TaylorMade M1 fairway wood review

The Golf Monthly TaylorMade M1 fairway wood review, a club that features the same carbon crown as the M1 driver and two sliding weights to change shot shape

The M1 fairway wood is TaylorMade’s first multi-material fairway, featuring the same carbon composite section on the crown as the M1 driver.

Where the R15 fairway wood had one 25g sliding weight, the M1 fairway wood has two sliding weights, giving golfers the option of splitting the two weights to the perimeter to raise forgiveness.

While we didn’t have access to a launch monitor during our brief testing period at the launch event, using a 240-yard post (confirmed with a laser) for reference was a decent starting point to assess the M1 fairway’s performance.

Down at address, the M1 fairway sits squarely behind the ball with the slight kink where the titanium meets the carbon composite actually helping to position the ball centrally in the face.

My usual carry from the tee with a fairway wood is around 245 yards and the M1 equaled this and on some particularly well-stuck shots, flew well past this. While it was difficult to determine exact carry and total distances, what was clear was that the M1 is up there with the best on the market in terms of distance.

The feel off the face is one that is both solid and powerful, just like the driver. While the sound may not be quite and head-turning, the forgiveness levels were very impressive, with slight mishits holding their line admirably and losing minimal yardage.

The shape of the face makes it sit flush to the turf on fairway shots and the low CG helps the ball get up in the air with relative ease. One minor qualm is the amount of dirt that gathers in the front track, requiring the user to regularly pick out pieces of dirt with a tee before returning it inside the headcover.

All in all, the M1 fairway’s performance was just as impressive as the driver and should be place considerably high on your test list.

The M1 fairway wood is available in three lofts: 3 – 15°, 3HL (RH only) – 17° and 5 – 19°. All will have the Fujikura Pro 70 shaft in X, S, R and M flexes with an RRP of £249.