TaylorMade Stealth Rescue Review

TaylorMade Stealth Rescue Review

TaylorMade Stealth is one of the most talked about product lines for years. In particular, the new TaylorMade Stealth Driver, with its distinctive red carbon face; drawing down on titanium and beginning TaylorMade’s Carbonwood era.

Tune down the driver noise for a moment. Coming in under the radar, with less noise and more stealth, is a new family of fairway woods and hybrids with their own place in the Carbonwood story. The new Stealth Plus Rescue and Stealth Rescue replace the TaylorMade Sim2 Rescue and the Sim2 Max Rescue.

In this review of the TaylorMade Stealth Rescue, we check out TaylorMade’s latest hybrid release and what’s new in this carbon-inspired long iron replacement.

All the tried and tested TaylorMade hybrid technology is here again, from the V Steel sole to Twist Face and the Speed Pocket. What’s different is a new carbon crown construction. The lighter head lets engineers shift seven grams of weight lower in the head for a better CG (centre of gravity), easy launch and optimal forgiveness.

At address, Stealth Rescue has wow factor. The red black colour story runs from the Lamkin Crossline grip through a Fujikura Ventus shaft to its sleek compact head. It’ll impress your golf buddies on the weekend and the headcover will look smart in any bag.

As with all the best hybrids, golfers want something easier to hit than a 2 or 3 iron and which handles bad lies and rough. I tested this club around The Hunting Course at Slaley Hall, a former European Tour venue in Northumberland and on a TrackMan at Brancepeth Castle Golf Club.

The sleek top line and carbon head do inspire confidence at address which for most golfers leads to a freer swing. I found the Stealth Rescue easy to hit with a firmer feel off the high strength C300 steel face, great acoustics at impact and a stable penetrating trajectory.

It dampened down my tendency to miss left and overdraw shots. Shots came in from a good height with plenty of control into greens. Stealth Rescue performed well on chip putts and chipping from mown aprons. Indoors on TrackMan, results were good compared to other leading brand hybrids but Stealth Rescue came in around five yards shorter than the longest hybrid on test with a total average distance of 220 yards.

With models available in lofts from 19ׄ° to 31ׄ°, the premium is more on accuracy than distance with the 19ׄ° test club, compared to its sibling Stealth Plus, which is available in 17° to 22° and adjustable by 1.5 degrees for better players that like to change set-up.

Average ball speed was ok at 138.6 mph. Some of the higher ball speeds were compromised by some shots coming in 135.6 mph, suggesting that if you don’t absolutely middle it; this hybrid isn’t as forgiving as you’d like. Our test data bore that out, with higher ball speeds and better impacts producing 230 yard shots compared to 210 to 216 yards on poorer contacts at lower speeds.

That said, the Fujikura Ventus stock shaft is not one I’d likely be fit into, which could explain why the Stealth Rescue didn’t give me the distance control and consistency I’d expect. Good news is that there are several custom shaft options available at no additional cost.

The Stealth Rescue retails at RRP £229 and comes in a choice of five lofts: 3/19°, 4/22°, 5/25°, 6/28° and 7/31°. There is also a women’s Stealth Rescue available with the Aldila Ascent shaft and Lamkin Sonar grip (38g). Loft offerings include 4/23°, 5/26°, 6/28° and 7/31°.

If you choose to buy the Stealth Rescue, check out our helpful TaylorMade promo codes.