The most advanced and finest performing driver in the history of golf club design per TaylorMade. The R9 will feature full adjustability in that it will combine 3 moveable weights with our newest technology-Flight Control Technology (FCT). FCT gives the golfer the ability to adjust the club head to affect face angle and loft. MWT and FCT give 75 yards of left to right adjustability, 3 degrees of launch angle adjustability, and up to 1800 rpm of spin adjustability. The club head can be rotated into one of eight positions, giving the ability to adjust from 2 degrees closed to 2 degrees open (actual measured face angle will be square to four open, though visually, 4 open looks 2 open to the golfer). This is done by a wrench and turning the club head onto the axis of the shaft. The three moveable weights are in similar positions to r7 Limited. The result to the golfer will be the ability to have an open club face while still promoting a draw, for example. It's really 24 drivers in one.
The club head has a large address, similar to the r7 SuperQuad, though we did not make this as large a clubhead as Burner, for example. This is, according to TaylorMade, the optimal size demanded by the most discerning players.
We are launching this on Tour at the end of January, though many of our Tour pros have been testing the club already. They have declared this the best driver ever produced.
The stock shaft on it will be Fujikura's brand new Tour platform, called "Motore" and it will be the only club in the market with Motore in the stock offering.
TP shafts will be offered at a $100 ($499 street retail) upgrade and will be assorted offerings from Fujikura, Mitsubishi, Matrix, and Aldila.
In addition, TaylorMade will also launch an R9 fairway, though the fairway will only have FCT, no MWT. It will also have the ability to use 8 positions and can affect up to 35 yards of left to right workability. This club will have the ability to go from 2 closed to 2 open. Retail price on this will be $229 and will have a traditional shape and have the stock Fujikura Motore shaft.
There is NO difference in the head between the TP and non TP versions. The driver will not have any TP graphics on the head. Only the shaft upgrade makes up the difference.
My buddy just bought one and had a "I'll let you hit it as many time as you want but I will ask for it back when you start hitting better than me" side by side with R7 SQ.
Distance was overall same. It seemed easier to fade the shot with normal face setting.
Feel is completely different.
It felt a lot softer than my R7. There were no vibration coming back or harsher feeling.
I think I can get passed the triangle shape because of the feel.
His old Driver is FT-5. His distance were longer. At this range, there is a ridge at the 250 mark. He usually hits the ridge but with R9, he was clearing it easy.
It looks like you can give it all you got and be OK.
I don't know the actual weight setting but it was heavier on front two.
Distance.. I'm hold off on this one until I can get on my course and see where it ends up.
Feel : This is a solid feeling driver. I was hitting it along side on my J340 which has always been my best feeling driver for years. Well the R9 is very close. Great sound..solid solid solid.
Looks : the face is not that deep, but overall a great shaped head and size is good. Dont get me wrong it has a modern shape from the top, not classic like my J340.
Launch : shafted with the Diamana Kai-li right now I'm launching it a little higher then I want and I can tell the descending angle is too steep to get max roll out. Need to hit the LM to get my spin numbers, but initially I think I need to tip this shaft 1/2 and see what happens. Good thing it's playing @ 46" right now....so I have room to adjust. Remember I'm coming from a 7.5 driver with a RombaxZ, but I was hitting some moon shots with this R9. (9.5 open 1*) maybe I'll open it 2*
Spin : waiting for LM or course action
Right now the best thing this driver has going for it, is the feel. Honestly, I think it feels better then any TM driver to date..including the R510DF. Really nice to have a 400cc+ driver feel this nice. Even tourstage could not keep the feel right when the drivers went 405cc and 430cc in my opinion.
More to come later... need to get in some rounds and play with FCT some more.
Hit it yesterday...along with the new Exotics xcg-v. guy above is right. feel is awesome on the R9. but i swear it's coming off hotter with the xcgv. I don't know if it's mental or what, cuz i already play an xcg with a v2. i had my brother plug his ears and just watch ball flight without seeing the club i was hitting with and every time he was saying it was coming off hotter with the xcg-v. regardless, i'll wait till summer when the balls aren't so f'ing cold so i can judge with my normal range spots i usually hit. the 28 (or whatever) drivers in one deal does seem like a sweet selling point, but once you find the one that's right, if it's ending up 10 yards short of the xcgv, guess which one i'm buying...
they opened it the next one for me...and said it was 8.5 and it made a BIG difference i thought.
