About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the golf club, which I purchased with my own money in January of 2023.

My take

The TaylorMade Stealth Plus+ 2 Hybrid is great for players looking to replace a 2 iron or fill a distance gap. This club goes far while providing great launch angles to help the golf ball stay on the green.

About the club I own

• Model: 2023 TaylorMade Stealth Plus+ 2 Rescue Hybrid
• Loft setting: 17°
• Shaft type: Ventus Black
• Shaft flex: X-Stiff

About me

• Average score: 70
• Handicap: +2
• Experience: 5 years of golf
• Right/Left-Handed: Right-Handed
• Typical ball flight: Mid-High
• Golf ball used: TaylorMade TP5x
• Club swing speed: ~100mph

Test conditions

• When I bought the club: January 2023
• Days tested: 40+
• Where I’ve used it: TrackMan and GC4 simulators and various golf courses.
• Weather and wind conditions: Wind, rain, warm, cold, and dry conditions.

How it performs

What I was looking for

I was looking for a hybrid that would launch higher than my 2 iron to help hold greens more often when playing on firm and fast greens. I also wanted an adjustable club, so I can adjust the loft to fit my distance needs depending on the golf course I am playing.

Why I chose this club

I chose this club because it met all my needs for a hybrid. The club launches well, stops very fast on greens, and has an adjustable loft sleeve to allow me to change loft or shafts if needed. This club also has the benefit of looking amazing with the sleek all-black color and traditional head shape.

What I love about it

• Distance: TaylorMade has the inverted cone technology in the new Stealth 2 hybrids to help maximize distance across the whole face. Additionally, the thru-slot speed pocket helps to decrease ball speed to hit the ball further. I have found this hybrid to be extremely long, and I hit it consistently 5-10 yards longer than its competitors, the Callaway Paradym and Titleist TSR.
• Feel: The Stealth Plus+ 2 feels great. The ball feels like it jumps off the clubface in a spring-like manner. In addition, this club has a very forgiving soft feel even on mishits, which gives me confidence every time I use this club.
• Sound: The Stealth Plus+ 2 hybrid has a really crisp, firm sound. This club does not sound loud or hollow like I felt the Callaway Paradym sounded. This club sounds like the ball jumps off the clubface with a lot of speed and power behind it.
• Workability: This club is great for workability. I can hit any shot shape I like due to the lower spin numbers to help hit controlled fades and draws. I also feel in control of the launch angle and can manipulate how I hit the ball to hit low shots or get the ball to launch higher.
• Shaft Feel: This shaft feels very stiff, which I personally love. The firm feeling in the tip section allows me to feel where the clubface is at all times in my golf swing, which helps me maximize the chance of having the clubhead in the right spot at impact.
• Shaft Performance: The Ventus Black shaft is great for my golf swing. I have tried many different golf shafts; many felt too soft and would occasionally bring in a left miss. However, this shaft is so stiff that I feel it is almost impossible to hit a snap draw with this club, and that helps give me more confidence that I can hit my favorite shot shape, the baby fade.
• Adjustability: This club has an adjustable loft sleeve which allows players to easily change the loft and lie angles by +/- 1.5°. This helps me dial in the perfect loft to fill the gap in the distance at the top of the bag. Additionally, the loft sleeve helps make changing shafts easy if needed.
• Aesthetic Appeal: This hybrid looks amazing and might be my favorite-looking hybrid ever. The club is all black with a carbon fiber crown which looks really slick. The Stealth Plus+ 2 has very little offset to prevent the clubface from looking closed at address.
• Launch Angle: The Stealth Plus+ 2 launches surprisingly well for a low-spin, distance hybrid. I have had no problems with launching this golf club and find it very easy to hit the ball high, which helps when hitting out of the rough.

Issues I’ve encountered

• Grip Feel: This club came with the Golf Pride Tour Velvet grip. I personally do not like this grip because it wears out too fast for my liking and needs to be replaced every six months or so.
• Forgiveness: Unfortunately, due to the lower spin numbers with this club, I noticed that it is not nearly as forgiving as the standard Stealth 2 hybrid. Although, the club is still very forgiving, just not as much as its counterpart.
• Spin: This club produces very low spin numbers to help maximize distance but hurts when trying to hit into greens. Sometimes this club does not spin or launch high enough and, as a result, will skip and bounce through firm and fast greens. I often feel the need to land the ball just short of the green to help decrease the speed so it will skip up and stay on the green.

Best shot with this club

The best shot I hit with this club was on a par 4 at my home course. The hole was a drivable par 4 playing 270 yards. The greens and fairways were burnt out at the time and playing very fast and firm. As a result, I chose to hit the Stealth Plus+ 2 hybrid instead of my 3 wood. I hit the shot exactly how I wanted, and the ball landed 20 yards in front of the green and rolled all the way back to the pin. I was left with a 20-foot putt, which I missed, unfortunately.

Value for the money vs. other options

The TaylorMade Stealth Plus+ 2 Hybrid is by far the best-performing hybrid I have ever tested. This club is adjustable, which is a feature I love. The club is also the perfect blend of low spin distance while providing high launch to help hit out of the rough. The Stealth Plus+ 2 is priced very similarly to the Callaway Paradym and Titleist TSR hybrid models but is much better looking and performing. Unfortunately, it is very expensive, so if someone is looking for a cheaper alternative, I recommend the previous models of the Stealth Plus+ and Sim 2 hybrids from TaylorMade.

Final verdict

The TaylorMade Stealth Plus+ 2 Rescue Hybrid is a fantastic hybrid to help players find more fairways and hit recovery shots to lower their scores. All this comes in a low spin, high launching club while still providing a small head shape that cuts through the rough.