TaylorMade R9 460 Driver Golf Club

Go to the Taylormade website, read about the club. Believe it! The club came in the neutral position and I changed that to neutral upright before heading to the range. 1st drive I hit was 250+ draw, I hadn't done that in many years. Hit 20 shots, still had a fade working a bit more right than I wanted, due to dialing up the power. Changed setting 1 more click Left. Presto, gentle fade all the time. Hit the rest of the large bucket quickly, light was failing, 95% fairway! Choaked up an inch, swing smooth, 70% power = 215yds dead straight, 8 in a row. I cranked the power back up toward redline, the club stayed with me, 275+ fade. Hit a maintenance shed out at about 300. I don't know where the new redline will be with this Driver, but my fear of the right rough is soon to be a memory.
A little context might help. I'm 56, 6'1", 195lb. beer bellied smoker. Playing at golf 25yrs off and on. In the 1980's (in military) had a 13 handicap, probably 25 now. 3weeks ago got out the old clubs to play w/ my brother in law and a couple older guys we hooked up with. Completely embarrased myself. Couldn't get off the tee, couldn't hit anything from the fairway. Hit fat, topped, skys, pulls, slices, I was losing balls faster than they make'm. I hadn't played in a year, hadn't hit a bucket in 2 yr., so I shouldn't have been surprised that I had turned into a complete hacker by the back 9. So I've hit a bucket almost every day since; picked up a Nike 3W from a pawn shop, and a Shinnecock 9` driver made by Superior Metal Technology, hooked to a Graffalloy Blue stiff shaft, from a guy I met who had twenty different drivers in his garage, and brought 7 or 8 to the range for me to try out. The SMT driver added 25yds over my old persimmon Wilson woods immediately, but shot shape and control was about the same, i.e., 30% of shots were still in the right rough, 20% slices way out to the right. (Out of bounds/lost in the palmettos on our local courses.) So despite my serious practicing to straighten my outside in swing path, its still there, just lessened to 2` or so, but consistent and persistant. I had just returned home from hitting a bucket, when the new R9 arrived. Back I went. I was tired, I was hungry, my back was aching from pitching and putting practice, but couldn't wait.
So.. I hope you understand that no miracle from above transpired, no Zen moment happened at address, only an hour had gone by, same wind, etc. Due to the light, I was firing them out there like a machinegun, rather than go through my preshot routine. To get my old 50% in the fairway, I'd aim left to allow room for the fade. With the R9 I aim just a tad left. So I'm telling you, this thing works. Borrow one, go to a demo day, buy a gently used one from Ebay like I did, whatever. This club puts 95% in the fairway (50yds wide) at 250+ yards with a fairly consistant, albeit not perfect, swing. If your game/swing could use a dramatic, immediate, statisticly reliable boost in confident accuracy, get it. The 2010 model may be better, 98%? Have a great day, I did.

This driver is the bomb,accurate and long.I'm hitting it about 25 to 30 yards longer.I love the shaft and it's loft and lie capabilities. truly a remarkable club as i new it would be. I've played taylormade drivers for well over twenty years. I'm 63 soon will be 64 and staying up with golfers in their forties.I'm a happy camper.rick

I got this driver for my partner, who has played golf for more than 60 years. At 67, she has lost some of the upper body torque that once garnered her 225 yards from the tee. This club has the 'senior flex' shaft and enough neutral position for her to re-tool her game, so this Taylor Made Driver has really improved her play back to the level of her physical peak.

I heard great things about the club when I was looking at buying the club. I was curious to how it would help my swing becuase I would have a slight slice in my drive at the beginning of my golf season. I was looking at a way to correct that quickly as possible. With this club I did not have to hit several dozen golf balls on the driving range to get my kinks ironed out. I simply made an adjustment of the club head position, which only takes about 30 seconds. For the first time I walked up and played 18 straight as a benchmark to see what I needed to work on the most and my drives were exactly where I wanted them to be. I was able to move the ball effectively and on my longest drives, around 335-340 yards, I had about an 7 yard draw. This club is amazing and I will stick with TaylorMade's drivers and woods from now on.

....and I've put the R7 back in the bag, WHICH TELLS YOU SOMETHING......I think the R9 is too heavy, gimmicky, and just not as good as the R7 for me at a least.....I never liked Aldila shafts and still DON'T....give me the Fujikura shaft anyday....a friend hit it and feels the same way....he plays the R5, still. I just think these companies need to continually tinker and crank out stuff to achieve their margins....now it's the R11......Callaway loves it no doubt.....Taylor Made needs to re-think itself....the Pros love it I'm sure, but to most of us single digit types.....there's no need for the equipment the pros play, by and large.....Golf has more gimmick equipment/training aids than Carter has pills......I'm a "9" and I'll stick with the R7, not the R9, anyone want it cheap?