New TaylorMade R11S Driver attract us
Taylormade in 2012 is all about tuning and speed. Improved aerodynamics, hotter faces, improved ball speed.

The new-for-2012 taylormade r11s driver is getting a lot of publicity, and a lot of golfers are trying to decide whether to buy one. The original TaylorMade R11 driver made quite a splash itself, but the company says the R11S is even better and more adjustable.

The TaylorMade R11S Driver is TaylorMade's most technologically advanced driver to date, showcasing the latest innovation, adjustability and performance. The white 460cc head features a 3° Flight Control Technology sleeve, a new 5-way Adjustable Sole Plate taylormade r11s and Taylormade's Movable Weight Technology, allowing the R11S Driver to be tuned for 80 different launch settings.

But has TaylorMade taken adjustability too far? I’m not all that fond of adjustable clubs to begin with - once you find the right setting(s), you tend to leave it there, so why not just buy a club that suits you in the first place? You can’t “legally” change the settings of a club during a round anyway. Does any golfer really need all this “tunability?” Whatever happened to picking a driver with the right loft and shaft, and then relying on your swing? Personally, I think TaylorMade may have gotten carried away.

I do, however, recognize that some golfers really like adjustable drivers. It just seems to me that there are an awful lot of things to fiddle with on the TaylorMade – you can adjust the hosel sleeve, the moveable weight cartridges, and the sole plate. How in the world does anyone get all those different adjustments “right?” I’d probably turn into a head case trying. I’d feel like I needed an owner’s manual just to adjust my driver properly.

Overall, the feel of this driver is head and shoulders above the R11 model of last year. It actually feels like the ball is powering off the face instead of the dead feeling from the R11. It has the feel of the Superfast 2.0 TP, which was my driver of the year last year. This makes it much more satisfying to hit, because I would like to feel the ball speed off the face rather than a dead thud. The sound is also pretty good. Most of the complaints about the Rocketballz (RBZ) have been that it is too loud and tinny. I had none of that experience with the R11s.