Some readers are increasingly skeptical—sometimes even annoyed—by clubmakers who roll out expensive new driver models as fast as you can say, "You're still away." Take it for what it's worth. Clubmakers simply try to offer better mousetraps, clubs they believe are more tailored to your individual needs. You ultimately have to determine whether the clubs are viable—it's really no different than the world of smartphones, TVs, or even cars. That brings us to TaylorMade's new Burner. It had better be good, considering that the current one (which debuted in March 2007) outsold all other drivers this summer. (Source: Golf Datatech, August 2008)
The new model has a longer shaft—46.25" vs. 46"—to boost distance, and it is considered to be high launch/mid to low spin, while the old Burner is high launch/mid spin.
The new Burner's face angle is square, as opposed to the previous version, which is 1° closed in the 9.5° loft, 1.5° closed in the 10.5°, 2° closed in the HT model. The new head is also wider from heel to toe and longer from face to rear, to improve forgiveness on off-center hits. "Dual crown" technology lowers the club's center of gravity by 5 percent. The effect is a higher launch (by .5°), 300 rpm less spin and a hotter trajectory.
$299, graphite; Burner TP $399, graphite; taylormadegolf.com
Buyer's Guide 2009
Todd Beach, Senior Director of R&D/Metalwoods at TaylorMade, said: "This driver builds on the best combined attributes of original Burner and Tour Burner. It delivers our hottest trajectory without sacrificing forgiveness. We're able to maintain the accuracy and forgiveness of the original Burner while increasing shaft length. As club length goes up, the head weight must go down to maintain swingweight. It's difficult to make a head lighter and larger and achieve lower, deeper CG for a hotter trajectory. But we have a way to do it."
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Related
• Buy TaylorMade drivers | Buy TaylorMade clubs
• The Shop: See which pros are playing TaylorMade
• More on the Burner: Golf.com | taylormadegolf.com
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