TaylorMade R1 Driver Review - Forum Testing Thread

I hit the longest drive of my life with the R1 yesterday. The distance is irrelevant, but I will say that when I hit it, I looked at the people I was playing with and just said "wow". I'm still finding more fairways then before. The thing I enjoy the most about having it in the bag is its given me options on ever Par 4 and Par 5. Most of that is because of its effect on my confidence off the Tee. I'm still playing either at 8 or 8.25. Sole play at closed 1. With the 10g weight in the heel.
 
I hit the longest drive of my life with the R1 yesterday. The distance is irrelevant, but I will say that when I hit it, I looked at the people I was playing with and just said "wow". I'm still finding more fairways then before. The thing I enjoy the most about having it in the bag is its given me options on ever Par 4 and Par 5. Most of that is because of its effect on my confidence off the Tee. I'm still playing either at 8 or 8.25. Sole play at closed 1. With the 10g weight in the heel.


Thats awesome man, next time you do that, toss teh driver to one of your buddies like he is your caddie and just strut off the tee box :)
 
i continue to love this driver. If anyone is looking for shaft upgrade, I have to say the Fujikura Fuel seems to be made for this thing.
 
I've noticed the same with my driver. It's near deafening on the range, between the cruddy range balls, and the constant sound its hard to hear after a while. No problem on the course though.
 
I've noticed the same with my driver. It's near deafening on the range, between the cruddy range balls, and the constant sound its hard to hear after a while. No problem on the course though.



I'm really convinced that the range balls increase the sound. Maybe it's an echo effect of an open range, too. But, I find my ears will start ringing after hitting several range balls with the R1. Nothing like this on the course.
 
I drove the 14th green, its a 374 yard par 4.

hole14longestdrive_zps3656e372.jpg


I knew it had crossed, watched my caddy just keep walking and keep walking until he reached the green!

558971_580734134871_2142533218_n.jpg


I think that single shot has put any doubt I could ever have about this driver out of my mind.

Love it!
 
Wow. Did you hit a cart path or something because that is like a video game bomb.

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Lol I didn't hit a cart path, I can cross the stream on that hole and get it about 340 off the tee but this time I really caught it with wind behind.
Nice high ball flight, flew all the way with a 10 yard roll on the slope.
Was fricking awesome!
Really bombing this driver on every drive.
 
OK I read about 30 pages of this thread and can't find the answer to this question here or anywhere online.

What I'd like to know is how you determine whether you should be using an upright lie or standard? I always seemed to hit my R9 with NU better than standard, but with the R1, I'm not hitting it as well. I got fitted and determined that a 9.5* gave me more carry and total distance, but I don't notice much of a difference in the 9.5U vs the standard 9.5.
The best guess I can make is that a taller player would benefit from an upright light. I'm 5'10" which I don't consider to be tall.

BTW, I LOVE this thing! I gained 12-15 yards over my R9 and haven't hit my mid summer groove yet. One change over the R9 thanks to the fitting is I opted for the Stiff flex in the R1 which at the same swing speed (avg 96), and same settings, gave me an additional 9 yards carry but more importantly, my dispersement was tightened up dramatically.

I think the next tweak I will make is to put the heavier weights in the heel to straighted out my slight fade - which right now is probably more mechanics than anything else and is playable, but not my optimal shot.

Anyway, a llittle help on the upright thing would be appreciated. Thanks in advance guys!
 
Tbh I haven't even messed with the weights or upright settings yet.
In the beginning I messed around a lot with the settings but in the end I came back to the same settings as my previous driver and now I'm really walloping the ball.
I had a go by changing it from 10.5 to 9.5 but I actually lost distance and accuracy which I thought was really interesting.
Its probably all mental anyway though.
 
It was fun a couple weeks ago at my men's opening day tournament when I outdrove the fairway on our Ninth hole, hitting it, "on the screws." That was col to do in front of everyone. I don't hit it like that all the time, but the R1 keeps me in the fairway almost all of the time. Even when I'm not playing well, this club remains constant for me.
 
I like the accuracy of this driver but it doesn't seem like a bomber. I get 15-20 yards more than a good 3w. Poorly struck drives are maybe 5 yards longer than good 3Ws. It seems like there should be more distance over the 3W. Maybe that is unrealistic.

