TaylorMade R11 Driver & Fairway Wood Review Thread

[GrantD]

I went out today for a quick nine. The course was in terrible shape. I don't know if the soaked fairways or freshly aerated greens were worse. I ended up using R11 a lot during the nine holes. Since I was the only one on the course I played two balls the whole nine too. I will give you the run down of tee shots with each ball.

2nd Hole, Par 5- My first ball went about 10 yds off the left side of the fairway. The shot was not that long, but it was the first time I hit it in the round and played conservative with it. I teed off a second ball that had a small fade that landed in the middle of the fairway. It went a bit longer than my first one, but I still had some distance to go. I think the first shot was about 220 yds and the second was about 230 yds.

4th Hole, Par 4, The first ball off the tee, I pulled it to the left. I hit it solid, but just pulled it. The second shot off the tee, hit the screws in the driver and had a beautiful flight right down the hole. This was a short par 4 (317 yds) and I had a 75 shot to the green. I think on a dry day my drives would have rolled out more. I think there was only about a 5 yd roll out and a nice ball divot in the middle of the fairway.

5th hole, Par 4- I had two beautiful drives down the middle of the fairway. I was really hitting the driver great at this point. I think both of these were about 240 yds in the middle of the fairway.

6th hole, Par 4 slight dogleg right. I ended up putting the first drive through the back corner of the dogleg. There was a bunker that was 239 out and the ball ended up about 5 yds past it. The second drive I tried to cut the corner and ended up a with a nice drive. It was just barely through the inside of the dogleg. I think this one ended up going about 230-240.

8th hole, par 5. I hit two really great tee shots that ended up drawing into the rough right of the left hand side of the fairway. I think both of those were about a 240-250 yd drive. Again the rough area was really wet and the drives had no roll out.

9th hole, Par 4, I was hitting the driver great today, so I really went after the first drive. I ended up hooking the heck out the drive and put it into the woods. On the next tee shot, I swung smoother and really struck the ball great. This ball just was crushed down the fairway. I this one ended up about 250 yd down the fairway. What a great way to end the day!

I had a really great day with the R11. I know I started off the first hole with it a little rough, but I accredit that to no warm-up. I have noticed the headcover to the R11 getting a little dirty. The white on the sides is the part that is starting to get dirty.

 

[Staples]

Awesome, thanks for the info. With my driver i play it about 1-2 balls infront of center, if i play it way forward like off my front foot it just looks and feels really weird for me.

I am playing mine right behind my big toe. It defnitely feels different compared to what I used to do, but I have somewhat gotten used to it. I really like my ball flight a lot more now though. I was able to play a dogleg left over some trees this weekend and be inside the 100 yard marker for my approach, which I would have never been able to do before. I still need to spend a lot more range time, but I am definitely liking what I see. I may end up demo'ing a 9* later this week to see how that one treats me.

 

[Mardin]

I have had a bad slice, but after my R11 fitting it has virtually disappeared. I have my ASP set to closed, the weight in the heel for draw bias, and a -1 loft set.

 

[SW]

Gray I'm playing the R11 driver completely neutral with 11g in the heel and 1g in the toe (the extra gram in the heel is for swing weight). If I could ever get my kingdom video to upload to YouTube it explains that. The 4W is also set all neutral, I like the flight but I'm contemplating changing the asp to closed to drop the ball flight a bit since its been a little windy here.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[knox co mike]

I've been reading this thread the past few weeks and been doing as much research on the R11 as I can. I am planning on trying one out on my days off this week. I am cautiously optimistic that this driver might help me out. I consistently play bogey golf and have always struggled with my driver. I do wonder if I should just put my ego in check and settle for driving with my 3 wood. I am currently hitting a Ping Rapture 9 deg driver. My drives start out beautiful, down the middle and then approx 200-230 yards out turn right on me. I joke with my buddies that I drive the ball about 270... 250 out and 20 right. I trust the pro, where I play often, and as such I am going to complete a fitting with him. I am not looking for a miracle just more consistency. I have been slowly upgrading my equipment and love the reports on the R11. Any advice you folks can offer up would be most appreciated. Best regards. Mike

 

[royalwulff]

I Friggin HATE this weather. I have really been itching to go out and hit my R11 5 wood and tinker with the settings. I love reading about the results you guys are getting with some of the adjustability that these clubs offer.

