TaylorMade M4 Driver Review

TaylorMade M4 Driver

The TaylorMade M4 driver is a simple yet powerful driver with a few updated bits of technology to improve performance. Former M2 players will find the new M4 driver to be a familiar friend with minimal adjustability and the Geocoustic sole design. The newest tech features found in the M4 driver are the Hammerhead Slot and one of the hottest topics of the golf equipment world, the Twist Face. Both of these new features are designed to help golfers of all skill levels. We’ll see how well they really do.

TaylorMade M4 Driver 3

First Impressions

The TaylorMade M4 driver has a very similar profile at address to the M2 drivers from the previous two seasons. The M4’s shape is on the rounder side and a nice smooth profile. At address, the face doesn’t look overly deep and has a fairly moderate and safe profile. For a 460cc head, the M4 driver doesn’t look all too large or bulky.

If you’re a TaylorMade fan, you likely immediately caught the new color scheme of the M4 driver. After two seasons of white/black carbon contrasts TaylorMade went with a silver in place of white. The M3/M4 paint scheme has switched to a classy red, white, and blue which gives the club kind of a racing look. I like the overall look of the M4 a lot, but jury’s still out on whether or not I prefer the white or the silver. Both colors look pretty slick.

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How Does it Feel?

Much like the M3, the TaylorMade M4 driver has a very solid feel. Between the Hammerhead Slot reinforcing the face and the Geocoustic sole, TaylorMade made the M4’s face very stable and explosive while maintaining great response. Shots lower on the face have a good amount of heat and hold their speed as well. Of all the 2018 M drivers, the M4 has the most solid and firm feel.

There are a few points that are shared between the M4 and M3 regarding feel. To explain, I’ll steal these directly from my M3 driver review…

First, the Hammerhead Slot is designed to expand the sweet spot and make the M4 more forgiving across the face. Additionally, the Hammerhead Slot reinforces the M4’s face so TaylorMade is able to push the limits of the entire face’s thickness. The end result is a hotter and forgiving face.

With the M4 driver, I found heel and toe shots that would normally feel dead had spring to them and like they had a chance of survival. I’m not claiming everything is as wonderful as a shot off the sweet spot, but there is a noticeable improvement in the feel and performance quality of these misses. Between the Hammerhead and the Twist Face, the resulting feel is great.

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How Does it Sound?

The TaylorMade M4 driver has very firm and explosive sound that deserves a lot of credit. I’m not quite ready to claim I sound like Dustin Johnson or Jason Day hitting this thing, but there is a significant “crack” off the face. A good sound is a big focus for TaylorMade with the M4 driver. The previously mentioned Geocoustic sole is TaylorMade’s technique for controlling the sound (as well as CG) and feel. One of the other advantages is that the recessed sole makes the sweet spot larger, which in turn gives you a better sound over more of the face.

TaylorMade M4 Driver 5

On-Course Performance

Club Speed	Ball Speed	Launch Angle	Spin	Carry (Yds)	Total (Yds)
107.1	163.1	8.9º	1980	262.5	298.5

Fitting, fitting, fitting. With the limited adjustability in the TalyorMade M4 driver, it’s imperative to be properly fit for the right shaft and loft. Taking a look at my numbers above, they are certainly more than playable. Realistically, I don’t expect to play on too many tracks where conditions allow for 36 yards of roll. But that 1980 spin is nice! Ideally though, I’d get that launch up with a bit more club speed. With the M3 driver, a few clicks of the Y-Track weights can help, but with the M4 the right combination of components are crucial for optimizing the performance.

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Twist Face

A lot has been made of the Twist Face tech in the new TaylorMade M4 driver. Reading around the internet, everyone seems to have both favorable and non-favorable opinions on if this works. I’m happy to report I have an honest and unbiased opinion on it. Below is TaylorMade’s explanation of the Twist Face design:

Twist Face presents a revolutionary new face curvature with a corrective face angle on off-center hits, engineered to reduce side spin and deliver straighter shots. By providing more loft in the high-toe and less loft in the low-heel, this groundbreaking technology produces more consistent side spin in the areas where golfers commonly mis-hit.

If you have a slice or hook swing path, unfortunately, the Twist Face isn’t going to save you from slicing three fairways over. Trust me, I’ve seen it. Where the Twist Face makes a difference is when you have a squared face at impact but miss the center of the face. Those low heel or high toe shots traditionally die quick, painful deaths in all sorts of directions. TaylorMade’s Twist Face now gives those shots better launch and they maintain their ball speed better. This means the end result is a MUCH more serviceable shot than most other drivers. Did the Twist Face revolutionize my game? No, BUT it did make a very noticeable difference on mishit shots that made me a believer and kept me alive out there more than once.

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Final Thoughts

Like the M3 review, I’ll answer two important questions about the TaylorMade M4 driver. 1) Is this driver worth upgrading to from last year’s model? 2) Will it make me a better golfer? My guess is that the person asking these questions is looking to “upgrade” from their older M2 to an M4. In that case, I think the Hammerhead Slot and Twist Face in PROPERLY FITTED M4 will give you a subtle, yet useful, boost in performance. Whether or not it’s worth it will come down to your testing. If you’re a current “non-TaylorMade player” looking for a high-performance change and not a fan of a bunch of moving parts, then the M4 is definitely worth testing. If tons of adjustability is what you’re looking for, you’re better off with one of the M3 drivers. What I can say for certain is that I do believe TaylorMade made a driver that will serve all skill levels well in the M4 driver. As always, just make sure you work with a quality fitter to get the best results.