TAYLORMADE r7 XD Irons 3-PW w/Steel Shaft

Grade: A
Teacher’s Comments: An apparent oxymoron: a good looking set of game improvement irons. These clubs are just begging to be hit hard.

Thanks to the nice spring weather we’ve had here in Michigan, I’ve now had a chance to play five complete rounds with the new TaylorMade R7 XD Irons.

I’ll have to admit that after the first round, I was not at all sure that these irons were good for me. I got good distance but the balls tended to fly every which way but straight. But I thought that it could just be spring rust, so I played on.

Things didn’t improve on the second round. I loved the R7XD sand and pitching wedges, and the seven iron was a perfect chipping and pitching weapon, but I couldn’t get any of the rest of the clubs to behave on a full swing.

Finally, on the third hole of the third round, I got angry at them. I was around 155 to the hole on a slight uphill lie. Normally a six: but I felt like whacking something hard and pulled out the seven. Making a full turn, I laid into the ball hard. That’s normally a disastrous recipe for me, but I didn’t care. And to my surprise, the ball took off like it was shot out of a howitzer and flew straight at the pin, landing behind the hole

That’s interesting, I thought. I finished the hole for a par. On the next, I hit a good drive that left me in the fairway. Again, I took one club less and belted it. Same good result.

As it turns out, that’s the secret: these clubs are just begging to be hit hard. The perimeter weighting keeps the ball on line, and the wide soles prevent digging—even on Michigan’s soft spring fairways. Even better, the tuned performance cartridge keeps the impact from sending shockwaves through your arms.

Have you seen the new Adidas golf apparel commercial? I caught the end of it during teh Zurich Classic last weekend and did a double take. I was glad to find out it’s on the web. It’s got a bunch of players hitting balls without clubs—very cute.

I don’t have the game for these clubs, but I think that they’re beautiful.

The TaylorMade rac TP MB (Tour Preferred Muscle Back) is designed for skilled players who prefer the look and feel of a classic forged muscleback club.

I prefer the look of a muscleback… and when I hit them well, I prefer the feel. But I unfortunately need far more help on a regular basis.

Of course, with TaylorMade, there’s also a lot of technology packed into these models. Among the features are large Feel Pockets for improved vibration management, CNC milled face and grooves for consistent spin and launch angles, and a “tour-configured” sole that is designed to keep the clubhead gliding smoothly through and out of the turf.

A minimal offset and higher center of gravity gives better players the ability to work the ball in a way that game improvement irons can’t.

I have a friend who is going to get a set of these soon. I’ll let you know what he thinks as soon as I can.

Rumors of a TaylorMade branded ball have been floating around the internet for some time now. Most assumed, however, that when it did happen, the ball would be at most a rebranded MaxFli. It was a good assumption, given that Maxfli is owned by TaylorMade. It’s an assumption that was solidified when John Daly was signed to promote Maxfli balls and TaylorMade clubs.

But it turns out that that we underestimated TaylorMade’s commitment to the cutthroat ball market.

The new TaylorMade balls are just that—TaylorMade balls. Branded the TaylorMade Tour Preferred (TP), they come in red and black versions. The TP Red offers a lower spin rate and lower launch angle for increased distance. The TP Black has a higher launch angle for players with slower swing speeds (this is the one the GolfBlogger will be playing).

So why did TaylorMade do it? Because, they say, TaylorMade is recognized as the best performance brand in the world (and the GolfBlogger would have to agree with that statement). The new balls, according to TaylorMade, will extend that tour-caliber performance into the ball market.

Already a number of pros have switched to the TaylorMade ball, including Sergio Garcia and Hale Irwin. The prototype Garcia has been using for months was a TaylorMade TP with Maxfli branding.

The TaylorMade R7 TP Titanium Fairway wood now is in stock at Golfsmith. The R7 Fairway is the TaylorMade’s most recent addition to its adjustable weight family, which has been astoundingly popular on tour, winning bag count after bag count.

The TP models are the same clubs that are used by the Tour Players—as TaylorMade says: Not “almost like”, not “similar to”, exactly the same.

That being said, it would be easy to assume that these clubs are only for the best of players. But I’ve found that’s not true. I play with both a TP driver and a TP 3 wood, and both are well-suited for my game as a 12 - 15 handicapper. Their best attribute is their forgiveness. Even bad swings result in adequate results.

The R7 TP TI was created for tour palyers who wanted the look of the popular V Steel with the movable weight technology of the R5s. The dual TaylorMade Launch Control (TLC) ports change the club’s center of gravity to promote a fade or a draw. The spacing of the weights also boosts the club’s moment of intertia (resistance to twisting) for better results on mis-hits. The club also kept its V Steel heritage with the V-shaped sole to reduce turf resistance.

The other new innovation is TaylorMade’s new RE*AX shart, which was designed in conjunction with Fujikura. The shaft is supposed to resist deformation during the swing, resulting in straighter, longer ball flight.

TAYLORMADE r7 TP Ti Fairway Wood w/ Reax Shaft