TaylorMade R11 Irons Reviews

[golf4life]

G4L this is the exact thing I am loving about the R11's, I'm not getting those flyiers that I was getting with the Burner 2.0s and the Di11's. My 8 is carrying 155 everytime, no dead shots, and no crazy 175 yard flyers.

See, this intrigues me quite a lot. The thing I love most about the MCs I'm gaming is that the distance is very consistent (assuming well struck shot). I LOVE that about the MCs. If I can have that, and the forgiveness... mercy me.

 

[golf4life]

I would assume that most of the time the fliers people are seeing are out of rough, light rough, or deeper grass areas correct?

What I was referring to earlier was with many of these distance irons, I get a lot of variance in distance, from the short grass (or even driving range mats). It seems, when you catch one just a certain way, you get an unexpected boost in yardage. Outside of a nice ego boost for hitting a 9 iron 170 yards, it really just helps lead to a big score most of the time. Maybe, like Coolbreeze, its just a product of my less than perfect swing. It just seems to happen to me way more with these distance irons than with the irons I currently play and the ones I've played in years past.

This to me is different than the flyer, where you get an extra long shot because some grass in the rough takes all the spin off the shot. Unfortunately I get those too, but outside of the older U grooves, there's not much to prevent those in my experience.

 

[Griff]

These irons seem to hit all the right marks. I'm not seeing anything revolutionary, just a rock solid iron that inspires confidence and produces consistent shots.

 

[arydolphin]

DirtyDawg, cg13, and coolbreeze have provided this thread with great feedback! I hope that I can do the same, if I ever can get out and hit these sticks! Between work and poor weather, I've only got to hit my irons once since the Morgan Cup, it's quite pathetic. I should be able to get some rounds in next week to figure out my yardages on my home course.

 

[cg13]

Has anyone been able to test the spin on these things?
.

I'm going to try and get to a launch monitor with my burner 2.0 demo 6 iron (installed a kbs tour 90) against my r11 6 iron. I'm curious what the numbers will be.

Wish I had a launch monitor of my own hehe that would be sooooo sick

 

[cg13]

Someone mentioned turf interaction. Ill try and describe my thoughts as best I can.

I don't take super big divots but I do notice that these glide better than other irons I have hit.

I like the feel of these as they cut through the turf. I don't think it's a "digger" type club by any means, I think the sole is pretty well engineered. The club really hits and slides through the turf.

One set I hit at the demo day had a sharp leading edge that dug into the ground, it was not for me. I think the r11 has a generous sole that provides enough mass to keep it from digging too much, yet it still cuts through the turf enough for a good divot.

Hope that helps!

 

[cg13]

Did I mention I love the feel of this club at impact?

After watching the video at taylormade again, I think the face on this r11 is thinner than the burner 2.0.

I can't be sure but the r11's face features a new technology from taylormade, ultra thin face and it's unsupported face is supposed to increase the COR ( all info from the TM site)

I don't see those technologies listed on the burner 2.0 page-

Which may answer the question I've had for some time. Try as I have to replicate the feel at impact, i simply cannot get that feel with the burner 2.0, I hit the CB plenty of times and it just doesnt feel the same as the r11 iron does.

The distance was there with the 2.0, I think it is a touch longer being 1* stronger, but it just doesn't feel as pure as the r11.

Taylormade has really done it, when they say this is "the iron"; and "everything we know in one iron". It just works.

I've told friends and guys at the club that this may be the best thing Taylormade has released in years, and that's a pretty strong statement considering they just sold a million friggin white woods!

For me, this is everything I need in an Iron, the lofts are perfect. I am seeing good numbers for distances, and the more I swing these the better I get.

The shaft is a perfect combo for me, giving me the perfect weighting in an iron. I couldn't be happier going to a lighter weight shaft, I have great tempo, the flight is to die for. I have never hit such high iron shots in my life. I never thought i could until I saw these.

The top line to me, is great. Coming form a thicker top line, I love standing over the ball with these. They inspire confidence.

Sound. I think it is often overlooked. People are into looks, hell were guys. But when you hear this you just think, wow I want to do that again, just like that so i can hear that every time. I never paid much attention to it until I hit the r11 for the first time. It's not a loud metallic sound, but it's like a powerful sounding thwack. It just sounds like power at impact. Very addicting!

