How good is the R1?

[bcflyguy1]

The Classic (this year and last year) is a fantastic driver. Saw several of last year's 290 models in play at the TPC. Glad you found a good combo with it.

[floycota]

[quote name='bcflyguy1' timestamp='1368841192' post='7057146']
The Classic (this year and last year) is a fantastic driver. Saw several of last year's 290 models in play at the TPC. Glad you found a good combo with it.
[/quote]
Also a lot of the Cleveland TL series from a couple of years ago too.

[skyking]

We FINALLY had enough of a lull at the store this evening to take a few swings with the R1. OMG the shaft felt SO long I couldn't swing it. Maybe it's not but it sure felt LONG. When I was fitted at Ping HQ last fall they told me they've virtually never fit someone at the stock driver length. Even at 6'1" and short arms my driver may be 45" but probably a bit shorter. Picking the R1 up felt like I was swinging a freakin' cane pole!! Other drivers may be long too but it was a disaster. Flush my Ping Anser more times than not. My goal for tomorrow is to try the G25 driver.

[Hookasaurus Rex]

[quote name='skyking' timestamp='1368843737' post='7057410']
We FINALLY had enough of a lull at the store this evening to take a few swings with the R1. OMG the shaft felt SO long I couldn't swing it. Maybe it's not but it sure felt LONG. When I was fitted at Ping HQ last fall they told me they've virtually never fit someone at the stock driver length. Even at 6'1" and short arms my driver may be 45" but probably a bit shorter. Picking the R1 up felt like I was swinging a freakin' cane pole!! Other drivers may be long too but it was a disaster. Flush my Ping Anser more times than not. My goal for tomorrow is to try the G25 driver.
[/quote]

Im 6-1 and both of my drivers are 44.5, and I feel I could even go a little shorter. Stock length drivers these days are just too long, imo...

[SwingMan]

Lot of bs in this thread ... get your boots on ... it is deep.

[ScottBGKY]

Drivers are very personal. Had the Anser last year and loved it. Fell in love with the S2 Tour Rocketballz at a demo day but the honeymoon was short lived. Borrowed a demo R1 from club pro for a week. Have never hit anything this consistent. Other than the occasional pull, I'm hitting it dead down the middle. Might be a few yards shorter but its a perfect fit for me. Stiff shaft, 9.5U and neutral compass.

[Vegaman]

[quote name='fupresti' timestamp='1367877219' post='6981672']
[quote name='BBgolfer' timestamp='1367876424' post='6981604']
Definitely over-hyped.
[/quote]

For you maybe.
[/quote]

For everybody. The people that like it report things like "I'm happy so far" and not "OMG this driver outblasts everything by a huuuuge margin" which would be the standard response if it was EVER have any chance to match the hype.."I like it" and "It's good" does not match the hype

[bub72ck]

My buddy sent me one with a DI-6X to try and I just couldn't find a good set up. The head had a good feel and the look was good but I don't have time to tinker with different shafts to find "the one". My R9 V2 is a fairway finder and is long so it will stay.

[wdwfan78]

[quote name='Vegaman' timestamp='1369017071' post='7066608']
[quote name='fupresti' timestamp='1367877219' post='6981672']
[quote name='BBgolfer' timestamp='1367876424' post='6981604']
Definitely over-hyped.
[/quote]

For you maybe.
[/quote]

For everybody. The people that like it report things like "I'm happy so far" and not "OMG this driver outblasts everything by a huuuuge margin" which would be the standard response if it was EVER have any chance to match the hype.."I like it" and "It's good" does not match the hype
[/quote]


Really? I would think the context of my response would be indicative of my happiness with the R1. Next time I will make sure my response is flooded with happy face emoticons and a haiku professing my love.

[bcflyguy1]

[quote name='Vegaman' timestamp='1369017071' post='7066608']
For everybody. The people that like it report things like "I'm happy so far" and not "OMG this driver outblasts everything by a huuuuge margin" which would be the standard response if it was EVER have any chance to match the hype.."I like it" and "It's good" does not match the hype
[/quote]

Typical straw-man argument. "It doesn't live up to the hype for me so it doesn't for anyone else." Perceived hype never hit a golf ball.

Switched to the R1 this year. My driving distance average is up, my fairways hit % is up, the driver is costing me less strokes than it ever has, and therefore my handicap is trending down.

Sounds awful; seriously, who would want results like that? Pleny of others getting great results, too.

