The Taylor Made R-11, R-9 Drivers and Replicas

With the official launch of the Taylor Made R-11 a couple of weeks away;though through a PGA Senior Tour player friend I have hit it, and having had some interesting adventures in trying to secure an R-9 Superdeep, I thought I'd post a new review rather than update my original on the R-7 Superquad.

My first point is that to avoid fraud, you must ask the seller for the serial number and check it with Taylor Made. Everything I said with respect to the R-7 applies here : many of the 'heads only' other than tour issues that list serial numbers are fakes from what I call "Wie Screw Yoo" Golf Club Replicas.

Next, I suggest going to a fitting center and getting the correct shaft FOR YOU - it is the engine of the golf club and is the key to distance and accuracy.

Now, as for the R-11, the white head takes some getting used to, but aside from that I think the first thing you will notice about it is that it is very easy to align. It looks like it will be a big hit on tour. The version I hit had an Xflex shaft which was good for me 5 years ago, but not now, nevertheless, it seemed to carry forever with good feel despite a somewhat "boardy" shaft, and easy to hit. Add in all the adjustability, and its a sure winner.

Interestingly, some of the buzz seems to be around when fairway woods will be available - and this is a subject I'd love to talk about. For all the advances in drivers, I question whether fairway woods have really advanced all that much.

For example, the old Callaway warbird soleplate performs better for me out of rough than more recent offerings, and having recently played both courses at Torrey Pines with very tough rough, I found the old Orlimar trimetal to be far more effective than my recent vintage woods whose names will not be mentioned in order to protect the innocent.

I would assume that the R-11 fairway wood will provide the same ease of alignment and adjustability as the driver; and I'll update this when I get my hands on one. Now lets get some golfing weather !