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TaylorMade R11 Irons - Review Thread - Forum Testing Reviews

SuperStroke
That last round when I hit the 4 iron on 10 it went high maybe a little baby fade and dropped right in the fairway. Id say it was similar ball flight I'm seeing with the other irons. Maybe a little lower but not much. I usually play the long irons a little closer to my front foot.


~Don't drink and tapatalk~
 
I definitely play the ball forward in my stance with the longer irons. I think what I'm trying to say is that I'm seeing some inconsistent ball flights with the long irons. I feel like I'm hitting the ball pure but one time I see a higher flight and the next time I see a lower flight. It's perplexing. Is that what you're seeing as well DJ?
 
I like the thoughts on not trying to force anything out of them. It sure is nice to have a club that you can rely on for a clean second shot. Helps that it's a respectable distance as well.
 
OEM Kevin said:
That last round when I hit the 4 iron on 10 it went high maybe a little baby fade and dropped right in the fairway. Id say it was similar ball flight I'm seeing with the other irons. Maybe a little lower but not much. I usually play the long irons a little closer to my front foot.


~Don't drink and tapatalk~
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i am having similar results.... kev text or PM me if you have time to get together for a round. wanna check out these graphite shafts.
 
Just a little food for thought, but I've noticed in my own iron testing that sometimes I'm seeing a lower ballflight with long irons when I'm hitting them a little bit behind the ball?
 
Buckjob said:
i am having similar results.... kev text or PM me if you have time to get together for a round. wanna check out these graphite shafts.
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Will do. Will be a very good comparison.


~Don't drink and tapatalk~
 
Hawk said:
Just a little food for thought, but I've noticed in my own iron testing that sometimes I'm seeing a lower ballflight with long irons when I'm hitting them a little bit behind the ball?
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thats interesting.... i would think if your hitting behind the ball you would be actually making contact with the ball on your upswing and adding loft to your club... i know i add loft to all of my clubs due to my steep swing. but from the stuff ive seen at golftec i need to hit through the ball better. So maybe this is off because of different swings.
 
Yea, we're definitely all different in that regard. It's something that I've seen at times, but I have no idea how it all actually unfolds.
 
@all the testers, a lot of good information in here. The increased distance a lot of you are seeing really has me wondering if I need to hit these more. I'm thinking about trying these with a graphite shaft and also the Burner 2.0 stock shaft then going to war with the KBS stock.

I think a lot of the discussion around the longer irons is interesting. I have thought on multiple occasions about trying it out again and you all are making some good points. I guess for me a question I would have is what are the advantages you're seeing of having a long iron rather than hybrid off the tee? If this has been answered I completely apologize!
 
Well looks like I got an hour without rain I'm gonna go hit the range and see if my ball flight is consistent with the 4 and 5 irons.
 
Yoccos said:
@all the testers, a lot of good information in here. The increased distance a lot of you are seeing really has me wondering if I need to hit these more. I'm thinking about trying these with a graphite shaft and also the Burner 2.0 stock shaft then going to war with the KBS stock.

I think a lot of the discussion around the longer irons is interesting. I have thought on multiple occasions about trying it out again and you all are making some good points. I guess for me a question I would have is what are the advantages you're seeing of having a long iron rather than hybrid off the tee? If this has been answered I completely apologize!
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Good question Tmod. For me, it's simple: accuracy. I'm far more accurate with an iron than I am a hybrid. That being said, I think hybrids are easier to hit (in general). I think hybrids launch the ball much higher as well. But if you're in a position where you absolutely need a ball down the middle, it's hard to beat a long iron for me.
 
Typically if I hit behind the ball I see a higher ball flight and shorter distance. For me it's usually I hit it good or didn't. I'm not going to wear out the sweet spot lol.

TMod, for me I usually strike the ball better with my irons better then my woods or even hybrids sometimes. I can fall into a big struggle sometimes with those clubs and the 4 iron is something like an escape from them offering me 200+ yards and typically very straight. I'd say the 4 is straighter then my hybrids usually.


