TaylorMade R11 Irons - Review Thread - Forum Testing Reviews

[putterSRT11]

I swing the driver around 105mph. I have the numbers from the fitting at the office. Making vast generalizations about swing speed, skill level and shaft weight is not really fair. That is like saying no fast swingers can play the Miyazaki 43 or 59 C. Kua with a fast swing speed. While weight may play a role (just like other factors), it is the total package of swing and shaft that determine what someone should be properly fit for.

yea. Don't get me wrong guys. If your driver is around 100-105, your iron swing speed is probably around lower 80s, that is KBS tour 90 range. Im not talking about skill level guys, lol, Ive played with guys who can kick my butt with slow swing speeds.

Look at the KBS page: this is how they describe their KBS tour 90:

"Designed for players requiring more distance (slow swing speed <- my edit) and a higher shot trajectory, the KBS Tour 90 shaft is very similar to the KBS Tour in performance advancements yet specially designed for players currently having a moderate swing speed or low trajectory. Constructed 21% lighter weight, the KBS Tour 90 shaft blends a similar formula of firm cross-sectional features in the shaft butt and taper section for enhanced shot dispersion, with an advanced MOI design for streamlining energy transfer. This unique combination of shaft weight and design are specially designed for better golfers that need gains in distance without sacrificing shot control or player feel.


independent robot tests conducted with Golf
Labs in San Diego, CA and also
confirmed by player testing.

Guys Im not saying anything new here.

 

[Kmac]

Must not ponder new irons, must not ponder new irons, must not ponder new irons....

OEM I'm really enjoying your feedback in particular right now because I am definitely considering a return to graphite iron shafts with the next set of clubs I buy. I like certain aspects of the steel I'm playing now, but honestly the dampening effects of graphite is hard to ignore since I've been battling elbow tendonitis issues off and on this year. Glad to see the clubs are very controllable and not ballooning on you.

Thanks mar, really appreciate it. I really came away from yesterdays round with a whole new outlook on graphite iron shafts. One thing stood out to me was the PW and AW were both hit quite a lot since my tee game was in shambles. They both performed as well as I could imagine. In fact Ive been struggling with the AW in old set and I had no such issues with the R11 AW. Hanks and I were talking about it and both agreed its pretty much nailed in at 110 yards. No ballooning at all. I think these shafts are really going to help me keep everything smoother but still swinging fast enough to get the distance I expect. So you have a good trajectory, great feel and good looks. Whats not to like!

 

[JB]

Putter,
That is all true, however if you go back and read your last 4 posts or so (previous to edits), you would see that is not really what you said.
The weight of the shaft is just like anything else, it is designed to fit a certain swing. With shaft fittings, swing speed is just one factor that determines what shaft will work best for each individual. Thoughts like this (X swing speed = Y shaft) is just not accurate. Not for iron shafts, or metal wood shafts.

 

[Buckjob]

Just got back from a good range session with these and the grass tees were open so that was nice. really worked on my distances today with all my clubs since i have this scramble tomorrow. Ill do a full write up later tonight, but my distances where very close to my last irons on most clubs and it seems to have more consistent distances which was nice.

 

[coolbreeze]

Thanks mar, really appreciate it. I really came away from yesterdays round with a whole new outlook on graphite iron shafts. One thing stood out to me was the PW and AW were both hit quite a lot since my tee game was in shambles. They both performed as well as I could imagine. In fact Ive been struggling with the AW in old set and I had no such issues with the R11 AW. Hanks and I were talking about it and both agreed its pretty much nailed in at 110 yards. No ballooning at all. I think these shafts are really going to help me keep everything smoother but still swinging fast enough to get the distance I expect. So you have a good trajectory, great feel and good looks. Whats not to like!

Thats great OEM, I'm really enjoying your thoughts on the graphite so far. We are on the same page with the AW right now, not only did it kick two different 50* wedges out of my bag, but I now lay up on all par 5's to 125 because thats where I hit a full R11 AW from and its the best club in my bag right now. The PW is now slouch either for that matter and love it too. The wedge set is really good with these irons.

 

[Kmac]

Just got back from a good range session with these and the grass tees were open so that was nice. really worked on my distances today with all my clubs since i have this scramble tomorrow. Ill do a full write up later tonight, but my distances where very close to my last irons on most clubs and it seems to have more consistent distances which was nice.

Lucky you dude. I may wait till later in the week so I can go hit off grass too. How was the turf interaction for you?

