New Taylormade Driver For 2012

From Golf Magazine ClubTest 2012 March, 2012

Category: Game-Improvement Drivers

Price:  399

WE TESTED: 9 with Aldila RIP Phenom 60 graphite shaft.

KEY TECHNOLOGIES: R11S is lighter, larger 460cc vs. 440cc and offers more adjustability than the R11. An adjustable soleplate alters face angle 3 closed to 3 open. The Flight Control Technology hosel changes loft by /- 1.5. Two movable weights are 10 grams and 1 gram.

OUR TESTERS SAY: One of the top drivers tested. Multiple adjustability options make it suitable for a wide range of players.

PROS

DISTANCE: One of the longest drivers; off-center hits keep you satisfied time after time.

ACCURACY/FORGIVENESS: Your accuracy can be improved by quickly adjusting the club; a very

forgiving stick sidespin is adequately reduced; pushes and pulls replace slices and hooks.

FEEL: Immediate feedback on all shots; powerful and explosive on sweet-spot hits; a more muted sensation on off-center hits. 

PLAYABILITY: Hot, boring draws; the ability to shape shots is there for more skilled players.

LOOK: The now-familiar white head contrasts with a black face to make alignment a snap.

CONS

Some testers don t see much difference versus R11; a few dissenters aren t fans of the white look, which shows dirt and scratches.

From The Shop Blog December 19, 2011

Lots of companies make adjustable drivers, but no company has embraced adjustability more than TaylorMade.

Since the 2004 release of the r7, a black driver trimmed in yellow and red, the company s flagship driver has always been adjustable. For 2012, that trend continues with the release of the white-crowned R11S on Feb. 3.

The R11S is not radically different from last season s top-of-the-line TaylorMade model, the R11, but there are a few evolutionary differences.

Last season s R11 featured a 440-cc head, but the R11S hits the USGA s maximum legal size, 460cc. TaylorMade says the bigger head combined with better aerodynamics make the R11S a little longer than the R11, and it has a slightly-larger sweetspot. The club should also do a better job of helping golfers maintain ball speed on mishits.

David Dusek

TaylorMade R11S Driver

While last season s R11 had a red adjustable plate on the sole that allowed golfers to choose from three face angles, the R11S has five settings: Neutral, Open, Closed, Slightly Open Open, and Slightly Closed.

The adjustable sleeve that connects the shaft to the head can be set in a Neutral, Higher or Lower setting. The Higher setting adds 1.5 of loft transforming a 9 driver into a 10.5 driver while the Lower setting decreases loft by 1.5.

In many cases a golfer may not be able to see that much of a difference with the smaller sleeve used on the R11, but the larger sleeve is going to give them the ability to dial in that launch condition to be exact without changing the spin rate, says Tom Olsavsky, TaylorMade s senior director of product creation.

There are also two weight ports in the R11S one in the heel and one in the toe which can hold the one- and the 10-gram weights that come with the driver. Positioning the 10-gram weight in the heel encourages a draw while screwing it into the toe should help you hit a fade.

There are 80 different ways you can set up the R11S, and according to TaylorMade, the club offers 140 yards of left-and-right adjustability.

All in all, the package is going to give the golfer a little higher launch and less spin than the original R11, which should translate to more distance, says Olsavsky.

The R11S will come standard with an Aldila RIP Phenom 60 shaft for 399. The R11S TP, which features the same head but one of 25 upgraded shaft options, will cost 499.

The Longest Driver 2012. There are two drivers on the market which demonstrate the amazing technological advances in golf recently. Callaway Golf introduced the Razr.

Dec 22, 2011  For more information, go to: Join Ashley Young, PGA Professional at GlobalGolf.com, as he takes a look at the new.

Although we re quite literally on the eve of the official U.S. announcement of the R15, TaylorMade s newest flagship driver, the guys at TaylorMade Japan were kind.

There are two drivers on the market which demonstrate the amazing technological advances in golf recently. Callaway Golf introduced the Razr Hawk made from a new material. In 2012 Callaway added fitting to their Razr Hawk, which they call the Razr Fit.

TaylorMade introduced the R11 which offers all in one club fitting. New for 2012 TaylorMade continues to pour on the stiff competition by developing the R11s. The S model was the result of PGA Tour Player feedback.

Callaway Says Composite Science Creates the Longest Driver for 2012

This new material has been developed in conjunction with some researchers who know a thing or two about speed, Italian Automaker Lamborghini. This very unique process allows for over a half a million micro-fibers per square inch to create a material that is lighter and stronger than the commonly used titanium.

The precision of the technology comes from the ability to forge the scientific material to one thousandth of an inch. This precision milling technique allows Callaway to eliminate all non-essential weight from the club.

The company claims that this material and forging process is the future of golf. The nature of the process allows for maximum forgiveness and maximum club-head speed.

Turbostratic Technique

Turbostratic describes the atomic structure of the high strength carbon fibers used in Forged Composite. Sheets of carbon atoms are intertwined and aligned with the length of the fiber to provide much higher strength than typical titanium fibers.