~Don't drink and tapatalk~
 
TC said:
I definitely play the ball forward in my stance with the longer irons. I think what I'm trying to say is that I'm seeing some inconsistent ball flights with the long irons. I feel like I'm hitting the ball pure but one time I see a higher flight and the next time I see a lower flight. It's perplexing. Is that what you're seeing as well DJ?
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Exactly what I'm seeing. My flight was a little more consistent towards the end of my last range session, but I also had hit a lot of balls. I hope to get a session in tomorrow evening before my Sunday rounds to work with them some more.


John Deere Tappin...
 
TC said:
Good question Tmod. For me, it's simple: accuracy. I'm far more accurate with an iron than I am a hybrid. That being said, I think hybrids are easier to hit (in general). I think hybrids launch the ball much higher as well. But if you're in a position where you absolutely need a ball down the middle, it's hard to beat a long iron for me.
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Thanks TC. That makes sense. Do you find you hit the long irons consistently better than a hybrid? I've seen you hit both and most recently the Razr X hybrid (which was bullet after bullet). I'm just kinda thinking out loud.
 
Yoccos said:
@all the testers, a lot of good information in here. The increased distance a lot of you are seeing really has me wondering if I need to hit these more. I'm thinking about trying these with a graphite shaft and also the Burner 2.0 stock shaft then going to war with the KBS stock.

I think a lot of the discussion around the longer irons is interesting. I have thought on multiple occasions about trying it out again and you all are making some good points. I guess for me a question I would have is what are the advantages you're seeing of having a long iron rather than hybrid off the tee? If this has been answered I completely apologize!
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Nice question TMex. I feel like I can replicate a nice swing with the 4i off of the tee and put it in the short grass more often than not. I have been working with the hybrid off of the tee, but still am not sure where it will end up. I tend to not overswing with the 4i like I do with a hybo on the tee. This is something I have been working on though and my opinion will probably change.


John Deere Tappin...
 
@ yoccos. Only thing for me would be distance if I have to lay up I can hit my 2 hybrid which is the next club up from my 4 iron 240-250 so some doglegs I have to hit a iron or if the fairway is very tight which I would use a 4 for also. But besides that I'll hit my hybrid. That's a money club for me. I usually hit that very well. Especially off the tee. It's my fairway finder.
 
Yoccos said:
Thanks TC. That makes sense. Do you find you hit the long irons consistently better than a hybrid? I've seen you hit both and most recently the Razr X hybrid (which was bullet after bullet). I'm just kinda thinking out loud.
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No, in all honesty, right now, I'm more consistent with the Razr X hybrid, but I've only had the R11's for a couple of weeks now.
 
Dirtydawg67 said:
Nice question TMex. I feel like I can replicate a nice swing with the 4i off of the tee and put it in the short grass more often than not. I have been working with the hybrid off of the tee, but still am not sure where it will end up. I tend to not overswing with the 4i like I do with a hybo on the tee. This is something I have been working on though and my opinion will probably change.


John Deere Tappin...
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Thanks DJ. I really appreciate the responses because they had me thinking quite a bit. If the hybrids are generally considered easier to hit why go with the iron? But it really sounds like TM did right with the longer irons (doesnt fit all cases) but it seems like I'm seeing more love for long irons lately.

Buckjob said:
@ yoccos. Only thing for me would be distance if I have to lay up I can hit my 2 hybrid which is the next club up from my 4 iron 240-250 so some doglegs I have to hit a iron or if the fairway is very tight which I would use a 4 for also. But besides that I'll hit my hybrid. That's a money club for me. I usually hit that very well. Especially off the tee. It's my fairway finder.
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Thanks Buckjob! Do you find youre a better hybrid player overall? Would you replace that 4i with an R11 hybrid if you could?
 
TC said:
No, in all honesty, right now, I'm more consistent with the Razr X hybrid, but I've only had the R11's for a couple of weeks now.
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Definitely understand that. Probably a better question for a little bit longer down the road :) Appreciate you guys answering. I'm definitely in testing mode myself but these irons still make me think some.
 
That was a great question TMod.

DJ I'm curious how the 3 iron works out for you. Sometimes I can hit the 4 really really well and be confident with it like I am now. But the 3 iron has never been something I could hit well.


