TaylorMade Golf Introduces R9 460 Driver

[easyyy]

Combines Flight Control Technology with a 460cc Clubhead and a Longer,

TaylorMade Golf Introduces R9 460 Driver

Combines Flight Control Technology with a 460cc Clubhead and a Longer, Lighter Shaft

In February, TaylorMade Golf introduced the R9™ driver, which today is the No. 1 driver model on the PGA Tour. Now, TaylorMade is introducing the R9 460 driver, which combines TaylorMade's renowned Flight Control Technology (FCT) with the forgiveness and power of a 460cc titanium clubhead and the speed-promoting properties of a longer length and extremely lightweight graphite shaft. All at the remarkable street price of $299.

FCT gives the golfer the power to easily change the club's face angle, loft and lie angle simply by loosening a bolt in the sole, rotating the shaft into the designated position, then tightening the bolt. FCT makes it so easy to adjust the angle of the clubface into a position that suits your eye and your swing, helping you hit the ball straighter and longer. It also promotes a side-to-side change in trajectory of up to 40 yards, helping golfers to promote a draw or fade, or diminish a hook or slice. The R9 460 includes a white FCT wrench that delivers the 40 inch-pounds of torque necessary to adequately tighten the FCT bolt.

"FCT proved itself to be a major, major metalwood innovation immediately after we launched the R9 driver earlier this year," said Sean Toulon, TaylorMade executive vice president of innovation. "Tour pros took to it right away, and it quickly became the No. 1 driver model on the PGA Tour. Amateur golfers also embraced it quickly, as sales have been fantastic around the world, especially in the United States, Europe and Japan."

Compared to the R9 driver, the R9 460 driver has a larger head, deeper clubface and lower and deeper-back center of gravity (CG), qualities that deliver a higher MOI for greater forgiveness and a higher spin-rate, helping low-spin players keep the ball in the air longer for increased carry and distance.

Powerful 460cc Clubhead featuring TaylorMade's New Classic Shape
"In addition to the advantages of FCT in a 460cc clubhead, the R9 460 also delivers the kind of shape, feel and sound that TaylorMade drivers are famous for, and which our competitors can't come close to matching," said Harry Arnett, TaylorMade senior category director for metalwoods. The shape is what TaylorMade calls "new classic" because it is at once modern and traditional. The R9 460's new classic shape offers three distinct advantages: 1) it allows for a deep back, far-from-the-face CG location that makes it easier to launch the ball; 2) it contributes to a higher MOI for greater stability on off-center hits; 3) it allows for an exceptionally low CG location.

The R9 460's clubhead is constructed with the aid of TaylorMade's Ultra-Thin Wall (UTW) technology, which allows for clubhead walls measuring as thin as 0.6 millimeters, with the saved weight redistributed to help make the low and-deep-back CG possible.

Longer Club-length; Aldila RE*AX® 60-gram tip-soft shaft
The R9 460 driver is long in length – 45.75" – and equipped with an Aldila RE*AX® 60-gram tip-soft shaft, available in L, M, R, S and X flexes. The characteristics of the shaft and the club's added length together promote increased clubhead speed and distance. "Players who put a premium on distance are going to want to put the R9 460 in play," said Arnett. "It features a variety of characteristics designed to work together to promote faster ball speed and distance-enhancing launch conditions, while FCT technology will help them achieve the shot-shape they want to help keep the ball in the short grass."

Inverted Cone Technology
The R9 460 driver also incorporates TaylorMade's renowned Inverted Cone clubface technology, which expands the area of the clubface that delivers high ball speed. Characterized by an inverted cone that's milled directly onto the inner side of the clubface, Inverted Cone Technology increases the club's forgiveness on mis-hits. Together, the combination of the R9 460's Inverted Cone Technology, high MOI and exceedingly low CG makes it incredibly easy to hit.

On Tour
"Tour pros always want their drivers bent in some way, usually to change the face angle or to add or subtract loft," said Keith Sbarbaro, TaylorMade vice president of tour operations. It's so easy to do that with FCT. Instead of taking the club to our tour trailer and putting it in a bending block, we can adjust it quickly and cleanly, right on the spot, either at the practice range or the first tee. And now all golfers have the option to adjust their face angle, loft and lie angle, like tour pros do."

Tour professionals who have put the R9 driver in play include Sean O'Hair, Kenny Perry, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Darren Clark and Andres Romero. The R9 460 is expected to attract similar interest among tour pros. "A lot of tour pros have been asking if we could incorporate FCT into a driver with a 460cc head, so we're expecting a lot of R9 460 drivers to go into play, which will further increase R9 dominance on tour."

R9 460 TP
For tour pros and skilled players, the R9 460 TP is also being introduced. It features the same identical clubhead as the R9 460, but is equipped with a Fujikura Motore F1 65 graphite shaft with a .335" tip. The R9 460 TP is also available with the following custom shaft offerings in X, S and R flexes: Fujikura Motore F1 75, Fujikura Motore F1 85, Fujikura Motore F1 55, Aldila® Voodoo VS6, Aldila Voodoo NV6, Mitsubishi® Fubuki 63, Mitsubishi Fubuki 73, Matrix Ozik X-CON 5 and Matrix HD 6.

