Earlier in the week, we got a sneak preview of the new R15 drivers, fairway woods and hybrids from the Taylormade Golf Japan website. Today, at an official launch event at Golf & Body NYC, Taylormade Golf not only announced the new R series line of equipment, but also the new Burner series as well, the Aeroburner collection of metalwoods. Taylormade has teased us the past couple of months with photos of the R series and Burner family of woods, perhaps foreshadowing the new equipment for 2015. The rest of this article will feature the details of R15 family of metalwoods.
Continuing with the success of low and forward centre of gravity and high launch of the SLDR driver is the R15 driver. The R15 driver will be offered in both matte white and gloss black in a 460CC head and white only for a 430CC head. Perhaps the most noticable change is in the sole – rather than one sliding weight, the R15 utilizes two 12.5 gram sliding weights on the Front Track System (versus one 20 gram weight in the SLDR). The Front Track System acts like a speed pocket to expand the sweet spot and decrease spin – it is 12mm closer to the leading edge than the SLDR driver with 40 more grams of weight forward. This helps to improve forgiveness and stability in the club head.
The R15 drivers will also feature Taylormade’s 4-degree Loft Sleeve that allows golfers to adjust loft, lie and face angle. Although a lot of the fundamental technology is the same as the SLDR, there are major differences. The SLDR head is 207 grams while the R15 is only 203 grams. Even with a lighter club head, they were able to increase moveable weight from 20 to 25 grams. The result of these changes, according to Taylormade, is a launch angle 0.5 to 1 degree higher with about 100-200 rpm less spin – and with the lighter club head, golfers can swing the R15’s a little faster as well.
The R15 460 ($429) is the larger, more forgiving model, available in lofts of 9.5, 10.5, 12 and 14 degrees with a Fujikura’s Speeder 57 Evolution shaft (X, S, R and M Flexes) and has Lamkin’s 48-gram performance grip. The R15 430 ($429) is the smaller, lower-spinning design, available in lofts of 9.5, 10.5 and 12 degrees and comes stock with Fujikura’s Speeder 67 Evolution shaft (S and R flexes, X-flex is custom only).
Finally, a TP Version of the R15 460 and R15 430 (both $499) are available with a stock Fujikura Speeder 661 Evolution Tour Spec shaft (X, S and R) and Fujikura’s Speeder Evolution 757 Tour Spec shaft, both with aftermarket graphics and Lamkin’s UTx grip, respectively. More than 20 custom TP shafts are also available for no additional upcharge. Expect to see these drivers in store January 9, 2015.
Next, the R15 fairway woods ($279) are what many imagined the SLDR fairway woods to be. One with a sliding weight on the sole. In the R15, there is a single, 25-gram tungsten weight that moves the weight low and forward while creating a fade bias or draw bias shot shape. Similar to the R15 driver, the sliding weight track acts similarly to the speed pocket, creating a more spring-like effect at impact to improve ball speed, particularly on mishits. The same 4-degree loft sleeve is also utilized and come in standard lofts of 15, 16.5, 19 and 20.5 degrees. They come stock with Fujikura’s Speeder 77 Evolution shaft (X, S, R and M Flexes) and a TP version ($289) with Fujikura’s Speeder 757 Evolution Tour Spec shaft will also be available.
The R15 hybrids ($219) have a very compact “boxer” like shape that utilize an open channel on the sole to boost ball speed across the club face. This newer Tour-inspired shape, and smaller footprint to enable better playability no matter what the lie. The R15 hybrids will have a 3-degree loft sleeve and come in lofts of 17, 19, 21 and 24 degrees. The stock shaft is Fujikura’s Speeder 77 Evolution hybrid (X, S, R and M Flexes) and a TP version will sell for $289 with Fujikura’s Speeder 869 Evolution Tour Spec shaft.
Both the fairway woods and hybrids will also be available on January 9, 2015.
Source: GolfWRX, Taylormade Golf
