Is the TaylorMade M4 driver adjustable?
Yes, the TaylorMade M4 driver is adjustable. It’s possible to have twelve different options for the loft, lie angle and face angle, including the standard settings, for the same driver using its hosel.
How to adjust the TaylorMade M4 driver?
The TaylorMade M4 driver can be adjusted using its adjustable hosel that features a four-degree sleeve for its adjustment. The four-degree sleeve supports twelve sleeve movements to change the loft and lie angle by 0.5° to 0.75° as well as the face angle by 1° to 2°.
The adjustment either increases or decreases the loft from the stated value while the lie angle always increases from the standard-setting.
The steps below will show you how to adjust the TaylorMade M4 driver using the wrench that comes with the driver.
- Put the TaylorMade wrench into the big screw at the rear of the driver’s clubhead.
- Turn the wrench anticlockwise or to the right until the screw gets loosened. You may have to turn the wrench a few times before the screw becomes loose.
- Lift the clubhead gently from its position above the club hosel.
- Align the arrow marking on the clubhead with any marking apart from the STD LOFT marking present on the hosel adapter. This will change the lie angle and face angle.
The LOWER and HIGHER settings help to set the loft of the driver to the lowest and highest possible values.
- Reseat the clubhead over the hosel adapter taking care not to change the above setting.
- Put the wrench again into the screw as you did earlier.
- Turn the wrench the same amount of times in a clockwise direction.
- End the turning process when you hear a click sound. The driver is likely to get damaged if you turn beyond this stage.
The lie angle and face angle change along with a change to the loft. The clubface opens up when the loft is lowered and closes when the loft is raised.
TaylorMade M4 driver adjustment chart
The table given below has the standard loft, lie angle and face angles of a TaylorMade M4 driver with 12° loft along with the eleven other settings for the same parameters.
Loft |
Lie Angle |
Face Angle |
Spin Rate (RPM) |
Stated Loft 12° STD LOFT |
Standard 56° |
Square |
No change |
11.25° (-0.75°) |
56.5° (+0.5°) |
2 Open |
-300 |
10.5° (-1.5°) |
57.25° (+1.25°) |
3 Open |
-500 |
10° (-2°) LOWER |
58° (+2°) |
4 Open |
-600 |
10.5° (-1.5°) |
58.5° (+2.5°) |
3 Open |
-500 |
11.25° (-0.75°) |
59.25° (+3.25°) |
2 Open |
-300 |
Stated Loft 12° UPRT |
60° (+4°) |
Square |
0 |
12.75° (+0.75°) |
59.25° (+3.25°) |
2 Closed |
+300 |
13.5° (+1.5°) |
58.5° (+2.5°) |
3 Closed |
+500 |
14° (+2°) HIGHER |
58° (+2°) |
4 Closed |
+600 |
13.5° (+1.5°) |
57.25° (+1.25°) |
3 Closed |
+500 |
12.75° (+0.75°) |
56.5° (+0.5°) |
2 Closed |
+300 |
The above adjustments are also applicable for the other variants of the TaylorMade M4 driver with 8.5°, 9.5° and 10.5° lofts. The lie angle is the same for these drivers.
TaylorMade M4 driver lie angle settings
The lie angle of the TaylorMade M4 driver can be changed by using the four-degree sleeve on the hosel of the driver and the accompanying wrench. Each movement of the sleeve alters the lie angle by 0.5° to 0.75° along with an appropriate change to the loft.
The following steps offer a walkthrough of how to increase the default 56° lie angle of the TaylorMade M4 driver.
- Place the tip of the wrench into the large screw housed behind the head of the driver.
- Rotate the wrench to the right side until you notice that the screw has become loose.
- Remove the clubhead from where it is seated above the four-degree sleeve.
- Line the arrowhead marking on the clubhead with the HIGHER or LOWER marking on the hosel adapter or four-degree sleeve. These two settings raise the stated lie angle by a couple of degrees to 58°. However, the clubface opens or closes by 4° depending on whether the loft is decreased or increased.Line the arrowhead with the UPRT mark on the four-degree sleeve. This increases the default lie angle by 4° to the maximum value of 60°. The driver is the most upright in this position. The loft doesn’t get changed and the clubface is square at impact.
