TaylorMade R11 Irons Reviews

[Bullfrog]

Played another round on Thursday with the new Taylormade R11s. Just can't begin to express how much I like the irons. Some more thoughts on some individual points.

Sound/Feel: About the only time I don't like the sound or feel of these is when hitting off the sole of the club. You know, the dreaded "thin to win". It's harsh, as well as it should be and the ball flies about two clubs too long and who knows what direction, but mostly forward. Shots out toward the toe are not that harsh. In towards the heel they feel a little worse. Given how much forgiveness is packed in these irons, you hardly notice anything more than the thudded sound given back. Ball flight might be a tad lower, but distance remains constant. For the most part, the sound and feel of these is divine. It's a very crisp sound, a nice high ball flight and enough spin for the ball to remain close to the target it's unleashed towards. It's a feeling and sound I get on almost every iron shot. Something that I am quickly becoming familiar with and something I wouldn't soon give up.

Forgiveness/Accuracy and Length: I've harped on it and will continue to do so, but these babies have a forgiveness area about the size of a shovel, yet they are as precise as a scalpel. My iron shot precision has increased. Given how straight these irons work for me, I can step up to me ball and know that the shot will stay on target. When they are offline, it's operator error. I don't get any phantom jumps in distance or balls that seemingly have a mind of their own. My length from previous sets of irons has remained about the same. What I have now with these, is more control over the ball when it hits the green. Very little release and in most cases a good amount of spin, which I am thrilled with.

Durability: I'll get some pics of this up after my next round. The irons are holding up nicely. I had a shot out of a coquina waste area that left some superficial marks on the sole. A little more on that shot in a bit.

Shot of the round: I hit a wayward...no wayward is putting it kindly. It made a Jake straight ball look like a Steve Stricker drive. This was like Tiger Woods wayward. This 3 wood so far offline, I thought the ball was gone. We ended up finding it about 3 feet behind some tall pampas grass in a coquina shell waste area. I had about 180 yards to the pin that was front right just over a greenside bunker. Short right was a lake. I felt like a 7 iron could get the ball up high enough to clear the grass and give the ball enough distance to clear all the trouble and maybe give me a shot at birdie. I played the ball up in my stance and took a healthy swing. The ball went straight as a string and cleared the bunker by about 3 feet and ended up 10' from the hole on the short side. Wow. I was thrilled I hit the shot I scripted and even though I didn't sink the putt, the fact that I could even attempt that shot, clear the grass in front of me (which it actually clipped on takeoff) and still have enough to clear the trouble, just enforces my confidence in these irons. I wouldn't have even tried the shot with the previous irons because I don't think the ball would have got up high enough or been long enough to make the green, so it would have been a layup type shot. I ended up with some superficial scratches on the bottom of the club. We'll call them battle nicks that build character...well worth it.

Sounds like you had a heck of a shot. As Danny.P would say to me after a great shot, "GOLF SHOT". You are totally right the scratches do add character. I can't wait to actually get one of these in my hand. The last few times I've been to Golf Galaxy, someone was demoing the 6 they had and they didn't have any in stock. Must be pretty popular now!

 

[biggsy]

Sounds like you had a heck of a shot. As Danny.P would say to me after a great shot, "GOLF SHOT". You are totally right the scratches do add character. I can't wait to actually get one of these in my hand. The last few times I've been to Golf Galaxy, someone was demoing the 6 they had and they didn't have any in stock. Must be pretty popular now!

Best thing about the shot was witnesses. Nothing like hearing "tour quality shot" to inflate the ego. It does a head good.

If you get it in your hand, be prepared to buy them, they are that good.

 

[Bullfrog]

Best thing about the shot was witnesses. Nothing like hearing "tour quality shot" to inflate the ego. It does a head good.

If you get it in your hand, be prepared to buy them, they are that good.

That's the hard part about trying them. Is wanting to buy them. Remember I was asking about them way before they were out. And decided to buy MB's instead. Now everything in my bag is new but my putter. After the money I've spent, my bag isn't changing except for a putter... LOL Which was new last year. I'm starting to feel like OEM Kevin... except it would be OEM Frog...

 

[Danilo]

I have a question to anyone that has hit the R11's and the Bridgestone J38 (full cavity).
Do you notice any similarities? Is there something that sticks out on one over the other?

Thanks

 

[thedue]

I took some more comparison photos on how these irons stack up size-wise to The Taylormade CBs and the Burner 2.0s.