~Don't drink and tapatalk~
 
I haven't been into the hybrids until recently, I really like them...but, I agree with what TC said. If I know I absolutely, positively, must be in the fairway...I'm hittin' the 4i. My answer is simply the difference with the swing weight of an iron over the hybrid. I feel like the clubs gonna' handle this for me. I've switched from a 3 hy to a 4i on some of the dogleg holes where I'm playing and it just seems to be the right club for my game in that particular situation and I feel just a hair more confident over it.

I've always carried a 3i until this year and I've contemplated getting one for this set too, but so far the 4i has been perfect for the courses I'm playing when driver is too much and I have a tight landing area.
 
2Shoes said:
I haven't been into the hybrids until recently, I really like them...but, I agree with what TC said. If I know I absolutely, positively, must be in the fairway...I'm hittin' the 4i. My answer is simply the difference with the swing weight of an iron over the hybrid. I feel like the clubs gonna' handle this for me. I've switched from a 3 hy to a 4i on some of the dogleg holes where I'm playing and it just seems to be the right club for my game in that particular situation and I feel just a hair more confident over it.

I've always carried a 3i until this year and I've contemplated getting one for this set too, but so far the 4i has been perfect for the courses I'm playing when driver is too much and I have a tight landing area.
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That makes a lot of sense too. Especially with the different shafts and then combine that with the difference in head shapes and designs.
 
Yoccos said:
Thanks DJ. I really appreciate the responses because they had me thinking quite a bit. If the hybrids are generally considered easier to hit why go with the iron? But it really sounds like TM did right with the longer irons (doesnt fit all cases) but it seems like I'm seeing more love for long irons lately.



Thanks Buckjob! Do you find youre a better hybrid player overall? Would you replace that 4i with an R11 hybrid if you could?
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i only use my hybrid for when my driver is going to over drive a fairway or if i have a dogleg left i can't use a fade on. Or if i can't hit my driver to save my life. ive only ever had 2 hybrids. both 2 irons i had the nike slingshot 2 hybrid which i really didn't like very much and my r11 TP 2 hybrid which i really like a lot. so its hard to say if i am a better hybrid player overall because i only have switched out my 2 irons for hybrids. i don't think i hit my 4 iron bad enough that i would want to switch it for a hybrid right now. it def still needs some work. if im gonna slice a iron shot thats the club its gonna be but i just need to work on that some more. i guess time would tell i have actually never even considered buying a hybrid 4 iron before.
 
Taylormade R11 Iron Testing
Date- 10/13/11
Irons Used- Taylormade R11 Irons 4-AW Stiff Flex KBS Steel Shafts
Previous Irons-Taylormade Burner 2.0 4-AW Stiff Flex Steel Shafts
Ball Used-Top Flite Range Balls
Testing Conditions- Overcast 63*
Location- Outdoor Range- Grass tees


I went to the range today in between the rain quick. It actually wasn't that wet for the rain we've gotten, which was nice. Started off warming up with my PW was hitting right over the 120 mark by about 10 yards consistently. Then after i felt warmed up i started hitting my 4 iron to look at my ball flight to see if it went from higher or lower i hit about 25-30 balls and for the most part my ball flight was very similar it was a mid ball flight it wasn't as high as many of the other irons but for a 4 iron i wouldn't expect a higher ball flight. I was really coming across the ball today with my 4 iron for some reason. so i worked that out cause i was slicing the first 5-10 balls i hit. The ball flight was consistent just ending up going 20 yards right of my target. but i straightened that out. i have been a little sore with all the golf ive been playing and with ice hockey and work and stuff so i think that may have just been some tightness. Anyway i ended up trying to hit off the toe and heel a few times. those shots were obviously lower as well as me topping the ball i hit about 3 topped shots that just stayed about 20 feet off the ground but still had decent distance prob going about 170-180 yards. those also sliced a bit but ended up on my target line when they landed. just very short. So for me the ball trajectory and flight today anyway seemed to be the same unless i was obviously making a large miss hit. I hope the slice i had was just tightness cause i was hitting the 4 very well up till today and like i said i seemed to get that ironed out after a few shots. and i also thought i may had been over swinging a little bit.

