TaylorMade M3 Driver Review

To understand the advancements of the new M3 Driver, let’s take a look at how the design and technology have evolved from the TaylorMade M1 Driver. First for the appearance – While the M1 had crown made of 6 layers of carbon mated with a white edge, the M3 reduces the weight using only 5 layers of carbon and switches to a slimmer silver edge. This color seems more reminiscent of the SLDR color scheme while also keeping the overall appearance similar to the M1.

The M1 also introduced a T-Track system of adjustable weights, which consisted of two separate tracks for front to back and side to side weight adjustments. The M3 now takes that a step further by fusing the two separate tracks into one Y-shaped track allowing for even more adjustment and customization to further refine the ball flight. Moving the two 11g weights along the unified and unrestricted Y-Track will allow a golfer to compensate for those areas where he or she wants to make improvements to the ball flight, spin, and trajectory. 

Front to back movements adjust the trajectory and side to side can adjust the  draw  and fade of the ball flight. The customizations allow consistent players to get the most out of their drives to compensate for those areas where they want to optimize ball flight on drives to get the most distance and accuracy. Specifically, by unifying the tracks into one Y-shaped track, TaylorMade has lowered the center of gravity (CG) of the M3 from that of the M1. The unified tracks mean that moving the weights all the way to the back results in a 36% difference from rear movements in the M1 and a 10% higher moment of inertia (MOI), all while keeping a low CG.

The Twist Face and Hammerhead slot are new features that are not available in the M1. The Twist Face technology is a result of the tireless efforts of TaylorMade to evaluate actual human drive tendencies, rather than those of robots. What they found is that when people strike the ball off-center, they tend to strike it either high on the toe or low on the heel. The traditional bulge (curve from heel to toe) and roll (curve from top to bottom) were not adequately correcting for these errors, so TaylorMade slightly curves the high toe section, while closing the low heel section to provide more loft in the former while providing less lift in the latter while producing more consistent side spin. The result is a much more forgiving face that accounts for natural human tendencies when striking a ball off-center and contributes to straighter and longer drives.

The Hammerhead slot is also a new feature for the M3 Driver. It complements the new Twist Face technology to maximize forgiveness and ball speed. Although the M1 did not have a comparable slot, the M2 did, and now the M3 improves on that by making the slot 22% wider. The M3 version is not only longer, it also breaks it into three section providing additional strength. This allows for reduced weight and a more flexible face, which means even better ball speed across a larger area. The face is now more flexible, with decreased spin on low-face strikes that all come together for longer and straighter drives.

The M3 driver features several innovative technologies that help improve distance and accuracy. The Twist Face technology helps correct common off-center hits, straightening out shots that would normally veer offline. The Hammerhead slot in the sole also boosts ball speeds across the face for more consistent distance.

Our testing showed the M3 driver to be extremely forgiving, with off-center hits still landing in the fairway. The Twist Face technology lived up to its billing, reducing dispersion by up to 11 yards compared to previous drivers.

The M3 produced distance that was comparable to our gamer driver, with carry distances around 245 yards on average. What was most impressive was the consistency, with the M3 delivering straight, penetrating shots that rolled out to over 265 yards total. We even hit a few drives over 300 yards on the course.

While the impact sound is a bit louder and sharper than ideal, the M3 has an overall solid, powerful feel at impact. The thin, flexible face provides excellent feedback on ball strikes. The club simply feels high-quality and confidence-inspiring.