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In Just its Third Week on Tour the R9 is the No. 1 Driver at Buick Invitational with 35 in Play
Unlike the first two weeks on tour where R9™ drivers were available in limited quantities and offered only to tour players who expressed interest, we had plenty on hand at the Buick Invitational. The tour team logged 16 hour days from Monday through Wednesday to ensure product made its way into the hands of as many players as possible. According to the Darrell Survey released Thursday evening, there were 35 R9 drivers in play; easily the No. 1 driver model this week.
- For the second time in the past three weeks the R9 is the No. 1 driver model on the PGA Tour
- TaylorMade is the No. 1 driver brand with 66 in play.
- 12 players played a TaylorMade TP golf ball
- There were 16 sets of the new TaylorMade Tour Preferred® iron in play (No. 2 iron model)
Some of the R9 users at the Buick Invitational include:
Michael Allen
Arjun Atwal
Eric Axley
Briny Baird
Brian Bateman
David Berganio Jr.
Matt Bettencourt
Bart Bryant
Daniel Chopra
Jason Day
Retief Goosen
Cliff Kresge
Spencer Levin
John Mallinger
Scott McCarron
Greg Owen
Rod Pampling
Corey Pavin
Pat Perez
Scott Piercy
Charles Warren
Aaron Watkins
Jay Williamson
Dean Wilson
Casey Wittenburg
YE Yang
On Tuesday morning at 10:30, the range in front of the tour trailers has a heavy TaylorMade presence. From left to right, Jay Williamson, Robert Garrigus and Retief Goosen (making his 2009 PGA Tour debut) are all pounding golf balls with the R9…
- Williamson said he likes the look of the head at address. After a few straight drives, Williamson asks a TaylorMade tour rep if he can get more loft.
- Robert Garrigus hit the R9 for a while; when Lego looks over, Garrigus gives him a thumbs-up. Later Garrigus says, “this thing is money. It gives me a flatter ball flight…it doesn’t balloon.” His caddie agrees, saying he could tell after the first swing. Garrigus adds, “I can really turn this over. Congratulations, I have a new driver, this thing is sweet.” Later he jumps on the launch monitor. His first ball carries 294 yards, then 294 and then 295. Lego asks him to pretend he's on the first hole and that he just needs to get it in play. Garrigus loads up and carries it 303.
- Using Trackman Goosen hits two R9 drivers: one with the Motore™ TP shaft and one with a Fuji Speeder…his gamer is an r7® SuperQuad™. He alternated between the SuperQuad and R9, checking the launch conditions, carry and overall yardage after each ball. He gets the same slight draw with both drivers, but consistently averages five additional yards of carry with the R9. It goes in his bag.
Greg Owen – loves the concept of not having to find another head…he thinks the technology is great…gets head the way he wants and then mixes and matches shafts…likes the NR setting – open face to keep from hooking…according to the tour reps, he de-lofts to keep his spin down…he likes to trap the ball to flight it better…
Retief Goosen brought a belly putter he'd been using to the TM tour van and asked for to have the shaft cut down. We showed him the new Monza® Spider Balero with a mid-length shaft and he said he'd take a look.
What tour pros in Europe are saying about he R9 driver:
Sergio Garcia “Not only do I feel like I can shape this driver both ways but I have easily gained ten yards.”
Gary Murphy “Great, Sergio just gained another 10 yards. Things just got tougher for us.”
Justin Rose “This is not only the longest, but the best-looking driver TaylorMade has produced since the r7 quad.”
Graeme Storm “Comfortably ten yards longer!”
Paul McGinley “This has made things so much quicker; a fantastic piece of engineering."