 

[Chunkylover77]

yea it does give alot of height and spin. The problem was they werent very accurate for me, not only directional but distance control is very hard with them. If you have a slow swing speed though, its one of the best to use. Which is what Taylormade is aiming for in the R11 irons stock; the average golfer has a slow swing speed and they make up a big percentage of their sales. Thats why their tour preferred line comes stock with Dynamic Gold normal weighted shafts which can handle the faster speeds and can be more accurate. Two different target audiences and the reviewers of the irons should be aware of this when reviewing. The R11 irons are fantastic heads but you need to be custom fitted to find the correct shaft.

Hmm. I have seen a very different story with KBS. Best steel shaft I've ever used.

 

[putterSRT11]

Putter,
That is all true, however if you go back and read your last 4 posts or so (previous to edits), you would see that is not really what you said.
The weight of the shaft is just like anything else, it is designed to fit a certain swing. With shaft fittings, swing speed is just one factor that determines what shaft will work best for each individual. Thoughts like this (X swing speed = Y shaft) is just not accurate. Not for iron shafts, or metal wood shafts.

Yea, it can be hard to really understand what someone means in a forum setting. That is what Ive been trying to say the whole time. What Ive been trying to say since the first post is that the kbs tour 90 are aimed at slower swing speeds or someone who has very low trajectory. Usually guys with fast swing speeds don't have a problem with low trajectory but the contrary, high trajectory. Thats not always the case tho but most of the time. The R11 irons come stock with this shaft because they know that most people buying this particular iron with lots of forgiveness will have a slow swing speed or I should say average. There is a reason why the tour preferred MB's or the MC's dont come stock with the KBS tour 90, most golfers buying those irons which have little forgiveness will have faster swing speeds and wont fit into the the kbs tour 90.

 

[Buckjob]

yea. Don't get me wrong guys. If your driver is around 100-105, your iron swing speed is probably around lower 80s, that is KBS tour 90 range. Im not talking about skill level guys, lol, Ive played with guys who can kick my butt with slow swing speeds.

Look at the KBS page: this is how they describe their KBS tour 90:

"Designed for players requiring more distance (slow swing speed <- my edit) and a higher shot trajectory, the KBS Tour 90 shaft is very similar to the KBS Tour in performance advancements yet specially designed for players currently having a moderate swing speed or low trajectory. Constructed 21% lighter weight, the KBS Tour 90 shaft blends a similar formula of firm cross-sectional features in the shaft butt and taper section for enhanced shot dispersion, with an advanced MOI design for streamlining energy transfer. This unique combination of shaft weight and design are specially designed for better golfers that need gains in distance without sacrificing shot control or player feel.


independent robot tests conducted with Golf
Labs in San Diego, CA and also
confirmed by player testing.

Guys Im not saying anything new here.

when i test hit these irons i switched from a couple shafts and one was the project X 6.5 due to my "swing speed" and without having the numbers in front of me i would bet any amount of money these shafts are better fitted for me than the 6.5s. so even if i switched to what they said i should hit due to my swing speed doesn't mean that my swing and how i transfer weight and all of that can be summed up in such a general way. That being said i don't think i need any gain in distance. and i'll find out my swing speed on tuesday with these but i believe they were around 90 when i test hit them.

 

[coolbreeze]

Yea, it can be hard to really understand what someone means in a forum setting. That is what Ive been trying to say the whole time. What Ive been trying to say since the first post is that the kbs tour 90 are aimed at slower swing speeds or someone who has very low trajectory. Usually guys with fast swing speeds don't have a problem with low trajectory but the contrary, high trajectory. Thats not always the case tho but most of the time. The R11 irons come stock with this shaft because they know that most people buying this particular iron with lots of forgiveness will have a slow swing speed or I should say average. There is a reason why the tour preferred MB's or the MC's dont come stock with the KBS tour 90, most golfers buying those irons which have little forgiveness will have faster swing speeds and wont fit into the the kbs tour 90.

So better golfers don't play irons with forgiveness, and if your playing irons with forgiveness than you have a slower swing speed? Interesting.

I learned something today.

 

[Buckjob]

Lucky you dude. I may wait till later in the week so I can go hit off grass too. How was the turf interaction for you?

well as you know i always take a divot, but i didn't chunk as many as i normally do. im not sure why but these seem to cut through the turf better than the 2.0s the only thing right now i can think it could be is that the bottom of the head is thinner by a good amount on the R11s and it just cuts through the turf better. Shallowing out my swing plane is one of the things i plan on working on this winter with my lessons. i wanna take bacon strips instead of huge chunks of turf. plus its been doing a number on my wrists since ive been playing so much. see how they feel tomorrow after hitting today.

