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

My take

The TaylorMade Stealth 2 Fairway is perfect for players who want to hit their fairway woods higher and longer. This wood will help players hold more greens and hit more fairways to lower their scores.

About the club I own

• Model: 2023 TaylorMade Stealth 2 Fairway Wood
• Loft setting: 15°
• 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: 105mph

Test conditions

• When I bought the club: February 2023
• Days tested: 40+
• Where I’ve used it: TrackMan simulator and various golf courses
• Weather and wind conditions: Wind, rain, and clear conditions

How it performs

What I was looking for

I was looking for a 3 wood to help me hit the ball higher to land softer on the greens and help me find the fairway on a narrow golf hole. I also wanted a club that would go further than my current fairway wood.

Why I chose this club

I chose this club because it launches really well in all lies to help land softly on a green and not jump through. This club also looks really good and goes extremely far to provide me with a club to fit the gap between my 3 iron and driver. I also looked into the Callaway Paradym and Titleist TSR 2 fairway woods; however, I preferred the look and sound of the TaylorMade Stealth 2.

What I love about it

• Distance: The Stealth 2 goes really long compared to the TSR and Paradym fairway woods. The 5 wood helps me gain seven yards on average. This increase in distance is helpful when I play long golf courses. It also helps me not to sacrifice too much distance if I hit this club off the tee rather than my driver to find the fairway.
• Forgiveness: This fairway wood is extremely forgiving to help hit more fairways and greens. I have hit the ball off every spot on this clubface, which has been extremely forgiving. I have hardly lost a ball or gone out of bounds with this club because the forgiveness is so great. It really helps me lower my scores because I can hit this club on tight holes to eliminate losing a ball or taking a drop.
• Feel: The Stealth 2 feels great throughout the entire face. This club feels extremely fast and explosive. I always feel like the ball jumps off the clubface, even out of the rough.
• Shaft Feel: The Ventus Black shaft is designed to feel extremely stiff and firm, which many players commonly refer to as a 2x4 board. I personally love this firm feeling because of my fast swing speeds. It allows me to swing as hard as I want without feeling like the clubhead is rotating too much.
• Shaft Performance: This shaft is great for players with high swing speeds who need to minimize spin to help hit the ball as far as possible. I also love the combo of this low launch shaft with the mid-high launch clubhead to provide me with the best launch angle and allow me to manipulate how high or low the ball launches.
• Aesthetic Appeal: The Stealth 2 is the best-looking fairway wood on the market. I love the simple all-black crown of the club that is not too distracting with very subtle logos. In addition, this club has a very simple and traditional shape that sits low to the ground, which increases confidence to make solid contact with the ball.
• Grip Feel: I have the Golf Pride Z-Grip cord on this club, and it is my favorite grip. This grip has a cord feature, which helps to repel moisture to maximize grip in all conditions. In addition, this grip has a firmer feeling rather than soft, helping me keep a consistent grip pressure to hit the ball the best every time.
• Launch Angle: This club is categorized as a mid-high launch with a low-mid spin. This is a great description of my experience with the Stealth 2. It launches higher than my previous fairway wood while going longer. I love the launch because I feel more confident that the ball will stay on the green rather than skip through.
• Spin: The spin on this club is greatly due to the low spin shaft. It spins a lot to help launch the ball higher and be more forgiving, resulting in very high spin numbers. I can combat this by choosing a low spin shaft to find the ideal spin rate to launch the ball high while maximizing distance.

Issues I’ve encountered

• Sound: The Stealth 2 sounds really good when hit well and out of the center of the clubface; the club sounds just like it does when professional golfers hit the ball. However, the Stealth 2 sounds really soft when hit out of the toe and heel, which does not sound great compared to the Stealth 2 Plus and sounds explosive all over the clubface.
• Workability: This club increases spin and launch, which is great for straight shots, slight draws, and fades. However, I feel limited in my ability on the shots I need to curve a lot. In addition, this club stays very straight, making it hard to work the ball more than a few yards left or right.
• Adjustability: There is no adjustability with this fairway wood. The only option would be a complete reshaft or regrip, but there is no loft sleeve for easy loft and shaft changes.

Best shot with this club

The best shot I hit with this club was on a par 5 at my home course. I was 263 yards from the green with a center pin directly behind a bunker. The bunker was just short of the green and right in the center where the pin was. Most of the time, I try to hit to one side or the other of the bunker to avoid going in it, but this time, I hit the ball right at the pin. I hit a baby cut off the left edge of the bunker to cut back at the pin. Because this club launched so high, I landed the shot just over the bunker, but it landed softly, so it did not roll through the green. The ball ended up eight feet below the hole with an uphill putt for eagle, which I thankfully made.

Value for the money vs. other options

The TaylorMade Stealth 2 Fairway Wood costs roughly the same price, $349.99, as its close competitors, including the Callaway Paradym and Titleist TSR 2. The Stealth 2, however, is the best model because it is the longest distance while still offering a high launch. Therefore, the TaylorMade Stealth 2 has the best design and performance value. Although golfers looking for a cheaper club should definitely look at the Sim 2 Max, which does a lot of the same things as the Stealth 2 for roughly $249.

Final verdict

The TaylorMade Stealth 2 Fairway Wood is great for golfers who want to increase their launch angle while also adding distance. This club will help golfers hit the ball further and straighter to help lower scores.