R11 vs R11S Fairway's Any improvement? Which would you recommend?

I have been looking to replace my Taylormade 200 15 degree Steel 3 Wood and move to an R11 Fairway for a bit more flexibilty, loft lie etc, now the R11S shows up.

Did a lot of reading and find the both the R11 and R11s have some good and some not so good feedback?

Looking on TM's website I find they claim that by moving the center of gravity back the R11S launches a little higher?

I also notice that they extended the length a 1/2" to 43.5 Hmmm? Maybe that helps the launch?

I am a firm believer the shaft is the real engine driving the club and as you know, a low launch low spin shaft won't get up like a regular high launch shaft.

So my question is,can anyone recommend which head I should look at? I have plenty of .335 shafts to choose.

I am looking for your opinions on which head is hotter and if there is any real difference between the R11 and R11S ?

Any feedback would be appreciated

My R11s hits LOWER than any driver I've ever had.

[quote name='Willie Malay' timestamp='1348920344' post='5716213']
My R11s hits LOWER than any driver I've ever had.
[/quote]

Willie what shaft and what loft settings are you using? What's your swingspeed with the driver?

IMO, no difference at all. R11 fwy woods can be had for CHEAP w/ awesome shafts like the Fubuki Alpha and Kai Li's for around $100. The R11S imo comes with a mediocre shaft and is much more expensive right now.

Love my R9 4 wood Blueboard combo. Tried to replace it with a R11 Kai'Li combo which completely lacked any feel. I couldn't tell if I hit the ball or not. Tried the RBZ Tour Motore Speeder 8.1 combo but could not get the face to sit open enough for me. Was as long as advertised but more left than advertised. Have an R11S 4 wood Motore Speeder 8.1 at the clubmaker's now. I'm hoping for the same results as my R9 with just a touch flatter lie angle. If that's the case it will be the perfect stick for me. I'm supposed to pick it up Tuesday and get it on the course Wednesday. I'll check back in Wednesday night and let you know the results. Between the shaft and head I'm expecting it to be slightly lower more penetrating ball flight than my R9.

[quote name='rickpogany' timestamp='1348919616' post='5716185']
Looking on TM's website I find they claim that by moving the center of gravity back the R11S launches a little higher?

I also notice that they extended the length a 1/2" to 43.5 Hmmm? Maybe that helps the launch?
[/quote]

Also to answer these questions. It's the exact opposite on COG. They moved the COG on the R11S foward to produce a lower flight than the original R11. A lot of people complained about the R11 launching too high. The rumor was Dustin Johnson stuck with the R9 for that reason. If you look the last couple of weeks on tour DJ actually ditched the RBZ for the R11S. So he obviously feels he's not losing anything by going to the S.

As far as the shaft length, that is more or less just keeping up with the Jones's. If you look around the manufacturers the standard 3 wood length this year was 43.5". Now that the fairway woods are operating close to the COR limit they are getting the driver treatment. It's impossible to claim the club goes further when the COR is limited and every club is supposedly at the COR limit. By that logic you can't have a "hotter head". So you increase shaft length which increases swing speed and then tell people it's the club not that shaft and a longer swing circle that produced the results.

The funny thing is they did not change the length on the 4 and 5 wood...just the 3 woods. Best practice is to cut to desired length rather than leave it at 43.5". A little trick most people don't think about if they are going to cut the shaft though is order the regular head, not the TP. Taylormade swing weights the R11S fairways at D4. The regular R11S comes with a 70 gram shaft, the TP comes with an 80 gram shaft. So the regular head is a little heavier to get desired swing weight. Get a .335 Tip off Ebay for $20 and put one of your shafts in it and you should be better off swing weight wise than if you ordered the TP head and cut down that shaft.

Hope this helps.

Appreciate the feedback so far.

I have been looking at an R11 4 wood head, tour issue hot melt, wondering if any of you have experience with a hot melt head?

I understand the hot melt can be moved around the head to change flight characteristics.

Have any of you bought one of the many sold on Ebay and what you think?

How do you know for what purpose the hot melt was applied? Just to mute the head or ????

My R9 4 wood was hot melted. No way to tell why...I just got lucky. It's a D8.5 swing weight with an Blueboard 83 at 42.75". I've asked a lot of the EBay sellers if they know whether the hot melt is draw fade or neutral and for the most part they don't know. The Tour Issue "Hot Melted" heads fell off the back of the tour van for the most part ;-)

Also, My Clubmaker just called and said I can't pick the R11S up until Wednesday. So I probably won't get to hit it until the end of the week now. But I will let you know.