Johnny, on Mar 7 2009, 04:20 PM, said:
my initial thoughts after a range session...
Distance.. I'm hold off on this one until I can get on my course and see where it ends up.
Feel : This is a solid feeling driver. I was hitting it along side on my J340 which has always been my best feeling driver for years. Well the R9 is very close. Great sound..solid solid solid.
Looks : the face is not that deep, but overall a great shaped head and size is good. Dont get me wrong it has a modern shape from the top, not classic like my J340.
Launch : shafted with the Diamana Kai-li right now I'm launching it a little higher then I want and I can tell the descending angle is too steep to get max roll out. Need to hit the LM to get my spin numbers, but initially I think I need to tip this shaft 1/2 and see what happens. Good thing it's playing @ 46" right now....so I have room to adjust. Remember I'm coming from a 7.5 driver with a RombaxZ, but I was hitting some moon shots with this R9. (9.5 open 1*) maybe I'll open it 2*
Spin : waiting for LM or course action
Right now the best thing this driver has going for it, is the feel. Honestly, I think it feels better then any TM driver to date..including the R510DF. Really nice to have a 400cc+ driver feel this nice. Even tourstage could not keep the feel right when the drivers went 405cc and 430cc in my opinion.
More to come later... need to get in some rounds and play with FCT some more.
I was just wondering about the loft adjustment. I understand that you can change the loft on the R9 by 2 degrees +/-. Correct? So with an 8.5 degree driver I could have it at 6.5 degrees or 10.5 degrees? Also, I was wondering if someone could give their thoughts/experiences on the durability of these adjustable drivers. (Cobra L5V, I-Mix etc) All the adjustability/changes occur at or near the hozel where there are massive forces at work at impact. I worry that over time the adjustability would become compromised, or worse, the head would come flying off. Thoughts?
I am demoing the R9 right now and it great! Very low spin rates from this head... The adjustments work as advertised. I have my concerns about the fct getting loose down the road, but TM will have another head out in 4 to 5 months as always.
I was just wondering about the loft adjustment. I understand that you can change the loft on the R9 by 2 degrees +/-. Correct? So with an 8.5 degree driver I could have it at 6.5 degrees or 10.5 degrees? Also, I was wondering if someone could give their thoughts/experiences on the durability of these adjustable drivers. (Cobra L5V, I-Mix etc) All the adjustability/changes occur at or near the hozel where there are massive forces at work at impact. I worry that over time the adjustability would become compromised, or worse, the head would come flying off. Thoughts?
I am also curious about the loft adjustment. All I ever hear people talk about is the lie and face angle adjustments. I personally think being able to adjust the loft would be the coolest thing about the club.
Has anyone received the R9 TP that they pre-ordered? I think I was one of the first people to order and the wait is maddening. I ordered the 10.5 with the Motore F1 with plans to open it up 1-2 degrees to deloft it some. I'm hoping this was the right call because I know nothing about how high it will launch, etc.
Does anyone know if there is any difference in the stock Motore F1 shaft on the R9 and the F1 Motore shaft one can get thru a distributor/golf professional? I know the color is different but anything else in the specs??
Has anyone received the R9 TP that they pre-ordered? I think I was one of the first people to order and the wait is maddening. I ordered the 10.5 with the Motore F1 with plans to open it up 1-2 degrees to deloft it some. I'm hoping this was the right call because I know nothing about how high it will launch, etc.
I also have an order in(9.5 tp w/HD-6), from what i heard is they will start shipping it out on March 20th. Hopefully mine will be in before the end of this month.
Does anyone know if there is any difference in the stock Motore F1 shaft on the R9 and the F1 Motore shaft one can get thru a distributor/golf professional? I know the color is different but anything else in the specs??
