Skysports.com tests out the range of white R11 fairway woods from golfing giants Taylormade.
skysports.com tests out the range of R11 fairway woods from Taylormade
Not being content with turning their drivers white, Taylormade went all-in with the R11 fairway woods and rescue clubs also turning white to complete the new era in club technology.
Click here for review of R11 driver.
Much like the R11 driver, the R11 fairway woods have plenty of adjustability and technology lurking inside them - these have two of the three pieces of adjustability that the driver carries.
Adjustable Loft and Adjustable Sole Plate technology mean that with a quick twist of the fixing tool the 3, 4, 5 and even 7 woods can be tailored to your preference in terms of launch angle and face angle at address.
Taylormade say that increased distance in the R11 is achieved as 35 percent less of the club is intended to contact with the ground during the ball strike than in the previous R9 fairway woods, with that equating to less resistance on impact.
The white face for easier alignment comes into play with these possibly more than the driver, as you can find yourself in a difficult lie or stance on or around the fairway, and the sound of a decent strike off the face does make you believe you are hitting the ball harder.
Rescues
Even the R11 rescue club comes with some adjustability in the form of the Flight Control Technology, and again the black clubface and white clubhead contrast works well with aiming especially from tricky lies.
A deeper face and lower centre of gravity promotes a high launch, while the face is also designed to be ultra-thin to increase ball speed at impact.
Available in four lofts in 16, 18, 21 and 23.5 degrees, all come with the Aldila RIP 65 HB shaft in the usual three different flexes.
The R11 rescue is beautifully weighted with the feeling that plenty of weight was at the bottom of the club which gives plenty of confidence of getting the ball cleanly and quickly out of the semi-rough.
Perhaps many feel it is just a gimmick, but the white head and black face does actually help a bit when lining the ball up, especially in poorer lies, but even without taking this into account just the quality of strike achieved and the constant quick launch into the air was easy to see.
Choices
You can make a case for 16 or 18 degree rescue clubs as opposed to a fairway wood, but the loftier options above 20 degrees I feel are a bit more useful. Either way you decide to go, this range has everything you need.
A seven wood comes in at 22 degrees but most people will be looking for the three wood (15.5) and five wood (19) and the fairways all come fitted with a Fujikura Blur 70 shaft, which is more similar to the driver than the ones that come with the rescues.
There's a happy medium with the fairway woods in that the club heads are not too big so as to inhibit shots off the deck, but at the same time meaty enough to confidently give them a good crack off the tee.
The five wood, in particular, is pretty easy to use and for high handicappers will not lose you much distance on the three wood, while the ease of use will probably make that most people's choice from the fairway.
Rescues go nice and high and can land softly making finding the green from distance a much more achievable goal - and all this coming with the new white colour that is all the rage around the world of golf.
R11 Fairway Woods come in 3, 4 ,5 ,7 priced at £199. Rescues come in 16, 18, 21 and 23.5 degree lofts, go to http://www.taylormadegolf.eu for more details.