 

[Mardin]

Gray I'm playing the R11 driver completely neutral with 11g in the heel and 1g in the toe (the extra gram in the heel is for swing weight). If I could ever get my kingdom video to upload to YouTube it explains that. The 4W is also set all neutral, I like the flight but I'm contemplating changing the asp to closed to drop the ball flight a bit since its been a little windy here.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

If you are going to close the asp I'd recommend lower the loft as well.

I've been reading this thread the past few weeks and been doing as much research on the R11 as I can. I am planning on trying one out on my days off this week. I am cautiously optimistic that this driver might help me out. I consistently play bogey golf and have always struggled with my driver. I do wonder if I should just put my ego in check and settle for driving with my 3 wood. I am currently hitting a Ping Rapture 9 deg driver. My drives start out beautiful, down the middle and then approx 200-230 yards out turn right on me. I joke with my buddies that I drive the ball about 270... 250 out and 20 right. I trust the pro, where I play often, and as such I am going to complete a fitting with him. I am not looking for a miracle just more consistency. I have been slowly upgrading my equipment and love the reports on the R11. Any advice you folks can offer up would be most appreciated. Best regards. Mike

What is your most consistent mishit??? Just curious, because you should go hit the R11 at a range and hit it in numerous settings to find out what works best for you.

 

[royalwulff]

If you are going to close the asp I'd recommend lower the loft as well.

What is your most consistent mishit??? Just curious, because you should go hit the R11 at a range and hit it in numerous settings to find out what works best for you.

Why do you reccommend this?

 

[Dr. Teeth]

I've been reading this thread the past few weeks and been doing as much research on the R11 as I can. I am planning on trying one out on my days off this week. I am cautiously optimistic that this driver might help me out. I consistently play bogey golf and have always struggled with my driver. I do wonder if I should just put my ego in check and settle for driving with my 3 wood. I am currently hitting a Ping Rapture 9 deg driver. My drives start out beautiful, down the middle and then approx 200-230 yards out turn right on me. I joke with my buddies that I drive the ball about 270... 250 out and 20 right. I trust the pro, where I play often, and as such I am going to complete a fitting with him. I am not looking for a miracle just more consistency. I have been slowly upgrading my equipment and love the reports on the R11. Any advice you folks can offer up would be most appreciated. Best regards. Mike

I cannot give this club a high enough recommendation! It has given me a lot of consistency. I usually shoot in the mid 80s and I feel like the only thing holding me from consistently shooting in the 70s is more FIRs. My first round back I shot an 82 and that was while finishing the last 4 holes +5. The biggest difference was I was able to keep the ball in the fairway and when I did miss the fairway it wasn't by much. I really love this driver! The first bad thing I have to say about this driver is I was at the driving range the other day and got underneath the ball and I got a chip on the crown of my driver. Grrrrr! It really makes me mad!

 

[Hole~Out~1983]

I cannot give this club a high enough recommendation! It has given me a lot of consistency. I usually shoot in the mid 80s and I feel like the only thing holding me from consistently shooting in the 70s is more FIRs. My first round back I shot an 82 and that was while finishing the last 4 holes +5. The biggest difference was I was able to keep the ball in the fairway and when I did miss the fairway it wasn't by much. I really love this driver! The first bad thing I have to say about this driver is I was at the driving range the other day and got underneath the ball and I got a chip on the crown of my driver. Grrrrr! It really makes me mad!

You still should'nt have anything bad to say about the club, its not the one who hit a ball off of the crown haha. I know what your saying man Im just giving you a hard time.

 

[SW]

I know exactly how you feel. First ball off mine after it was built, I teed it up like I did my old driver not thinking about it and the ball had a little bit of dirt/sand on it. Left a nice mark on the top of the face...I'll always remember my first ball.

I cannot give this club a high enough recommendation! It has given me a lot of consistency. I usually shoot in the mid 80s and I feel like the only thing holding me from consistently shooting in the 70s is more FIRs. My first round back I shot an 82 and that was while finishing the last 4 holes +5. The biggest difference was I was able to keep the ball in the fairway and when I did miss the fairway it wasn't by much. I really love this driver! The first bad thing I have to say about this driver is I was at the driving range the other day and got underneath the ball and I got a chip on the crown of my driver. Grrrrr! It really makes me mad!

