I just reviewed the R7/R5's this weekend. Here's my review:
PREFACE: I don't need to preface the R7/R5 series. Everyone knows about their tour performance, and the success of this club. I was very curious to see if the weight changes would actually work on the course, and see what the hype is all about. I did notice the Taylor made rep did not have any 580-series drivers at all - obviously, they're marketing the R7/R5's, and getting ready to phase out the 580 series.
APPEARANCE: I loved the appearance of the R7. I'm an engineer by schooling, and I find beauty in mechanically-crafted items like the R7. It looks modern, purposeful, and very technical, with it's weight ports. Some people find this a gimmicky solution (like the Callaway folks!), but I like the concept of changing weights to suit your swing.
FEEL/PERFORMANCE: Ta-DA! The R7 "Tour" TP with a Fujikura 757 shaft was ROCKING for me in the morning! I was smashing drives straight, long, and perfectly straight! I have no idea what combination was working for me (the drivers was setup in the "neutral" weighting configuration), but I absolutely loved it. I tried a couple of other R7's with different weight port configurations, but they all seems to perform very well for me. One of the drivers in a "fade" configuration was not working well, which lead me to believe that yes - the weight port concept actually works!
R5 Neutral - I liked this club very much, the feeling at impact, sound, and distance/performance seems very good, but I did find myself losing some drives to the right. If you like to work the ball, and want to save some $$$, this may be the driver for you.
R5 Draw - Awesome! This club hit straight for me EVERY TIME. The face felt good, the shot pattern was very straight, long, and penetrating. And………I couldn't slice/fade it. This club was fitting me perfectly at the end of the day, even better than the R7 TP/Fuji 757 combination I was hitting earlier in the day.
SUMMARY: The weight port concept is NOT a gimmick, IMO. I tested a few different R7's, and the two different R5's, and I can honestly say that moving weight around in the clubhead DOES work to assist your swing and product desired results, especially for a draw/fade bias. As far as high/low bias - I did not notice consistent results in this manner - my swing is not consistent enough to generate accurate testing data towards validating the high/low bias.
Sound - Moving the weight ports in the R7 does indeed make this club sound and feel different. If I tried the larger weights in the extreme left/right of the club, the club sounds differently. The R5's reward you with a very nice "WHACK" sound that is higher pitched, but very satisfying.
In short - Taylormade had a winner here. I liked these clubs a lot, and since my swing DOES change, I can see some value in having the moveable weight ports. Time will tell if the durability of this system will last, but it truly draws a lot of attention from golfers. Oddly, at the beginning of the day, the R7 TP was working the best, but at the end of the day - the R5 "Draw" was working best for me. ???
I've just bought a left handed Taylor Made R5 Type N 10.5 recently and I took it to my local golf range for the first time last night.......the results were amazing!
OK, I already knew that the R5 is a good club, but when I first used it, I noticed that this club is extremely forgiving and can hit the ball VERY long and accurate! My previous driver was a Callaway Big Bertha Stealhead III, which was good but a bit dated now. With the Stealhead III, I was driving about 235+ yards and as good as I was hitting them, it seemed like I couldn't hit any further! Now with the R5, I can easily hit 275+ yards and still room for improvement!
The R5 comes in 2 preset types; N=Neutral to promote longer, higher and straight-line shot (I choose this one cos' I can hit the ball pretty straight!) and D=Draw to promote more of a draw shot to counter those slice shots and making the ball fly straighter. Originally, I was going to buy the Taylor Made R7, which is very simular to my R5 but with inter-changable weights. I heard from someone that as good as the R7 is, the inter-changable weights can actually have a negative pychological effect! Also, the R7 only has a 400cc head compared to my R5 with 450cc and the R7 is about £75-£100 extra in price! Even if I did get the R7 with the inter-changable weights, I'll probably have it on the Neutral position most of the time so it doesn't justify the extra cost for me. That's why I went for the R5 instead and I have no regrets and extremely happy with my choice.
My friend also got himself a new Driver recently, he went for the King Cobra 440SZ Unlimited.......man that driver is LOUD!!! It's got to be heard to beleive, it's so load that my friends ears were actually hurting after a while on the golf range! The Cobra 440SZ is a good club, very long and forgiving. I didn't have a chance to try the Cobra out cos' I'm left handed and my friend is right handed, but from what I can see and hear the King Cobra 440SZ Unlimited has unbelievable sound compared to my R5 but the R5 is slightly longer, more accurate.