Hard to keep raving about these but I can't say how thankful I am to have been blessed by TaylorMade with a pre release set. It means a lot to me, and you hit a home run!

Most importantly thanks to JB and GG for picking me- I know I haven't been the easiest guy to deal with, but I do appreciate all you have done, and will do in the future. Thanks for giving me the chance.

 

[CarstenBF]

Bah, knew I should have stayed out of this thread. Now I want 'em.

 

[Tbird]

Picking mine up tomorrow, any advice on what to expect from my first range hits?

 

[chas]

Bah, knew I should have stayed out of this thread. Now I want 'em.

same here, my local store just got them in and i am so tempted, only had my burner 2.0 for 6 months as well.

 

[TC]

For me, fliers generally come out a of good, fluffy lie in the rough. Maybe you're in the short grass too often.

Kevin

Fliers typically occur for me in the same scenario. A flier is when you get grass between the ball and the clubface, thus severely reducing the amount of spin one can effectively put on the ball. THis typically causes a ball to go further than one might be used to.

Chunky, I'm sure you've hit a flier before. Or you've never been in the rough.

 

[Chunkylover77]

Fliers typically occur for me in the same scenario. A flier is when you get grass between the ball and the clubface, thus severely reducing the amount of spin one can effectively put on the ball. THis typically causes a ball to go further than one might be used to.

Chunky, I'm sure you've hit a flier before. Or you've never been in the rough.

Maybe you are right and I just didn't realize it. Might have thought I misclubbed or something.

 

[adwillingham]

I expect the occational flier from the rough, but sometimes with the 2.0's I would get a flyier off the face from the fairway that would just be a good club longer than usual. It could be I just put a great swing on the ball, but it just seemed odd to me that catching it that perfect could really make that much of a difference.

What I was referring to earlier was with many of these distance irons, I get a lot of variance in distance, from the short grass (or even driving range mats). It seems, when you catch one just a certain way, you get an unexpected boost in yardage. Outside of a nice ego boost for hitting a 9 iron 170 yards, it really just helps lead to a big score most of the time. Maybe, like Coolbreeze, its just a product of my less than perfect swing. It just seems to happen to me way more with these distance irons than with the irons I currently play and the ones I've played in years past.

This to me is different than the flyer, where you get an extra long shot because some grass in the rough takes all the spin off the shot. Unfortunately I get those too, but outside of the older U grooves, there's not much to prevent those in my experience.

This flyer out of the fairway or on the range was my only complaint about the Burner 2.0s as well. I don't have any technical information on why it was happening, but about 1 out of 10 shots would just go 10-15% further than the others. In the rounds I've played to date with the R11s, I've never seen that happen again.

 

[JB]

Its very odd. The bird is just staring at these clubs in the corner of my office for hours. Strutting around, doing Ole Gray impersonations and whatnot.

 

[Griff]

Its very odd. The bird is just staring at these clubs in the corner of my office for hours. Strutting around, doing Ole Gray impersonations and whatnot.

Tweet tweet chirp chirp

 

[biggsy]

Nice updates Dirty

The only negative I have regarding the club up until this point is that dirt gets caught in that crease in the sole. I also seem to pull these irons a lot more than my old Tour Burners which seems odd to me due to less offset, but that very well could be the indian (and most likely is). The clubs are still pretty new to me though, so more info will be coming if it ever stops raining. If you're looking for an iron that is long, forgiving, and pretty damn sexy then these should be on your list.

Another negative: I let a friend swing one this weekend on a 178 par 3. He stuck my 6i to 3' which was about 25' closer than I did. DJ didn't like that.

I'm noticing dirt getting lodged in the cavity as well, but it comes out with ease.

"The R11 irons Multi-Functional Sole is beveled at the back to make it perform like a much thinner sole, which increases playability from a variety of lies. Yet it also features a low and deeper center of gravity that makes it easy to launch the ball on a powerful and penetrating flight."

When compared to the sole of my TB's, its noticeably thinner. I have noticed that I am taking a deeper divot on most shots. I don't know if this has anything to do with the soles, but there is dirt to be wiped off of the face after most hits. I'm not hitting the shots fat at all, but it seems like the club digs a little easier than the TB's. I also noticed that in FL. I was repairing divots a lot, which I seemed to sweep a little more with the TB's. I would disagree with "penetrating flight"...these babies launch the ball high.