R11 to the CB

R11 to the 2.0

Being able to compare these 3 irons once again and I am of the belief that the R11 is the smaller of the 3 in topline and sole. What amazes me, is that the R11 is still more forgiving than the CB (IMO). I hit them side by side again and it's no comparison.

Great reviews here Biggsy. I can now completely agree with your last statement, I stopped at Austad's today to hit the Adam's test clubs and while there hit the CB's and R11 iron's. I really liked the CB's a lot, but when the R11's came out it was just wow. Long, straight, smooth. The guy helping me pointed out the monitor view showing where all the balls ended up and the CB's were pretty much left of center while the R11's were sprinkled all around center and longer. I'm no big hitter and understand it's different hitting indoors, but I had a 160 average with the 7i which for me is pretty long.

Too bad I didn't have time to compare the 2.0's to these as last time I tested them I had similar results, (early summer).

 

[SW]

Biggsy I can attest that your hitting these incredibly well. The shot on #9 you mentioned was phenomenal, told ya you would save it

I hit these a lot Thursday afternoon, even though they're quite a bit sleeker than my 2.0 I didn't notice them to be much more punishing on my typical toe misses.

--
tapatalk

 

[Oregon Golfer]

I finally got a chance to hit these a couple of times today. It was just at a Dick's, so inside, into a net but I came away impressed and I cannot wait to try these outside and off of grass.

 

[Buckjob]

great pics biggsy, man they look sleek next to the 2.0

 

[dway]

If I don't quit reading this thread I will end up buying a set before I find out if I am selected as one of the testers. lol.

 

[jdjanda]

Today was demo day at Golf Smith, I arrived early and headed straight to the TM area. Found an R11 and took a swing, like the rest have said it was butter. Much lower ball flight than I am used to. Next I tried the 2.0; better flight and longer as all have said.

The R11's are dam sexy but my swing is not ready for them, need to keep up the practice. For now I will keep an envious eye on them.

 

[wawabau]

Finally got to test these out at the range yesterday... I was hitting them so much straighter compared to my old Mizuno MP-30's. Distance wise I am clearly 1 club longer now. I don't know how much of the distance gain is from the clubhead design though, as the R11's are 2 to 3 degrees stronger in loft across the board, and I am finally fit with the correct shaft & flex (KBS 90 Regular vs DG S300 in the past). The balance of the club feels pretty nice but I definitely need more range time to get comfortable with them. Hope I'll get to play a round with them in the coming week!

 

[VA. Vince]

Finally got to hit the R11 yesterday. Went to GG and they set a 6 iron up with the KBS and KBS tour. I only got to hit about 10 balls with each shaft as they were busy but its very nice. Averaged 172 carry but had some roll on it to. Still need to spend more time with it to decide which irons to buy as I hit another manufactor that really surprised me. The R11's are just a tad farther in distance than my R7 6 iron but it did feel really good. Looks great to, I like the lines.

 

[coolbreeze]

So two more rounds in with my R11's and two more great iron rounds. I'm stuggling with my driver right now which is hurting my scores, but my iron play is keeping me in it.
I just can't say enough how much confidence I have when I pull one of these irons from the bag. Sometimes I'm still surprised at how far I'm hitting them, but I keep playing the yardages that I think they fly even though I have a hard time believing them, and they keep going that far, so they must be right.

I think the feel these irons provide is what will surprise a lot of golfers who don't think that a GI iron can provide really good feedback. I've said it before, you before I even look up, I can tell you exactly where I hit the ball on the face of the iron, and what the ball flight will be doing when I do look up. The sound on a well struck shot is just addicting too, I'm going to try and get some audio of it over the next few days as I have some range time schedualed but it is just a deep, warm sound, that I love.

Ball flight for me is still penetrating and high, but a lot of this is the shaft I'm playing, so since its not the stock shaft I don't want to speak to it too much, as that will differ if you get the KBS Tour 90 shafts that come stock.

Finally, after a couple of months now with these irons, I could not be happier. I love looking at them in my bag, and on par4 and par5 holes I will lay up to a yardage that will allow me to hit a full, R11 short iron, instead of a wedge, as I just love hitting these clubs so much.

 

[chas]

i had my first game with the r11 irons and i love them, i am hitting them so much better than any iron i have had in the past. Also for the first time i have put the 4 & 5 iron in play and removed the 4 & 5 rescues i have had in the bag since i start playing last year. I can now actualy hit the 4 & 5 iron from this set.