There's lots of good Drivers in the market at the moment but for me, I don't think I could have made a better purchase than the R5. I'm extremely happy with the R5 and I highly recommend this club! 10/10 Taylor Made has a winner here.
I have raved about the R5 on numerous posts...it is the best driver out there...better than the R7 IMO. The R5 woods are even better!!!!!!!!!!!...just got the 5 wood and 3 wood in Aldila NV shafts....sweet!!!
I wish I have the R5 3 and 5 wood! They're so expensive, more expensive than my R5 Driver even!!
But the R5 is one of the best drivers out there, but the only think I would say about it is that I would prefer a nicer sound, such as the Cobra or Clevelands....other than that, it's top notch!
UPDATE. I just bought an R5-N, 9.5*. It's just as great as I demoed, I ended up with the MAS2 shaft, S-flex, firm tip. I wanted the Aldila NV shaft, but I"m demoing/hitting this one so well, it makes sense to stick with it.
One negative - I read that the "weights" in the back are merely cosmetic, that most of the weighting in the R5 is internal. I wish they didn't do that, but it's a great club nonetheless! Also - the clubhead is hideously ugly, but I can live with it!
I wish I have the R5 3 and 5 wood! They're so expensive, more expensive than my R5 Driver even!!
But the R5 is one of the best drivers out there, but the only think I would say about it is that I would prefer a nicer sound, such as the Cobra or Clevelands....other than that, it's top notch!
You're right....quite expensive....but on ebay, prices are coming down...they're at about $200 / wood right now....prob. will go down more....
SamT...I wouldn't worry about the weights, because you will prob. be hitting them long and straight anyways....
I borrowed an R5 from the pro shop yesterday - Draw bias, 9.5 deg stiff shaft...
I play a C4 regular shaft, so I was expecting to struggle with the TM stiff shaft, but it seems to be softer than I expected, no problems there.
This club is definitely the longest driver I have ever hit, AND forgiving. I would say that on average hits it was 10 yards longer than my current driver. A beautifu flight as well.
I'll definitely be testing the R5 in R flex with a view to putting one in the bag for the summer...
I bought the R5 D in 10.5 - ball flight was too high - very long though. Traded it in for a 9.5* and loved it. Was crushing the ball 270+. Then the unexpected happened and my driver was stolen out of my car. BUMMER. I thought I'd try the R7 since they have come down so much in price - bought it for $320 on Ebay. I love the R7 - different shaft - mid kick point firm tip. The R5 "D" shaft has a soft tip, lower flex point, and is lighter than the stock R7. I can hit the ball just as far with the R7 but if you miss the sweet spot which is smaller on the R7 you give up quite a bit of yardage. The R5 was very long on all my drives - sweet spot is huge!
I'm a complete gearhead so I may switch back to the R5. If I do, I'll go with the "N" bias and probably get a custom shaft put on it.
Does the R5N have a square clubface, -or- is it a few degrees closed but with less internal weighting to close the clubface compared to the R5 D? I checked the TM website and they weren't specific on that point.
The R5 N is square. It is the best driver I have ever hit. However the shaft makes a huge difference so shop wisely for a shaft. I have the N and I hit it straight to a draw. I hit the D and I hit it way left. The N is perfect for me. But like I stated the shaft is super important. The best shafts in golf right now are Fujikura and Graphite Design IMO.
I just picked one up a few weeks ago because I was hitting my 580XD too high.
On the launch monitor in the golf store, I hit the N version perfectly, and the D version almost as good. I was in the store near closing time and the owner graciously encouraged me to borrow the N and D 9.5* demos and hit them at the range that night if I would return them the following morning.
At the range, I found that I hit both clubs dead straight, but the D carried a little farther for me. I also was able to hit a light fade with the D. Bottom line is I ended up buying the D instead of the N because it worked better for me, even though the launch monitor indicated the N was better.
If you're thinking of getting this driver, I'd recommend trying both versions out at a driving range to make sure you get the one that best fits your swing.
I like the feel better than the N, so I ended up buying the D version. I was also
September 27th, 2004, 03:51 PM
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