• Taylormade R1 Driver Loft Settings
• R1 Driver Loft Settings

Originally published at linksmagazine.com, May 2013

The loft sleeve was designed in conjunction with the driver’s revamped adjustable sole plate, which has seven different settings that can change the R1’s face angle as much as 3 degrees open or closed in 1-degree increments. This is another another upgrade over the R11S, which gave golfers 5 settings that adjusted in 1.5-degree increments. So after many years, I started changing some of the settings on my R1 driver. My miss is a slice so Im trying to counteract that. Im not really sure how effective itll be but Im going to experiment at the range later this week. Ill typically shoot about 100.Heres what I did:I have the hea.

After the recent brouhaha over the ban on anchored putting, I’d like everyone to raise a glass and toast—a little late, I admit—the anniversary of another change in equipment governance that deserves our applause.

Engineered for pure distance and adjust-ability, the Taylormade R1 Driver is already a success globally with four worldwide Tour victories, including two PGA Tour victories – one of which by Dustin Johnson at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The team at Taylormade claims that 80% of golfers are simply playing the wrong loft. Therefore aren’t getting the most out of their driver. Because today's drivers launch with much less spin, even players who swing fast use more loft. (Jason Day, who has a swing speed of 120 miles per hour, uses a 10.5-degree driver.).

A little more than five years ago, on January 1, 2008, the Rules of Golf allowed clubs to be adjustable. If you don’t know what happened as a result, you’ve been in a cave.

Although it wasn’t the first company to produce an alterable driver (that distinction goes to the now-defunct Nickent Golf), the undisputed leader in adjustability is TaylorMade. Its first semi-transformable driver, the R7, had movable back weights and debuted in 2004. The R9, with true adjustability in the form of a twistable loft sleeve, came out in late 2008, and the R11, with a choice of eight loft settings and adjustable face angle, in early 2011.

The latest variation on variability is the R1. It offers three “tunable technologies”: loft, face angle, and weight. There are 12 positions on the loft sleeve between 8 and 12 degrees (7 standard and 5 upright settings), 7 face-angle options (maximum closed to maximum open), and two weights. I trust the engineers’ calculations that claim a total of 168 possible settings.

There are other notable features, including variable thickness in the crown that moves the center of gravity forward; what TM calls “Inverted Cone Technology,” invisible because it’s on the back of the clubface but expands the sweetspot; better aerodynamics so the head moves faster through the air; and funky graphics that are supposed to aid alignment.

Does it all work? I’ve been using the R1 for about two months and I like it. A lot. Which is significant, at least to me, because I’d tried all the drivers mentioned above and never clicked with any of them. This despite TaylorMade consistently leading the Tour count and selling zillions of the earlier models. I was always impressed with the tech but disappointed in the results. Until the R1.

Being able to adjust the specs matters. With the help of online videos and a smartphone app, I’ve dialed in what seems to be my correct combination. I’ve tinkered a few times, both on the range and round to round, but found—especially with face angle, which primarily affects how the club looks at address—that once you get it, you know. And you don’t switch. Which is something people throughout the equipment industry told me: Once golfers set adjustable clubs, they rarely change.

The setting golfers should pay the most attention to is loft. TM’s Tom Olshavsky told me their research shows that 80 percent of golfers are playing the wrong loft. Since the new mantra in driver performance is “high launch angle plus low spin,” the wrong loft can severely limit distance. So setting the loft is key, and like all the settings, easily done.

Once the club is set how I want it, two other aspects of the R1 really impress me. First is length. The driver comes standard at 45.5 inches, which is, according to the manufacturers, a quarter-inch shorter than the Ping G25 and Nike’s Covert, and a half-inch less than the Adams Speedline Super S. The R1 looks and feels much more controllable at this shorter length, without sacrificing distance. (According to TaylorMade, painting the head white makes it seem larger, and that appears to be true, further enhancing the comfort that comes with control.)

Club length contributes to the second attribute: feel. The earlier TM drivers felt as if the weight was evenly distributed head to grip. I like more weight in the head and the R1 delivers that. It feels great, making it easy to swing with confidence. Since there are more than 35 shafts available with the R1 (some significantly adding to its cost), feel can be almost anything you want. But the standard Aldila RIP Phenom suits me just fine. (Question for another time: Who names shafts?)

When it comes to adjustability, I’m a believer. I like other twist-and-click drivers, too, because the technology works, even if just psychologically. Plus, I’m a range rat, so it’s fun to tinker. But once set, the R1 delivers what we all want from a driver: good feel and better distance.

TaylorMade’s website currently is discounting the R1 from $399 to $349, as are stores.

Note: As I was writing this review, TaylorMade announced that the R1 will be available in black as of June 10 at a retail price of $399. Many golfers will prefer the new all-black look, but, if possible, try the white if you think alignment aids on the crown and the perception of the larger head can be helpful. I found it very easy to get accustomed to the white head and appreciate its attributes.

Taylormade R1 Driver Loft Settings

• At a glance

• TG Rating4.5 out of 5
• Owner Rating5 out of 5
• Pros

  Extremely forgiving, hot off the face and the most adjustable driver on the market. Tweaking the settings is very easy to implement.

• Cons

  The design on the crown is daring to say the least and the sound at impact is loud and high-pitched.

• RRP£349.00

R1 Driver Loft Settings

What we say...

2013 Drivers Test

The crown will divide opinion and it did so among our testers. Four out of the five referenced the Marmite analogy – you’ll either love it or hate it. Despite the look of it, performance was impressive across the board. Graeme hit his two longest drives of the day with the R1 and ended with an average dispersion of just 12 yards.

Three out of the five commented the club felt heavy and that it made them swing it harder; but the face was so forgiving, dispersion was barely affected. Both Joel and James especially noticed how little difference off-centre hits made while Kit was stunned at how hot the ball seemed to come off the face. The R1 is currently Chris’ driver of choice, but he ended up closing the face by a degree to prevent it going right.

First Hit Review - January 2013

Pitting the R11S and the new R1 against each other on our GC2 launch monitor was a real eye-opener. Ball speed remained consistent between the two, but the big difference was the launch angle, distance gains and forgiveness on off-centre hits with the R1.

The average R1 carry was 272 yards compared with the R11S’s 265. The ball curved much less on off-centre hits with the R1. The lowest carry with the R1 was 264 yards and 251 with the R11S. On average the R1 launched 0.4º higher.

Pros: Longer and more forgiving than the R11S, simple to adjust, crown looks great.
Cons: The high-pitched sound at impact won’t please everyone.

TaylorMade have unveiled their new R1 driver, the follow-up product to the massively-successful R11S.

The R1 has been designed with 12 loft options and seven face angle settings, as well as the brand’s famous movable weight technology – but despite the high level of adjustability, it’s an intuitive bit of kit that is straight forward to use.

“Offering a wide range of loft settings is imperative, because our research indicates that 80% of golfers are playing the wrong loft, which costs them distance,” said Dr Benoit Vincent, chief technical officer.

“The R1 offers 12 positions to help golfers find the loft that delivers the launch conditions that deliver maximum distance.”

There are seven standard loft positions, and five upright ones, while golfers can also change the face angle to sit in one of the following positions – neutral square, open, medium-open, maximum-open, closed, medium-closed and maximum-closed.

In addition to the easier-to-use adjustability, the driver features an innovative crown design following consultation with Dr Steve Hitzeman, a professor of sports optometry. The combination of white, black, grey and orange on the crown helps the golfer with alignment, while the sizeable head inspires confidence at address.

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