Throwback Thursday – TaylorMade Burner Bubble Driver Shaft
Each Thursday we do a little blast from the past and have some fun with it. In this installment, we thought we would showcase the latest and the greatest from TaylorMade in the year of 1995.
The Year of 1995
Entertainment
Sheryl Crow Wins Grammy for best Album
Jerry Garcia Passes Away
Braveheart wins Best Picture
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Opens its Doors
Sports
Super Bowl – San Francisco d. San Diego (49-26)
World Series – Atlanta Braves d. Cleveland (4-2)
NBA Championship – Houston d. Orlando (4-0)
The Masters – Ben Crenshaw
U.S. Open – Corey Pavin
British Open – John Daly
PGA Championship – Steve Elkington
The TaylorMade Burner Bubble Driver Shaft
The year was 1995 and TaylorMade Golf steps into Orlando, FL in January and unveiled a shaft that would take the world by storm. What appeared to be a major gamble by the company in taking shafts in that direction, became an international success as golfers everywhere were spotted with that little shiny copper finish on the butt end of their driver as it leads into the grip. In my opinion, this became the first time a company had really stepped up with the shaft offering in their driver and marketed them accordingly.
The look of this line set it apart as consumers stepped into stores and surveyed the scene of clubs. The copper head shined just enough to draw attention and that darker shaft with the copper “bubble” took it to the next level. Did it work? You bet it did and some would argue that this driver would still help amateur golfers quite a bit. While shaft technology and manufacturing has improved so much in the last 15 years, if you head over the course on the weekend, you will still see quite a few playing this striking club.
TaylorMade Golf sent over one of these drivers from their archive as well as some cool information from “back in the day”. Did you play this one? What were your thoughts? Check out the discussion on the TaylorMade Burner Bubble right here in the THP forum.
44 Comments
what alignment aid? haha…oh wow! this brought back some memories for sure. i was obsessed w/the bubble shaft, thought it was the coolest thing ever!
You just had to throw in the jab with the SD Superbowl…
I remember this driver well. I remember thinking how large the clubhead was, now it looks like a hybrid.
Wasn’t this club or shaft deemed illegal?
A buddy of mine had the shaft broken on one of our golf trips and it was impossible and extremely expensive to get the shaft replaced.
Love the ads too!!!!!!! This was and still is an all time favorite.
Played with a guy that used this driver and he was smoking the ball! Love the copper colored head as well.
I was a legal assistant at the law firm that worked on the bubble shaft patent. I thought they (TMAG) were insane. But they were a huge client.
Never played the driver, but I had the shaft in the original Rescue.
This is the driver and fairway woods I learned to play with! Hand me downs from Dad. Love the Bubble Burners!!
This is one of the drivers that really started the technology kick in golf. If I remember correctly Mark O’Meara won the Masters the next year with one of these.
Oh I know this club well. While I never owned one, all of the “cool” people did and I definitely wanted one. Love the flashbacks!
Love TT! What a cool looking club head. All this stuff is way before my time in golf, but I am constantly amazed at how far we have come technology wise.
I’m giving my dad back his late ’90’s Bubble Burner drivers/FW’s this weekend. They have been great to play, but a 460cc head is just a bit easier to hit.
I had the driver and 3 wood – used them with success for several years. I was frustrated that I could not easily regrip these clubs. Guess they did not work well enough to continue development
I had a Burner Bubble driver, along with a BB 3W and 5W. Loved the clubs for a while. I still play TM because of the great quality.
I am loving these Throwback Thursday articles. Keep them coming!
man i played this driver, 3w, 5w forever! ahaha sadly it was operator error that couldnt fix the slice.
Went digging around the shed and found an old driver that I had reshafted with a Bubble Shaft. Had a very whippy tip to it – played pretty well – but the only thing everybody always hated about the shaft was re-gripping. That big mouth was a bear to get a grip over.
Owned the Burner bubble 3 and 5 woods regular shaft. Loved the 5 and hated the 3. Frequency tested the shafts 5 wood was just slightly stiffer than regular, 3 wood was almost xx stiff. So much for quality control!
Yup, I droooled over these too…No dough though at the time, Tried a guys BBertha, yuck, whippyslice, probably had to get used to it, But ended up with a Rawlings “bubble-like” driver which I’ve been happy with…though now looking around to pick the up the real thing. Can’t wait to smoke the guys with the obscene oversized equipment or just personally feel satisfied…
I am contemplating someday to break in two brand new Founders Club drivers supposedly Tour Winners back in the day, the feel great, but OMG, certainly look un-forgiving.
Love my Tommy Armour 845’s Silver Scots.
BTW, what’s this issue with the grips, that @court mentioned. Are they special ? Discontinued ? Is this a problem for a good club /shaft mechanic ? Don’t want to get “burnd”.
Thx
Re: grip —
http://www.ehow.com/how_7731899_regrip-bubble-shaft-driver.html
I still play with the Ti Bubble 2 Irons that I bought back in about 1997… I still haven’t found an iron that was worth swapping them for 🙂
I still have the 9.5 driver, but I play nearly all of my drives with a bubble burner 7 wood. Despite the small head, I hit it well and I know exactly where the ball is going. It gives me a consistent 230+ on yardage off the tees and more with the wind with me which is plenty for the small courses around here. Great club.
the bubble requires an over sized grip.
where can I purchase these grips?
i found a nice little set of these fairways woods and driver at a local thift shop and got the whole set for around 60,dont think ill ever see a find like that again,maybe for my con surfboard
Just picked one of these up on ebay for $.99 Pretty stoked to get to check it out!!
