TaylorMade

What it does: TaylorMade engineers believe carbon composite’s lightweight benefits should not be limited to the body. Why not use the material for the face – the heaviest part of the clubhead? The Stealth’s composite face is 40 percent lighter than a titanium face yet 20 percent larger than TaylorMade driver faces from just two years ago. The saved weight is redistributed in three distinct ways: a heel-weighted draw version; a low-spin model with a sliding weight; and a rear-weighted, high-forgiveness version.

Why we like it: The reason composite-face drivers never caught on is that they performed – and sounded – like the headcover was on. The red-painted cap gets this one noticed, but the underlayers on the 60-ply carbon-composite face are arranged to form a large sweet spot. It’s just like a variable-thickness-face titanium driver, only more consistently precise for higher ball speeds across the face. The face’s lighter weight means more mass in the body, and that relationship can deliver speed into the ball at impact. How much? So much that TaylorMade believes titanium as a face material is a thing of the past.

lofts 8, 9, 10.5 (stealth plus); 9, 10.5, 12 (stealth/stealth hd); adjustable