- Line the arrowhead with your preferred marking between the LOWER and STD LOFT markings, the UPRT and LOWER markings, the HIGHER and UPRT markings or the STD LOFT and HIGHER markings. These settings adjust the lie angle in smaller increments from the default lie angle and either open or close the clubface with a decrease or increase in the loft.
- The settings between the STD LOFT and LOWER markings change the lie angle to 56.5° and 57.25°.
- The settings between the LOWER and UPRT markings alter the lie angle to 58.5° and 59.25°.
- The settings between the UPRT and HIGHER markings set the lie angle to 59.25° and 58.5°.
- Put the clubhead back over the sleeve without changing the desired setting made earlier.
- Insert the wrench into the screw one more time and rotate it to the left side until there is a click sound signaling that the turning action must be stopped immediately.
Most players prefer the maximum lie angle or URPT setting of 60° to avoid the tendency of repeated slices during a game. This setting also directs the clubface to the left of the target at the time of impact for right-handed players.
Some golfers who find that this setting has detrimental effects on their game because they hook the golf ball more than usual. The hooking takes place because the heel of the TaylorMade M4 driver gets positioned lower than the toe when it is upright. Moreover, there is a high chance of experiencing less consistent and less powerful swings.
TaylorMade M4 driver weight adjustment
The TaylorMade M4 driver is equipped with a non-removable 41g weight at the rear of its head towards the lower end. The standard weight can be substituted with any weight that works best for you.
The steps mentioned below help you to adjust the weight of the TaylorMade M4 driver.
- Put the TaylorMade wrench tip into the screw weight and turn it a few times so that the weight becomes loose.
- Apply heat to break the Loctite adhesive bonding on the weight and remove it from its place on the clubhead.
- Clean any traces of Loctite remaining using a wire brush.
- Insert the new weight of your choice in place of the old weight. The five different weight options are 2.5g, 4.5g, 5.5g, 8.5g and 10g.
- Apply some Loctite on the new weight so that it doesn’t move out of place.
- Tighten the screw weight by an identical number of turns of the wrench in the other direction.
- End the turning process when you hear a click sound.
It’s worth noting that if the replacement weight is lighter than the stock weight, the center of gravity of the driver increases to a considerable extent. This will result in lesser ball spin and low ball launch coupled with more distance.
It’s recommended by the manufacturer that the weight is not changed for the best results in the game. However, if it’s absolutely necessary that you do so, make the change only after you are done with some games using the M4 driver with the standard weight. This will let you know if you really need to change the weight that came fitted in your driver.
TaylorMade M4 driver loft setting adjustment
The TaylorMade M4 driver can be adjusted for a change in loft from the stated loft using the four-degree sleeve fitted on the hosel and the wrench that comes along with the driver. Each movement of the sleeve raises or lowers the default loft from as low as 0.5° to a slightly higher 0.75°.
A change in the loft of the driver will make appropriate changes to its face angle and lie angle as well.
The steps outlined here assist in changing the stated loft of the M4 driver without any hassle.
- Fit the TaylorMade wrench tip into the big screw behind the rear of the clubhead of the driver.
- Rotate the wrench to your right or the counterclockwise direction to loosen the above-mentioned screw.
- Remove the clubhead from its position above the club hosel.
- Line the arrowhead marked on the clubhead in sync with any of the various markings on the hosel.
Don’t use the STD LOFT or UPRT setting as they offer the same loft. However, the lie angle and face angle are different for both these settings. The LOWER setting decreases the loft by 2° and reduces it to the least possible value whereas the HIGHER setting increases the loft by 2° and raises it to the highest possible value.
- Put the clubhead back in its place without making any change to the above setting.
- Fit the wrench tip back into the same screw and rotate it to your left or counterclockwise direction.
- Stop turning further as soon as you hear a fairly loud click sound.
Increasing the loft has been favorable for players who want to hit draws. There is more ball spin, high ball launch, less distance and a partially closed clubface with this setting.
Decreasing the loft is ideal for golfers who wish to hit fades. There is a marginally open clubface, more distance, low ball launch and less ball spin with this setting.