kwantfm
27th August 2006, 09:20 PM
Hi guys,
Thought you might be interested in a little head to head that I've been having between a number of different generations of Taylor Made driver. Unfortunately all heads and shafts are different so you'll have to take everything typed here with a pinch of salt.
The Drivers
1. Taylor Made R5 TP (retail) 450 cc 9.5* Fujikura Speeder 569 stiff;
2. Taylor Made R510 TP (retail) 390 cc 10.5* Aldila NV 75 stiff; and
3. Taylor Made R510 Tour issue 330 cc 10.5* Se Ri Pak Diamana (Diamana Blue Board 53) stiff.
Appearance
I am a big TM fan and all of these drivers look good to me. From address all have that classic TM shape... you either love it or hate it and I am in the former camp. The R510 Tour sits a hair open which I like, the R510 TP sits pretty much dead square, and the R5 TP is a little closed.
The 510 Tour is a 45" driver (due to the lightness of the shaft) and it really looks like I'm hitting a very, very long 3-wood. It's amazing what a few years and a few cubic centimetres have done in making this clubhead look very small. It does look fabulous though and the slightly open address position is very pleasing to the eye.
The 510 TP in terms of appearance is, to me, perfect. 390 cc is an ideal size visually for me. Nothing more to say.
The R5 TP does look large in this company. Having said that, I'm sure I could get used to it very quickly. It looks much smaller than the Nike SQ Tour I had a few drivers back. I find the slightly closed appearance a little off putting.
Sound and Feel
The 510 Tour is the most solid driver head I have ever hit. The sound is billet solid, very pleasing and not in the least tinky. It just feels like you have nutted every drive.
The R510 TP is pretty much the 510 Tour's equal in terms of feeling solid. No 460 cc driver head that I have hit has felt anywhere near as solid as these two drivers.
The R5 TP is certainly less solid feeling than the previous two drivers and I can't help but expect this from a 450 cc driver. It's just that little more tinky and hollow feeling, although I have no doubt that a few more rounds with this driver exclusively and my reservations would disappear.
Performance
In terms of forgiveness I find the R5 TP and R510 TP to be equally (that is very) forgiving. I found this surprising given the 60 cc advantage that the R5 TP has. Nevertheless, the R510 TP stands right up there with every contemporary driver I have hit in terms of forgiveness. The 510 Tour is noticeably less forgiving but still performs admirably.
In terms of launch the R510 TP is the lowest launch in this company. R510 Tour next highest and the R5 TP launches the highest. I thought that since the R5 TP was 1* less loft that it would produce launch equivalent to the other two drivers, but this was not the case (maybe due to the slightly closed set up position). With regard to spin and ballooning, the R510 TP and R5 TP look to produce very close to optimal trajectory for me. The 510 Tour does look to have significantly more spin.
Now for the most important part... DISTANCE! With a tail wind or with a cross wind, all of these drivers perform very well and on a par with any other modern drivers. It is into a head wind that one clear difference emerges. The 510 Tour is noticeably shorter (I'm talking 25-30 metres into a two club head wind) on solid strikes than the other two into a head wind. Both the R5 TP and R510 TP produce solid boring trajectories but the 510 Tour definitely starts to balloon into any sort of headwind. So the R510 TP performs as well as the R5 TP in all conditions.
Verdict
The R510 TP is staying in the bag. In terms of distance and forgiveness it ranks equal with the R5 TP but in terms of appearance and feel/sound it surpasses its newer brother. The R510 Tour will remain on the bench but will be taken out to play occasionally simply because of the pure feeling when hitting this driver - it really is a thing of beauty to hit one out of the centre with this driver.
Enjoy,
T
Thought you might be interested in a little head to head that I've been having between a number of different generations of Taylor Made driver. Unfortunately all heads and shafts are different so you'll have to take everything typed here with a pinch of salt.
The Drivers
1. Taylor Made R5 TP (retail) 450 cc 9.5* Fujikura Speeder 569 stiff;
2. Taylor Made R510 TP (retail) 390 cc 10.5* Aldila NV 75 stiff; and
3. Taylor Made R510 Tour issue 330 cc 10.5* Se Ri Pak Diamana (Diamana Blue Board 53) stiff.
Appearance
I am a big TM fan and all of these drivers look good to me. From address all have that classic TM shape... you either love it or hate it and I am in the former camp. The R510 Tour sits a hair open which I like, the R510 TP sits pretty much dead square, and the R5 TP is a little closed.
The 510 Tour is a 45" driver (due to the lightness of the shaft) and it really looks like I'm hitting a very, very long 3-wood. It's amazing what a few years and a few cubic centimetres have done in making this clubhead look very small. It does look fabulous though and the slightly open address position is very pleasing to the eye.
The 510 TP in terms of appearance is, to me, perfect. 390 cc is an ideal size visually for me. Nothing more to say.
The R5 TP does look large in this company. Having said that, I'm sure I could get used to it very quickly. It looks much smaller than the Nike SQ Tour I had a few drivers back. I find the slightly closed appearance a little off putting.
Sound and Feel
The 510 Tour is the most solid driver head I have ever hit. The sound is billet solid, very pleasing and not in the least tinky. It just feels like you have nutted every drive.
The R510 TP is pretty much the 510 Tour's equal in terms of feeling solid. No 460 cc driver head that I have hit has felt anywhere near as solid as these two drivers.
The R5 TP is certainly less solid feeling than the previous two drivers and I can't help but expect this from a 450 cc driver. It's just that little more tinky and hollow feeling, although I have no doubt that a few more rounds with this driver exclusively and my reservations would disappear.
Performance
In terms of forgiveness I find the R5 TP and R510 TP to be equally (that is very) forgiving. I found this surprising given the 60 cc advantage that the R5 TP has. Nevertheless, the R510 TP stands right up there with every contemporary driver I have hit in terms of forgiveness. The 510 Tour is noticeably less forgiving but still performs admirably.
In terms of launch the R510 TP is the lowest launch in this company. R510 Tour next highest and the R5 TP launches the highest. I thought that since the R5 TP was 1* less loft that it would produce launch equivalent to the other two drivers, but this was not the case (maybe due to the slightly closed set up position). With regard to spin and ballooning, the R510 TP and R5 TP look to produce very close to optimal trajectory for me. The 510 Tour does look to have significantly more spin.
Now for the most important part... DISTANCE! With a tail wind or with a cross wind, all of these drivers perform very well and on a par with any other modern drivers. It is into a head wind that one clear difference emerges. The 510 Tour is noticeably shorter (I'm talking 25-30 metres into a two club head wind) on solid strikes than the other two into a head wind. Both the R5 TP and R510 TP produce solid boring trajectories but the 510 Tour definitely starts to balloon into any sort of headwind. So the R510 TP performs as well as the R5 TP in all conditions.
Verdict
The R510 TP is staying in the bag. In terms of distance and forgiveness it ranks equal with the R5 TP but in terms of appearance and feel/sound it surpasses its newer brother. The R510 Tour will remain on the bench but will be taken out to play occasionally simply because of the pure feeling when hitting this driver - it really is a thing of beauty to hit one out of the centre with this driver.
Enjoy,
T