Thomas Tanner

Oct 27, 2020

6 minutes

TaylorMade drivers are known for their vast levels of adjustability. Although perhaps not as adjustable as the model which came before it, the SIM driver can be dialled in and perform precisely how you need it.

If you didn't know the acronym SIM stands for Shape In Motion - but its also very SIMple to adjust. The weight track is now a single track which runs parallel behind the face - after being taken in all directions in previous models. As well as the sliding weight, you also get hosel adjustability which can change loft, launch, spin and lie angle with just a few twists.

However, there are a few screws on the SIM driver which look like they can be adjusted, but shouldn't be touched. For instance, the protruding Inertia Generator on the sole runs at a 20-degree angle to advance aerodynamics has a 12-gram weight. You'll notice this weight has a screw, and while it is removable with your wrench, our advice is never to touch this - its already optimised by the TaylorMade engineers. Its primary purpose is to alter swing weight when custom fitting - a shorter driver might have a 14-gram weight to balance correctly.

Again the Speed Injected Twist Face is in the SIM. It has blue face screws this time, which if you look near also seem to be removable. But again they are not and best not to touch!

But as discussed there's a load which can be adjusted - so let's get going!

With just a simple adjustment wrench you can raise and lower the loft, give your SIM driver a draw or fade bias, and change things like the trajectory and spin the driver puts on the golf ball.

To open or loosen any screw in your driver, place the wrench in the top and turn anti-clockwise. To tighten a screw, turn it clockwise until there's an audible CLICK to let you know the sleeve is safely locked in place and to avoid over-tightening.

When fully opened, the shaft can be removed from the head. You'll notice numbers and settings on the tip; these indicate some of the different lofts, lie and face angle options you can choose.

TaylorMade uses a 4-degree tip adapter, and at the time of assembly, the shaft will be set to Standard Loft (STD) and play the loft stamped on the head, the lie angle is a standard 56-degrees, and the face angle is square.

There are 12 notches or movements on the sleeve, and each one increases or decreases loft half or three-quarters of a degree.

So what happens if we reduce loft?

Rotating the shaft to the LOWER position reduces the loft of the driver by 2-degrees. At this setting, the face is also now going to be 4-degrees more open than standard, and the lie angle is 58-degrees. This setting is going to put a fade bias on your drives.

Conversely, rotate the shaft to the HIGHER position will increase the loft by 2-degrees. In doing this, you also shut the face 4-degrees, the lie angle is 58-degrees and this time you add about 400 rpm of spin to your shots - putting a draw bias on your drives.

You don't have to adjust to the LOWER or HIGHER settings; you can adjust incrementally along the notches to make the changes more gradually.

If you spin the tip adaptor through 180-degrees, you'll see the marking UPRT Lie. If you secure the shaft in this position, the loft is back at standard, but now the club sits 4-degrees more upright. You'll find this sets the club up for a draw, but it's a lot more subtle than in the HIGHER setting.

Again from this UPRT Lie setting, you can make the loft LOWER or HIGHER incrementally to make subtle changes.

The SIMple Sliding Weight

On the SIM driver, the shot shape is affected most by the position of the 10-gram sliding weight in the new simplified weight track.

The standard or default position for this weight is in the middle of the rail. But if you want to move it, the weight is loosened and tightened with the same tool as before - listen out for the CLICK.

If you want to set your SIM driver to produce its maximum DRAW, you can slide the weight over to the heel. You can secure it anywhere along the track (it's a smooth track there's no notches or grooves in it) to produce a more subtle DRAW.

And vice versa, if you want to hit a FADE with your SIM, slide the weight out to the toe. When you've found the perfect spot - tighten the screw in place until you hear there click!!

When can you adjust your driver?

It is very important to remember that you can adjust your driver on the range or at any time before or after your round, just not during it!