So after that i decided to work on moving up a club and working on consistency and dispersion on a longer club. SO heres what i have been doing. besides my 3/4 shot with my AW which ill get to more later i have been moving up clubs. i started with my PW then my 9 and then 8 and so on, and i have worked on really getting my balls to hit in a very tight dispersion consistently with each club obviously its gotten harder with each club i move up but i am BLOWN away by how well (with some work) you can hit this irons to a tight dispersion with consistency. Today i worked on my 7 iron which i was hitting to a 4'x4' marker which today was at 170 yards. i hit 20 balls and i hit the sign 5 times. and most of them were landing very close. i also worked on my alignment because with my old irons i would have to play my fade more. with these i get just a slight slight fade then the ball stops fading at the top of its trajectory and it drops straight from there. its really great to see the ball move right over your target and drop down like a dart near the pin. So especially after setting up my alignment stick to the target and getting myself lined up properly (i tend to aim to far left of the target and leave my shots left) i really was taking note of how i was aligned and looking down my shoulder line to the target. This really was making each shot drop on top of one another. This is by far the greatest thing about these clubs in my opinion to this point. now that being said i have never hit anything but GI irons till now and im not sure if player irons are this consistent and the dispersion rate is this close but me hitting a 4'x4' target @ 170 yards 5 out of 20 times would never happen before. honestly i can't remember ever hitting those targets before. it just amazes me still. Im actually interested in someone that could hit player irons well ( i never could) to let me know if they are that consistent or they are just better for workability. because id gladly give up some workability for the tight dispersion on these irons any day. i mean i recently started "pin seeking" but i would have to pin seek safely because i knew i wouldn't be able to hit a large baby pool size area consistently now i want to go for the pin every single time im within 160 yards and i keep trying to get that yardage longer and longer. i am hoping that i can at least get my 6 iron which i have been hitting about 180 yards to the point where i can at least aim for a quarter of the green and land it there. i know this is gonna take a lot more work but from what im seeing i think thats possible. i dunno if i could hit the 4 and 5 iron that well but if i do get the 6 where i feel that comfortable with it ill def go for it. but honestly if im 210 out from the green im usually happy just if i land it on the green some where.


As for my 3/4 shot AW testing.... today like i said before i wanted to work on a 1/2 shot with my AW that goes about 60 yards so i don't have to hit a full 64* wedge shot anymore.... although my lob wedge play is pretty good a 1/2 with a AW would be a safer shot. i worked on it today they chipping basket was at about 65-70 yards and i think a 1/2 shot will give me that distance. i need to work on the feel of that shot more but if i have a 100,80,60 yard shot with a almost full, 3/4, and 1/2 shot with my AW id be very happy. This still needs more work and next time im at the range ill try to get a 60 yard distance and really work on honing that shot in more.
 
During my range session the light of my shot with the 4 and 5 iron varied baed on the ball position. I did not adjust the swing just the position of the ball. The further back I played it the lower the flight. I like to play the ball left of ceter with a slightly open stance to get a high ball. If windy I move it back...
TC said:
I would like to think that my ball position is consistent with the longer irons bucky, but who knows. It could have something to do with that but I'm not certain that's what it is. Like I said, I still see a straight ball, but the ball flight can be significantly lower, especially with the 3iron.
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Buckjob said:
yeah im gonna have to hit my 4 iron a bunch of times next time and see if i have this problem i want to see if i can get my longer irons dispersion closer like i did with my scoring irons by working on it more anyway. i was seeing some success with my 6 iron the other day but the rain and work has put that on hold ...as for the ball position i try to move my ball up in my stance with my longer irons. not a lot but def forward from where i normally would hit any other iron or wedge. i don't even know why anymore besides its something i did long ago when i used to slice a lot to straighten my ball flight and i've kept it ever since. im pretty sure it was one of those self fixes that has stuck with me. lol
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OEM Kevin said:
That last round when I hit the 4 iron on 10 it went high maybe a little baby fade and dropped right in the fairway. Id say it was similar ball flight I'm seeing with the other irons. Maybe a little lower but not much. I usually play the long irons a little closer to my front foot.


~Don't drink and tapatalk~
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