TaylorMade Review: R7 Irons

Manufacturer: TaylorMade Golf


Details: R7 - stiff rifle shafts

Purchase: I purchased these irons at the PGA superstore in Atlanta. They were great and fit me perfectly. I am 6'7' so this was a challenge. My old irons were RAC OS2 with an inch plus shaft and plus 2 lie angle in regular flex. Current R7s are 1.25 longer with a plus 3 lie angle and stiff shafts. I bought these because I finally wanted to get fitted on a launch monitor (Im not very good at the game but the launch monitor fitting looked kind of cool).

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Pros: I really like these irons. I think a lot of it is the fitting so this review is not perfect. Distance-wise these are about the same as my good RAC OS shots but the distance is much more consistent. It also is a little easier to draw the ball but I have no business doing that anyway. These irons are certainly much straighter than my old irons. Again, a lot of this probably has to do with fit but the results have been very good so far. I used to be scared of my 4 iron but I have found this one is relatively easy to hit and is very consistent between 195 and 210 yards out (depending on trajectory which is certainly pilot error at times). I actually like my 4 iron and dont try to not swing quite as hard with my hybrid - a true recipe for disaster.

Cons: I really have no legit complaints but there does seem to be a huge distance gap now between the pitching wedge and my 52 degree gap wedge - I think the pitching wedge is 46 degrees so this makes sense but I am now kind of lost between 125 and 110 yards - although again this is probably pilot error and I could always use a different wedge.

R7 Quality: Great. I had jumbo grips put on so they are just standard tour velvets not the cool taylor made R7 grips but I really doubt the difference is responsible for my inconsitency.

Summary: Great irons - however, remember that my comparison is also based on a great fitting at the PGA Superstore. The ball goes a long ways and it goes pretty high which was what I wanted so I am pretty happy. I tried the Callaway X20s and didnt quite like them as much - they did not seem as forgiving to me. I really liked the Ping G5s a lot but they were $150 more and at the end of the day I probably would have paid $150 more for the R7s. An on-the-course test with the G5s might have swayed me -- point being they were pretty sweet irons too.

TaylorMade R7 Rating: 5

Author: nm

Game: Been playing for 2 years - shoot in the low 90s with occasional drops into the 80s. Strengths are driving. I have always had a problem with iron consistency (every couple of holes I hit one ten feet or less). Three putts are more common that I care to admit.

Average Round: 90's

Submitted: 2007-04-01
Usefulness: 4.85714 out of 5.
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