TAYLORMADE R9 460 Driver

The TaylorMade R9 460 driver is all about adjustability.

First, there’s a metallic sleeve that fits over the shaft tips that rotates and allows you set the face angle, loft and lie. And, in a holdover from the R7 driver line, there are weight cartridges that you can reposition on the head, promoting a draw, fade or straight shot.

And of course, the club features the Inverted Cone Technology that TaylorMade has made a stable in their lines. That pattern is CNC milled directly on the inner side of the club face, resulting in a variation of face thickness that results in longer, straighter shots.

For what it’s worth, I’m a believer in the Inverted Cone Technology. I think it really works.

All that said, I don’t think most players will do a lot of adjusting of their clubs. I found a combination that worked for my R7 and have left it that way.

TAYLORMADE r7 CGB Max Limited Driver with Interchangeable Shafts

Here’s another club on a serious discount. Priced at $1,000 a year ago, the r7 CGB Max Limited Driver now is available at GolfSmith for $300—more than half off.

The TaylorMade r7 CGB Max Limited Driver with Interchangeable Shafts is made with the TaylorMade Select Fit technology, which offers three interchangeable shafts , which allow for either a higher or lower trajectory, depending on the shot needed. The three moveable weights promote straighter shots and the easy-to-launch triangular geometry permits an ultra deep-back center of gravity . The inverted cone clubface technology makes for faster average ball speed while delivering longer distances. The r7 CGB limited kit includes: magnetic enclosure head cover, multi-technology clubhead, three changeable tour-proven shafts (Fujikura Rombax 75, Diamana White 65 and the Matrix Xcon-5), three moveable weights, wrench case with six additional weights and the r7 CGB Max limited torque wrench. Body Construction: Titanium Crown Construction: Titanium Face Construction: Titanium Grip : Golf Pride Headsize: 415 cc

TAYLORMADE r7 Iron Set 4-PW, GW with Steel Shafts

Right now, the TaylorMade R7 irons are selling for as low as $300 at retailers like GolfSmith—that’s 50% or more off the price from just a few months ago. I have two golfing buddies who have taken advantage of this fire sale and they couldn’t be more pleased with their new sticks.

You know, these things were state-of-the art last year.

The now-venerable TaylorMade R7 line soon will be replaced by the R9. A flash announcement on the TMAG website says that it’s coming in March, but no more information is offered.

Rumors from a retailer acquaintance of mine, maintain that the new clubs will built around variable shafts. It makes sense, but that ‘s all I know.

Anyone out there know anything?

TAYLORMADE Burner Plus Combo Set 3H, 4H, 5-PW with Steel Shafts

TayorMade has released a whole slew of new clubs for this fall, including these Burner Plus Irons. A variant of the original released earlier this year, the Burner Plus feature one of the company’s highest Moments of Inertia.

“Our new Burner Plus irons possess one of the highest MOI measurements of any TaylorMade iron, making them super-forgiving and easy to hit,” said Brian Bazzel, TaylorMade manager of iron creation. “These are so easy to launch that it’s a blast to make a big swing and let them fly. We had a lot of fun designing them and are looking forward to the reception they receive among golfers who like to go long.”

The clubheads are designed to be big, with significant perimeter weighting, and a low, deep center of gravity. They of course feature TaylorMade’s Inverted Cone Technology, which I think works well in offering more distance on off-center hits.

Part of the redesign includes a wide beveled sole to prevent digging; the club head’s weight and bulk work at the same time to help get thin shots off the ground. An increased degree of offset has been introduced to encourage a draw.

A note about offset: That means that the clubface is set behind the line of the shaft. That’s done to give players a fraction of a second more to square up the face, helping to fix the tendency of most to slice.

The “combo set” substitutes a Burner 3 and 4 hybrid for the same irons; always a good idea for higher handicappers. It would be even better if a 5 also was included.

TaylorMade Tour Burner 2008 Men’s Driver

I’ve been somewhat dissatisfied lately with the driver that I’m playing. I hit it high, hard and straight, but the ball tends to hit the apex of its flight quickly, and then drop out of the sky. My playing partners always make comments like “I thought it was going to go a lot farther than that.” Not exactly what you want to hear.

So when TaylorMade held a demo day at a local pro shop over the weekend, I spent some time trying out the various drivers. Thinking that the issue was too much loft, I asked the rep for a 9.5 degree, stiff.

The R7 Quad he gave me drove the ball much lower, but still without much distance.

“It’s not high enough,” he said. When I told him that I thought I needed to keep it down for less carry and more roll, he shook his head.

“This is the midwest,” he said. “That might be true in Arizona, but here you need all the carry you can get.”

He watched me hit some more balls with different drivers. “Too much spin,” he concluded. Then he handed me a Tour Burner, 10.5 degrees, regular flex. “This will cut the spin,” he said.

I hit it, and immediately noticed a difference. With the Tour Burner, the ball still caught a lot of air, but it stayed up, and kept going. I hit ball after ball, watching them fly straight and far into the distance. He pointed out that even my mishits were pretty good.

It’s $399, though. And that, frankly, is more than this teacher can afford to spend on a golf club.

TaylorMade Tour Burner Men’s Iron Set

I have iron envy. These new TaylorMade Tour irons look like they were designed just for me. The race car styling just screams “Buy Me! I’m FAST.”

TaylorMade says that these are designed for a wide variety of player abilities—from the tour level to mid-handicappers. The club starts with a thin 2.2 milimeter face that’s designed to deliver a high coefficient of restitution (rebound effect). Thinner = more rebound. And that means more ball speed and distance. It’s also got the TaylorMade Inverted Cone Technology, which is designed to enlarge the sweet spot on the clubs.

I have that on my TaylorMade clubs, and can testify that it works. As inconsistent as I am in striking the ball, my distances stay consistent.

Other technologies include “distinct heel and toe weighting” for increased moment of inertia (resistance to twisting), and a large “multifunctional sole” that’s beveled to make it perform better from a variety of lies. The design also is supposed to promote a low and deep center of gravity for higher launch.

The best part for me though, is that it has the look of a better player’s club. I long to play with a sleek clubhead, but know that—realistically—I need to play with a game improvement iron. The look of the Tour Burners is designed for just such a player.

Envy is a terrible thing. It’s one of those seven deadly sins, you know.