 

[sjf25]

Hi CB, I have 5 rounds in with my R11's, (review to come shortly). I played burner 2.0 w/ stiff graphite and the R11's are KBS Stiff steel. I have played graphite iron shafts for the past 20 years. I changed to steel because my pro and teachers always said that I could benefit from steel as my swing speed with a 6 iron is 92 mph. I find on well struck shots, I am almost the same distance as the 2.0's. Misses on the toe I lose at least 1 club and on the heel, not as much loss. I usually hit my burner 6 iron 180 yards. I hit a 6 iron today off the toe and only hit it 155 which is a lot. DO you think that going from graphite to steel in general will cause distance loss? You said that you have experienced no distance loss with your R11's and I am assuming that you have used steel in your past sets. I have noticed in general that I am 1 club shorter with the new R11's but my shot pattern is a lot tighter.

So two more rounds in with my R11's and two more great iron rounds. I'm stuggling with my driver right now which is hurting my scores, but my iron play is keeping me in it.
I just can't say enough how much confidence I have when I pull one of these irons from the bag. Sometimes I'm still surprised at how far I'm hitting them, but I keep playing the yardages that I think they fly even though I have a hard time believing them, and they keep going that far, so they must be right.

I think the feel these irons provide is what will surprise a lot of golfers who don't think that a GI iron can provide really good feedback. I've said it before, you before I even look up, I can tell you exactly where I hit the ball on the face of the iron, and what the ball flight will be doing when I do look up. The sound on a well struck shot is just addicting too, I'm going to try and get some audio of it over the next few days as I have some range time schedualed but it is just a deep, warm sound, that I love.

Ball flight for me is still penetrating and high, but a lot of this is the shaft I'm playing, so since its not the stock shaft I don't want to speak to it too much, as that will differ if you get the KBS Tour 90 shafts that come stock.

Finally, after a couple of months now with these irons, I could not be happier. I love looking at them in my bag, and on par4 and par5 holes I will lay up to a yardage that will allow me to hit a full, R11 short iron, instead of a wedge, as I just love hitting these clubs so much.

 

[coolbreeze]

Hi CB, I have 5 rounds in with my R11's, (review to come shortly). I played burner 2.0 w/ stiff graphite and the R11's are KBS Stiff steel. I have played graphite iron shafts for the past 20 years. I changed to steel because my pro and teachers always said that I could benefit from steel as my swing speed with a 6 iron is 92 mph. I find on well struck shots, I am almost the same distance as the 2.0's. Misses on the toe I lose at least 1 club and on the heel, not as much loss. I usually hit my burner 6 iron 180 yards. I hit a 6 iron today off the toe and only hit it 155 which is a lot. DO you think that going from graphite to steel in general will cause distance loss? You said that you have experienced no distance loss with your R11's and I am assuming that you have used steel in your past sets. I have noticed in general that I am 1 club shorter with the new R11's but my shot pattern is a lot tighter.

Hey man, well this is hard to say really, I've never played a graphite shaft in my irons, but I would think that a properly fit iron shaft, should give you the same distance as a properly fit graphite shaft, but I also disagree that simply because of your swing speed that you should be playing steel. There are plenty of graphite shafts that are more than stout enough to hold up to any swing speed.

That being said, the fact that your dispersion is a lot tighter leads me to believe you are playing a shaft the fits you pretty good, but might not be giving you the right launch conditions. If you can the only thing I can recommend is getting these irons to a local fitter and get some numbers. I played the Burner 2.0s in the past and I'm seeing actually a little better distance out of the R11's than I did those, however I'm a better player now with a faster swing speed so its not an apt comparison.

I hope this helps some, as the lofts are darn near the same with the R11's as with the Burner 2.0s, so you should not be a club shorter.

 

[sjf25]

Hi CB, Thanks for the quick response. I actually got fitted for the R11's at the taylormade performance lab in Bolton, MA. I tried several iron shafts and the best numbers and feel for me was the KBS 90 which is what I got. When I got fitted for my driver this past February at the same place, we looked at my 2.0 irons on the launch monitor and was told then that steel would be better for me. So when the R11's came out I figured lets give it a shot. Steel is such a different feel than graphite.

Hey man, well this is hard to say really, I've never played a graphite shaft in my irons, but I would think that a properly fit iron shaft, should give you the same distance as a properly fit graphite shaft, but I also disagree that simply because of your swing speed that you should be playing steel. There are plenty of graphite shafts that are more than stout enough to hold up to any swing speed.

