TaylorMade R11 Iron Testing
Date - 11/17/2011
Irons - TaylorMade R11 Irons w/ graphite shafts
Previous Irons - Callaway Razr X Tour
At this point in the TaylorMade R11 testing its been almost 3 months and I wanted to provide a state of the union update. Course and range time is getting more and more difficult during the week if not impossible. This leaves the weekend for either playing golf or range time and like most people actually playing golf usually wins out. And with the current state of my swing I use the term 'playing golf' lightly. I do feel like over the course of 3 months Ive had a good amount of time to be able to accurately grade the R11's up to this point. I dont believe in anything or anyone is perfect. If so we would stop buying equipment. So, dont expect all A+ here because there is always room for improvement.
Looks: Most of us remember the day we saw the R11 irons break on THP and the big red lug nut in the back. Well, lets just say they look much better in person. And a big part of my grade on looks also have to include the shafts which simply look awesome. Back to the lug nut. Its a precision weighted port that keeps the swing weight uniform across each iron and the CG optimally positioned. So while you may not love the look it does serve its purpose. While I prefer a darker finished iron I do think the R11's look very good. They look modern, clean, sleek, set up nicely, still look forgiving and maybe most importantly hold up well. Grade: A
Sound & Feel: Sound is something I struggle with. Sound? They sound like clubs. When I hit a good shot rarely do I think "wow that sounded good" or "Did you hear that?" For me irons are not like drivers where one can sound awful and one can sound booming or deep or high pitched. Do they sound bad? No. Do they sing sweet music to my ears on good shots? I guess. We all know the feeling when you just pure a shot. You know it because you don't really feel it.The R11 irons are no different They feel fantastic when you hit the sweet spot with that lug nut And I think they feel even softer with graphite shafts. Grade: B+
Performance: This is where the R11's really shine. For me Ive found them to be about as good as an iron can be. They offer a great package that performs as good as it looks. I thought I might see a little loss of distance with these but that just hasn't been the case. Are they the longest iron out there? No and if that is all you are looking for then you probably wouldn't be looking at these irons in the first place. But you will get an iron that will offer you very good distance that comes in high and lands soft. Lets not forget the graphite shafts. Eye opener. Unexpected results. And all good. So far I have yet to have someone hit these and not be impressed with how good the shafts feel. That includes another tester and Morgan Cup 1.0 participant. They are good probably nothing like what you might think. Grade: A
Forgiveness: I find the R11 irons to be as forgiving a club as I could imagine. They offer a little offset but not so much that its distracting or garish. They don't seem to be all that punishing out on the toe but you still feel it. There will be 10- 15 yards of distance loss but I find that an acceptable for that miss. Frankly Ive been quite surprised just how forgiving a club that isnt a SGI club can be. And I think even if someone might not quite feel they are up to the skill level of the R11's its still a club that ones game can grow into. Do I still occasionally struggle with fat shots? Yes and these will dig in wet turf too. And the hosel is just as unforgiving as any other hosel, so if you struggle with the occasional hosel rocket like I have lately wont disappoint you. Grade: A-
Conclusion: At this point in my testing Im extremely impressed by what TaylorMade has brought to the market in the R11's. At first glance I wanted to not like the R11 irons and the marketing machine that comes with most TaylorMade products. But they just work and they work extremely well. I think better then any irons Ive had up to this point. They are that good. Combine all the looks, performance and shafts that not only look awesome but feel great and you have a winner. I think these irons could work for the vast majority of golfers out there and the majority will thoroughly enjoy them. So how likely am I to keep them in my bag? They dont call me OEM Kevin for nothing. But for now I dont see them coming out of the bag any time soon and will continue to enjoy testing them.
Date - 11/17/2011
Irons - TaylorMade R11 Irons w/ graphite shafts
Previous Irons - Callaway Razr X Tour
At this point in the TaylorMade R11 testing its been almost 3 months and I wanted to provide a state of the union update. Course and range time is getting more and more difficult during the week if not impossible. This leaves the weekend for either playing golf or range time and like most people actually playing golf usually wins out. And with the current state of my swing I use the term 'playing golf' lightly. I do feel like over the course of 3 months Ive had a good amount of time to be able to accurately grade the R11's up to this point. I dont believe in anything or anyone is perfect. If so we would stop buying equipment. So, dont expect all A+ here because there is always room for improvement.
Looks: Most of us remember the day we saw the R11 irons break on THP and the big red lug nut in the back. Well, lets just say they look much better in person. And a big part of my grade on looks also have to include the shafts which simply look awesome. Back to the lug nut. Its a precision weighted port that keeps the swing weight uniform across each iron and the CG optimally positioned. So while you may not love the look it does serve its purpose. While I prefer a darker finished iron I do think the R11's look very good. They look modern, clean, sleek, set up nicely, still look forgiving and maybe most importantly hold up well. Grade: A
Sound & Feel: Sound is something I struggle with. Sound? They sound like clubs. When I hit a good shot rarely do I think "wow that sounded good" or "Did you hear that?" For me irons are not like drivers where one can sound awful and one can sound booming or deep or high pitched. Do they sound bad? No. Do they sing sweet music to my ears on good shots? I guess. We all know the feeling when you just pure a shot. You know it because you don't really feel it.The R11 irons are no different They feel fantastic when you hit the sweet spot with that lug nut And I think they feel even softer with graphite shafts. Grade: B+
Performance: This is where the R11's really shine. For me Ive found them to be about as good as an iron can be. They offer a great package that performs as good as it looks. I thought I might see a little loss of distance with these but that just hasn't been the case. Are they the longest iron out there? No and if that is all you are looking for then you probably wouldn't be looking at these irons in the first place. But you will get an iron that will offer you very good distance that comes in high and lands soft. Lets not forget the graphite shafts. Eye opener. Unexpected results. And all good. So far I have yet to have someone hit these and not be impressed with how good the shafts feel. That includes another tester and Morgan Cup 1.0 participant. They are good probably nothing like what you might think. Grade: A
Forgiveness: I find the R11 irons to be as forgiving a club as I could imagine. They offer a little offset but not so much that its distracting or garish. They don't seem to be all that punishing out on the toe but you still feel it. There will be 10- 15 yards of distance loss but I find that an acceptable for that miss. Frankly Ive been quite surprised just how forgiving a club that isnt a SGI club can be. And I think even if someone might not quite feel they are up to the skill level of the R11's its still a club that ones game can grow into. Do I still occasionally struggle with fat shots? Yes and these will dig in wet turf too. And the hosel is just as unforgiving as any other hosel, so if you struggle with the occasional hosel rocket like I have lately wont disappoint you. Grade: A-
Conclusion: At this point in my testing Im extremely impressed by what TaylorMade has brought to the market in the R11's. At first glance I wanted to not like the R11 irons and the marketing machine that comes with most TaylorMade products. But they just work and they work extremely well. I think better then any irons Ive had up to this point. They are that good. Combine all the looks, performance and shafts that not only look awesome but feel great and you have a winner. I think these irons could work for the vast majority of golfers out there and the majority will thoroughly enjoy them. So how likely am I to keep them in my bag? They dont call me OEM Kevin for nothing. But for now I dont see them coming out of the bag any time soon and will continue to enjoy testing them.
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