TAYLORMADE STEALTH HD IRONS: An ‘unconventional’ club to help golfers develop
TaylorMade Golf have announced the all-new Stealth HD irons which has been labelled as a ‘unconventional approach’ to helping developing golfers find success in the game.
The original Stealth iron featuring Cap Back design for more forgiveness excelled at bringing golfers everywhere better shots more often and will continue as the brand’s marquee game improvement iron. With the addition of Stealth HD, the company welcomes a wider breadth of golfers to Team TaylorMade with a more forgiving, easy-to-launch max game improvement option.
What’s new?
Taking design inspiration from the data, Stealth HD was engineered to deliver performance where this player needs it most. An ultra-low profile head shape in the long irons drives CG lower to help get the ball airborne with ease – a critical component for defining success among this player set. Progressive head sizes, meaning that each club is uniquely shaped and gets incrementally larger from 5-iron through pitching wedge, help independently optimise the performance of each iron.
An increased sole radius and innovative step down design along the bottom of the club round out the all-new shape. Testing confirmed that increasing the sole arc from heel to toe led to more shots high on the face, which translates to higher launch and further helps this golfer get the ball airborne. The step down sole is designed to boost playability by reducing the amount of surface area that contacts the turf.
An asymmetric draw-bias face was incorporated in direct response to golfer interviews, as players within this demographic associated “successful shots” with any result that flew straight or had a draw shape. High COR and fast ball speeds are an added benefit of the new face construction.
In addition, TaylorMade increased loft throughout the Stealth HD iron set to correspond with findings from a proprietary simulation tool – which factors in relevant design variables to optimise carry distance, launch angle and spin at slow to moderate swing speeds.
Matt Bovee, TaylorMadeDirector of Product Creation Irons, said: “In working with players in this category, we exhausted all optimisation tools to determine the ideal loft for each iron in the set. Incorporating higher lofts was done purposefully and with intent.
“Our goal was to provide as much launch and spin as possible without sacrificing distance, and what we found was this design strategy often led to increased carry distance for the developing golfer when compared to traditional super game improvement irons with stronger lofts. By combining this totally unique construction with our existing technologies, we created a high launching, easy-to-hit iron with surprisingly exceptional feel.”
Price and availability
Stealth HD irons will be available for preorder on 10 January and at retail shops on 17 February 2023.
Stealth HD irons have an RRP per iron of £129 / €170 for steel and £143 / €190 for graphite. Clubs will be available from 5-PW with AW, SW and LW (RH Only) available.
