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Written by Rick Stedman
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Sunday, 01 May 2011 00:00 |
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 If the TaylorMade R11 driver were a swimsuit model, it would be a perfect 10. The eye-catching R11 was turning heads and creating a buzz in the golf world long before its official unveiling to the public. Introduced at the 58th annual PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando in late January, the R11 provides a stunning “wow” factor, thanks to its contrasting white crown and black clubface. I tried out the R11 while attending the annual Seattle Golf Show. It lives up to its billing.
According to TaylorMade officials, that new design serves a functional purpose as well. The white color makes the 440cc club head appear slightly larger, explains Tom Olsavsky, the company’s senior director of product creation. It also provides a greater contrast to the turf to make aiming easier, which is an advantage in low-light conditions.
“A few years ago, the TaylorMade R9 design was a good first step, but the R11 has fine-tuned the process of adjustability,” says Olsavsky. Over the last several years, TaylorMade had developed various revolutionary technologies, including:
• Movable Weight Technology (MWT): This allows golfers the ability to move weight to promote changes in trajectory for greater distance and accuracy.
• Flight Control Technology (FCT): This affords golfers the ability to change the orientation of the driver head with the shaft.
• Adjustable Sole Plate (ASP): This latest technology solves a couple of problems. When you change the club head’s loft using FCT, you’re also forced to change the face angle. Increase loft and the face angle closes; decrease loft and the face angle opens. ASP solves that problem by allowing you to adjust the face angle independently of the loft, which is controlled by FCT.
Olsavsky explains that combining the three R11 driver adjustability technologies gives golfers 48 combinations of loft, face angle, and draw/fade bias to play with.
 “Those options can produce up to 100 yards difference in side-to-side trajectory, depending on the golfer’s chosen settings,” says Olsavsky.
He further explains that the R11 includes two weight cartridges weighing 10 grams and one gram. To create a neutral bias, install the heavy (10-gram) weight in the toe; for a draw bias, put the heavy weight in the heel. If a more neutral setting is desired, 4- and 6-gram weights are available separately.
The white crown color and black physical vapor deposition (PVD) face provides optimum contrast against the ground to make the R11 easier to aim. This advantage is even more pronounced in lower light, such as when the tee box is in shade or shadow on overcast days, or when the sun is low in the morning or evening. The crown color also eliminates high-intensity “hot spots” caused by reflecting sunlight that afflicts floss-finished metal woods.
The R11 was designed with significant feedback from tour players, and has been extremely well received. At the Bob Hope Classic in mid-January for example, several tour players were using the TaylorMade R11 driver, including Rory Sabbatini, Dustin Johnson, Pat Perez and Ricky Barnes, to name a few.
To further emphasize the “white” theme of the R11, TaylorMade officials repainted their PGA Tour van all white. “The response to our new R11 driver has been incredible and we wanted to carry on the ‘white-out’ theme with our tour truck, which provides service to the best players in the world,” said Keith Sbarbaro, vice president of TaylorMade’s tour operations. The TaylorMade tour van has four or five technicians on board and travels to most of the 35 tour tournaments each season.
The TaylorMade R11 driver is now available at retail outlets and comes with an MSRP of $399. For more information on the R11 driver, visit taylormadegolf.com.
The 19th Hole (and a few chip shots)
Take Advantage of PGA’s Annual Free 10-Minute Golf Lesson
There’s nothing like a quick tip from a PGA pro to kick-start your golf game this spring. For the 13th year, PGA and LPGA golf professionals will offer their golf teaching skills throughout the month of May in the annual Free 10-Minute Golf Lesson. Last May, 6,340 PGA and LPGA professionals gave nearly 107,000 free 10-minute lessons. This golf season looks to be even better.
Taking a free 10-minute lesson is the perfect introduction for new golfers to the game. It also can help both casual and avid golfers who just want to fine-tune a portion of their game or simply get out of a slump. Here are a few things you might consider improving during a 10-minute lesson: how to hit a high, soft sand shot; how to improve your tempo and add distance; how to switch your focus from line to speed before you putt; how to get your backswing in sync, or how to grip the club.
The free lesson month is part of the PGA’s 2011 Play Golf America Days national promotion. Other PGA programs include Women’s Golf Month in June; Take Your Daughter to the Course Week, July 4-10; Family Golf Month in July; and Patriot Golf Day 2011, Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-5.
To find out about these programs and the free 10-minute lesson, visit playgolfamerica.com. The website is co-sponsored by several organizations, including the PGA Tour, LPGA, The First Tee, and Executive Women’s Golf Association. This impressive site promotes everything related to golf. Once there, type in your zip code and select a 10- to 30-mile range to find the nearest golf professional offering a free 10-minute lesson. A new promotion has been added this year. Available on the PGA website is a free lesson card. Fill out the card and mail it in for a chance to win a PGA golf school package at the PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance in Port St. Lucie, Florida, a set of golf clubs and more.
Rick Stedman is an avid golfer, RVer, and writer who lives in Yakima, Washington. He can be reached at rstedman@gmail.com.
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