Availability
Available lofts for the R9 460 and R9 460 TP drivers include 8.5°, 9.5°, 10.5° and 11.5° in right-handed, 9.5° and 10.5° in left-handed. Availability at retail begins May 16.

[balbowski]

That should sell well...

[SpinMill75]

Let the ho'ing begin!

[markheardjr]

How come Golfsmith says they have MWT? They need to lock it up, gettin sloppy.

[owaisdurrani]

This is going to sell great because of the lower price!!!

[youngwaldo]

From the picture it reminds me of the TM SQ.

 

Wk

[obsessedgolfer]

The release of the 460 was expected, but the change in stock shaft manufacturers to aldilla comes as a surprise to me.

[hbear]

Does Aldila even have a ReAx shaft? I think typo.

[youraway2]

Looks like another merchandising scam to me. I’m not sure but isn’t this an R7 Limited with an adjustable shaft, Ops, Flight Control Technology?

[duffer888]

Looks like another merchandising scam to me. I’m not sure but isn’t this an R7 Limited with an adjustable shaft, Ops, Flight Control Technology?

 

Not quite, R7 is only 440 and has MWT. R7 Limited with an adjustable shaft is what the R9 460 should have been.

[Navyplayer]

I almost pulled the triger on the first R9..... Now the R9 460/ R9 460 TP.....

I'll wait a lil longer for them to come out with the R9 460 Super Quad TP.... That should be in a couple of months. :russian_roulette:

[jwo]

I just talked to one the guys at my local shop and he says the 460 set at 1* open still looked pretty closed. Also at 45.75?.....I dont know the TP with all the same shafts as the R9 420 TP is 399.99 but I like the orig R9 just fine.

[Dboudreau89]

that sucks that it doesnt have the MWT technology, i love my r9 TP and taking away the mwt might take soem sales away

[rymail00]

Anyone what the TP will run in $$$? Hopefully not $399?

 

Also, for you guys whohave the R9 TP, are they the real shaft w/ graphics, or TM graphics?

[texcrom]

Anyone what the TP will run in $$$? Hopefully not $399?

 

Also, for you guys whohave the R9 TP, are they the real shaft w/ graphics, or TM graphics?

 

TM graphics

[rymail00]

I hope I', not opening a can of worms here, but...are they the real deal shafts? Or the waterdown version like Titleist BB, and Voodoo?

 

The reason I ask is because I was reading the Diamana WB reviews saying that the TM WB was not the real deal, by some reviewers.

[jgpl]

Why are they bringing out a 460cc version now???????? - yeah, another marketing ploy I know

 

I thought the idea of the R9 was to bring out a smaller, more workable driver, with a huge array of adjustability.

 

This will not be any more forgiving (does 20cc extra really give any forgiveness, given that you can adjust for swing characteristics) or even add one extra yard to a handicap golfers drives.

 

Even the staunch defenders of TM on golfwrx must realise and accept that this is becoming a joke.

 

I agree with many of them that you have free will and don't have to purchase it, and I certainly won't.

 

I can guarantee that any Superquad TP would outperform any R9 460 in any dept, except of course for masking a poor swing

 

Regardless of my opinion or any others negative to TM their bandwagon will roll on, but it is becoming tedious now.

 

Yawn...........

 

 

WITB

 

909 D3 9.5 deg Fujikura Z708 s-flex

906 F4 13.5 deg UST V2 85g s-flex

Rapture hybrid 18 deg Black Gold steel, pured, s-flex

AP2 3-pw PX 6.0

Voley Raw 52 and 60 deg

ProV1x or TM Red LDP

[ConnecticutPete]

If only they would come out with an R9 SuperQuad...I would totally be on board with that...

 

In the meantime I'll keep my FT-3 and soon to be owned Launcher...

[stage1350]

It should take two more generations of drivers to get to 460cc, 4 MWT screws and FCT.

 

I can wait another three weeks for that. ;)

[robb01]

Can't wait for R10, 11, etc.. :)

[MCCA]

Looks like another merchandising scam to me. I'm not sure but isn't this an R7 Limited with an adjustable shaft, Ops, Flight Control Technology?

 

 

Thought the same thing, I'm so glad i picked up my R7 limited on the cheap :clapping: Now for those who just purchased a R9 @ $399 can't be happy

[markheardjr]

I hope I', not opening a can of worms here, but...are they the real deal shafts? Or the waterdown version like Titleist BB, and Voodoo?

 

The reason I ask is because I was reading the Diamana WB reviews saying that the TM WB was not the real deal, by some reviewers.

