Taylormade Stealth Face Durability

[albvert]

Now that the Stealth has been out for a few weeks, how has the face been holding up for everyone? I just got back from a round and noticed a small gash on the face. I’m wondering if this is going to be the norm moving forward. 

[lefthack]

F1 chassis are carbon and take 50+ g, so unless they got cheap with it, my guess is the face will hold up. But I'm no expert. 

[albvert]

19 minutes ago, lefthack said:

F1 chassis are carbon and take 50+ g, so unless they got cheap with it, my guess is the face will hold up. But I'm no expert. 

I think it’s the coating that they put on top of the carbon, so I’m assuming that’ll wear down 

[blackngold_blood]

2 hours ago, albvert said:

I think it’s the coating that they put on top of the carbon, so I’m assuming that’ll wear down 

It’s a similar coating to what is inside of cement trucks so durability should be high.  It looks to me that something may have been on your ball. 

[Jeff58]

While CF structures can be superb at dealing with bending forces, the reason you don’t (and won’t) see CF faces on irons, and shouldn’t on FW’s and hybrids, is that they’re very poor dealing with point impacts.

 

A typical driver ball strike creates more than 2000 lbs of force. If you distribute that over the size and hardness of a large grain of sand for instance, you will get point dislocations, like the image above appears to be.

 

The lesson, which TM might have been good to share, is to check your ball and the club face for contamination before every shot.

[rdookeran]

I'm a retired Orthotic/Prosthetic Technician (turned clubmaker), and have worked with carbon fibre for over 25 years. The one thing I can say with certainty is moisture is the Achilles's Heel with carbon fibre. Any micro abrasions will invite moisture into the lamination matrix and will eventually start to delaminate over time. Hopefully, this will not be a problem for TaylorMade, but I will take a pass for now.

[albvert]

33 minutes ago, Jeff58 said:

While CF structures can be superb at dealing with bending forces, the reason you don’t (and won’t) see CF faces on irons, and shouldn’t on FW’s and hybrids, is that they’re very poor dealing with point impacts.

 

A typical driver ball strike creates more than 2000 lbs of force. If you distribute that over the size and hardness of a large grain of sand for instance, you will get point dislocations, like the image above appears to be.

 

The lesson, which TM might have been good to share, is to check your ball and the club face for contamination before every shot.

I don’t have any concerns about it cracking or breaking, I’m just worried about the coating deteriorating significantly. Only time will tell, but I’ll make sure to clean my ball before from now on lol 

[Manny2288]

On 2/20/2022 at 5:00 PM, albvert said:

Now that the Stealth has been out for a few weeks, how has the face been holding up for everyone? I just got back from a round and noticed a small gash on the face. I’m wondering if this is going to be the norm moving forward. 

So I have now played 3 rounds with it and I make sure to clean my ball before teeing it up and no issues with the face. One thing I really like is the feel off the face compared to past drivers. It’s much softer yet the ball carries well with lots of roll.

[Goldenhawk]

I clean the golf ball before hitting any driver shot and putt.  Been doing it for years because my OCD hates scratches on the faces of drivers and putters.  Also, debris and junk on the ball affects ball flight and distance more than one would think.  I have four rounds and many range session with my Stealth Plus.  No marks on the face and it seems to be holding up well.  I do have a scratch on the toe of the driver from an errant swing at the range.

[Mike_Honcho]

i have beat the s*** out of my stealth.  no issues so far.

[markheardjr]

I have hit it off the deck a few times and noticed minor indentations into the thick ring of coating around the bottom edge.

 

Are you sure that that mark on your face is actually a little divot? It kinda looks like a dead gnat to me.

[pccasstpro]

A friend of mine that is a Tech Rep for his local rep had 3 Stealths seam crack at a golf show while they were demoing them. They had a 45-60 minute wait at one point during the demo day.  I would be interested to know for warranty or repair if TM will go the "Safelite Autoglass route" and if a face fails or bond cracks replace the face like a car windshield? From the non-bonded head sample the reps have, it looks very similar to that process. 

[bazinky]

planned obsolescence

[ˌpland ˌäbsəˈlesəns]

 

NOUN

1. a policy of producing consumer goods that rapidly become obsolete and so require replacing, achieved by frequent changes in design, termination of the supply of spare parts, and the use of nondurable materials.

    

   I'm always suspicious of these kinds of design changes, especially where there are limitations (such as drivers have with respect to COR, etc ...) on what you can do to try and improve a new version.  

[03trdblack]

Not specifically around durability but I did have an interesting thought about the coating when I took my Stealth+ out in my last round.  When I'm inside my house and it's warm, the coating almost has a sticky texture to it.  Taylormade stated that they applied this coating to help control the spin on the driver, especially when moisture is introduced.  When I went out to play last weekend, it was cold (around 40* F) and the face coating was no longer sticky but very, very hard and slick feeling.  It almost had the slickness feeling of having a coat of car wax applied to paint.

