Product Review - Taylor Made R9 Driver

Three weeks ago I had the opportunity to test the new Taylor Made R9 Driver. It is an interesting concept that has been several years in the making.

The premise of the driver is the ability to change the angle of the face from 1 or 2 degrees open to square to 1 or 2 degrees closed. There are also weight ports in the heel, back and toe of the club. I believe the weights are from 2 grams up to 10 grams each.

The shaft and head connection is made using a screw which tightens the shaft and head together. To change the angle, you simply unscrew the screw, move the head to the new face angle, and re tighten. The weights can be changed the same way.

The different weight and face angle were tested on a machine. The machine made the same swing with the weights and face angle different on each swing. There was as much as an 81 yard difference from left to right.

Taylor Made staff professionals use different face angles and weighting depending on their preferences. Pat Perez has the face 2 degrees open with the heavier weighting in the toe. Scott McCarren has the face 2 degrees closed with the heavier weighting in the heel. The other Taylor Made pros were somewhere in between.

This technology is also available in the fairway metals and hybrids.

This also gives the options of putting different shafts in the same head to see if any benefits are attained.

I believe Nike has similar technology in one of their drivers. I haven't seen it.

If you get a chance, check it out.

My preference was 2 degrees closed with the weighting in the heel.

Mike Hurley