TaylorMade Stealth 2 HD Fairway Review

TaylorMade Stealth 2 HD Fairway Review

TaylorMade has forever been known for producing fairway woods that impress and the new trio of models for 2023 follow suit. The TaylorMade Stealth 2 is the latest range on offer with a choice of three heads to cater for golfers of all levels. There is the standard Stealth 2 model, the Stealth 2 Plus which is a more compact, adjustable head aimed for the better player as well as the Stealth 2 HD - the most forgiving and larger footprint of the three models.

WATCH: Gear Of The Week show discusses the new TaylorMade Stealth 2, Cobra Aerojet and Ping G430 

Visually TaylorMade hasn't veered too far from the first generation Stealth fairways. As the name ‘Stealth’ these models come in a mixture of gloss and satin black tones across the head with flashes of red to add to the shelf appeal. TaylorMade has opted for a gloss finish on the crown this year as opposed to the matte finish we saw in the first generation, but a satin black top line in front of the gloss crown provides a subtle alignment aid along with the ‘T Bug’ TaylorMade alignment stamp and white strip first seen on the top of the face of the original Stealth models. We think aesthetically the Stealth 2 HD is one of the best TaylorMade fairway woods we have seen.

TaylorMade has designed the Stealth 2 HD fairway with a larger, low-profile sole to help this club sit flush to the ground, visually inspiring confidence to its user. This head design also enhances the ability to promote added launch and draw bias, which we found to be very effective during testing. Even when I thought I was going to hit a high right shot with this club, it rarely fell more than 10 yards right of target, which really gave me confidence as I felt I was eliminating the two-way miss. TaylorMade has continued to use its V Steel Sole Design on the Stealth 2 HD fairway, which provides superb turf interaction and performed exceptionally well out of lies from the fairway, the rough and even off the tee. Due to the characteristics of the HD fairway the ball flew high and jumped out of some nasty lies very well on the golf course, making it extremely versatile.

Thanks to the Thru-Slot Speed Pocket TaylorMade has incorporated into the Stealth 2 fairway family, ball speeds remained exceptionally consistent even on miss-hits which again only bred confidence. The Stealth 2 HD fairway felt extremely powerful off the face and produced the same thumping sound synonymous with TaylorMade fairway woods. 

We tested the Stealth 2 HD inside on a Foresight Sports GCQuad Launch Monitor using Titleist Pro V1x golf balls to also gain some club and ball data in neutral conditions. The Stealth 2 HD produced consistent but high spin numbers, 4332 rpm on average (revolutions per minute), which wasn't necessarily optimised for my swing speed but will help slower swinging golfers keep the ball in the air and increase carry. The Fujikura Speeder NX is a very good new stock shaft for the Stealth 2 fairway family and the Golf Pride Z-Grip Plus2 grip comes in black and red to nicely match the color scheme of the rest of the club.

The fact the Stealth 2 HD comes fitted at 16° is ideal for those looking to recreate the high draw ball flight produced by TaylorMade staff player Rory McIlroy, but a bonded head does restrict any adjustability. For golfers looking for that customization, the Stealth 2 Plus fairway allows you to change loft and lie to produce a desired ball flight. Overall the Stealth 2 HD proves to be very stable and reliable making it one of the most forgiving fairway woods we have tested.

Retailing at £299 the TaylorMade Stealth 2 HD is towards the more premium end of the market, however its overall performance means it should be seriously considered if you’re in need of a forgiving fairway wood replacement. The Stealth 2 fairway wood family will go to retail on 17th February 2023.

If you opt to add the Stealth 2 HD to your bag, take a look at our TaylorMade voucher codes.