The new TaylorMade Kalea Gold family of clubs are designed by women for women. The TaylorMade teams enlisted the help of four distinct cohorts of women golfers to provide feedback on what women like and dislike to help engineers create the best women’s golf clubs for players of all abilities. I was therefore keen to test the Kalea Gold driver to see how it performed against the best golf drivers for women on the market.
This is the latest chapter in the Kalea franchise and what I first noticed was the colorway, which is noticeably different from the previous Kalea Premier driver. The new Kalea Gold is extremely elegant in unique carbonwood. The dark navy clubhead is with a dark navy highlighted with silver, and of course, gold for a luxurious finish, and overall the combination of colors is very strong. The clubhead is complemented with a 44” Kalea Gold Ultralight Graphite 40-L shaft and a SuperStroke Traxion Tour navy/white grip.
It’s available in two standard lofts - 11.5 and 13.5 (I used the 11.5), but it’s possible to increase or decrease the loft up to two degrees.I really like the grip, it’s soft and squidgy, but I must admit, when I first picked it up, it felt slightly heavier than other drivers, such as the Ping G Le3 and XXI0 13, and with less flex in the shaft, so I was even more interested to find out what this driver could deliver.
When I addressed the ball, I made use of the tiny gold TaylorMade logo alignment aid, and aesthetically, the head is a really nice shape, it doesn’t look oversized and sits comfortably behind the ball.
Initially, I found that I had to work harder to get the club back to the ball. I assumed this might be due to its weight and simply because the driver was new to me. However, it was still super easy to get the ball airborne and from my first tee shot to the last, shots flew as straight as a die. I was really impressed by its forgiveness and accuracy, which is thanks to TaylorMade’s Carbon Twist Face that features an enhanced version of Inverted Cone Technology that helps to maintain your ball speed on mishits. The Kalea Gold is definitely one of the most forgiving drivers.
As the round progressed and I became used to attacking the ball with a more significant punch, I must say that this driver helped me to generate greater ball speed and when I caught my drives well, the club felt so solid through impact with a lovely sound and the distance was great.
I must mention the headcover, which is predominantly white, although it's made in a fabric that is easy to clean. It’s very stylish but the lining is silver velour, and playing in wet and muddy conditions, I had to make sure I wiped my driver clean as it marks easily.
This is a premium driver and based on my experiences of using it over a few rounds, I would say that most women will appreciate its benefits as it looks great and performs very well.
Like all clubs, you need to get used to them and the Kalea Gold range that includes fairway woods, rescues, irons and a putter is available via custom fitting so women can choose the exact makeup to suit them, creating one of the best women's golf sets.