On the other hand I find the R1 forgiveness to be very good. I caught one off the toe and it resulted in a gentle draw that landed in the fairway and lost about 15 yards distance. This seems to be pretty representative of my experience with mishits. Unless I grotesquely block it there's a good chance ill be in or near the fairway.
 
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The last time I hit this, I liked it. It would take some rolling around to find the best setting but I think this could be a great option.
 
As soon as I get the go-ahead, an R1 TP with a 7M3 will be ordered! I can't wait. I hit the TP with the stock Phenom 65 on the monitor again and the distance vs the Cleveland XL, X Hot, and Extreme was 15 yards of carry. It's killing me to be in a holding pattern, but when I get this in-hand, watch out!
 
There were a couple of R1 drivers in play up at the Ohio Invitational this weekend. I put the Miyazaki Kusala Blue in the R1 for the first time Saturday and JB let me hit a couple shots with it on the launch monitor. While not being deft enough to jot down the results, it looked like that shaft with rest of the club in standard settings gave me pretty much the numbers I was looking for other than backspin in the 3500-3600 range instead of the 3000 or so JB would have liked to have seen. For the sake of playing gear I already own, that was close enough for me and I put it in play for the round that followed. Other than the horridness of the opening tee shot, the R1/Kusala Blue combo served me pretty well on the day with I think 7/12 fairways hit with it (additionally 1/2 with the 3W) and of the 5 I missed, only 1 was more than 5 yards off. The distances were mostly in the 230-250 range which is pretty much what I'm capable of, other than a couple weak power-sapped fades.

Everytime I start to get the urge to go a different direction with the driver slot, the R1 throws up a day like this where I know I can't do much better elsewhere.
 
There were a couple of R1 drivers in play up at the Ohio Invitational this weekend. I put the Miyazaki Kusala Blue in the R1 for the first time Saturday and JB let me hit a couple shots with it on the launch monitor. While not being deft enough to jot down the results, it looked like that shaft with rest of the club in standard settings gave me pretty much the numbers I was looking for other than backspin in the 3500-3600 range instead of the 3000 or so JB would have liked to have seen. For the sake of playing gear I already own, that was close enough for me and I put it in play for the round that followed. Other than the horridness of the opening tee shot, the R1/Kusala Blue combo served me pretty well on the day with I think 7/12 fairways hit with it (additionally 1/2 with the 3W) and of the 5 I missed, only 1 was more than 5 yards off. The distances were mostly in the 230-250 range which is pretty much what I'm capable of, other than a couple weak power-sapped fades.

Everytime I start to get the urge to go a different direction with the driver slot, the R1 throws up a day like this where I know I can't do much better elsewhere.

It's funny you mention that urge Donne, I find the same thing. I'm really looking forward to seeing what I come up with at the outing. Other than hurt feelings when JB says dude have you ever considered tennis.
 
There were a couple of R1 drivers in play up at the Ohio Invitational this weekend. I put the Miyazaki Kusala Blue in the R1 for the first time Saturday and JB let me hit a couple shots with it on the launch monitor. While not being deft enough to jot down the results, it looked like that shaft with rest of the club in standard settings gave me pretty much the numbers I was looking for other than backspin in the 3500-3600 range instead of the 3000 or so JB would have liked to have seen. For the sake of playing gear I already own, that was close enough for me and I put it in play for the round that followed. Other than the horridness of the opening tee shot, the R1/Kusala Blue combo served me pretty well on the day with I think 7/12 fairways hit with it (additionally 1/2 with the 3W) and of the 5 I missed, only 1 was more than 5 yards off. The distances were mostly in the 230-250 range which is pretty much what I'm capable of, other than a couple weak power-sapped fades.

Everytime I start to get the urge to go a different direction with the driver slot, the R1 throws up a day like this where I know I can't do much better elsewhere.



I also noticed several R1s at the Ohio Invitational. Several THPers wanted to try my R1/B Asha on the range. The initial feedback was all very similar -- most said, "I hate how this sounds" or politely smiled and put the driver down after a couple swings. It's certainly not for everybody...


