Is the Taylormade R9 Driver Still Good? Is it Forgiving for High Handicappers?

Is the Taylormade R9 Driver Still Good? Is it Forgiving for High Handicappers? 

“The Taylormade R9 driver is a marvel of adjustability. Even though it came out over a decade ago, it is still giving golfers of all skill levels the versatility they need to drive accurately on any kind of hole.”  

Some of our testing crew remembered when the Taylormade R9 driver came out. According to them, everyone wanted to get their hands on it.

It was marketed as one of Taylormade’s most versatile drivers – and after testing it, we must say that it lives up to the hype.   

But what, if anything, does the Taylormade R9 have to offer high handicappers? We tested the Taylormade R9 through the purview of the needs of high handicappers to figure it out. Take a look at what we found.  

Is the Taylormade R9 Driver Still Good?  

“Most of what makes the Taylormade R9 a worthwhile driver has to do with how adjustable it is.”  

However, when we tested it, we didn’t get the sense that it was too gimmicky. All of the features play an important role and there does not appear to be any wasted space on this club.  

The Taylormade R9 features movable weight technology that allows you to adjust the CG to your liking. Then there is Flight Control technology which is the big adjustability feature of this club.    

The Flight Control Technology allows you to adjust the club head position to 8 different positions.

Essentially, you are changing the  lie loft and face angle with this feature. Taylormade claims that this allows for 40 yards of lateral shaping.   

That sounds great in theory; but when are you ever going to need to adjust your trajectory by a whole 40 lateral yards? That being said, the Taylormade R9 is a very good driver for when you’re facing down a tree-lined hole.  

Is the Taylormade R9 Forgiving for High Handicappers? 

“The Taylormade R9 driver features a very forgiving 460cc head which is a good start for a driver if you are looking for forgiveness.”  

The club head looks nice and large without looking too bloated. In fact, even with all the adjustability features, our testers remarked at how clean and “non-distracting” the Taylormade R9 looked at point of address.   

But the real forgiveness comes from the low CG. Of course, you can tune the weighting to your liking but for most high handicappers, the stock weight tuning will be perfect.

It’s nice and low, puts power behind your swing and promotes healthy launch.   

Of course, the Taylormade R9 driver will be your savior if you are dealing with a slice. You can adjust the face angle to cover up even the nastiest hook or draw.

High handicappers will get a lot of good use out of this driver – low handicappers will too.   

It has a dull, thud at impact which makes it sound powerful. And while it took our testers a few swings to find the sweet spot, once they did it was carte blanche.

Also, it may take a while to dial in your settings but the results are worth it when you do.  

Taylormade R9 Vs Taylormade M4 Driver 

“Taylormade says that the M4 was built for forgiveness so we thought it natural to test it against the Taylormade R9.”  

The M4 driver does have some features that the Taylormade R9 doesn’t. For instance, it features Twist Face technology that helps correct shots close to the sole.

It also has the Speed Pocket that increases ball speeds on shots hit in that same low-face sector.   

However, the adjustable hosel on the M4 doesn’t allow for as  much versatility as the Taylormade R9 does.

The Taylormade R9 would be better for a wider swath of high handicap players than the M4 would as a result of this disparity in versatility. 

Taylormade R9 First Impressions 

“At first we were surprised at how a driver with so many adjustability options could look so inconspicuous.”  

If you take just a quick glance at the Taylormade R9 driver, you wouldn’t think it could do all it can. It has a clean, classic look very reminiscent of older R series drivers.

It has a mostly chrome finish which we weren’t too wild about; but it’s not ugly by any means.  

We also noticed very quickly how reassuring it looks behind the ball.  

Taylormade R9 Selling Points 

• Flight Control technology 
• Tunable weights 
• 460cc head 
• Inverted cone technology 
• Clean look at address 

Taylormade R9 Key Features 

“A lot of adjustability is packed into this driver.” 

Flight Control Technology: This allows you to cover up a draw or fade with up to 40 yards of lateral trajectory adjustability.   

Inverted Cone Technology: The sweet spot of this driver has been extended further out towards the toe.   

460CC Head: This is the maximum allowable head volume and it is a great help if you have trouble with your impact positioning.  

What Handicap is it for? 

“Amazingly, we could see the Taylormade R9 driver being beneficial for high, mid and low handicappers.”  

The weight and the head size may turn off some scratch players, sure. But the fact that you can shape your shot in an almost limitless amount of ways makes the Taylormade R9 valuable to all kinds of players.

Players in the 20+ range probably stand to benefit the most from the periphery forgiveness features though.  

Taylormade R9 Options 

• Taylormade Reax 60 graphite shaft 
• Mitsubishi Rayon Javln FX M7 graphite shaft 
• Mitsubishi Fubuki Tour graphite shaft 
• 9.5 degree loft 
• 11.5 degree loft 
• 10.5 degree loft 

Who Should Buy the Taylormade R9 Driver? 

“The Taylormade R9 would be especially beneficial for high handicappers.”  

In terms of return on investment (how much it will improve your game), high handicappers stand to gain the most from the performance of the Taylormade R9 driver.

The adjustability is nice for everyone; but the inverted cone technology and 460cc head really seal the deal for high handicappers.  

Distance: 96/100 

Forgiveness: 96/100 

Feel & Control: 99/100 

Value: 98/100 

 

Overall Score: 98/100 

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