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TaylorMade R11 Driver & Fairway Wood Review Thread

SuperStroke
Hi, In my TP ST, I am playing the Motore F1 65 - Fujikura - Stiff. I was getting an extra 10 yards with the Matrix setup. I never got the exact info because we were concentrating on the numbers above. I was told that with the better number with the matrix, I will get more distance and better control with the lower shaft setting and closed face. I am going to call TM labs and get those numbers which probably should have been included in my performance profile..
 
Like I said, take that out of the equation.....I am trying to see if any other ball flight characteristics would be affected. I wont be able to get a fitting and most likely will order the Matrix HD shaft as I have that in my SFTP which I did get fitted for.
 
Wait to try the club. Then make a decision.
 
Thanks but that's not what I am asking. Assume my swing is the exact same for both lofts...what else would change other than the lofts?
 
where do you live and type of courses in the area? Elevation. What ball do you play. How accurate are you off of the tee. Personally, I would rather be able to adjust up a loft.
 
I would say it depends on what you want your flight to be like and what you think will happen down the road... Do you have troubles hitting a lower lofted driver, but expect you'll soon develop a solid swing that enables you to hit a low lofted bomber? Or maybe do you have a pretty neutral ball flight and you want to be able to hit low penetrating shots some times or high level floaters some days.
I don't remember what the difference is between the lofts, but I'd imagine that where they sort of "meet" in the middle (ie: their most extreme up/down settings) would be kind of a fuzzy grey zone of performance.
 
I have hit the R11 9 and 10.5 dergree with S shaft. I have a natural high ball flight and play a fade naturally. I can shape shots R to L but am far more comfortable L to R. My advise to you... if you are in doubt, get the 10.5. You can adjust it down to a 9 or 9.5 pretty easily. If you are a high ball player like me, get the 9. It can be adjusted up to a 10+ or down to an 8-. I have the 9 coming next week.
 
I personally think that it would be best if you started with a higher loft and went down, adding loft by changing face angle would promote a draw and if you fight a hook that would increase your hook.
 
I would go with what's in the middle so a 9. I can't comment on your abilities but with the weights and shaft adjustments the middle loft will provide you with the widest range of possibilities and you're only really losing the outlying adjustments.
 
How much was the fitting?
 
Great write up sjf!! Thanks!
 
you say "go what's in the middle so a 9" but 9 is the bottom, not middle....right?
 
yahtzee said:
you say "go what's in the middle so a 9" but 9 is the bottom, not middle....right?
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I meant middle of traditional lofts, you're most likely to see 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 offerings than 9, 10.5 or 12* drivers.
 
yahtzee said:
you say "go what's in the middle so a 9" but 9 is the bottom, not middle....right?
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You're a single digit player, so you can probably strike the ball pretty well and know your swing. What is your current setup of your driver, and what is your swing speed or ball speed? Also, do you find that you feel that you're hitting your current driver too low or too high? I think if you post that info, you could get some better recommendations.

Everyone is going to be a little different...for example, my swing speed is 100-104, so ball speed is around 150. I've always struggled with launching the ball low, so I go for as high of a loft as I can that doesn't give me tons of spin. Current setup is R9 Supertri 10.5 with Fubuki 73 stiff. I also seem to remember reading something that the higher your swing speed or ball speed, it is more important to have low spin numbers rather than a super-high launch...but conversely, if you have a slower swing speed, a higher launch angle will help you get more distance. I'd use the loft of the club to influence the launch, then get a shaft to help with the spin.
 
Merged with the R11 thread.
 
arydolphin said:
You're a single digit player, so you can probably strike the ball pretty well and know your swing. What is your current setup of your driver, and what is your swing speed or ball speed? Also, do you find that you feel that you're hitting your current driver too low or too high? I think if you post that info, you could get some better recommendations.

Everyone is going to be a little different...for example, my swing speed is 100-104, so ball speed is around 150. I've always struggled with launching the ball low, so I go for as high of a loft as I can that doesn't give me tons of spin. Current setup is R9 Supertri 10.5 with Fubuki 73 stiff. I also seem to remember reading something that the higher your swing speed or ball speed, it is more important to have low spin numbers rather than a super-high launch...but conversely, if you have a slower swing speed, a higher launch angle will help you get more distance. I'd use the loft of the club to influence the launch, then get a shaft to help with the spin.
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I play the Superfast TP with the Matrix HD6 shaft in it...I have hit my club during a recent fitting for irons and it fits me very well....lower spin, mid launch and when I strike it right it goes....my only concern with the SFTP is that the face is a tad open and my misses are right....Im curious if putting this same shaft in the R11 would produce similar results and possibly give me slightly more distance since the head is a tad more spinny than the SFTP. Leaving for Punta Cana on Feb 3rd and it doesnt appear that I will have it before I leave...so bummed (at least about the club).
 
Yahtzee,
I have the same miss as you so this might help. With the R11 fitting I had, my instructor closed the clubface and I was hitting the middle of the fairway more times than not and some with a slight draw. When I did miss it right, it was less severe as with my TP Supertri. I am very curious to put those settings in play on the course.
yahtzee said:
I play the Superfast TP with the Matrix HD6 shaft in it...I have hit my club during a recent fitting for irons and it fits me very well....lower spin, mid launch and when I strike it right it goes....my only concern with the SFTP is that the face is a tad open and my misses are right....Im curious if putting this same shaft in the R11 would produce similar results and possibly give me slightly more distance since the head is a tad more spinny than the SFTP. Leaving for Punta Cana on Feb 3rd and it doesnt appear that I will have it before I leave...so bummed (at least about the club).
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sjf25 said:
Yahtzee,
I have the same miss as you so this might help. With the R11 fitting I had, my instructor closed the clubface and I was hitting the middle of the fairway more times than not and some with a slight draw. When I did miss it right, it was less severe as with my TP Supertri. I am very curious to put those settings in play on the course.
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SJF you have already been fit for an R11? What shafts did you try during your fitting and what did you end up going with?
 
Hi , I ended up with the R11 TP Matrix HD6 Stiff shaft. I tried the Blur shaft and my spin rate was high, but my numbers were very good with the matrix shaft. I described my whole fitting process a few posts back. Check it out.
 
I am probably as excited to see these clubs in person as I am for my entire trip to Orlando next week.
 
sjf25 said:
Hi , I ended up with the R11 TP Matrix HD6 Stiff shaft. I tried the Blur shaft and my spin rate was high, but my numbers were very good with the matrix shaft. I described my whole fitting process a few posts back. Check it out.
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I went back and read your earlier post. It sounds like you had an awesome experience. Congrats! I have just one more question for you. Was the TP shaft line up similar to what was available in the SuperTri?
 
Team Sligo will be putting these in play tomorrow and they dont even know it yet. Should get some good feedback.
 
Hi JR, I saw a list that had 18 different TP shafts available. I asked for a copy of the list but did not get one in my packet. I would have ended up with the wrong shaft as I had with my current Supertr if I did not go through this fitting process. I highly recommend getting a proper fitting.
JRamz said:
I went back and read your earlier post. It sounds like you had an awesome experience. Congrats! I have just one more question for you. Was the TP shaft line up similar to what was available in the SuperTri?
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