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[Dr. Teeth]

You still should'nt have anything bad to say about the club, its not the one who hit a ball off of the crown haha. I know what your saying man Im just giving you a hard time.

Too true! It was my crappy swing that caused me to hit the ball so poorly

 

[Dr. Teeth]

I just saw Ole Grays post about posting our settings. I normally play a draw. On the best of days it is a high draw, on bad days it is a snap hook followed by a couple if push fades (I hold off the club head).

At the Kingdom they set me up with a 9* driver with FCT=lower, ASP=open and 10gms in the toe and 1 gm in the heel.

I have since moved the ASP to neutral as I have seemed to get my hook under control and was starting to fade it too much.

 

[Drumdog]

I cannot give this club a high enough recommendation! It has given me a lot of consistency. I usually shoot in the mid 80s and I feel like the only thing holding me from consistently shooting in the 70s is more FIRs. My first round back I shot an 82 and that was while finishing the last 4 holes +5. The biggest difference was I was able to keep the ball in the fairway and when I did miss the fairway it wasn't by much. I really love this driver! The first bad thing I have to say about this driver is I was at the driving range the other day and got underneath the ball and I got a chip on the crown of my driver. Grrrrr! It really makes me mad!

You chipped your magic wand?? Say it isn't so !!
I too cannot say enough good things about the driver. In fact, I like it so much and after hitting the 3 wood at The Kingdom and loved it, that I just ordered the 3 wood to go in my bag. I also ordered the Burner 2.0 irons as well this morning and can't wait for them to get here!!

 

[knox co mike]

@ MARDIN My mishit is the dreaded slice. I only have it with the driver. My drives start out as a thing of beauty and then drift to the right at approx 200 yards. Its reassuring to hear such good feedback on slice reduction with the R11. I spoke with the pro this morning and we are going to do a R11 fitting on Thursday. I can't wait. It'll be nice to have someone evaluate my swing and see if the R11 will do me any good or if I need some lessons to get back on track. I'll keep you guys advised. Thanks again for the feedback. Mike

 

[Hole~Out~1983]

You chipped your magic wand?? Say it isn't so !!
I too cannot say enough good things about the driver. In fact, I like it so much and after hitting the 3 wood at The Kingdom and loved it, that I just ordered the 3 wood to go in my bag. I also ordered the Burner 2.0 irons as well this morning and can't wait for them to get here!!

Dang buddy that's a nice little shopping spree you had there. Congrats on your new pick ups.

 

[10YardDraw]

Dang buddy that's a nice little shopping spree you had there. Congrats on your new pick ups.

no kidding, nice pickup for sure.

 

[Nate]

Great update Nate. May I ask what is your normal shot pattern and what do you have your ASP & FCT set on?

Normal shot pattern is a slight 5-10yd cut. I have the 10.5 set on higher (had it on normal but was trying to get my launch angle up a bit more) and an open ASP.

 

[Ole Gray]

Normal shot pattern is a slight 5-10yd cut. I have the 10.5 set on higher (had it on normal but was trying to get my launch angle up a bit more) and an open ASP.

That's good info Nate and thanks for the feedback. There is so much to learn about the settings and although it's somewhat individual, it may help golfers with similar swings to try something that works well.

 

[STL_Hokie]

@ MARDIN My mishit is the dreaded slice. I only have it with the driver. My drives start out as a thing of beauty and then drift to the right at approx 200 yards. Its reassuring to hear such good feedback on slice reduction with the R11. I spoke with the pro this morning and we are going to do a R11 fitting on Thursday. I can't wait. It'll be nice to have someone evaluate my swing and see if the R11 will do me any good or if I need some lessons to get back on track. I'll keep you guys advised. Thanks again for the feedback. Mike

Mike,

I can't speak to performance on the course yet but according to multiple sessions on the monitor, the R11 was nowhere near as punishing as the Superquad when I lost it right. Good luck with your fitting!