I like the fact that the sole in beveled, it makes for great turf interaction, especially in the rough. An unexpected gem in a game improvement iron.

Yeah most likely. KBS Tour. I don't mind the high ball flight though since I have knockdowns in my arsenal, lol.

I think that is something I am going to have to play more with these. It's something I developed playing in all the wind that seems to envelop my course.

OK, so I am finally out of the woods and have been able to have a couple of range sessions and two more rounds under my belt with the R11 irons. So my past two iron sets have been Game improvement irons but much larger than these irons from top line to sole width and I have to admit that while I don't find thick top lines or seeing the cavity at the back off putting, the sleek just good looking package of the R11's is much better to look at. If you didn't know any better you would think that you were playing a GE iron and they play like them too, but with all the forgiveness that those of us amateur golfers love.

To start, these irons are long in fact, paired with the proper shaft fit to my game, they are longer for me than my previous two sets were, and they were supposed to be "distance" irons. I'm seeing a great high ball flight that can only be described as boreing. The ball lands soft with the short and mid irons, and has more runout as you would expect with the long irons. I have finally gotten my yardages down with these and I have pretty consistent 10 yard gaps between the clubs with the 8 iron being my 155 carry club right now.

The biggest difference I'm seeing is the turf interaction of the smaller sole and the leading edge of the irons. It just cuts through the turf and takes beautiful divots. Its hard for me to describe as these are the thiniest soled irons I have gamed, but it is noticably better than thicker soled irons.

Everyone always wants to know about working the ball, and I've been on record as not being a big fan of this unless I have to. I play pretty much a straight ball with these irons with a slight fade if anything. I have run into a few shots over the last couple of rounds where I have had to hit a draw, or a fade, and the R11's performed ever time and to be honest it was easier than with other irons I have gamed. I still wont be shaping shots into greens unless I have to, but the fact that I can if I want to is great to have in the bag.

After about 10 rounds and maybe 10 range sessions since getting these irons in my filthy mits at the morgan cup I can safely say these are the best irons I have ever played. I loved the R9 irons and these are a step above. I don't know if they do everything that TaylorMade says they do in their ads, but I'll tell you that they are great looking, they are long, they are incredibly consitent, and are just flat out perform. These irons are already lowering my scores, and I look forward to whats to come.

Good stuff CB. I am glad they are treating you well.

What's scary about these is some are saying the KBS Tour are launching the ball pretty high. I was going back and forth on whether to go with the Tour or the C-Tapers, looks like maybe the C-Tapers may get the nod. Anybody swung both the C-Tapers and the stock KBS 90 and can tell me how they felt compared to each other?

Just based on my experience of already hitting the ball high before the R11s and now hitting it even higher, I wish the C-Tapers were a shaft option when I ordered mine. TC talks very highly of the shafts.

is it worth trading in ur 2.0 for r11 ? r they that much better or just a lot of hype?

Hype or just plain truth. Truth for me, these irons are the real deal. Plus the fact that the iron head is smaller and more manageable and you get a normal length shaft, plus all of the distance and a lot better feeling club.

When I read all these posts I wonder how I would like these compared to the CBs. I'm loving the short irons with the CBs, but have struggled with the 4i-6i the last couple rounds.

Kevin

In all honesty, the R11s are a lot better in my book. I hit the CBs on the range several times and played a round with them and could never get comfortable with them. Not the case with the R11s. I said it before, I was comfortable with them almost immediately. Sorry to hear you are struggling with the longer irons, I know you hit the crap out of them in Florida. I find with longer irons that when I am not hitting them well, I am swinging tentatively at them and that is iron striking death for me.

 

[biggsy]

The leading edges of those 2 irons does definetly look different in that video. The R11 seems to have a slightly chunkier sole to it than does the CB.

Very similar actually, with the R11 being slightly smaller visually. Here is a 2.0, R11 and CB soles lined up.

http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...-Irons-Reviews&p=859134&viewfull=1#post859134

Yeah, I don't even think its a cast versus forged thing. I think its a thinner, springier metal on the R11 face versus the CBs thing. Pretty sure TM has basically stated that they took the face technology from the Burners and put it in the R11. That alone could account for the marginal increase in smash factor the british dude was seeing in his results. And honestly, a smash factor increase from 1.26 to 1.31 is not trivial either. That probably equates to several yards.