That being said, the fact that your dispersion is a lot tighter leads me to believe you are playing a shaft the fits you pretty good, but might not be giving you the right launch conditions. If you can the only thing I can recommend is getting these irons to a local fitter and get some numbers. I played the Burner 2.0s in the past and I'm seeing actually a little better distance out of the R11's than I did those, however I'm a better player now with a faster swing speed so its not an apt comparison.

I hope this helps some, as the lofts are darn near the same with the R11's as with the Burner 2.0s, so you should not be a club shorter.

 

[Staples]

I played 27 holes today with the R11's. I hit some decent shots, but am back to pulling them a little. I'm not pulling them quite as bad as last week, but it's still a pull. I did try and over correct it a few times and ended up hitting some high blocks to the right. I still love the way these irons feel at impact and the distances I am seeing on well struck shots are pretty incredible.

I'm still hitting the ball fairly high, but I did mess around with some knockdowns today since it was cool and windy. Placing the ball near the back foot and a 3/4 swing made for some nice shots. The trajectory was mid and the ball would bounce once and stop or just bite and stop (greens are still fairly soft). I did still pull a few of these shots, mostly with my PW.

I've still yet to find the time to get a good range session in, but hopefully this is the week. I should have plenty of time after work since I am working close to home. I still want to get these side by side on the range with my old irons.

 

[coolbreeze]

Hi CB, Thanks for the quick response. I actually got fitted for the R11's at the taylormade performance lab in Bolton, MA. I tried several iron shafts and the best numbers and feel for me was the KBS 90 which is what I got. When I got fitted for my driver this past February at the same place, we looked at my 2.0 irons on the launch monitor and was told then that steel would be better for me. So when the R11's came out I figured lets give it a shot. Steel is such a different feel than graphite.

WOW, then I'm stumped my friend. TMPL are great at what they do, so if they fit you for those shafts then they are the best for you. Still weird that you have lost a full club of distance.

 

[Esox]

So two more rounds in with my R11's and two more great iron rounds. I'm stuggling with my driver right now which is hurting my scores, but my iron play is keeping me in it.
I just can't say enough how much confidence I have when I pull one of these irons from the bag. Sometimes I'm still surprised at how far I'm hitting them, but I keep playing the yardages that I think they fly even though I have a hard time believing them, and they keep going that far, so they must be right.

I think the feel these irons provide is what will surprise a lot of golfers who don't think that a GI iron can provide really good feedback. I've said it before, you before I even look up, I can tell you exactly where I hit the ball on the face of the iron, and what the ball flight will be doing when I do look up. The sound on a well struck shot is just addicting too, I'm going to try and get some audio of it over the next few days as I have some range time schedualed but it is just a deep, warm sound, that I love.

Ball flight for me is still penetrating and high, but a lot of this is the shaft I'm playing, so since its not the stock shaft I don't want to speak to it too much, as that will differ if you get the KBS Tour 90 shafts that come stock.

Finally, after a couple of months now with these irons, I could not be happier. I love looking at them in my bag, and on par4 and par5 holes I will lay up to a yardage that will allow me to hit a full, R11 short iron, instead of a wedge, as I just love hitting these clubs so much.

I find it interesting that you would take a wedge out of your hands. What about the R11 PW and AW? Why not lay up to hit one of those?

Kevin

 

[coolbreeze]

I find it interesting that you would take a wedge out of your hands. What about the R11 PW and AW? Why not lay up to hit one of those?

Kevin

Sorry Esox those are the clubs I lay up to, I suppose I should have said SW or LW, I've been laying up to either 125 or 135 so I can hit a AW or PW.

 

[Esox]

Sorry Esox those are the clubs I lay up to, I suppose I should have said SW or LW, I've been laying up to either 125 or 135 so I can hit a AW or PW.

No your comment makes sense because everyone knows those two clubs are actually 10 and 11 irons respectively.

Kevin

 

[coolbreeze]

No your comment makes sense because everyone knows those two clubs are actually 10 and 11 irons respectively.

Kevin

LOL dude don't start. I love the wedge set that comes with the R11's, 125 is my favorite yardage right now, and around the greens, I love to play some little bump and runs with the wedges.

 

[Hawk]

CB, I'm really happy that you've found a set of irons you like so much. Sort of bummed I haven't see the mustache though...

 

[Esox]

CB, I'm really happy that you've found a set of irons you like so much. Sort of bummed I haven't see the mustache though...

Don't you mean "ridden".

Kevin