N.Y. GOLF
The concept is screwy, but the TaylorMade r7 quad driver is the hottest club in golf right now and it’s already made a big impact on local fairways.
Retief Goosen used it at Shinnecock and won the U.S. Open. The week before, Sergio Garcia used it at Westchester and won the Buick Classic. Since then, many golfers have become curious about the revolutionary new club that comes with a torque wrench and a retail price of $499.
“It’s the best driver on the market,” says Fresh Meadows head pro Charlie Bolling. “It’s pretty magical. Prior to this, you put lead tape on your club to tweak your shots. Now you just dial in the weight.”
The r7 offers six different launch combinations to determine flight trajectory, thanks to four interchangeable screws that can alter weight distribution. So if you consistently slice or hook the ball or want to hit higher or lower tee shots, you can make an adjustment for straighter hits.
The screws, also known as launch control ports, are located in the toe, the heel and two spots in the rear. A trajectory wheel comes with the club to show the configurations for each desired ball flight.
Bolling, a low-ball hitter, plays the club at the “high launch neutral” setting with a 10.5 degree loft. For the r7, he says club loft is important.
“Lots of golfers don’t realize how important loft is,” he says. “Spin makes the ball rise, and the r7 is a low-spin club. The clubface has no grooves; you get more tumble on the ball.”
Is it legal? The USGA thinks so, just as long as you don’t change the screws during the course of a round.
Though it’s been on the market for only two months, the r7 has become the most played driver in pro golf. According to TaylorMade, 36 PGA Tour players teed off with it this weekend at the John Deere Classic; 35 at the Scottish Open.
And locally it’s creating a buzz at area golf shops.
“People are coming in to look at it, but there’s sticker shock,” says Duke Johnson, the equipment guru at Panda Golf Shop in Brooklyn. “At $500 a pop, it’s a little cost prohibitive. If they lower the price to $399, maybe we’d have more buyers than tire kickers.”