I suspect that I can hit some other drivers longer. One driver that I demoed on Saturday certainly looked longer (even though it was on the range). But, it's hard for me to give up the accuracy that I have found with the R1. Even when I'm not hitting everything else very well, I'm still hitting 280-290 and pretty darn straight with the R1.
 
I also noticed several R1s at the Ohio Invitational. Several THPers wanted to try my R1/B Asha on the range. The initial feedback was all very similar -- most said, "I hate how this sounds" or politely smiled and put the driver down after a couple swings. It's certainly not for everybody...

I suspect that I can hit some other drivers longer. One driver that I demoed on Saturday certainly looked longer (even though it was on the range). But, it's hard for me to give up the accuracy that I have found with the R1. Even when I'm not hitting everything else very well, I'm still hitting 280-290 and pretty darn straight with the R1.

I took a couple swings with some of the various Cleveland drivers present, and for me the R1 was a much better fit than those combos. I don't typically get along with real deep face drivers, so that had something to do with it too. JB had me hit his on the launch monitor just as a comparison, and the spin was about 500 rpm higher than with my R1/Kusala.
 
I also noticed several R1s at the Ohio Invitational. Several THPers wanted to try my R1/B Asha on the range. The initial feedback was all very similar -- most said, "I hate how this sounds" or politely smiled and put the driver down after a couple swings. It's certainly not for everybody...


I suspect that I can hit some other drivers longer. One driver that I demoed on Saturday certainly looked longer (even though it was on the range). But, it's hard for me to give up the accuracy that I have found with the R1. Even when I'm not hitting everything else very well, I'm still hitting 280-290 and pretty darn straight with the R1.

I agree with your assessment of sound and the accuracy vs distance tradeoff (it isn't short but it just isn't a "wow" bomber). You probably covered this in the thread - and if so please point me to the post - but can you talk about your B Asha vs. stock shaft feelings? I am somehow finding myself grasping for a little something more and am wondering if the B Asha is the answer, if that makes sense. I've got a B Asha ponder going...
 
I agree with your assessment of sound and the accuracy vs distance tradeoff (it isn't short but it just isn't a "wow" bomber). You probably covered this in the thread - and if so please point me to the post - but can you talk about your B Asha vs. stock shaft feelings? I am somehow finding myself grasping for a little something more and am wondering if the B Asha is the answer, if that makes sense. I've got a B Asha ponder going...

Admittedly, I'm not much of a shaft guy, so my descriptions may not be that great. But, here's what I think:


First, I should not that I like the stock shaft in the R1. The RIP Phenom is a very solid shaft that performs well. I found that it gave me a pretty high ball flight, which I wanted to flatten out a little bit. I also found that it was a touch "whippy" for me.

I wanted to try the B Asha in the R1 because I had really liked the feel of it in other drivers. Very stable feeling, even when I swing a little harder and "go after" a tee shot.

I have played a heavier shaft recently in another driver because it kept the shot dispersion pretty tight. The B Asha keeps a similar dispersion, but it's lighter and allows me to have a little more club head speed. It's been a good combo for me.
 
Thank you. So you see a little more distance because of the extra swing speed but no loss in stability/dispersion???
 
Recently switched from an Anser to the R1 and have had some success thus far. The Anser was probably a hair longer, but I was all over the place with it. The R1 kept me between the trees nearly all weekend and was adequately long. I have always gotten along with the white TM drivers and this one is added to the list as well.
 
Real random...but has anyone swapped a RBZ Stage 2 tour shaft with the R1 Shaft?....Just wondering if the adapters would line up....
 
Thank you. So you see a little more distance because of the extra swing speed but no loss in stability/dispersion???


That is what I have seen/felt. No LM numbers to back it up, though.

The 5s has also brought my ball flight down a little, which allows me to get a little more roll out. It's a good combination for me.
 
R1

R1

Bought the R1 at Milwaukee golf show after extensive sim testing with it, Razr Fit and RBZ Tour.

My misses are less pronounced but longer. When it is hit on the center, it is long and I love the flight. For a guy who had dispersion issues with my Razr Fit last year, this combo gives me so much confidence on the tee box that I will be rewarded. Love it.
 
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