Pinoy Golfer Blog

When I first got wind of the impending release of the TaylorMade R9 Supertri; the first 460cc head with Movable Weight and Flight Control Technology, my heart skipped a beat. I admit it; I’ve been a big fan of the Carlsbad giant’s drivers since the 300 series in the mid-90s. The 500 series completely changed the game. They forced the other manufacturers to rethink their product lines to compete. This series spawned one of the truly legendary drivers of this era; the TaylorMade R510 TP. I had this driver and it was sweet! After a series of Ping drivers, I was drawn back to TaylorMade by the R9. The adjustability, particularly that of the club face setting was the answer I was searching for.... Read More

Two premium tour quality golf balls square off Tale of the tape: Callaway Tour ix Tech Story – Callaway’s goal with these balls is to create a large disparity between driver spin (low) and wedge spin (high). The Tour ix is a four-piece ball with tungsten impregnated in the outer core to maximize moment of inertia by limiting spin with the driver while leaving shots with the irons and wedges largely unchanged. TaylorMade Penta TP Tech Story – A five-layer ball designed to enhance spin, distance and feel in five ways: A neodymium-blend core improves resiliency, even at a low compression. The layer just outside the core optimizes long-iron shots. The next layer is a fast ionomer... Read More

Since the Golfer’s Network lost the distributorship of TaylorMade golf equipment, news has been thin about the industry giant’s new products. This was a real shame since TM has come out with some really interesting product since then. They’ve found a new distributor and we managed to wrangle demos of two of their new irons; the R9 and Burner. R9 Irons I eagerly anticipated the arrival of these irons since I was very impressed with last year’s Tour Preferred set; they looked the business (as they say) and backed it up with soft feel at impact, a very versatile sole that performed admirably in a variety of conditions and a look that a touring professional would love. R9 5-iron cavity R9... Read More

When we left off with the R9, I was impressed enough with how the head felt that I felt the urge to get another more appropriate shaft for me to fully explore the head’s potential. A sympathetic Pinoygolfer in Dallas was kind enough to step up and send me a spare sleeve without which, things would not have been as straight forward. Many options presented themselves. I’ve had great success with the Graphite Design Tour AD YS-Q. I’ve had lots of success with Graphite Design shafts. I like the way they feel at impact; lively and very stable. I considered getting another YS-Q for the R9 but then an upstart new shaft manufacturer caught my eye. Oban is a new company formed by one... Read More

I admit it. I’m a forged iron snob. My last four sets of irons have all been forged. I just love the overall experience of playing them; the feel at impact is soft and responsive. You can feel the ball compress and leave the clubface and the aesthetics are what I prize above all when standing over the ball. So when a friend dropped off a set of TaylorMade Tour Preferred irons, I was prepared to dislike them. They were, after all, cast; and I just new that there was no way that cast clubs would ever feel as good as any of my forgings. None ever had and I was sure that these would be more of the same. Well, I was in for a surprise. When I first set the Tour Preferred iron down behind the ball,... Read More

In a world where technology has transformed our golf clubs, TaylorMade introduces what they’re calling the most advanced driver on the planet. The new TaylorMade R9 features full adjustability; it combines 3 moveable weights with the Carlsbad giant’s latest technology, Flight Control Technology or FCT. FCT gives the golfer the ability to adjust the club head to affect face angle and loft. The combination of MWT and FCT give 75 yards of left to right adjustability, 3 degrees of launch angle adjustability, and up to 1800 rpm of spin adjustability. The club head can be rotated into one of eight positions, giving the ability to adjust from 2 degrees closed to 2 degrees open. This is done... Read More