TaylorMade Sim 2 Max Driver Review

Your golf experts: Jordan Fuller & John Marshall.
Updated May 6, 2023. This article was thoroughly audited by multiple golf experts and coaches for its accuracy. You can read more about our rigorous testing protocol here.

The TaylorMade Sim2 Max driver offers outstanding features to help your game. From delivering more forgiveness, exceptionally high ball speeds, and a higher launch angle, the Sim2 Max works extremely well for golfers of any skill level.

Mid and high handicappers will also find improved distance with tighter dispersion, leading to more fairways hit during their round.

In this TaylorMade Sim2 Max driver review, I’ll cover everything from the top features, important specs and even how you can customize the club to maximize your distance and accuracy.


TaylorMade Sim 2 Max Driver Features

TaylorMade Sim 2 Max Driver features

The redesigned Sim2 Max driver from TaylorMade offers several worthwhile improvements over the original Sim Max driver.

These new drivers, under the Sim2 Max banner, provide tighter dispersion and low spin off the tee box for piercing ball flight that significantly reduces side spin for better accuracy.

Specs

  • Available Lofts: 9°, 10.5°, 12°
  • Loft Lie: 56°-60°
  • Shaft Length: 45.75″
  • Volume: 460cc
  • Swing Weight: D4

SIM Inertia Generator

Placed along the sole of the driver’s head, the generator creates a more aerodynamic flow for reduced drag and increased ball speeds.

The asymmetric inertia generator comes tipped with a 24-gram tungsten weight that anchors the club through the impact zone to create a slightly higher launch for slower swing speed golfers.

Split Mass Weighting

By placing a weight on the side of the club’s sole, TaylorMade has created one of the most forgiving drivers on the market with the Sim2 Max.

The company also gave the driver’s head 16 grams of additional weight at the rear to stabilize the driver’s head for an extended ball flight that increases total distance.

Forged Ring Construction

TaylorMade claims this precision milled feature “is the key to unlocking consistently long distance and optimal forgiveness.”

Like Callaway’s Jailbreak technology that stiffens the head, the ring construction produces power and high energy transfer to the golf ball. The ring also boosts dispersion by delivering low spin properties, helping you maintain high MOI through the impact zone.

Speed-Injected Twist Face

Another outstanding addition to the Sim2 Max driver curves the face to create a forgiving option for golfers that routinely makes off-center hits.

This proprietary feature pushes ball speeds to the legal limit by redirecting strikes toward the toe back along the target line for more distance than other drivers in this category.

Thru-Slot Speed Pocket

The Speed Pocket, located behind the face, increases flexibility across the entire hitting area and ball speed, even on mis-hits.

The pocket offers good feedback with your golf swing, helping increase your confidence on tee shots where you can reach back for additional power.

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Our In-depth TaylorMade Sim 2 Max Driver Review

TaylorMade Sim 2 Max Driver feats

Looks

TaylorMade’s typical appearance carries over here with the Sim2 driver, and that’s not a bad thing.

Their first-rate design has always provided confidence for golfers with a look of raw speed that translates into long drives that turn the heads of your playing partners.

While all driver manufacturers try to build an appealing design, TaylorMade continually meets and exceeds expectations in my book. With the Sim2 drivers, especially the Max driver model, we see the full power of their design team on display.

The blue and black color scheme, trimmed with a gray leading edge, offers a pleasing overall appearance with the Sim2 drivers. The checkerboard crown, flecked with blue and gray striping, provides a modern look that helps you get the face lined up correctly.

Sound

None of us want golf clubs that sound cheap or create an ear-splitting sound at impact. Two no-no’s that the Sim2 Max driver has gratefully avoided.

Some golfers want their driver to sound like a shotgun as the ball crashes into the face, something you don’t find here either.

Instead, these Sim2 drivers deliver a pleasing sound that sounds borderline professional. We’re all chasing that high velocity smash sound we hear on Sundays from PGA-level golfers, so if you carry a high swing speed, you’ll find that here with these Sim2 drivers.

One of the biggest ways manufacturers clean up sound is by limiting vibration, which the Sim2 Max does very well. On the coattails of delivering a crisp feel, the sound follows with this driver as it remains incredibly fulfilling.