Been playing with these, 9.5 driver, 3, 5 and 7 wood for the last two years. Replaced my 2010 driver (ScoreMaster) and my illegal Cobra 460cc. It just feels great and it is in spite of it´s small head real easy to hit with. Just have to peg a lot lower..
I finally put my original burner to rest this summer, the head broke off 🙁 …. What a shock 465’s are.
Ha. I had an 8.5 degree Bubble and to this day, I hit it further than anything since. Age may have something to do with it, but I won a long drive at a scramble with this club and a Nitro ball..375 yards in 1997 or so. Great driver!
Still play with a Ti Bubble 2 12.5dg about 13years old now grate driver
I use a bubble shaft 7-wood, it was my grandpas old club and he have me his old set when he couldn’t play anymore. I really just have to say that it is my favorite club in the bag, it goes exactly where I am every time and people are always surprised to see me using it. The shaft is really sturdy and I just hope it continues to last for a long time because I know I need it!
Was the bubble shaft ruled illegal?
I have a BB 3 wood that I use to this day. I’ve really got my moneys worth with this club. I use it off the tee and love hitting it off the fairway.
I have the BB fairway driver (13 degrees), 5 wood and 7 wood. All three have the BB R-80 Plus shaft. Bought them new and still have them today along with their original BB head covers. They’re fun, straight and consistent. Don’t try to overpower them…let the shaft work. Depending on course conditions and weather I get the following distances: Fairway driver (245 to 260); 5 wood (200-215) and 7 wood (185 to 200).
Untill yesterday I have been using a 10.5 degree bubble shaft burner driver. It met its fatal end on the 8th hole where it cracked on the shaft in the area under the grip. 19 years of VERY regular play isn’t so bad! My grandad used to play with this and rated it highly. In my hands I could outdrive all of my fellow golfers. Loved this club and a shame to see it go. Cobra Amp Cell adjustable driver arrives tomorrow! Hope that performs well and lasts as long!
Ive just bought a set of these on ebay with the burner irons, they are MINT almost like theyve never been hit at all. not one ding in any club.
I feel very lucky to have a set of clubs 10-15 years old that are basically new
Especially such iconic clubs as these.
I still use the 3 and 5 woods. Get chuckles from some guys until they see me out drive their fancy driver with a 3 wood
I used to play this club back in high school. Hit it way longer than any club before or since. Hit my longest drive ever (363 yards) with this baby. 515 yard par-5 = driver + 9 iron. 🙂
Taylormade Burner LCG M70 was the M70 shaft classed as a regular flex shaft?
Thanks Peter.
I still play the fairway woods and irons and love them to this day. although I have upgraded my driver. I found the irons hit 10 yards farther than other clubs of the same loft. Still love them
I use a Bubble shaft Taylormade Burner 9.5 and love it . Great conversation piece. The boys I play with gig me about my driver cause of its size compared to their 460″s driver. But once i launch my ball off the tee.there isa lot of wow great shot inthe back ground . wouldnt change it unless it broke.
I still have my 3, 5 and 7 wood Bubble Shaft woods. I don’t play so much now so I use the 7 wood off the tee. It’s one of the easiest clubs to use in my bag. I just love these clubs and even though I changed my irons a few years ago I kept, and will keep, my Bubble Shaft fairway woods. I do get some interesting comments from time to time but accuracy beats distance for me.
$1.18 for each at the thrift store: four ! All in the bubble shaft & copper head: 10.5° “Titanium” driver, “Titanium” 3w, “Burner” 5w, and additional “Titanium” 21° w that doesn’t say 5, but has the special minimum-ground-contact sort of skinny dual “pontoons” on the foot and it says “Raylor”. I am a thrift and vintage golfer learning to be less of a high capper. I am studying Ralph Maltby books on how to repair and restore laminates and persimmons. Certain woods that aren’t worth making original are candidates for experimentation with drilling holes and pouring in lead weights, as I am trained in safely constructing performance sporting goods and R & D, and merge it at home with dumpster diving. I find irons fun that have a big cavity to hide augmentations inside like weights and foam. Interesting and fun. Just bought THE last set of Maltby KE4 “Forged” (a removable weight in the middle instead of toe and/or foot, with huge empty cavity behind toe and foot — ready to experiment!)
I bought a golf bag and clubs at a garage sale for $5 and a Taylormade Bubble 10.5 was inside. I hit it further than any other wood I have tried since then. Consistently hear compliments on my drives, so I’m looking on eBay to see if I can find any more of them. I can’t be without this club!
i played with a burner bubble 9.5 degree stiff shaft and hit it further and straighter than any club since. i’m sorry i got rid of it and thought a newer club was the way to go. if taylor made came out with a newer version i’d be the first to buy one.
Have just dropped into Google to check the specs on this driver (shaft length) and landed here! Have had a bubble II in my bag for the past 20 years. Have only just now swapped to an M1 I picked up for not too much and have carried both for the past few months while I got used to the big head. If I hit the Bubble out of the middle there’s only yards in it and it’s still better off the deck.
My old set of bubbles have been sitting in the shed unused for several years. On a whim, I pulled out the old 9 iron to compare it with a newer club when chipping balls in the backyard last weekend.
Wow, memories flood back. These are such a great set of clubs, so light in shaft weIght that you can actually feel the weight of the head. Proof was in the chips, far better control.
To this end I took the old set to the driving ranges today. No major loss in distance to the newer clubs and I find I was able to shape shots better with the bubbles than the heavier burners.
What’s old is new again. Will be interesting to see the response of my playing partners on Saturday when I pull one of these old classics from my bag.