STL

 

[bbuonic81]

@ MARDIN My mishit is the dreaded slice. I only have it with the driver. My drives start out as a thing of beauty and then drift to the right at approx 200 yards. Its reassuring to hear such good feedback on slice reduction with the R11. I spoke with the pro this morning and we are going to do a R11 fitting on Thursday. I can't wait. It'll be nice to have someone evaluate my swing and see if the R11 will do me any good or if I need some lessons to get back on track. I'll keep you guys advised. Thanks again for the feedback. Mike

As a fellow slicer, I can't wait to hear the results of your fitting. The R11 is, like it is for most people it seems, at the top of my "Drivers to Try" list for this season and in a few short "in store" sessions with it, I definitely like it a lot. After a full fitting, it may well make it into my bag.

Has anyone played this club with an upgrade to the RIP Beta shaft? I loved the RIP in the Adams 9064LS and was wondering if anyone had any insight into it's performance in the R11?

 

[Mardin]

Why do you reccommend this?

This, along with the closed ASP might help lower the spin rate. I have my club set at what I call "anti-slice mode". I used to hit big sky slices and by closing the ASP and bringing the loft down my shots have a lower trajectory and less spin rate. The weight in the heel for a draw bias also helps. If you check out my R11 fitting video you will notice the spin rate drastically drops as well as the vertical launch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frWTNiA49WE

These settings along with a different shaft for my clubhead speed have helped make my slice dissapear.

 

[INgolfer]

I pre-ordered my R11 driver so I got it when it was first released, but since I live in Indiana I was unable to use it until just last week when we had some 50 degree weather. I would think that once it warms up that I will get even better performance because my balls will compress easier. Anyway, before this I had the Nike Dymo Str8 fit driver. I have played 2 9-hole rounds with my R11, and I must say it is the best driver I ever hit. I tried the 910D2 and D3 out, and this blows them away. I have been straight down the fairway on almost all of my drives, and even off-center hits are going as far as sweet spot hits from my Dymo. I am absolutely loving it! I had a shot right off the sweet spot into the wind on a par 5 that left me a hybrid into the green in 2. I had only reached that green one other time in my life and I had the wind with me and a 3-wood into the green. Can't wait til it warms up a little more so I can see what kind of performance I get out of it!

 

[DawgDaddy]

I pre-ordered my R11 driver so I got it when it was first released, but since I live in Indiana I was unable to use it until just last week when we had some 50 degree weather. I would think that once it warms up that I will get even better performance because my balls will compress easier. Anyway, before this I had the Nike Dymo Str8 fit driver. I have played 2 9-hole rounds with my R11, and I must say it is the best driver I ever hit. I tried the 910D2 and D3 out, and this blows them away. I have been straight down the fairway on almost all of my drives, and even off-center hits are going as far as sweet spot hits from my Dymo. I am absolutely loving it! I had a shot right off the sweet spot into the wind on a par 5 that left me a hybrid into the green in 2. I had only reached that green one other time in my life and I had the wind with me and a 3-wood into the green. Can't wait til it warms up a little more so I can see what kind of performance I get out of it!

Sounds like you already know what kind of performance you are getting and will get. Congrats on finding the right stick.

 

[bbuonic81]

This, along with the closed ASP might help lower the spin rate. I have my club set at what I call "anti-slice mode". I used to hit big sky slices and by closing the ASP and bringing the loft down my shots have a lower trajectory and less spin rate. The weight in the heel for a draw bias also helps. If you check out my R11 fitting video you will notice the spin rate drastically drops as well as the vertical launch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frWTNiA49WE

These settings along with a different shaft for my clubhead speed have helped make my slice dissapear.

What an absolutely awesome fitting video!! If I could come up with those numbers, I couldn't get the R11 in my bag fast enough. Your inital results are frighteningly similar (no offense) to my driver performance now - my loss of distance and inaccurancy is killing my game by puttin myself in positions where I have to scramble both to get back to the fairway AND around the greens...not how to get your handicap down.

If I wasn't already eager to get on a monitor and get a full fitting after just hitting a few balls with the R11 in the stock posistion this weekend, I am absolutely salivating at the prospect now. I wonder how late my local shop is open tonight...

Thanks again for posting the video and best of luck with what seems to be an awesome new gamer. Keep us posted on your progress!