I was just wondering about the loft adjustment. I understand that you can change the loft on the R9 by 2 degrees +/-. Correct? So with an 8.5 degree driver I could have it at 6.5 degrees or 10.5 degrees? Also, I was wondering if someone could give their thoughts/experiences on the durability of these adjustable drivers. (Cobra L5V, I-Mix etc) All the adjustability/changes occur at or near the hozel where there are massive forces at work at impact. I worry that over time the adjustability would become compromised, or worse, the head would come flying off. Thoughts?
Actually +/- 2 degrees adjustability is FACE ANGLE. As far ar loft goes it's +/- 1 degree. So if you bought 8.5 then you get go up to 9.5 or down to 7.5.
This is also my first adjustable driver, so I cannot really comment on durability of the driver. I guess only time will tell?
I also have an order in(9.5 tp w/HD-6), from what i heard is they will start shipping it out on March 20th. Hopefully mine will be in before the end of this month.
Actually +/- 2 degrees adjustability is FACE ANGLE. As far ar loft goes it's +/- 1 degree. So if you bought 8.5 then you get go up to 9.5 or down to 7.5.
This is also my first adjustable driver, so I cannot really comment on durability of the driver. I guess only time will tell?
Thanks for the reply. I refer to the advertisement in Golf Digest, "increase or decrease loft within a range of 2 degrees..." It's only in the ads where adjusting loft has been mentioned. Even on the Taylormade site, the video with Nick Faldo makes no mention of loft when talking about the Flight Control Technology. So I'm a bit confused.
Actually +/- 2 degrees adjustability is FACE ANGLE. As far ar loft goes it's +/- 1 degree. So if you bought 8.5 then you get go up to 9.5 or down to 7.5.
This is also my first adjustable driver, so I cannot really comment on durability of the driver. I guess only time will tell?
Thanks for the reply. I refer to the advertisement in Golf Digest, "increase or decrease loft within a range of 2 degrees..." It's only in the ads where adjusting loft has been mentioned. Even on the Taylormade site, the video with Nick Faldo makes no mention of loft when talking about the Flight Control Technology. So I'm a bit confused.
Hope that I can clarify some of your confusion. When you open the face you are taking away some of the effective loft of the golf club, so if you have a 9.5 degree driver and you open it 1 degree, you are taking it down to a 9.1-9.3 degree driver (cant remember exactly how many degrees of loft are lost for each degree it is opened) and if you close the face, you are adding effective loft to the golf club, so if you have the 9.5 and you close it a degree, you are adding to the loft and are now making it 9.7-9.9 degrees (again not sure on the numbers exactly). So that is how you are able to change the loft on the r9, there is no specific setting to leave everything neutral and just change the loft of the club, that comes with the other settings of the golf club. Hope that helped clear up some of your confusion on that issue.
Anyone had the chance to test out the r9 with the fubuki shaft option?? I am waiting for mine to arrive with a 73x fubuki in it and give it a shot, really excited for that, but in the mean time, has anyone had the chance to hit the combo? If so, what were your thoughts??
Played 18 with it today and I am impressed, 9.5 stiff. I set it up for a draw just because all I have ever done is fade/slice the ball. I hit two ob left but just because I couldn't quite carry the ravine that I was trying to clear. I managed to draw 3 drives and played from the left side of the fairway all day. I hit more fairways today (10) than usual and played a tighter course than my home course.
The r9 is shorter than my past gamer but mainly because of shaft length, 48" down to a 45". This is the straightest driver I have hit but I have a short list of drivers to my credit. Previously owned 580xd, r5, ft3, ft5 and r7 quad tp. I can't wait to play with the settings a bit more and maximize this driver. I would like to compare the r9 to the customizable models from cobra and nike to really get a feal of who has engineered the best. I would rate this driver a 9/10 based on the single round. I am still in shock at the fact that my ball flight was straight to a slight draw all day. I will have to adjust my setup slightly but I look forward to the center and left side of the fairway. I recommend highly.
looked at one in the store - not impressed, not at max size and seems like a deliberate copy of nike's idea for Dymo - then they're already dropping another driver this year that is at max size called R9Max - -WTF? their putting stores at a disadvantage because they need to stock R9 because it's hot now, but what about all the clubs they wont sell and then they'll have to buy more R9max's when they come out due to hype and it just perpetuates needing to have stock, then being stuck with it...just my two cents
Do you like it better than your 909D3?? I'm asking because I have a 909D3 and was thinking about switching to the R9. Can you tell me how they compare against each other?? Thanks.