The official definition is: A type of crystalline structure where the basal planes have slipped sideways relative to each other, causing the spacing between planes to be greater than ideal. I think that means there is more air in between each micro-fiber.

Science and Golf Meet to Create Longer Drives

Callaway claims they are able to eliminate as much as 25 of the club s weight. By taking weight away from the club-head, the company has been able to redistribute weight to other, highly essential components of the club, mainly, the shaft. Adding a longer shaft will add distance. The lighter club-head, slightly longer shaft and incredible aerodynamics is reportedly adding an average of 8 yards to each drive during tests with PGA Touring Professionals.

Callaway Razr Fit – New for 2012

The Callaway Opti-Fit fitting system gives the company an opportunity to fire back at one of the most Popular Drivers ever released the  Adjustable R11. The Callaway fitting system details:

Hosel Adjustment – Gives you the ability to adjust the face angle Open, Neutral or Closed.

Weight Adjustment – Gives you the ability to move the clubs center of gravity in order to play with the flight of the ball. The weights come in 2 grams and 12 grams. Switching weights will help you promote either a natural ball flight or a slight draw spin.

You ll notice two locations for weights on the bottom of the club, one near the heal and one near the toe. You can interchange the 2 gram weight and the 12 gram weight back and forth between the two locations and toggle the spin. Theoretically, the lighter weight out near the toe will create more draw spin and vice-versa.

Callaway has made one of the most aerodynamic drivers in golf even more streamlined for 2012, new face and club head shape reduce drag from wind resistance by nearly 14.

New milling and forging technology has allowed the engineers to redistribute much of the weight from the sweet spot outwards toward the perimeter of the club. This allows for better weight distribution and a larger sweet spot.

TaylorMade Golf s Longest Driver

TaylorMade has brought a bunch of new innovations to the driver area in recent years with their very successful R line. First it was the introduction of Moveable Weight Technology MWT in the R7, followed by Flight Control Technology FCT in the R9.

TaylorMade has made even more advancements with the R11, which features what they call Adjustable Sole Technology AST. AST allows the player to adjust the face angle of the club from open to neutral to closed, depending on what best fits their game. In addition to this new technology, the R11 sports a matte white paint scheme on its crown the combination of white crown and black face is supposed to help with alignment. This new, cool look is sure to gain plenty of talk in addition to the new AST when the R11 starts getting out into the market.

New Driver for 2012 from TaylorMade – The R11s

The R Series of drivers from TaylorMade has been in place for a number of years however R11 has allowed TM to really separate themselves from the competition. So, why the S.

The only major change to the R11s from the R11, which was released in 2011 is that for 2012 they altered the center of gravity which causes less spin off the face.

The Tour Players that were using the R11 were reporting that the ball felt a bit spinny. The 2012 edition solves this problem by moving the weight more towards the toe.

When it comes to amateur play, don t concern yourself with running out and getting the new R11s right away. If you have the R11 and you are above a 6-8 handicap you will never notice the difference. The adjustment on the sole does have two extra settings with a total of 5 on the 2012 model, as opposed to the 3 on the 2011 version.

I have the original R11 and I set all the sole settings to completely neutral, I just don t believe that tweaking these offsets without making fixes to your swing will actually help you. I just simply love the driver, if it was not adjustable, I would still own it.

The adjustment exception would be, the adjustment to the loft and to the weighting system. The 9 is actually a 9 degree and it can be a bit tough getting it in the air. By adjusting the loft up, the problem was completely solved. Also, I was tending toward a uncharacteristic hook and moving the heavier weight out near the toe, this was solved as well.

I ve taken the chance to swing a whole bunch of the drivers out for 2012 in a simulator and tracked the results. Obviously the best results were with the R11 however, the Razr was pretty close and none of the others were in the same league. The R11 did produce on average 5 /- yards extra distance, thus, the R11 is the longest driver on the market. 

Both Drivers are fantastic. The driver that feels better to you should win. Simple as that.

box title What about the ball. Before you go don t forget to learn about the Longest Ball in golf. Check out the Nike 20xi /box

Before you buy at your local store be sure to check prices online:

Golf Galaxy

3Balls.com

The R11S Retails for Approximately 399

The Razr Fit Retails for Approximately 399

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UPDATE 3/31/11: Looks like the Razr has some cracking issues, I had mentioned above that it may make sense to wait for 2.0. Phil Mickelson cracked his 3rd Razr in the last few days, today he cracked one on National TV. Not a good sign for Callaway but they re a good company I m sure they ll replace the club for you.

UPDATE 2/17/12: The Razr has completely addresses any cracking issues with their latest technology.

A Boring Performance Story. From a performance perspective, TaylorMade is saying some pretty compelling things about SLDR. While they are calling SLDR the longest.

TaylorMade CEO David Abeles on the State of His Company, Golf Equipment.