Gear: TaylorMade Stealth 2, Stealth 2 Plus+, Stealth 2 HD drivers
Price: $599 (Stealth 2, Stealth 2 HD) with Fujikura Ventus Red shaft or Mitsubishi Diamana S+ shaft and Golf Pride Z-Grip Plus 2 grips. $629 (Stealth 2 Plus+) with Mitsubishi Kai’li Red shaft or Project X HZRDUS Black GEN4 shaft.
Specs: 60-layer carbon fiber face with carbon fiber crown, carbon fiber sole, moveable weight (Stealth 2 Plus+), adjustable hosel and slot in the sole. Lofts: 9, 10.5, 12 degrees for Stealth 2; 8, 9, 10.5 degrees for Stealth 2 Plus+; 9, 10.5, 12 degrees for Stealth 2 HD
Available: Feb. 17
Who They’re For: Golfers who want more forgiveness without sacrificing ball speed or distance.
The Skinny: By making the carbon fiber face even lighter and adding a carbon fiber sole, TaylorMade made the sweet spot in the three Stealth 2 drivers larger while significantly increasing the moment of inertia for enhanced stability.
The Deep Dive: The TaylorMade Stealth driver was one of the easiest clubs in golf to spot last season because its 60-layer carbon fiber face was red. For 2023, the Carlsbad, California-based company tweaked the carbon fiber face and added other technologies and features in the Stealth 2.
More carbon than ever
With a 26-gram carbon fiber face instead of a titanium face that would have weighed 43 grams, last season’s Stealth drivers had more weight behind the hitting area, which meant they could transfer energy into the shot more efficiently. It’s not that carbon fiber is springier than titanium – the weight savings and the redistribution of that weight made the difference in ball speed.
For 2023, TaylorMade designers shaved 3 grams of weight from the 60-layer carbon fiber face, bringing it down to 23 grams. Designers also gave the Stealth 2 drivers a six-layer carbon fiber crown and a nine-layer carbon fiber sole panel. For the first time , there is more carbon fiber in a TaylorMade driver than any other material. That means more weight can be shifted into places where it can enhance performance.
Improved face design
In addition to making the carbon fiber face lighter, TaylorMade designed the center to be slightly thicker and the perimeter much thinner. This variable-thickness design enlarges the ideal hitting area by 20 percent compared to the original Stealth driver.
Like the original Stealth driver’s face, the Stealth 2 drivers have Twist Face, a technology that debuted in 2018 in the M3 and M4 drivers. It bends the high-toe and low-heel areas back more so mis-hits in those areas produce straighter-flying shots.
Back weight
In the back of each Stealth 2 driver is a weight that is held in place by a carbon-reinforced composite ring. The weight varies by model, with the Stealth 2 Plus+ getting a 15-gram weight, the standard Stealth 2 having a 25-gram weight and the Stealth 2 HD being fitted with a 30-gram weight. Those weights help pull the center of gravity back, drive up the moment of inertia and make the clubs more stable on off-center impacts.
Stealth 2 Plus+
The Stealth 2 Plus+ model will be the most popular among professional players such as Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler who put the driver in play at the first PGA Tour event of 2023, the Sentry Tournament of Champions, as well as Rory McIlroy.
It has a 460-cubic-centimeter head and adjustable hosel that allows players and fitters to increase or decrease the loft, and the 15-gram sliding weight near the front of the sole makes a difference for elite golfers. Shifting it toward the toe creates a fade bias, while moving the weight toward the heel encourages a draw.
The red ring in the back of the sole that holds the weight is not visible in the address position. Looking down, players will see a glossy black carbon fiber crown and a matte black topline piece made from titanium.
The Stealth 2 Plus+ produces the least spin and lowest launch among the Stealth 2 drivers, yet its moment of inertia is 9 percent higher than last season’s Stealth Plus+, so it should be more stable.
Standard Stealth 2
The standard Stealth 2 is also a 460-cubic-centimeter club with an adjustable hosel and glossy black crown, but it does not have a sliding moveable weight. It does have a back weight that is 10 grams heavier than the rear weight in the Stealth 2 Plus+, so it has a higher moment of inertia and is more stable. The club also produces a slightly higher spin rate and launch angle. The small weight behind the leading edge in the sole allows fitters to adjust the club’s swing weight, and it also adds a slight draw bias.
Stealth 2 HD
The Stealth 2 HD is the most forgiving of the three Stealth 2 drivers because it has the heaviest weight in the back (30 grams), which gives it the highest moment of inertia. It produces the highest-flying shots and the most spin, and the Stealth 2 HD has the most prominent draw bias, which could make it a good option for golfers who tend to slice off the tee.
