First Impressions
The first thing we noticed about this model is the size of the head, compared to the SIM the 170cc makes the SIM2 a much smaller looking club, definitely something to consider when purchasing the club.
Maybe it’s because of the more compacted head, but my word did we see some crazy ball speeds. The Zatech Titanium and precise weighing really complement each other here, these ball speeds were some of the fastest we have ever seen.
The V Steel and Speed Pocket worked like a charm, unbelievable turf interaction on every shot, the club just slid through the turf with ease, and all low struck shots kept their ball speeds up.
TwistFace is remarkable, shots struck towards the heel and toe, came out much straighter and further than we would expect with any other club.
The adjustability allowed us to get really dialed.
TaylorMade SIM2 Fairway Family
The TaylorMade SIM2 has two other models in its range.
The SIM2 Max is going to be your more forgiving option compared to the SIM2, it has all the same technology as the SIM2 except it has a C300 steel head and is none adjustable. It is more forgiving with higher launch, so it will be aimed more towards the mid to high handicap player.
The third model is the SIM2 Max D, exactly the same features as the SIM2 Max, however the weight is placed towards the heel, this gives it a slight draw bias, handy for those of you that struggle with a fade.
TaylorMade Stealth Fairway Selling Points
- It has TwistFace for extra accuracy
- V Steel helps with turf interaction
- Sets up nicely behind the ball
- Extremely long and forgiving
TaylorMade SIM2 Fairway Selling Points
- V Steel helps with turf interaction
- Speed Pocket keeps ball speed up on low struck shots
- Adjustable loft sleeve
- TwistFace helps with forgiveness and distance
Who is the Taylormade Stealth Fairway for?
If you are a TaylorMade fan the latest Stealth Fairway won’t let you down. We found this model would suit more of the mid to high handicap players, as it launches and spins slightly more than the Stealth Plus.
It is extremely easy to launch and is very forgiving.
The TwistFace and V Steel technology is great for anyone that struggles with their strike and struggles when they are lying in tough situations, the Stealth fairway slides through the turf with ease.
However, if you do like to have some sort of adjustability in your clubs, we would suggest looking at the Stealth Plus model.