TaylorMade Golf – A year of domination for ‘Loft Up’ with the SLDR Driver

July 12, 2014 – TaylorMade Golf has returned to Scotland for the 2014 Scottish Open where the journey initially begun last year for the most revolutionary, technically advanced and most successful driver in the history of the company: the SLDR.

Following the SLDR 1st Birthday celebration this week, TaylorMade have share excited as the below driver stats from the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open:

• TaylorMade, No.1 Driver Brand with 55 Drivers in play
• SLDR Driver, No.1 Driver Model with 36 in play (21 ahead of the nearest competitor)

At an event hold at the Trump International Golf Links this week, nearly 200 special guests including retailers, media & amateur golfers celebrated 12 months of success that saw the SLDR Driver not only become the No.1 played Driver on the PGA & European Tour, but also:

• The most successful driver on Tour: 17 Tour wins across the PGA and European Tour* since launched in 2013.
• The most decorated Driver: 
Today’s Golfer Gold Award
; Golf Magic Golf Award; Golf Digest 20/20 Stars, 5/5 in every category, first Driver of all time to receive this; 
MyGolfSpy, Most Wanted Driver, Longest Driver on test.
• The most wanted: SLDR is the No.1 selling premium Driver** in 2014: golfers of all abilities are enjoying more distance with more loft.
• The most lofted: On average golfers are increasing loft by over 2-degrees to gain more consistent longer drives from the tee.

Designed to help a player hit longer/straighter drives by promoting a high launch angle, lower spin-rate (due to the low/forward centre of gravity) and faster ball speed, TaylorMade is challenging golfers to ‘loft up’ throughout its family of Metalwoods – a monumental shift in metalwood thinking. The SLDR quickly emerged as the dominant driver on Tour with many players increasing their loft to achieve greater control, more consistency and significant distance gains.

Players of all abilities are able to achieve more distance by ‘lofting up’ (enabling the golfer to hit the ball higher with less spin) with the family of SLDR products including SLDR, SLDRs and SLDR Mini Driver and this was showcased during the event to assembled guests from four of TaylorMade Golf’s leading Tour staff players – Justin Rose, Stephen Gallacher, Richie Ramsay and Johan Carlsson.

Talking about his SLDR success, Stephen Gallacher pointed to his ‘lofted up’ 11 degree SLDR as the single biggest factor in retaining his crown at the Dubai Desert Classic. The Scotsman said: “The 13th and 18th holes clinched it for me. In previous years’ I had to sacrifice shots by taking my 3-wood off the tee as I couldn’t clear the trees. Now, with my new higher lofted SLDR driver I’m seeing much higher launch conditions and greater distances. I sailed the trees and this gave me the chance to out-do some strong scores.” 

The event, hosted by Sky Sports presenter David Livingstone and TaylorMade Golf’s Marketing Director, Greg Pearse, not only celebrated ‘Loft Up’ and SLDR’s success but also the pioneering contributions by TaylorMade to the sport of golf.

“TaylorMade Golf continues to deliver technological innovation in the world of golf. The SLDR Driver is a revolutionary product that showcases that distance is something that can be mastered and improved by both Tour pros and amateur players alike when golfers ‘loft up’,” said Greg Pearse.

“We are hugely proud of what the SLDR has achieved in the past 12 months for golfers at all levels of the game. Increasing your loft on your driver is here to stay and we believe this is the future for golfers who want more distance, improved consistency and ultimately better scores. Thousands of golfers have already embraced more loft, with many going as high as 16-degrees, and I’m sure we’ll being seeing more success with SLDR as the year continues”.

Success of ‘Loft Up’ Guarantee promotion
To reaffirm TaylorMade Golf’s belief in ‘Loft Up’, the ‘Loft Up’ Guarantee (introduced in March 2013) has been run in partnership with participating authorised TaylorMade Golf Retailers, and enables customers to try the products on the course and see the benefits of lofting up for themselves with the added comfort of 30-Day Money Back Guarantee. If a player doesn’t see improved performance, they are able to exchange the club for a different loft or model, with the option to return it for a full refund if they are not able to find a Driver with which they are happy.

“Sales in the UK market increased by 77%*** during the first month of the promotion and due to this we decided to extend the Loft Up Guarantee offer until 31st August 2014 so more golfers can take advantage of this fantastic offer,” commented Jason Howarth, Category Director, TaylorMade-adidas Golf.

In addition to Rose, Gallacher and Carlsson, a number of TaylorMade staff players are in action this week at the Scottish Open, and will be at The Open, with the SLDR in their bag including US Open champion Martin Kaymer, as well as Sergio Garcia, Jason Day and Dustin Johnson.

* Based on Sports Marketing Surveys Inc. & Darrell Surveys.
** Premium Driver above £299 in terms of units sold
.
*** Claim is based on sell through increase from February to March 2014 as reported by Golfdatatech.

Pictures: TaylorMade Golf.

By REDACCIÓN