I didn't care for the R11 3 wood at all. It had a hollow feel that I didn't like. Now the R9 IMO is a beast!!!

I have been watching some of the Tour issue R11 fairways as well and can only assume that the hot melt is used to get the head weight up to around 212-215 grams so the swing weight will be right when used with a shaft is the 42"-42.5" range. Biggest concern I've had with purchasing one is the amount that the faces are open. I've seen some as much as 3*-4* which means for me to able to hit it. I would have to close it that much which would increase the loft by about 1.5* so a 15* turns in to a 16.5*.

I hated the original r11 and thought I found the one with the r11s . It had a better trajectory than the non s but on the course it just didn't work for me . Plus the feel still wasnt quite right . i bought a razr fit with a tour ad x and love it .

IMO, the feel of contact on the r11s 3w is a huge improvement over the r11. I couldn't stand the r11 when I tried it, very harsh, like hitting rocks. r11s is real nice in comparison and the phenom 70 is one of the few stock shafts I've actually kept in the club.

[quote name='rickpogany' timestamp='1348920932' post='5716253']
[quote name='Willie Malay' timestamp='1348920344' post='5716213']
My R11s hits LOWER than any driver I've ever had.
[/quote]

Willie what shaft and what loft settings are you using? What's your swingspeed with the driver?
[/quote]

115-121. Stock stiff shaft.

[quote name='Willie Malay' timestamp='1349055639' post='5727581']
[quote name='rickpogany' timestamp='1348920932' post='5716253']
[quote name='Willie Malay' timestamp='1348920344' post='5716213']
My R11s hits LOWER than any driver I've ever had.
[/quote]

Willie what shaft and what loft settings are you using? What's your swingspeed with the driver?
[/quote]

115-121. Stock stiff shaft.
[/quote]

That is strange Willie? Seems with your swing speed even if you have a 9 degree head set at lowest or 7.5 degrees you should have no trouble launching to your desired angle? Or maybe you are just saying its the lowest of all drivers you have played?

I have two heads and am playing three shafts (A stiff -335 UST Gold 65, lowest, A fuji blur 55 TP, mid flight and an Accra M3 50 r/s, highest) launching with the 9 or 10.5 R11 driver heads. I mix them up based on weather, how I am swinging that day, and course conditions.

[quote name='ProjectX' timestamp='1348965880' post='5720089']
My R9 4 wood was hot melted. No way to tell why...I just got lucky. It's a D8.5 swing weight with an Blueboard 83 at 42.75". I've asked a lot of the EBay sellers if they know whether the hot melt is draw fade or neutral and for the most part they don't know. The Tour Issue "Hot Melted" heads fell off the back of the tour van for the most part ;-)

Also, My Clubmaker just called and said I can't pick the R11S up until Wednesday. So I probably won't get to hit it until the end of the week now. But I will let you know.
[/quote]

Appreciate your insight, your R9 sounds like a beast! Good luck with the R11S

I have a line on a R11 4 wood tour issue hot melt at 216 grams including connector that is only 1 degree open.

I don't mind if the R11 is the higher launching of the two as per your prior post as my SS is slowing

I am looking for a higher launch setup anyway and to replace the 200 steel with this 4 as the loft is spec'd at 16.2 and I can dial it down to 15.2

Any idea what the swing weight would be at 42.5?

I will probably be using a 60 gram shaft

I find TM needs to focus on better sole designs.

Everyone is hitting the R11s and RBZ fat that I play with.

Seems not to bounce well through shots.

That being said, R11s is better due to shaft. Heads are similar except the newer settings.

While the drivers are great, the fairways need an immediate look. RBZ needs to change the leading edge for better turf glide.

[quote name='ProjectX' timestamp='1348965880' post='5720089']
My R9 4 wood was hot melted. No way to tell why...I just got lucky. It's a D8.5 swing weight with an Blueboard 83 at 42.75". I've asked a lot of the EBay sellers if they know whether the hot melt is draw fade or neutral and for the most part they don't know. The Tour Issue "Hot Melted" heads fell off the back of the tour van for the most part ;-)

Also, My Clubmaker just called and said I can't pick the R11S up until Wednesday. So I probably won't get to hit it until the end of the week now. But I will let you know.
[/quote]

Definitely a much lower launching head. Granted this head is approximately 10 grams lighter than than my sledgehammer D8.5 swingweight R9. The feel is very similar to the R9, but I think the shot dispersion is far worse. Needless to say, I've already decided to go back to the R9 and Blueboard combo. I may not be as long with it, but I have far more control.