Feel

A forgiving driver, like the TaylorMade Sim2 Max, comes with the expectation of a high level of feel and responsiveness, but the company has dialed up and improved the feedback with this golf club.

You can quickly tell how well made a driver is once you are on the range, and after my first swings with the Sim2 Max, I was floored by how good it felt during the swing. Then, at impact, you immediately know.

Performance

When I evaluate drivers, I want the club to improve my length, produce my intended flight within the spin range, and offer tight dispersion that provides reliability on the course.

Looking through the lens of these three distinct requirements, I believe the TaylorMade Sim2 Max certainly met, and in some cases exceeded, my expectations.

On the Trackman, my relative drive average hovers somewhere around 285 yards, but the TaylorMade Sim2 Max produced several bombs that reached over 300 yards.

After 20 swings with the driver, my average went just under 289 yards, a 4-yard improvement over my expected length.

When it comes to spin, I want to stay under 2300 RPM to get the most yardage possible, and the Sim2 Max maintained that standard for most of my attempts. By minimizing my spin, I keep my height to the mid-range of the launch angle to help me maximize my carry.

Finally, I charted my dispersion and was very pleased to see that I kept my drives within a tight window.

If you are struggling with your accuracy, the Twist Face feature, which I’ve outlined earlier in this review, definitely works wonders if you want serious correction on off-center strikes.

After my time on the Trackman, I spent some time looking at a video review of my time with the TaylorMade Sim2 Max driver.

I noticed the club flows smoothly and shallows out nicely on the downswing without much resistance. The driver never lost speed during my session, helping me maximize length from the tee box.

For left-handed golfers, the Sim2 Max and Sim2 driver delivers exceptional right to left shot shape, like Phil Mickelson prefers, with low launch and penetrating ball flight that finds the fairway with high frequency.

Also, I wanted to compare the Sim Max and TaylorMade Sim2 Max driver and see if there were any discernible differences between the two.

Other than a few cosmetic tweaks, the two drivers produce relatively similar results, although the new Sim2 drivers deliver tighter shot dispersion with a more controllable shot shape.


What do other golfers think?

The TaylorMade Sim2 Max driver found itself on the prestigious Golf Digest Hot List in 2021. The magazine’s editors gave the club high marks for its forgiveness and higher MOI over previous TaylorMade drivers.

The entire line of Sim2 drivers, including the Max driver and Max-D version, also received high regard from Golf Digest.

The TaylorMade Sim2 Max driver carries a 4.8/5 rating on PGA Tour Superstore with over 385 5-star ratings. On Amazon, the club holds a 4.7/5 star rating with 85% of respondents giving the driver a 5-star review.

What Golfers Like

  • Adjustable loft sleeve to create higher ball flight
  • Slightly shallower face produces a lower spin rate
  • Exceptional carry distance with forward roll
  • Speed Pocket behind face delivers high ball speed
  • Broad hitting area helps improve forgiveness for tighter dispersion

What Golfers Don’t Like

  • Big carbon crown driver head can be intimidating at address
  • You can adjust loft, but no adjustable weighting
  • Bigger and more cumbersome than other TaylorMade drivers

Overall, golfers enjoy the power and stability provided by the Sim2 Max. The adjustable hosel sleeve provides customization over shot height and shape, although the lack of a sliding weight keeps the driver from being a weapon for low handicappers.

Some players don’t like the larger head size, but the consistency and overall performance provided by the driver make it one of the best on the market.


Our Verdict

TaylorMade, one of the biggest companies in the global golf industry, has made another outstanding piece of golf equipment with the Sim2 Max driver. They also offer an excellent combination of modern appearance and crisp performance.

If you are looking for a new driver that delivers mid-launch with a few tweaks of a loft sleeve, the Sim2 Max offers extended carry with a generous forward roll for your game.

The Sim 2 Max driver offers more forgiveness, a large sweet spot, and many outstanding features over previous TaylorMade drivers. Like the last other driver in the series, the Sim Max, the Sim 2 driver offers a healthy upgrade to your game.