Martin

I was about to buy a Taylormade R9 with the new Fujikura Motore 65 gramme shaft but I went into AG at Biggleswade today and tested the new Burner with the Fujikura Re-Ax 49 gramme shaft against it-both drivers 10.5 degrees.

Perhaps I was FIVE yards longer with the R9 but the Burner flew as straight as an arrow and felt magnificent out of the head. Probably with my swing speed of 88-90 mph the lighter shaft in the Burner may suit me slightly better. So does the £130 difference in the marked price!! This is one I believe that Colinski has really got wrong!

Local driving range shop now has:

Burner (old type)

Burner Draw (old type)

Burner (09)

Tour Burner

Tour Burner TP

R9

R7 Limited

R7 CGB Max

R7 CGB Max Limited

R7 Superquad (some fairly decent 2nd hand/ex demos)

The choice is just bewildering!

Martyboo

TM is not exactly the greatest employer either in my experience. If the company looked after its staff better they would certainly stay longer! I suppose nowadays any job is a lot better than nothing!

One thing is for certain, TM do produce IMO more top drivers than any other manufacturer and even top players not contracted to TM have been known to use TM drivers. I reckon that for a slower swinger of a golf club like me the Fujikura Re-Ax shaft is about as good as it gets.

I would be extremely interested in your view of the club.

Josh

You might be surprised to know that MOST of the TM drivers mentioned in the preceding posts are highly rated by reviewers and tour pros and some of them are considered modern classics. The 580XD I had five years ago -which was stolen-was one of them 

Josh

That was probably because you were not QUITE good enough to get the best out of it. Also because you did not have a shaft in it that really suited your silky swing! I would bet that it was NOT a Mitsubishi Rayon.

TM have more drivers in play by non contracted players because they pay tee up money to boost driver counts.

Thats not to say I dislike TM drivers as I have owned them in the past but don't be fooled by driver counts, more often than not money plays a bigger factor.

I use mainly TM clubs purely as I seem to hit them better, but all the myriad new stuff in the last 2 years hasnt bettered IMO what I already have - the "original" Burner driver and R7XD Titanium faced irons. In fact the stuff I have hit I havent been that impressed with.

The old 580XD and R510TP still take some beating, and while I do like my Burner I am not sure its really any better than either of those drivers. 

When I went for a driver fitting 18 months ago I went with the set intention of not coming home with a Taylor Made as I had been playing the Burner 860 for a couple of years and fancied a change.

Despite hitting everything else I came home with the R7 Superquad because it was simply better than the rest - for me.

The only time I don't like TM stuff is when they get the face too closed on the draw/game improver stuff but I suppose that is why there are so many options - to appeal to all golfers.

Callaway do exactly the same, I think the last shop I went in to had the FTI, FTIQ, FT 5, T9, Diablo, X460 etc etc and this is not including the draw/neutral options.

Even Titleist now have three drivers in their range, I think it is more manufacturers wanting offer a solution to all potential customers rather than simply wanting people to trade in for the latest and greatest.

What I don't understand is why they have to sell 6 different drivers...

The drivers are supposed to be suprememly customisable, not only through the shaft and weights but now opening and closing the face etc.

Surely you need a driver for the higher handcap player who wants to minimise the wayward shot and then another for the better player who wants more tinkering options. Each of these would be fitted for the correct shaft to suit the swing type in the first place.

I never understood why anyone would want a draw version of a club... just have a lesson to cure the slice...

Stuart wrote (see)

I never understood why anyone would want a draw version of a club... just have a lesson to cure the slice...

Because people prefer to think that they can buy their way out of a problem rather than put in the hard work and practise.

James

Never a truer sentence has ever been posted on GM IMO!

James Forster (15.4) wrote (see)

Stuart wrote (see)

I never understood why anyone would want a draw version of a club... just have a lesson to cure the slice...

Because people prefer to think that they can buy their way out of a problem rather than put in the hard work and practise.

I don't like you.....

But I guess the truth hurts...

Better equipments do make the game easier... but it doesn't make your swing any better

My brother is the classic example. Prior to a trip to Portugal to play golf last year instead of having a lesson, going to the range or even playing bloody golf he spent £200 on a Callaway Hybrid (draw version!) and a TM Sand Wedge as if this would be the answer to his troubles.

He then wondered why he was rubbish when we played!

James

The Seniors Captain at my Club is one of the most charming and delightful men you could ever meet.

He plays most of his full shots with a sizeable draw, He has a 12 degree off-set driver and wonders why he often hooks with it and hits it high!?

When I first started I was given an 8.5 degree ping with a stiff shaft.

It wasn't too surprising that I suffered with slice!

I believe that kit can have a negative effect (shaft too stiff/soft etc) but you cannot buy a golf swing the same as spending money on a new putter won't give you a putting stroke.

Getting the right kit for you undoubtedly helps but if you have a tendancy to hit the same bad shot then the problem is far more likely to be with the user not the equipment.

If you hook one club and not the others then there is a fair shout the stick is not for you however!

This is why golf gear is fun!

James

As usual I find your post and conclusions spot on.

I WAS going to buy the very expensive R9 driver because it went well on the range but as a good friend has a 2009 Burner and swings very much the same way as I do I asked him if I could compare it with the R9. After trying virtually every leading driver and finding some fault or something about its feel or performance I did not like I liked EVERYTHING about the Burner -just before I was about to fork out a perfectly disgusting amount of money for the R9. At long last I can replace my beloved Geek DCT and have it reshafted and regain some length off the tee.

The search and trying 15 drivers has been great fun!

Josh

By which time it will be "old hat"

Personally I dont think Drivers have improved that much in the last 3-4 years!

I have just started using a 10* Callaway FT3, (Voted 2005's best Driver!) and am getting better results with it than I had with my "Latest" 08 version MD Golf Superstrong and Wilson Dd6+ Drivers.

Callaway are now Advertising the FT9 ~ What happened to the FT7?

Boanerges wrote (see)

Martin

I was about to buy a Taylormade R9 with the new Fujikura Motore 65 gramme shaft but I went into AG at Biggleswade today and tested the new Burner with the Fujikura Re-Ax 49 gramme shaft against it-both drivers 10.5 degrees.

Perhaps I was FIVE yards longer with the R9 but the Burner flew as straight as an arrow and felt magnificent out of the head. Probably with my swing speed of 88-90 mph the lighter shaft in the Burner may suit me slightly better. So does the £130 difference in the marked price!! This is one I believe that Colinski has really got wrong!

Martyboo wrote (see)

just to let you all know, the burner 09 is crap. Dull sound, loss of distance and feels terrible. I won't be keeping it, just gonna stick to my Hi bore XLS. Don't know why i was even thinkin of giving it up!!!

You were saying Boa...