My concern with the R11 would be the same concern I have with the Burner 2.0s and CG16s and a couple other clubs.... does the "hot face" of the iron cause inconsistent distances, where once every few swings you hit a shot that goes 10 yards further than planned? So far, reports seem to state that is not the case, but its still early on and I think the jury may still be out on that. If it maintains the dispersion alongside the distance and forgiveness, then this is going to be one fine iron.

So far, they are very consistent in distance across the board for me. Not like what some are seeing with the 2.0s

When comments are made about the "pop" or springiness, is this strictly a feel thing you guys are talking about? As in the ball jumps off the face? I'm finding the short iron CBs are quite poppish, yet not jump off the face poppish. Controlled maybe? Even with weaker lofts they're longer than my Tour Burners. It sounds like the R11s may be longer still. The forgiveness is also intriguing. I hit a couple of Coolbreeze's irons at TMC, but the they were set up all wrong and the grips were gigantic.

Kevin

I suppose it is a feel thing. They don't feel all that springy to me, but the ball does seem to jump off the face. They really are packed with forgiveness buddy.

I have never seen a flier. Do I not swing hard enough to get one? Honest question:question:

Not sure, but I see it out of the rough. Too much grass in contact between the ball and the club face and no spin creates fliers for me.

(EDIT)...Typed my response before reading through, but some others covered it as well.

See, this intrigues me quite a lot. The thing I love most about the MCs I'm gaming is that the distance is very consistent (assuming well struck shot). I LOVE that about the MCs. If I can have that, and the forgiveness... mercy me.

 

[Esox]

In all honesty, the R11s are a lot better in my book. I hit the CBs on the range several times and played a round with them and could never get comfortable with them. Not the case with the R11s. I said it before, I was comfortable with them almost immediately. Sorry to hear you are struggling with the longer irons, I know you hit the crap out of them in Florida. I find with longer irons that when I am not hitting them well, I am swinging tentatively at them and that is iron striking death for me.

It's a swing thing. I'm trying to hit them with my arms instead of making a good turn like I do with the shorter irons. For anybody concerned about hitting the R11s too high because of the shafts, I suggest trying them with the Nippon950s if you can. These babies keep the ball down with the CBs, and spin the hell out the ball, too. I think they are the best feeling shaft I've ever hit in an iron. Not that I've hit a lot.

Kevin

 

[biggsy]

Some of you were talking about lofts and stronger lofts.

Here are the Burner 2.0 specs:

Here are the R11 specs:

Here are the CB specs:

 

[biggsy]

It's a swing thing. I'm trying to hit them with my arms instead of making a good turn like I do with the shorter irons. For anybody concerned about hitting the R11s too high because of the shafts, I suggest trying them with the Nippon950s if you can. These babies keep the ball down with the CBs, and spin the hell out the ball, too. I think they are the best feeling shaft I've ever hit in an iron. Not that I've hit a lot.

Kevin

Especially with the longer irons for me, I find myself doing the same thing and I equate it to a "slappy" shot with nothing on it.

 

[golf4life]

Its very odd. The bird is just staring at these clubs in the corner of my office for hours. Strutting around, doing Ole Gray impersonations and whatnot.

OH man, I like where this bird has landed......

 

[Kmac]

Maybe you are right and I just didn't realize it. Might have thought I misclubbed or something.

Or you just didnt realize you hit a flier and thought it was because of your sheer strength and brute force with which you swing.

 

[TC]

biggsy, you fubar'd the CB specs dude. You have the R11 specs in there twice. Not that it matters much. Basically, to me, the R11's are everything the CB's are not.

 

[Mardin]

Thanks for posting the R11 specs biggsy. I'm suprised because the CB's have slightly more loft across the board.

 

[JB]

Thanks for posting the R11 specs biggsy. I'm suprised because the CB's have slightly more loft across the board.

TP irons will almost always be less stronger lofted than their counterparts. It has to be that way with this particular TP line because it is geared towards mixing and matching sets. If they had the stronger lofts like the R11s, people would have a heck of a time creating a mixed set with MCs or MBs without massive gaps.