TaylorMade R5 Dual TP Driver Review

TaylorMade R5 Dual TP Driver
Grade: A+
Teachers’ Comments: This is a driver for the ages, the perfect mix of power and forgiveness.

Find the TaylorMade R5 Dual TP Driver  at Global Golf

Like Parsifal questing for the Holy Grail, I have long been in search of THE ONE TRUE DRIVER.

Over the years, I have played any number of glittering jewels, including selections from Adams, Callaway, Spaulding, Titleist, Snake Eyes, and Golfworks. Some were long; some were accurate; some were a little of both. But none were the holy grail – THE ONE TRUE DRIVER.

Then about three weeks ago, an unexpected package from TaylorMade showed up at my door, containing a review copy of the new TaylorMade R5 Dual Driver—TP Edition.
Despite my gratitude to TaylorMade for thinking me worthy, I knew immediately that this was not THE ONE. It was, after all, the TP Edition, designed for better players with faster swings. I, a lowly 15 handicapper, was not going to be able to hit the stiff, high-end Mitsubishi Diamana shaft. Surely the 9.5 degress of loft were not going to be enough. And as for the dual weight ports—I knew that if the pros needed two, I would need at least four.

But I knew that my calling was to try it, and I taped it up to take it to the course. (OK, taping a club is geeky, but I wasn’t going to scratch up a review model).

My initial fears were realized. After two rounds, I was sure that I was not worthy of this mighty weapon. I yanked most of the shots left and into the rough. The distance was ok, but I was unable to control it. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t hit the promised draw.

Of course, I have never been able to hit a draw. My shots either go straight, or fade.

So I reset the weights for a fade. Big weight on the outside, little one on the inside.

And I went back to the course. And hit every fairway.

With the weights set properly for my swing type, the club performs wonders. The balls blast off the face of the club on a rising trajectory, heading left, only to drop back right gracefully onto the fairway. I had three straight rounds where I did not miss a fairway. I am consistently hitting the ball more than 250 yards.

It’s not the longest club I’ve ever used. None of the individual shots that I have hit can best the longest that I’ve hit with my Snake Eyes Compressor driver. But it certainly is the longest in the aggregate. Since every shot is hitting the fairway, and every shot is consistently in the 250-+ range, the R5 Dual TP gains me more yards over 18 holes than any other.

More than anything else, the reason for this is the incredible forgiveness of the club. I have hit plenty of shots with the R5 that I KNOW were bad. And yet, the end result turned out not to be that bad at all. Shots hit off the toe still manage to find the fairway. Topped shots still get decent distance. (I haven’t hit one off the heel, but I imagine that would be ok, too.).

Shots that ended in utter disaster with my other drivers ended up ok with the R5. And I think that the forgiveness is why the stiff shaft is working for me. I can swing this thing with abandon, knowing that if I am “off”, it’s still going to keep me in play. Confidence breeds swing speed.

TaylorMade says that the club’s forgiveness is a result of several factors. First, the clubhead is huge: 450cc. (Yet it doesn’t look like a volkswagen on a stick. The dark head and sleek lines make it look smaller than other mega clubs). The shape, TaylorMade says, gives it the highest Moment of Inertia of any of its drivers. (Moment of inertia is resistance to twisting).

Second, it has uses TaylorMade’s “inverted cone” technology, which has an cone attached to the back fo the clubface, which is supposed to increase the size of the sweet spot.

Finally, TaylorMade says the the deep clubface “increases the chances of creating a vertical gear effect, which promotes a higher launch angle and lower spin rate.” Higher launch angles and lower spin will translate to more accuracy.

But for all of that, here’s the final test of the ONE TRUE CLUB: The R5 is lowering my scores. because I’m playing from the fairways at good distances, I believe that the R5 has taken three to four shots a round off my scorecard (instead of pitching back to the fairway on shots, I’m taking a shot at the green).

TaylorMade can’t have this club back. I’ll send them a check, but it’s staying in my bag.

It’s often the case in the grail legends that the TRUE GRAIL turns out to be the chalice that no one suspects. It was the case with the R5 Dual TP. At first glance, I thought I would be unable to play with it. It has turned out to be the driver I was looking for.

R5 Dual TP Driver

For players seeking a large, forgiving, confidence-inducing driver that s easy to hit , and which promotes a neutral and long ball flight . Dual TLC (TaylorMade Launch Control) ports change the CG (center of gravity) location to promote different trajectories giving you greater accuracy and distance Matches the r5 dual Type N in shape and MOI (moment of inertia) providing outstanding forgiveness and stability for extraordinarily long, straight results on off-center hits Exceptionally large 450cc clubhead for a large hitting area and substantial look at address which promotes confidence and solid contact Inverted Cone Technology for greater ball velocity on off-center hits for consistently longer drives Deep clubface promotes a higher launch angle and lower spin-rate for added distance Outfitted with the Tour-proven Mitsubishi Diamana 83 graphite shaft TLC Wrench included Included removable weights 1 10-gram weight 1 2-gram weight 1 4-gram weight 1 8-gram weight 2 6-gram weights Available Accessories : TLC Wrench Kit : Hard case, TLC wrench, TLC manual TLC Cartridges : Available in 2g, 4g, 6g, 8g, 10g, 12g and 14g r7 TP Weight Kit : TP hard case, Trajectory Wheel, TLC wrench, TP manual and 8 TLC cartridges