TaylorMade R9 Irons Geared To Technicians

The new TaylorMade irons are designed for performance in a classic package.

“Whereas our Burner irons deliver extraordinary distance in a modern design, the R9 irons are aimed at the technician, and so, are rendered in a player’s shape with a clean and conventional look,” said Harry Arnett, TaylorMade’s senior category director of metalwoods, irons and balls.

“However, a ridiculous degree of performance-enhancing technology is packaged within each oversized clubhead. The result is an iron that’s phenomenally easy to play, despite its classic appearance and extremely controllable and accurate as well.”

The R9 long and middle irons are designed separately from the short irons to maximize the performance attributes if each.

The three through six have a large and fully-enclose compartment positioned behind the clubface, underneath the cavity badge. This Vecocity-Control Chamber (VCC) makes it possible for a large portion of the thin clubface (two mm) to exist unsupported.

TaylorMade is calling it a wrap-around clubface because it acts like a face that wraps around the top line and leading edge to offer more freedom to flex and reflex at impact, much like a thin-faced driver,

TaylorMade has also incorporated Inverted Cone Technology on the inner side of the clubface for more control combined with power. The inverted cone has been calibrated to eliminate hot spots so ball speed is consistent across the clubface to offer consistent distance control.

The long and middle irons are perimeter-weighted, but may not seem to be due to a nearly weightless foam and a silicone shock absorber placed directly behind the centre of the face to absorb unwanted impact vibration.

The foam starts as a power sealed within the VCC and turns it to foam through heat to fill all open areas of the chamber to ensure soft feel, better sound and consistency across the face.

The R9 short irons, with their teardrop shape and delineated leading edge, are engineered for increased playability, control and feel in the scoring zone.

Each compact clubhead incorporates a deep undercut cavity and a broad, low centre of gravity sole for solid, spin-inducing contact.

The R9 short irons also incorporate a vibration-quieting layer sandwiched between the back side of the clubface and the thin, protective black badge in the cavity. Visco-elastic adhesive made by 3M is also in place to absorb unwanted virbration and sound.

Additionally, more weight has been concentrated at the heel and toe for more stability and forgiveness on mis-hits.

The R9 irons come with a KBS 90-gram steel shaft in two flexes. A 75-gram graphite Fujikura Motore is also available in two flexes.

TaylorMade has also introduced the R9 TP, which features a compact head with a semi-straight leading edge, semi-square toe, thin topline and thin, cambered, beveled sole. The R9 TP irons come in mirror nickel-chrome plating topped by a pearl finish.

The two through five iron also incorporate the VCC. The R9s also use Inverted Cone Technology, perimeter weighted heads and feature progressive face thickness throughout the set. The R9 TPs come with KBS Tour Series steel shafts.

“The new R9 TP iron is a perfect example of how TaylorMade has successfully infused meaningful performance technology into a better player’s iron,” said Brian Bazzel, TaylorMade’s manager of iron creation.

“You’ll notice that fewer of our tour Staff players are using muscleback blades anymore because of the benefits of our improved cavity designs, Inverted Cone Technology and now the Velocity Control Chamber and sound-management systems.”