The TaylorMade R11 Irons hit the shelves September 1st, 2011 and were engineered for the player who appreciates the shape and refinement of a tour-grade iron but needs the assistance of advanced technology to launch the ball higher, straighter and longer with less effort than their current clubs.
From the Company:
Precision Weighting Port
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TaylorMade’s Precision Weight Port is a weight port permanently positioned in the back center of every iron head during assembly. This assures each R11 iron in the set is of uniform swingweight while also ensuring that the center of gravity location is precisely and optimally positioned in the center of the face between the toe and heel, also known as the “sweet spot.” The result is optimal consistency in feel and performance from one club to the next. The weights range from 2.5 to 17 grams and cannot be adjusted by end users.or tungsten and can not be adjusted by consumers.
Ultra-Thin Face
The R11 Irons feature an ultra-thin face construction which promotes faster ball speed and distance in middle and long irons. The thinner clubface also results in an increased COR (Coefficient of Restitution, which has become a commonplace term amongst golfers when manufacturers began thinning out clubfaces to create a trampoline effect when the ball makes contact resulting in greater distance) assist in greater distances and control.
Inverted Cone Technology
The Inverted Cone Technology featured in the TaylorMade R11 Irons promotes faster ball speed and distance on off-center hits. Each iron in the set features the renowned technology, which was originally found in the TaylorMade Burner Irons. The Inverted Cone results in an increased surface area of the sweet spot with greater forgiveness.
Tour Inspired Sole Design
The TaylorMade R11 Irons multi-functional sole is beveled at the back to make it perform like a much thinner sole, which increases playability from a variety of lies. It also features a low and deeper center of gravity that makes it easy to launch the ball on a powerful and penetrating flight.
The R11’s have an undercut that increases in depth the longer the iron gets. This channel helps to deepen the center of gravity, increase forgiveness and enhance the feel of your iron shots.
TaylorMade R11 Specifications
Review
For the R11 club review, TaylorMade sent me an “off the rack” PW, 7I and 5I with the stock KBS 90 shafts. I’ve got to say I was waiting with bated breath for these bad boys to arrive, after watching the presentation and reading about the new clubs, I was pretty pumped about the irons.
If I had to summarize these clubs in one sentence, I’d say they were a perfect blend of the Tour Preferred and Burner Irons. From the Tour Preferred the R11 Irons took the control, feel, sound (with solid contact) and aesthetics whilst the Burner irons provided the forgiveness and increased COR and MOI (Moment of Inertia a property of physics that indicates the relative difference in how easy or difficult it will be to set any object in motion).
I’ve always played with the game improvement category of irons and was really impressed at the feedback provided by the R11 Irons. You can feel, pretty accurately, where you made contact with the ball and when you hit it solid, you’re rewarded with a deep appealing audible indicator that seems to say “You’re going to like that one.” On the flip side, however, mishits have more of a hollow “thwack” sound that is not at all appealing.
Distance from the R11 Irons was a bit of a let down for me, on average, I didn’t gain any significant yardage over my Burners. I was hoping with the deeper center of gravity and the precision weight port that I’d see at least an additional club length in distance, but alas, tis not to be.
The R11’s have a great look and feel to them. The design is well executed and they were even able to manage a strip of white to go with other TaylorMade clubs in the 2011 line. They feature a progressive topline thickness that increases as you get closer to the short irons, but this is barely noticeable and the look of the clubs at address really gives a confidence boost.
I was also pretty pleased at the amount of spin I was able to generate with the clubs, especially the short irons. I’m playing with the Bridgestone e6 golf ball and I did a side by side comparison to the Burner irons and about 60% of the shots, I was able to get more spin with the R11’s and rarely did they get outclassed.
Overall, I was impressed with TaylorMade’s newest iron set. The R11’s have the forgiveness hackers like me appreciate and they’ve got the feel and shot shaping capabilities that you better players will enjoy.
The TaylorMade R11 Irons have a MSRP of $799 and are now for sale at your local golf retailer or reputable online outlets.
Don’t miss our TaylorMade R11 Driver review.
Let me know your thoughts on the clubs!
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