I admit it, I’m partial to TaylorMade drivers. I’ve never found one that I thought was overrated. After playing a round with the TaylorMade R9 driver, I can confidently say that this one isn’t overrated either.
There are many reasons why TaylorMade claims to make the “#1 Driver in Golf.” For many golfers, it’s enough to know that today’s top pros use TaylorMade drivers on the tee. This list includes Jason Day, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Dustin Johnson, and Ryan Moore, among others. For the past several years, TaylorMade has dominated the driver count on the world’s major golf tours.
The explanation is simple. TaylorMade has consistently produced high-quality drivers, including the R5, R7, R11, RocketBallz, various Burner models, and of course, the subject of this review, the TaylorMade R9 driver. These drivers have been revered by professional and amateur players over the last decade or two.
TaylorMade’s prowess at designing and building innovative drivers is unparalleled. The company has long been at the forefront of driver technology, blazing trails that other manufacturers often follow. The TaylorMade R9 driver lives up to this reputation for groundbreaking clubs.
More specifically, the TaylorMade R9 driver was the company’s first to feature both the highly successful “Moveable Weight Technology” (MWT) and an adjustable hosel, known as “Flight Control Technology” (FCT). With these, you can adjust the loft, lie, face angle, and the center of gravity of the head, making it the world’s first fully adjustable club.
TaylorMade R9 Driver Review: The Looks
The club is a handsome devil. The head shape of the TaylorMade R9 driver is fairly traditional. At 420cc, it’s neat and compact, and it looks great at address. The deep face tends to inspire confidence.
Adjustability Leads to Control
Now for the important stuff: adjustability and performance.
The FCT allows you to adjust the loft, lie, and face angle, while the MWT can promote a draw or straight ball flight. This means the TaylorMade R9 driver can be customized to work well with your swing. Some golfers use these adjustments to partially compensate for swing flaws.
Using a small torque wrench, you can adjust both the FCT and MWT systems. The FCT alone has 24 settings (perhaps a bit of overkill?), but changes are easy to make. Together, these systems offer 3 degrees of launch angle adjustability, up to 75 yards of left-to-right adjustability, and up to 1800 rpm of spin adjustability.
The stock shaft for the TaylorMade R9 driver is a 45-inch, 65-gram Fujikura Motore. This graphite shaft has a “High Inertia Tip” designed to boost ball speed and distance by adding kick through the impact zone. It’s shorter than the 46-inch shafts of most modern drivers. While I didn’t notice significant distance gains, the shaft’s extra kick seems to be balanced out by its shorter length. What I did notice was increased control and accuracy compared to longer shafts. Multiple shaft options were available when the TaylorMade R9 driver was introduced in 2009.
The sound when shots are hit flush is muted but solid. Unlike some modern drivers that sound like tin cans, the TaylorMade R9 driver has a sound you’ll appreciate if you’re anything like me.
The TaylorMade R9 driver is available in 8.5-, 9.5-, and 10.5-degree lofts. However, remember that you can adjust the “fixed” loft by up to 3 degrees when purchasing.
Bottom Line
The TaylorMade R9 driver isn’t about gaining distance. It’s designed for average to highly skilled players and is not a game-improvement club. Instead, this driver focuses on control: controlling the height of your shots, whether you hit straight, left, or right, and managing the spin on your drives. Finding the right setup for your swing might take time, but it can be worth it for better players.
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