In Detail
Taylormade M5 & M6 woods
Drivers are subject to many design limitations. One such example is around COR (coefficient of restitution), a measurement of the energy transfer between the collision of clubface and ball. The limit is 0.83, meaning no more than 83 per cent of the energy can be transferred from the club to the ball.
This measurement was difficult to test so the USGA and R&A introduced another measurement called characteristic time (CT), which measures the spring-like effect of the clubface in a more portable environment. It uses a pendulum test that measures the number of microseconds a metal ball is in contact with the face when swung against it.
Why is all this relevant? Well, on the new Taylormade M5 and M6 drivers, each clubhead is said to be made with a nonconforming clubface beyond legal COR limits. Every head is individually speed tested and then injected with a specific amount of tuning resin, via two ports in the heel and toe areas of the face, that reduces the COR. So, rather than there being great variation in how ‘hot’ Taylormade driver faces are, on M5 and M6 they have all been speed tuned to sit just inside the COR limit.
Twist Face continues from M3 and M4, providing more loft in the high-toe area and less loft in the low-heel region to produce more consistent spin where golfers commonly mishit. The crown on both has a ten per cent larger carbon fibre piece, which now has a matte finish to reduce glare.
The M5 driver offers more efficient adjustability via the new Inverse T-track, on which two 10g weights can be maneuvered to optimise spin and trajectory. It also allows weight to be positioned further back along the perimeter of the club, lowering the CG and aiding forgiveness.
Unique to the M6 driver is an Inertia Generator, which stores 46g of weight low and back for maximum forgiveness, all made possible thanks to 54 per cent more carbon fibre used compared with M4. It also comes in a D-type version with 20 yards of draw bias built in over the standard model.
Both the M5 and M6 fairway woods feature Twist Face for the first time, with 1.5° of loft added and taken away in the toe and heel respectively to reduce dispersion on off-centre hits by 15 yards. The M5 has a 65g moveable steel weight while the M6 is larger, flies higher and also comes in D-type. While the GAPR range covers the rescue category in M5, there is a new M6 rescue that also features Twist Face.