Taylormade R11s

[Tristan]

2012 Taylormade R11s Driver

[GolfSpy WD]

I bet the extra C+ O+ options add 10 yards over the Razr.

[Xamilo]

So, now you have super open open neutral closed and super closed? Its supposed to go from -3 to 3º, and the head is 460cc instead of the old 440cc from the R11.

Nothing to turn me on I have to say.

 

Well, they did take a lot of time before releasing a new driver, so cheers for them for not saturating the market last year....

[Tony Covey MGS]

So, now you have super open open neutral closed and super closed? Its supposed to go from -3 to 3º, and the head is 460cc instead of the old 440cc from the R11.

Nothing to turn me on I have to say.

 

Well, they did take a lot of time before releasing a new driver, so cheers for them for not saturating the market last year....

 

Whatever anyone may think of TaylorMade's products; good, bad, or otherwise...they absolutely hit it out of the park with last year's lineup. White worked, and despite Callaway making a good run at them, they won the ad wars, and the drivers sold at a rate that I believe surprised even TaylorMade. To release anything else, I believe, would have disrupted the ridiculous momentum they had.

 

Though I sometimes find the approach a bit over the top, their marketing people are very smart, and I think, over time even a decision as questionable as naming a series of clubs RocketBallz is going to prove to be brilliant.

 

Now...IF the new lineup misses, or under-performs expectations, I'm willing to bet TM will be back to business as usual (new drivers by the handful) by the middle of next summer.

[GolfSpy Dave]

Still not a fan of the plate on the bottom, but now it is almost like a logo for the R11.

What does the "S" stand for?

[Tony Covey MGS]

Still not a fan of the plate on the bottom, but now it is almost like a logo for the R11.

What does the "S" stand for?

 

Knowing TaylorMade it could be SUPER, or SPECTACULAR, but... my guess is "second edition". It's fairly common practice in the camera industry, and believe it or not, there are a lot of parallels (GolfSpy Tim might have some insight here), between the golf and photo industries.

[Tony Covey MGS]

Here are some more of those stock pics that were released today.

 

Cutting through all the regurgitation of the marketing fluff that's been posted elsewhere, this is my take on things:

 

Adjustable Sole Plate

We now have 5 positions instead of 3. Goody! Seriously...I'm still waiting for any real evidence that this actually does anything. We have an R11 in now for another thing we're working on, and while it's a respectable driver, ASP adds nothing to it. Maybe I'm missing something (other than 2 paragraphs from a press release), but unless you ground your driver, and return it to an identical grounded position at impact it seems pointless. Unless you modify lie at the hosel, it doesn't come in to play.

 

One exception I suppose...if you hit your driver, from a perfectly flat fairway lie, then yeah...it could matter. Did I mention that it looks cool?

 

460cc Head

Is bigger better? I don't think so. Bigger is bigger. If you feel like you want/need a 460cc head, then yeah...its better. If you don't, then it's not.

 

Flight Control Technology

Unchanged from what I can tell. Loft can now be adjusted up to 1.5 degrees up or down. I've always been a fan of FCT, and we do think it actually impacts ball flight.

 

Improved Aerodynamics

Based on the photos, the new R11s does appear a bit more aerodynamic. The sole has more of a scooped out shape that I would usually associate with another company. That said, in our tests, similar shapes have produced among the highest ball speeds we've seen, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is what proves to be what differentiates performance between the R11 and R11s.

 

Moveable Weight Technology

We don't believe it works. People outside of marketing departments tell us it doesn't work, and in our own tests we've never seen any hard evidence to suggest that it works, but it sure looks cool right? The guys who actually design golf clubs will tell you that unless you're working with an extremely lightweight material (possibly composite, or magnesium) there simply isn't enough discretionary weight available to make a meaningful change in ball flight. We're golfers, however; and we believe what we want to believe.

 

It's not all bad, there are aspects of MWT I think are extremely cool, however; impacting ball flight isn't one of them.

 

My Verdict - Way too soon to say. It's also too soon to say whether or not TaylorMade will provide us samples for testing, but as always, I remain optimistic.

 

It wasn't too long ago that I said that I thought adjustable drivers were pointless. Ironically enough, it's because of the experience I've had working with the R11 over the last few weeks that I've changed my way of thinking. Of course, my ideas are based on the application of an adjustable driver to solve real problems. I believe they certainly can do that, but those applications have little to do with adjustable sole plates, and other marketing-driven creations.

[RookieBlue7]

The Rocketballz name has already worked. Why? Because everyone is already talking about the name.

[Tony Covey MGS]

The Rocketballz name has already worked. Why? Because everyone is already talking about the name.

 

Couldn't agree more. All any golf company (even TaylorMade) can ever hope for is to get the consumer to pull their club off the rack and take a few swings with it. The beauty of RocketBallz is that some people will try the club because they love the name. Others will say it with contempt, but will almost certainly be curious enough about the club with the stupid name to want to take a few swings with it. They will hit it, and if they like it, the name won't matter any more. Besides...if you love the club but hate the name, then it's just the RBZ anyway.

[Matt Saternus]

 

Flight Control Technology

Unchanged from what I can tell. I've always been a fan of FCT, and we do think it actually impacts ball flight.

 

 

 

My understanding is that the new tip will have more adjustability (up to 1.5* more or less loft). Outside of that, I don't think I disagree with anything you said.

[MmmmmmBuddy]

Still not a fan of the plate on the bottom, but now it is almost like a logo for the R11.

What does the "S" stand for?

I have a few ideas of what the "S" stands for...

[sallyboy715]

"S"peed?

[RookieBlue7]

Superdeep

[Tony Covey MGS]

I have a few ideas of what the "S" stands for...

 

Brilliant.