TaylorMade Stealth Fairway Wood

Wood Options & Stock Shafts

Technology

Players Distance Fairway Wood

The Stealth is the driver where TaylorMade finally ditched titanium for the face and used carbon fiber instead. That's the whole story here. The 60X Carbon Twist Face stacks 60 layers of carbon into a hitting surface that weighs about 44 grams, roughly 40 percent lighter than the titanium face it replaced. TaylorMade took that saved weight and moved it around the head to boost forgiveness and get the ball up in the air.

This is the standard Stealth, which sits in the middle of the 2022 lineup. Above it is the Stealth Plus with its sliding weight track for players who want to shape shots and knock down spin. Below it is the Stealth HD, built to fight a slice. The standard model splits the difference. It has a fixed 8-gram weight positioned low and back, so it launches high and stays stable on mishits without pushing you toward a draw you may not want.

Call it a players distance driver if you like, but the honest read is that it's a forgiving, easy-to-launch driver for the mid handicapper who still wants respectable ball speed. It won't spin down as low as the Plus, and it won't hook the ball back for you like the HD. It just gets out of the way and lets you hit it straight and high.

• Mid handicappers who launch the ball too low and want more carry without swinging harder.
• Players coming off an older titanium driver who want to feel what the lighter carbon face does to ball speed.
• Anyone who wants forgiveness and easy height but doesn't need the sliding weight and lower spin of the Stealth Plus.
• Golfers with a fairly neutral ball flight who don't want the built-in draw bias of the Stealth HD.
• People who value adjustability but will mostly set the loft sleeve once and leave it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between the Stealth and the Stealth Plus?

The Plus has a sliding weight track on the sole and a lower-spin, slightly more compact head aimed at better players who want to shape shots and cut spin. The standard Stealth swaps that for a fixed weight low and back, which raises launch and adds forgiveness. If you're a mid handicapper, the standard model is usually the better fit. If you're a low handicapper or high swing speed player chasing lower spin, look at the Plus.

Is the carbon face durable, or will it crack?

The 60X Carbon Twist Face has a nanotexture cover bonded over the carbon, and TaylorMade built it to handle normal play. Under regular use it holds up like any other driver face. As with any club, avoid hitting off mats with a worn-down surface or teeing off rocks, but you don't need to baby it.

Is the Stealth adjustable?

Yes, through the loft sleeve in the hosel. You can move the stated loft up or down about two degrees and change the face angle slightly along with it. There's no movable sole weight on the standard Stealth, though. The weight is fixed low and back to promote higher launch. If you want to move weight around, that's the Stealth Plus.

What lofts and shafts does it come in?

Standard lofts are 9, 10.5, and 12 degrees, and the sleeve lets you fine-tune from there. Stock shaft options covered a range of weights and flexes at release, so most swing speeds could get a reasonable fit off the rack. For the best result, get fit for loft and shaft rather than guessing, since the high-launch head can add spin if you over-loft it.

Is the Stealth forgiving enough for a higher handicapper?

It's one of the more forgiving heads in the 2022 lineup thanks to the low-back weighting and Twist Face, so it's a solid pick for a mid to higher handicapper who wants height and stability. If your bigger problem is a slice, the Stealth HD version adds a draw bias that will help more than the standard model.

Alternatives to the TaylorMade Stealth

Other players distance fairway wood models from different brands, closest to its model year.