 

I think you are miss-informed. Actually the Titleist VooDoo is more beefy than the nomral VooDoo. Shafts made for OEM's are re-engineered with inputs from the OEM, if they want a shaft that has a firmer tip, that's what gets made. The Titleist VooDoo is heavier and stiffer than a retail VS6. I have actually suggested it as a replacement shaft for people stuck between a VS6 and a VS7. The Titleist VooDoo is closer to 70grams than the retail VS6 is. I've also mentioned to people stuck between an SVS6 and an XVS6 to try a Titleist VooDoo tipped .5" to 1". So no, not all OEM offerings are waterdown versions.

[maverickgolfguy]

Looks like another merchandising scam to me. I'm not sure but isn't this an R7 Limited with an adjustable shaft, Ops, Flight Control Technology?

 

 

Thought the same thing, I'm so glad i picked up my R7 limited on the cheap :clapping: Now for those who just purchased a R9 @ $399 can't be happy

 

Why wouldn't they be happy? If they wanted a non-460 driver, that is exactly what they got. The price still hasn't gone down either. Seriously, what is it with people and resale value on here?

[NUTMAN]

:russian_roulette: :russian_roulette: :angry: Why in the HELL would Taylor Made come out with this driver? They are shooting themselves in the foot!! :good: They have made a great driver in the R9 that is out now, and then they come out with a new R9 460 at a lower price? UNBELIEVEABLE market stratagy. Piss off the consumer as much as they can especially in this day and time. THe reason I say that is a guy that just bought the regular R9 for $399.99, and then 2 months later Taylor Made comes out with the same driver with a couple of minor changes and it sells for $299.99. GO FIGURE :tease:

[MCCA]

Looks like another merchandising scam to me. I'm not sure but isn't this an R7 Limited with an adjustable shaft, Ops, Flight Control Technology?

 

 

Thought the same thing, I'm so glad i picked up my R7 limited on the cheap :clapping: Now for those who just purchased a R9 @ $399 can't be happy

 

Why wouldn't they be happy? If they wanted a non-460 driver, that is exactly what they got. The price still hasn't gone down either. Seriously, what is it with people and resale value on here?

 

I said nothing about resale value i could care less as golf clubs are never worth anything on trade in. :russian_roulette: My point is people just purchased a R9 at $399 which is not the same price as the R9 460. The 460 TP is $399. why not re-lease both and let the market dictate if some wants all the features of the R9 FCT or just a 460 head with out the movable weights.

[falken19150]

I wonder which model the pros will gravitate towards?

[mr_divots]

It was already silly, but this is getting ridiculous. :rolleyes:

[zzmkdw]

I hope I', not opening a can of worms here, but...are they the real deal shafts? Or the waterdown version like Titleist BB, and Voodoo?

 

The reason I ask is because I was reading the Diamana WB reviews saying that the TM WB was not the real deal, by some reviewers.

 

I think you are miss-informed. Actually the Titleist VooDoo is more beefy than the nomral VooDoo. Shafts made for OEM's are re-engineered with inputs from the OEM, if they want a shaft that has a firmer tip, that's what gets made. The Titleist VooDoo is heavier and stiffer than a retail VS6. I have actually suggested it as a replacement shaft for people stuck between a VS6 and a VS7. The Titleist VooDoo is closer to 70grams than the retail VS6 is. I've also mentioned to people stuck between an SVS6 and an XVS6 to try a Titleist VooDoo tipped .5" to 1". So no, not all OEM offerings are waterdown versions.

 

 

If i understand all the jibberish on Titleists web site, the "made for" version is a vs6 at 47" uncut (explaining the weight increase) that has a 1" longer parallel tip so that Titleist could have a stiffer tipped version without actual tipping the shaft at installation.

[e-dog9]

It should take two more generations of drivers to get to 460cc, 4 MWT screws and FCT.

 

I can wait another three weeks for that. ;)

 

 

Thats the funniest thing I've read in days!

 

TMs short lifecycle is crazy.

[markheardjr]

I hope I', not opening a can of worms here, but...are they the real deal shafts? Or the waterdown version like Titleist BB, and Voodoo?

 

The reason I ask is because I was reading the Diamana WB reviews saying that the TM WB was not the real deal, by some reviewers.

 

I think you are miss-informed. Actually the Titleist VooDoo is more beefy than the nomral VooDoo. Shafts made for OEM's are re-engineered with inputs from the OEM, if they want a shaft that has a firmer tip, that's what gets made. The Titleist VooDoo is heavier and stiffer than a retail VS6. I have actually suggested it as a replacement shaft for people stuck between a VS6 and a VS7. The Titleist VooDoo is closer to 70grams than the retail VS6 is. I've also mentioned to people stuck between an SVS6 and an XVS6 to try a Titleist VooDoo tipped .5" to 1". So no, not all OEM offerings are waterdown versions.

 

 

If i understand all the jibberish on Titleists web site, the "made for" version is a vs6 at 47" uncut (explaining the weight increase) that has a 1" longer parallel tip so that Titleist could have a stiffer tipped version without actual tipping the shaft at installation.

 

Still, not a watered down sissy version like the crap Diamana the put into the Nike's a while back. The Titleist Versions are just as good as the retail aftermarket versions.