 

[INgolfer]

I have never been properly fit for irons. When I try out clubs at demo days I try them with different shaft options if they have some other options to try, but I have never been put on a monitor to be fit. From my experience trying different clubs I think it depends on the clubhead and how the weight is distributed in the face as well. That is what I experienced with my MBs that I just got, the DG shafts gave me the ball flight that I wanted, but I didn't get the same ball flight with the same shafts on my previous clubs. Anyhow...this is starting to turn into a clubfitting thread...I was just interested in TCs comment about how the KBS 90 shafts were giving him better spin and distance and while I love the flight of my MBs I think it would be neat to experiment with some KBS 90s on it sometime, although I think if my flight was any higher now with my clubs then it would be TOO high.

 

[arydolphin]

These heads do create some good spin but the shaft you are using is very spinny as well if its the kbs tour 90. Thats what I experienced with that shaft when I was fitted.

Wow, got off a plane after a 2 hire flight and this thread blew up! FYI, I have the standard KBS Tour shafts in there, not the KBS 90, so in my case, it's not all due to the shafts.

Sent from Tapatalk

 

[arydolphin]

These heads do create some good spin but the shaft you are using is very spinny as well if its the kbs tour 90. Thats what I experienced with that shaft when I was fitted.

Wow, got off a plane after a 2 hour flight and this thread blew up! FYI, I have the standard KBS Tour shafts in there, not the KBS 90, so in my case, it's not all due to the shafts.

Sent from Tapatalk

 

[INgolfer]

Yeah its kinda gettin back on track now, anyhow, whenever I get the chance to try these I hope I get to try them with the KBS 90, other than my current set I have always liked those shafts on the R9 tp irons, and I even liked them on a set of CBs that I tried once. For most club offerings I have always been a fan of the shafts. Sounds like quite a few of you who have been hitting the R11s prefer this shaft as well with your set.

 

[VA. Vince]

VV I think you will find the flight to be high with thr KBS but not ballooning. It's a tight ball flight to say the least.
I wouldnt steer away from the KBS but I would look at the launch angle to be sure it is where you want it.


Kongfrontation

Good deal, I will be testing shafts out in another week or 2 when I order the R11's.

 

[putterSRT11]

Yeah its kinda gettin back on track now, anyhow, whenever I get the chance to try these I hope I get to try them with the KBS 90, other than my current set I have always liked those shafts on the R9 tp irons, and I even liked them on a set of CBs that I tried once. For most club offerings I have always been a fan of the shafts. Sounds like quite a few of you who have been hitting the R11s prefer this shaft as well with your set.

the R9 tp's come stock with the normal KBS tours not the KBS tour 90's. Did you hit a custom set of R9 tp's or something?

 

[putterSRT11]

or maybe you hit the non tp r9 irons, those came stock with the KBS tour 90, again for the same reason I stated above in all those posts. thanks

R9 TP comes stock with normal KBS tour 120grams
R9 non TP comes stock with KBS tour 90

 

[JB]

This thread is for R11 irons and the reviews of them from forum members.
If you want to debate shaft offerings in other irons, please start a thread in the shaft section of the forum.

 

[Tadashi70]

Yeah its kinda gettin back on track now, anyhow, whenever I get the chance to try these I hope I get to try them with the KBS 90, other than my current set I have always liked those shafts on the R9 tp irons, and I even liked them on a set of CBs that I tried once. For most club offerings I have always been a fan of the shafts. Sounds like quite a few of you who have been hitting the R11s prefer this shaft as well with your set.

This is my first date with the KBS 90s I've been courting her older sister the KBS tour 110s. The 90s with the R11 are solid. Nice feed back off miss hits and great feeling when hit on the screws. Ill be heading out the range after dinner and will have more to report.


Kongfrontation

 

[Buckjob]

Taylormade R11 Iron Testing
Date-9/24/11
Irons Used- Taylormade R11Irons 4-AW Stiff Flex Steel Shafts
Previous Irons-Taylormade Burner 2.0 4-AW Stiff Flex Steel Shafts
Ball Used- Topflite Range Balls
Testing Conditions- Sunny73 Degrees
Location-Outdoor Range-Grass


Today I went to the range and I wanted to really get a feel for the distances and get a little more comfortable with these irons. I have a scramble i'm playing in tomorrow and I really wanted to use these irons but was nervous without hitting them but now that I have hit them twice and saw what I saw today i'll be playing them tomorrow without a doubt about it.