I hit it today. Definitely goes a long way, however I just was not a fan of the feel/look of it. I'd buy it if I wasn't so picky. Gets a rating of "3" from me.
looked at one in the store - not impressed, not at max size and seems like a deliberate copy of nike's idea for Dymo - then they're already dropping another driver this year that is at max size called R9Max - -WTF? their putting stores at a disadvantage because they need to stock R9 because it's hot now, but what about all the clubs they wont sell and then they'll have to buy more R9max's when they come out due to hype and it just perpetuates needing to have stock, then being stuck with it...just my two cents
Is This true? They're coming out with an R9Max? I just bought mine yesterday and now I feel I should have maybe waited. Uggh!!!
The R9 max was inevitable. It's a classic move, they can't really improve on the technology for maybe a year or so. As a result they come out with a smaller head first then 6 months later they hit the market with that driver MAXED out. Great marketing and sales strategy.
The R9 max was inevitable. It's a classic move, they can't really improve on the technology for maybe a year or so. As a result they come out with a smaller head first then 6 months later they hit the market with that driver MAXED out. Great marketing and sales strategy.
That's O.K. I like the smaller head anyway. I never did like the look of the 460s.
The guy at GolfGalaxy told me that the R9 max was rumored NOT to have the adjustable head. But that really wouldn't make sense, because then all it would be is a SuperQuad with a different head shape.
I am in the driver shopping mode right now to replace my TM580XD and decided to go through a fitting process at PGA Tour Superstore.
For starters, kudos to those guys, spent over an hour with me, I probably hit 70 shots and 15 different drivers/lofts/shafts combo
I tried the following, Adams 9015d, Tour Edge Exotics with vodoo shaft, Cobra Tour D, Titlest, Ping Rapture, TM Tour Burner, Mizuno and the R9.
My ball speed was very consistent, 147 with all drivers. The launch and spin though really varied. The Titleist and Ping spun the most. The Adams the least. My basic problem is I tend to overhook, after watching two shots with the TM Burner that was out as well as anything with a shut face. The Adams produced the best numbers but at 2 degrees open it tended to cut.
The R9 gave me almost the same spin as the Adams, the shaft felt the best, and the sound the and feel of the head was superior. When we went to 1 degree open, at 9.5 loft I got the same balls speed but carry added 7 yards as well as the overall distance.
The only driver I did not hit was the Cally FT9, will do that tomorrow.
Right now this seems like a really solid driver, like the flexibility to adjust the setup, definitely improves upon the other offerings that have come out the past few years.
Have played 54 holes with the R9 10.5*. I am impressed.
For those concerned about a R9Max or whatever coming out with the 460cc's, I would say to not sweat it. This driver is plenty forgiving without doubt - you really have to do something wrong to miss badly enough that it would cost you.
Also, after playing this and then looking at the 909D2 at the pro shop out of curiosity - the look of the R9 is preferable to me - more compact and sleek looking.
The adjustability is a snap, and I don't see any reason that the manufacturing of the FCT piece of this driver would cause any problems before several years of play, it is very solid.
The non-TP shaft is not a true Motore F1 as someone had asked, it is however the real one in the TP version if I am not mistaken. I haven't played an ultra-premium shaft before, but unless you are very discerning I think the stock should be just fine as long as you select it to match your swing speed.
It was cool that on a windy day I could adjust the head to be more closed and help me keep it drawing and low into the wind - I'll be curious to see how the fade options work but have not tested them yet.
Distance for me was longer than the Tour Burner I had been playing and the sound and feel of this club is great.
TaylorMade irritates me with their constant releases of clubs - but the R9 is worth buying without question. I was a little leery of the hype, but feel like this club is the real deal......... and gives you some options.
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