From Tee 2 Green

Since the golf season is coming to a close here on the east coast, I thought I would take some time to review my stats for 2011 and compare them to my performance in 2010. First, let’s revisit my 2011 goals.

If you remember, at the end of the 2010 season, I set a goal to improve my iron play as I felt that was the biggest flaw in my game.  My scoring on par threes and par fours was much worse than my scoring on par fives. I use my range time to really focus on my irons, especially the mid to long irons. I feel as though I have improved in that area of my game.  I also feel like the TaylorMade hybrids I added to my bag have really helped in my long game. I also set a goal to break 70 this season, as it had been a few years since that happened. [Read more →]

Tags: Taylor Made, Thoughts by Bill
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I hit the new TaylorMade R11 irons for the first time this week. I am a big fan of the R11 clubs, well the hybrids at least, so I was naturally interested in the new irons. I will admit that I tried out the R11 3 Wood for a few weeks and found that I hit my old Cleveland 3 wood much better and farther. As a matter of fact, I hit the R11 2 Hybrid father than I did their 3 wood. I know a few people who hit the R11 3 Wood and none of them are that impressed with it. But since I like the hybrids, I had to try out the new irons.

The R11 irons had a good feel to them. The ball seems to jump off the face, as it does the hybrids. I only hit them into a simulator, so I was unable to see the actual ball flight.  However, the simulated flight was high and long. I would recommend you give them a try. They are marketed as irons to help the low to mid handicap player. I can see that after hitting them. They are not so forgiving that you can’t work the ball at all, but do give you a very generous sweet spot. If you are looking to invest in a new set of irons, I don’t think I will need to tell you to try these. The TaylorMade marketing department will do that for me.

I personally switched to the TaylorMade RAC irons from ’05 this season and still maintain that those are the best irons that TaylorMade has ever built. I think everything after them is just a copy of those RAC irons. If you want to save yourself a lot of money, go onto eBay and search for RAC irons…I got mine for about $160.

Until next time…

Tags: Cleveland Golf, Golf Companies, Product Review, Taylor Made, Thoughts by Bill
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I have been hitting the new Taylor Made Penta TP golf ball for about a month now.  I wasn’t unhappy with the ball I have been hitting for over a year, but I fell prey to the great marketing machine and had to try this new “five layer” ball.  I was neither disappointed or impressed with this ball. I did wonder how many layers is enough for a golf ball? Is five enough or will we get to a ten layer ball and then what would the first layer be?

Adding a fifth layer produced the same results as adding a fifth blade to my razor – sounds good but not really sure I noticed the difference.  I think the Penta TP is surely as good as the Titleist Pro V1, Callaway Touri or my ball of choice, the Srixon Z-Star.  The Penta TP is a little more expensive and I the performance did not warrant spending the extra $10.00 a dozen. [Read more →]

Tags: Callaway, Product Review, Srixon, Taylor Made, Titleist by Bill
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I recently tried both a new Taylor Made R9 driver and R9 3 wood with the new Flight Control Technology (FCT).  I will admit that I am not a big fan of buying a driver off the shelf.  I think that your clubs will perform better if they are fitted for your swing.  For that reason, I think the FTC system is genius.  I have always believed the most important component to your driver is the shaft and not the head, just ask anyone who has teed it up with me and after a few holes wants to know what driver I am using.  When I tell them I use a driver head from a company that is out of business, they are shocked.  A little known fact is that most driver heads are made in the same factory – that’s right, Titleist and Taylor Made have the same people making their heads.  I use a head from La Jolla that was combined with the right shaft for my swing and I have never hit a driver farther or straighter – not even the Taylor Made I tried (and mine costs about $100 to have made).  The only reason I even try other drivers, is just to see the improvements in the technology.  When I find one that I can control that goes farther, then I will replace mine.  I am a golfer, so curiosity makes me try the new clubs despite the fact that technology doesn’t change that much year to year. [Read more →]

Tags: Product Review, Taylor Made by Bill
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