Turf Interaction-I was happy that the grass range was open today because I really wanted to see how they felt from the grass and what the turf interaction would be like. I have always come down on the ball pretty deep and taken large divots so one of my mishits is a chunked shot. But recently my ball striking has been very good. The R11s have a great interaction with the turf they really cut through it very well and I only had 2 shots out of the bucket that I chunked and they still traveled farther than I expected them too. I think the fact that the shafts are a little shorter than my previous irons and the fact the the club head is thinner overall really kept my divots smaller and also kept my club head from getting caught up in the ground. So this part I was very pleased with.


Ball Flight- Ok this was the other big thing I wanted to try to take a better look at. I have a high ball flight which I tend to love/hate I like sticking greens and not having to worry about roll out. Thats the way I have always played I usually don't roll balls up onto greens even with my lower irons.(6-4) So I do like my higher ball flight.That is till its windy out and I watch my ball stop in mid flight and lose half its distance. This is another thing that i'm gonna be working on this winter. It looked like last night at the range that my ball flight may have been even higher than i'm used to but I think after hitting a bucket today they are very close to my normal ball flight. The ground was wet today so I wasn't seeing much roll out even for my longer irons so ill be interested in seeing how they rollout on the course or when its a little dryer out. But there wasn't any ballooning and it was a nice high ball flight.


Distances-This is where I spent a large part of my time today. I really wanted toget a feel for what I was hitting each club. I went out to the range the day before my R11 irons arrived and did the same thing I did with my old irons so I had something to compare them too. My distances fluctuate throughout the season. I tend to gain distance later in the season, And the last month they changed a little bit where I actually lost some distance due to a swing change. But my distances were my normal length with my irons the day before I got the R11s. So after hitting about 10 balls with each iron and lasering the best I could from the range (theres only 3 distance markers). But I use this range about 2-3 times a week so I feel pretty comfortable with the distances there. The big difference between them to me was all of my distances with the R11s were hitting at the same distances. My normal distances have always been between 10 yards for a club today the most it looked like they changed was about 5 yards with a normal full swing. And most of them were landing very close to each other. I was so happy to see this cause this was my biggest problem with my other irons. My distances were always off and I had flyers a lot where I was like how the heck did I just fly that green with this club. So I was so happy to see them landing the same distances over and over again. The other thing I was happy to see was my gaps have always been weird between my 4-7 irons some close some to far apart.These seemed to have a better gap between them. Now that being said it is harder to laser them that far away but it really seemed better than normal. After I get out and play a few rounds Ill really get more solid numbers like I said these were just to get a feel for tomorrows scramble.


Distances-


R11 Irons / Burner 2.0s
AW- 105-110 / 110-120
PW- 120 / 120-130
9- 140-145 / 140-150
8- 155-160 / 150-160
7- 170-175 / 170-180
6- 185-190 / 185-195
5- 200 / 200-210
4- 215 / 220


So as you can see most of my distances are very close I only took full swings and ill def update this once I get more time with them and become more comfortable with them. I can GPS shots and what not and give you solid numbers. But all in all I was pleased with the results of todays testing. Tomorrows gonna be my first round with them and a scramble at that so lots of fairway shots from solid distances should be fun pin seeking with these irons. More on that tomorrow!!

 

[JConn]

Nice write up Buck! There is a lot of great info there. It is great that the gaps are much better than the 2.0s. Do you think that the gap between the PW and 9 will be an issue? That is the only one that looks a little troubling.

Good luck in the scramble, if it's not over already.

 

[Kmac]

Good write up buckjob. Really good info in there and detailed. Good luck with the R11's Monday.

 

[Buckjob]

Nice write up Buck! There is a lot of great info there. It is great that the gaps are much better than the 2.0s. Do you think that the gap between the PW and 9 will be an issue? That is the only one that looks a little troubling.

Good luck in the scramble, if it's not over already.

Thanks, the scramble is tomorrow afternoon. About that gap i did notice that. im not sure honestly, i like taking 3/4 and 1/2 swings especially with my wedges. but like i said it was the first time hitting them and really trying to check my distances. i hit my old PW up to 135 when i put a little extra on it. i just kept hitting at the one yardage marker and it was right at 120 so maybe i was zoned in a little bit on that. i should have a better idea after my scramble tomorrow im sure ill have a 130ish shot at some point. ill make sure to get back to you on that tomorrow night.

 

[Buckjob]

Good write up buckjob. Really good info in there and detailed. Good luck with the R11's Monday.

Thanks i can't wait to get to the course. Hope your backs feeling better.