Comments on: TaylorMade R9 Driver Review

By: Judson

Judson — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:53:12 +0000

I am about a 7 handicap golfer with a swing speed of 110-120mph. My drive typically goes straight with a fade every once in a while. I was about to purchase the TM R9 driver with the aldila reax 60 shaft, then read about the soft tip. Will the soft tip cause a fade/slice with my swing speed? Would the Fujikura Motore 65 be a better option for me?

By: declan conway

declan conway — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:46:19 +0000

I too am a lefty wit a slice will will the R 9 cure my slice

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:51:31 +0000

Hey guys! I thought I would throw in my experience with the R9. Right now I am around a 15 handicapper with a terrible short game, need to seriously work on that. I have been out of the game for around a good ten years and just got back on the horse last year. I have two drivers in my bag, the Ping G15 and the TM R9 and thought I would compare the two.

Anyways, I picked up the R9 10.5 with the F Motore R shaft a few months back. I have played around with it and still cannot hit it as far as my G15 10.5 Draw with the Ping R shaft. My drives for both clubs off of the tee were both in that 250 yard range give or take say 10 to 20 yards in distance.

I found that both clubs are very easy to control but did not find the TM 75 yard rule true at least for myself. I really like the R9, it is a good looking club but found my miss hits could really get away from me, unlike the G15 which tended to lessen the effects of hitting off center. The G15 still tended to head more towards the target, where the R9 would be in another fairway or rough. And I purposely hit both toe and heel shots with both clubs to see how they would handle ball flight. The R9 was not that happy with these shots as the ball tended to really get away, where the G15 was still in play, not off in the rough or another fairway.

Another difference was in control, I found the R9 was easy to draw and or fade, but, hitting a draw at times could easily turn into a hook. I had the R9 set up as neutral and upright. The fades were a bit easier to control and tended to work as intended, rarely turning into a full push. The G15 on the other hand was a bit more consistent, especially in the fade department. I honestly found it easier to work the ball over the R9, which I found odd seeing as I have a draw head on the G15.

How about actual distance from the tee to where the ball first lands on the fairway? The R9 always came up around ten to fifteen yards short when compared to the G15. No matter how hard I tried I could not get the R9 to match the G15 in distance off of the tee to its initial drop on the fairway.

Now, as far as ball flight goes, the G15 has a higher trajectory where as the R9 is lower with a more direct flight. Now here is where I would, and did, expect the R9 to shine, the actual roll after hitting the fairway. I did not get what I expected in the least, in fact just the opposite. The R9 would hit the fairway and get very little roll? The ball must have allot of backspin on her off of the face of the R9 which really surprised me. I honestly expected this out of the G15 with its more balloonish ball flight, but no, it hit and rolled and rolled and rolled. I was honestly surprised with this result. Now this could be a good thing depending on your course I guess, but I will take the roll.

All in all I really like the R9 and still need to experiment with it. Right now I would say that the R9 is more of a players club for a low handicapper, where as the G15 would be great for the occasional golfer who really needs the forgiveness off of the tee or for those guys that like to let her rip, guys like Bubba Watson come to mind. I think it is honestly a very cool club and will keep it. Will it replace the G15? Not for now…

By: Dewayne

Dewayne — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 15:38:15 +0000

AS far as spin and ball speed go how do the R9, R9 MAX, Superdeep and Superfast Burner compare?

Also which has the best assistance for someone that misses right with pretty much every driver?

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:51:04 +0000

Here’s the reply from TaylorMade Golf:
Thanks for the email. In the settings, keep in mind that no matter what side of the ball you are standing on, R will make the ball go right (closed for left hand) and L will make the ball go left (open for left hand). If you look at it this way it is much easier to understand left handed.

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 01:28:53 +0000

Another Lefty wanting to know whether TaylorMade actually reversed the L and R markings or took the cheap way out and didn’t say anything in their enclosed booklet or website.
Do we have to assume everything in the graph is a mirror image and the L actually means R and R actually means L.
Hopefully someone can confirm this one way or the other.

By: Ya he probado el Taylor Made R9

Ya he probado el Taylor Made R9 — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 07:39:14 +0000

[...] Golf Views 0 me gusta Todo sobre Taylor Made [...]

By: John Pease

John Pease — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 03:16:43 +0000

I am a Lefty. Therefore are the FCT and MWT adjustments the opposite of what is indicated in Taylor Made instructions?

Thanks
jp

By: Walker

Walker — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 11:07:32 +0000

Nice review! Sorry if I overlooked this in your article, but what flex shaft did you test?

By: alan

alan — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 23:11:13 +0000

just purchased this driver. like it so far. it goes a little lower trajectory than my ft9. I think this is costing me some distance, but the control is much improved. To get a little higher ball flight does the fct need to be more L? if that is so, won’t my shots be more draw biased? Finally, will changing the weights (obtaining new ones in different sizes) allow me to better adjust the rear of the club? because when the weight is in the heal I really hit a big draw/hook. Thank you again for the information, and if you know of a site that would cover the results of changes a little better I would love to know because I can’t find one.