You may recall that the USGA implemented a new rule last year that permits the use of "adjustable" clubs. At that time, Callaway, Nickent and TaylorMade debuted drivers with a locking mechanism (no epoxy) to connect the head and shaft. Now the age of adjustability takes on a new look thanks to TaylorMade's and Nike's latest creations. TaylorMade's R9 driver features "flight control technology" (FCT), which is an adjustable head-and-shaft system that gives you the ability to lock the clubhead into eight different settings.
How is this possible?
The shaft fits into an aluminum sleeve and then into the hosel at a 1-degree angle. You can't see it with the naked eye and it doesn't impair the club's structural integrity. But this subtle change creates the opportunity to tweak face angle (2° closed to 2° open), lie angle (1° upright to 1° flat) or loft (1° stronger or weaker than the stated loft). Company brass says FCT produces up to 40 yards of directional flight variance. That's good news for slicers or hookers. FCT combines with "movable weight" technology (three removable plugs) to generate as much as 75 yards of left-to-right shot bias, 3° difference in launch angle and 1,500 rpm of backspin.
$399, graphite; R9 TP, $499, graphite taylormadegolf.com
From The Shop Blog
Like the r7 family of woods that preceded them, the R9 drivers feature movable weights that allow golfers to adjust the club's center of gravity and ball-flight bias. However, the new R9 drivers also employ a system that allows golfers to change the face angle, loft and lie angle of clubs.
Using a wrench that comes with the club, you can easily unscrew the shaft of an R9 driver from the head, then re-insert and secure it into one of eight different positions. (The same wrench unscrews the weights and the bolt that secures the shaft and head together.) Face angle options range from 2 degrees open for players who prefer a left to right ball flight to 2 degrees closed for players who want to hit the ball from right to left.
Read more in The Shop
Related
• Buy TaylorMade drivers | Buy TaylorMade clubs
• The Shop: See which pros are playing TaylorMade
• More on the R9: Golf.com | taylormade.com