[momastermind]

[sub]Didn't think I would find anything better than last year's Rocketballz Tour driver with HD6 shaft. One of the shops here had the R1TP with the Phenom 65 shaft on sale so I bought one to compare. After a few outside range sessions and a few rounds with it, it's kicked the Rocketballz driver out of the bag. I'm very accurate with it. Distance is similar. I get a nice boring trajectory with low spin, easy to hit in the wind. Played Erin Hills here in Wisconsin yesterday in 25-30mph wind and didn't have any problems with the ball ballooning. I really like the feel and the sound, for me, it's an improvement compared to the R11S. Again, this is all very subjective but the R1 is in the bag now and seems like it will be for the rest of the year.[/sub]

[ProBowler]

[quote name='SwingMan' timestamp='1368850014' post='7057964']
Lot of bs in this thread ... get your boots on ... it is deep.
[/quote]

+1

[Vegaman]

[quote name='fupresti' timestamp='1369017517' post='7066648']
[quote name='Vegaman' timestamp='1369017071' post='7066608']
[quote name='fupresti' timestamp='1367877219' post='6981672']
[quote name='BBgolfer' timestamp='1367876424' post='6981604']
Definitely over-hyped.
[/quote]

For you maybe.
[/quote]

For everybody. The people that like it report things like "I'm happy so far" and not "OMG this driver outblasts everything by a huuuuge margin" which would be the standard response if it was EVER have any chance to match the hype.."I like it" and "It's good" does not match the hype
[/quote]


Really? I would think the context of my response would be indicative of my happiness with the R1. Next time I will make sure my response is flooded with happy face emoticons and a haiku professing my love.
[/quote]

Yes thats exactly my point. The HYPE about the R1 was [i]incredible..[/i]You'd think they reinvented the wheel or something. I'm not even sure all the emoticons you could ever find would match the hype about the R1 before it came out. You reconfirm my point completely.

[Sawgrass]

[quote name='Vegaman' timestamp='1369382798' post='7097420']

The HYPE about the R1 was [i]incredible..[/i]You'd think they reinvented the wheel or something.
[/quote]

Actually, they did reinvent the wheel. It's that red thing on the sole . . . some call it a "compass."

[tbowers2]

Once I got a Motore Speeder 6.3TS in it, and cut it down to 44-7/8" @ D3 swingweight, I am liking it. Your mileage may vary, but I get 2-3 more mph ballspeed with it than anything else I've tried recently, as well as good launch angle and spin numbers (for me).

[Chilidog]

I'm still trying to determine if this is the right driver for me. I've owned the R9, R11 and Rocketballz drivers as my last 3 drivers (Taylormade/Adidas is my customer so hard to walk up swinging a Callaway at one of their functions)...got the R1 and decided to try hitting an x-stiff shaft after playing stiffs for most of my life (SS 112 mph)...tried the stock, kiyoshi purple and GDADI 7X....so far what I've determined is this thing weighs enough to be considered a baseball bat (most people that grab it ask me if I'm swinging a sledge hammer), I hit it the same distance as my previous drivers, I hit more fairways with it, but for the life of me I feel like I haven't flushed one since I got it 4 months ago. Not sure why, but results continue to be consistent so I continue to stay with it.

[stk525]

I recently hit the R1 at a demo day at my club and came away with some mixed feelings. I went there fully prepared to spend some money on a new driver but I came away a bit disappointed. The demo day was great, and I enjoyed every minute of it(I actually ended up ordering a new Stage 2 3 wood), but I just couldn't get dialed in with the R1 driver. I tried several different shafts in it and just couldn't get along with it. It wasn't anything wrong with the results, as it performed more or less how I expected, it was never much better than my current gamer. My biggest balk was with the feel. It may have been just a combination of the sound and not ever finding the right shaft. Overall I liked the total weight of the driver, but at address and during the take away the distribution of the weight felt odd.

For the right person this is definitely going to be a great driver, it just happened to not be for me.

[BirdieBob]

I have been using the R1 for a month.
I am using an AD Blue Bullet 6x at 45.25" and with SW of D3.5...4g in the heel and 1g in the toe.
Very solid driver and easy to control the ball.

10/10

[Big Ben]

[quote name='bph7' timestamp='1368802244' post='7053386']
As you can see from this thread, it's been a pretty mixed bag for the R1. Some love it and find it to be a low launch/low spin bomber, and some can't stand it for the feel, sound, graphics etc. My experience trying it has been pretty reflective of this general consensus, actually. It IS a pretty low launch/low spin club, BUT I also agree that I'm not a fan at all of the looks/feel/sound. For me, at least, the RFX, XHP, and RBZ Stage 2 all did better than the R1, but the 913 series, anser, and g25 did worse. It was about middle of the road. I see little reason not to at least also try an R11s if you are gonna think about the R1, though, because it is MUCH cheaper and I wasn't getting any discernable performance upgrade from the R1.
[/quote]Thats been the general consensus I've heard from my guys in retail, not that the driver is a dud just not superior to last years offering. Makes me want to hunt down a 10.5* R11s V2 and have Continental Golf paint that sucker matte black! BB