 

This makes sense with how polyurethanes change in different temperatures/moisture conditions but now I'm wondering what the performance difference will be if I take it out in the blazing heat of Summer vs. the cold of Winter?  Does the slicker face in cold weather cause different spin characteristics?  You could easily change a driver's performance by applying vaseline or chapstick to the face of a metal driver so would this be similar to that, albeit to a lesser extent?

 

The thoughts that go through my head sometimes....

[mikewilliams29]

30 minutes ago, pccasstpro said:

A friend of mine that is a Tech Rep for his local rep had 3 Stealths seam crack at a golf show while they were demoing them. They had a 45-60 minute wait at one point during the demo day.  I would be interested to know for warranty or repair if TM will go the "Safelite Autoglass route" and if a face fails or bond cracks replace the face like a car windshield? From the non-bonded head sample the reps have, it looks very similar to that process. 

wow that is concerning. Was it just the drivers or any other woods?

[pccasstpro]

1 minute ago, mikewilliams29 said:

wow that is concerning. Was it just the drivers or any other woods?

I would assume drivers, as they were on LM's and that is what most people want to hit at a demo session. Plus the FW's do not have the carbon face.   But also, you have to remember the skill level of the player needs to come into question. If you have a guy who has had a few drinks at the 19th hole during the show, or has not picked up a club in the past 3 months, or is even a novice to the game this will affect impact on that face and bonding seams. 

 

 

[phizzy30]

I've had my concerns as well even before I decided to take the plunge.  TM's warranty is pretty good so if the face becomes compromised in any way that renders it defective, the warranty should cover it.  I will say that I'm 1/2 in terms of getting my past TM drivers covered under warranty so take that with a grain of salt, folks. 

Edited March 1, 2022 by phizzy30

[btyh]

Moisture prevention is a great point seeing the silicone like seal around the edge. Did anyone dig there finger in the stealths face like you would a prov1 or soft cover ball? You can see a indented line from your fingernail. So I'd imagine if you hit torn up or dirty range balls your going to cut that face coating. Otherwise I wouldn't expect any issues if you take care of your equipment.

[avguy]

This thead kinda gives me the OCD Creeps about the durability and qualities of the whole "Carbon" thingy with Taylormade.

I doubt I would ever play such a Driver...

 

Others have made carbon references above - I finally unloaded a high end Aluminum Mtn. Bike over a year ago for a nice carbon frame hardtail, and also got carbon in a drop bars gravel/CX bike.  At first, I was concerned the frames would be destroyed by all the sharp rocks that bounce off the undersides, but it actually holds up as well as aluminum surfaces.

 

The carbon bikes are much lighter.  I didn't get the more pricey carbon wheelsets in either but my seatposts, stems, and bars are all full carbon in each with some carbon cranks on the Niner Air 9 RDO HT Mtn.  All have been quite durable!

[iACE13]

Agreed with most.. Water intrusion is scary for CF

[Warrior42111]

Materials Engineer here: One as others have said water /any contamination is the issue with CF. Got to wipe down after every shot. Also CF is a very good material performance wise, as it wears, there usually are blemishes that form, it has zero effect on playability, but those with OCD might not like that

[Billfitz]

Ask again a year from now.

[Manny2288]

OK, marring the face of my Stealth was a concern but after 6 rounds, no issues at all but I am careful, especially at the range where they could be sandy at least in FL.

 

[TKS]

It's the hard plastic tees that can pox the polyurethane covered face. 

[Bdck]

What a month of use at 205-210 ball speed looks like

[phizzy30]

12 hours ago, Bdck said:

What a month of use at 205-210 ball speed looks like

Holy s*** balls.  The face toe side is starting to pop out.  Better get in touch with TM's customer service.  They'll probably tell you to quit swinging so damn hard, lol. 

Edited June 18, 2022 by phizzy30

[Bdck]

15 minutes ago, phizzy30 said:

Holy s*** balls.  The face toe side is starting to pop out.  Better get in touch with TM's customer service.  They'll probably tell you to quit swinging so damn hard, lol. 

The bigger issue is the golf ball sized hole in the middle

[phizzy30]

25 minutes ago, Bdck said:

The bigger issue is the golf ball sized hole in the middle

I noticed earlier but wasn't quite sure what that was.  You need to stop swinging so hard bro, lol. 

[ignitewvu]

12 hours ago, Bdck said:

The bigger issue is the golf ball sized hole in the middle

 

On the bright side, I think your contact pattern is pretty damn good......I do think they are going to have to refine how they attach the carbon face to the frame, I don't think epoxy is the answer.  Seen more than a few separated but I can say I love my Stealth +.  It is flat out performing for me.

Edited June 19, 2022 by ignitewvu

[Bdck]

10 hours ago, ignitewvu said:

 

On the bright side, I think your contact pattern is pretty damn good......I do think they are going to have to refine how they attach the carbon face to the frame, I don't think epoxy is the answer.  Seen more than a few separated but I can say I love my Stealth +.  It is flat out performing for me.

I get 500 rpm less spin on center strikes with it than I did with my tsi4.  Give me something that low spin and I won't be able to say no.  It lets me play aggressive in the wind and I get to play higher spinning balls (prov1x) which fit perfectly down my bag with old school Mizuno blades shafted with x7's.