- Joined
- Aug 4, 2010
- Messages
- 19,618
- Reaction score
- 4,085
- Location
- Liberty Lake, Washington
- Handicap
- GHIN 7.1
I wanted to just talk a little bit about the actual fitting part of the Kingdom experience and about the R-11 as well.
I've played golf for over 30 years and until now, I had never been properly fit for clubs.
The closest I have come to a fitting was late last season when my old driver head cracked.
I visited the only real golf retailer in Spokane since they had the most options for equipment and the only launch monitor in town.
I hit several different brands of drivers and the limited number of shaft combinations, which all were limited to stock shafts in either stiff or regular.
The monitor said that the best driver for me was the Taylormade SuperTri in the 10.5* and stiff shaft.
The SuperTri felt the best to me as well, so I purchased it. The SuperTri has worked very well for me and I have not been disappointed in it at all.
Then along comes the fantastic opportunity to visit The Kingdom and get an actual professional fitting done.
My fitter was Alan and worked with me for almost an hour while trying several different shafts and numerous head settings.
I would hit a few balls and he would make a slight adjustment. Then I would hit a few more balls and again he would either adjust the head or switch shafts.
After several combinations of shafts and adjustments and balls hit, we thought we had the right combination.
The ball was exploding off the clubface and felt like it was going a mile.....and in the right direction!
I was ready for the club to be built, but Alan insisted on waiting for our final judgement till after my turn at the Trackman.
My turn came and I hit some drives with my SuperTri to lay down a baseline. I've always hit the SuperTri well, and did so with the Trackman watching.
Now it was time to see if Alan's recommendation of the 9* R-11 and the Fujikura Speeder VC 6.0 Stiff was as good as it felt.
The first 3 shots with the combination felt terrific with a great ball flight and distance. I was sold, but Alan wasn't.
The numbers on the Trackman were pretty good and a lot better than the numbers I got with the SuperTri, but Alan wanted them better.
So he adjusted the shaft a little and had me hit it again. Wow...the spin rate was down around 2300 rpm, the launch angle was around the magic 12 degree mark, the ball speed was 3 mph faster than the SuperTri, wth a smash factor of 1.49 and the decent angle was in the desired 38 degree mark ! I felt like I was holding a magic wand.
Now a little about the R-11 itself....
Before the Kingdom trip, I had only seen the R-11's on tv and in print.
I was a bit anxious about seeing a big white head behind a little white ball.
Would that fit my eye? Would it be hard to align similar colors to my target line?
The first time I sat the R-11 behind the ball, I was astounded.
The club framed the ball and I could align it to my target line immediately.
The small amount of the black face between the ball and the club was exactly what was needed to accomplish this.
After getting the club fit for me and having a chance to hit quite a few balls as well as playing 18 holes with it, I can honestly say that this is the finest driver I have ever hit.
Don't get me wrong, I loved hitting my SuperTri and I hit it very well, but the R-11 blows it out of the water.
I now know just how important it is to get your clubs fitted for you. Without the proper fitting, you are just shuffling the cards and trying to pick out the ace while blind folded.
The technology built into this clubhead along with the perfectly matched shaft for my swing make this the magic wand I have always looked for and I owe all of this to Taylormade, Alan, and THP.
I want to thank Taylormade, Alan(Stoney) and THP for opening my eyes to club fitting and taking my game to the next level.
Bill Mills
Drumdog
I've played golf for over 30 years and until now, I had never been properly fit for clubs.
The closest I have come to a fitting was late last season when my old driver head cracked.
I visited the only real golf retailer in Spokane since they had the most options for equipment and the only launch monitor in town.
I hit several different brands of drivers and the limited number of shaft combinations, which all were limited to stock shafts in either stiff or regular.
The monitor said that the best driver for me was the Taylormade SuperTri in the 10.5* and stiff shaft.
The SuperTri felt the best to me as well, so I purchased it. The SuperTri has worked very well for me and I have not been disappointed in it at all.
Then along comes the fantastic opportunity to visit The Kingdom and get an actual professional fitting done.
My fitter was Alan and worked with me for almost an hour while trying several different shafts and numerous head settings.
I would hit a few balls and he would make a slight adjustment. Then I would hit a few more balls and again he would either adjust the head or switch shafts.
After several combinations of shafts and adjustments and balls hit, we thought we had the right combination.
The ball was exploding off the clubface and felt like it was going a mile.....and in the right direction!
I was ready for the club to be built, but Alan insisted on waiting for our final judgement till after my turn at the Trackman.
My turn came and I hit some drives with my SuperTri to lay down a baseline. I've always hit the SuperTri well, and did so with the Trackman watching.
Now it was time to see if Alan's recommendation of the 9* R-11 and the Fujikura Speeder VC 6.0 Stiff was as good as it felt.
The first 3 shots with the combination felt terrific with a great ball flight and distance. I was sold, but Alan wasn't.
The numbers on the Trackman were pretty good and a lot better than the numbers I got with the SuperTri, but Alan wanted them better.
So he adjusted the shaft a little and had me hit it again. Wow...the spin rate was down around 2300 rpm, the launch angle was around the magic 12 degree mark, the ball speed was 3 mph faster than the SuperTri, wth a smash factor of 1.49 and the decent angle was in the desired 38 degree mark ! I felt like I was holding a magic wand.
Now a little about the R-11 itself....
Before the Kingdom trip, I had only seen the R-11's on tv and in print.
I was a bit anxious about seeing a big white head behind a little white ball.
Would that fit my eye? Would it be hard to align similar colors to my target line?
The first time I sat the R-11 behind the ball, I was astounded.
The club framed the ball and I could align it to my target line immediately.
The small amount of the black face between the ball and the club was exactly what was needed to accomplish this.
After getting the club fit for me and having a chance to hit quite a few balls as well as playing 18 holes with it, I can honestly say that this is the finest driver I have ever hit.
Don't get me wrong, I loved hitting my SuperTri and I hit it very well, but the R-11 blows it out of the water.
I now know just how important it is to get your clubs fitted for you. Without the proper fitting, you are just shuffling the cards and trying to pick out the ace while blind folded.
The technology built into this clubhead along with the perfectly matched shaft for my swing make this the magic wand I have always looked for and I owe all of this to Taylormade, Alan, and THP.
I want to thank Taylormade, Alan(Stoney) and THP for opening my eyes to club fitting and taking my game to the next level.
Bill Mills
Drumdog
