TaylorMade Burner 2009 Driver
I am grateful to note that people are reading my blog and expressed their enjoyment to me even for non-golfers and some remembered funny moments like the one I talked about the most important equipment in the bag where to some is the ball retriever. A friend reminded me about it when we saw a guy doing exactly that. I am encouraged and some day I may even go on to write books on important topics like:
How to line up your fourth putt.
How to relax when hitting your fifth shot from the tee after two OB shots.
How not to get into water hazard after your 8th stroke lands in a bunker.
How to get pro-shanks and distance tops.
TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company (TMaG) is HQ in California, USA & owned by the German based adidas group. It was founded by Gary Adams who invented the metalwood and bought by adidas in 1997 where the company redirected their focus, image and innovation into the driver market and by 2005, achieved their goal officially of being the number one driver in golf. By 2006, TMaG made its first billion, only the second time in industry history that a golf brand has succeeded in achieving this milestone. Today, TMaG markets drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, putters and golf balls with their putters sold under the Rossa brand. Last year, they sold their Maxfli brand. Renowned putter designer Kia Ma is now TaylorMade's putter engineer.
Gary Adams
Gary Adam 's influence in golf is everywhere today as his legacy lives on. The first familiar high-pitched sweet sound which permeates the air at a golf course when the ball meets the metal of your driver is down to this man who invented the world's first metalwood. He left college at 22 to be a salesman for a golf supply company when he noticed 2-piece balls went further off irons than woods. His curiosity got him to work on a metal driver that would enhance performance. In 1982, TaylorMade Metalwood won its first tournament and it led to the demise of the persimmon wood.
When Adams sold his stake to adidas, he founded Founders Club but pancreatic cancer took him away for awhile. He had a miraculous recovery and started McHenry Metals which spawned a design concept matching swing speed with flex, loft angle and face thickness with the thinnest face designed for players with the slowest swing speed. McHenry drivers won ten victories in 2004. Unfortunately, Adams passed on in 2000. While his life is short, his legacy will live be forever.
Technology & Clever Marketing
TaylorMade is not only so much into technology but they show their technology outside of the golf clubs, like a bodybuilder without his shirt which is clever marketing. The authorities should invent a way for smokers to have their lungs hanging outside too so it may be more effective marketing. Let me share with you the various jargon as they gave a name to each invention just like how some bread shops named their bread.
Ultra-Thin Wall Technology
Most competitive drivers have thin club head walls to save weight to facilitate extreme perimeter weighting, MVT and FCT too for TMaG.
Dual Crown Technology
A smaller crown sits atop a larger base to allow CG to be placed far back and deeper increase distance.
ICT (Inverted Cone Technology)
It is CNC-milled to the inner side of the club face for variation in thickness of the face so that at impact the COR zone is expanded. COR or Co-efficient of Restitution measures energy loss whe two objects collide. USGA has a rule that limits COR of a club head such that COR cannot be higher than a measurement of 0.830 which means that at impact, there cannot be more than 83 per cent transfer of energy when the head hits the ball. In an illustration of a driver, the carry distance between a head with COR of 0.820 and one where the COR is 0.830 would be about 4-5 yards based on a standard swing speed of 100 mph. This is required so that slower swingers will not be penalised.
SFT (Super Fast Technology)
MVT (Movable Weight Technology)
It's a redistribution of discretionary club head weight to change a club's characteristics. Switching different weight cartridges it can alter the flight path and trajectory of a shot. An example would be more weight on heel and less on toe of a club head promotes draw shots. The reverse is done for fade shots and some clubs can have a variation of up to some 70 yards.
Adjusts loft, lie and face angle - a metallic sleeve can be rotated to achieve different positions.
TaylorMade Burner 2009
I have chosen TaylorMade for its popularity and people asking which is the right club for them since they have widest range just for each category. r7 425, r7, r7 Draw, r7 TP, r7 460, r7 460 Draw, r7 Superquad, r7 (Japanese specs), r7 CGB Max, r7 Limited, Burner, Burner Draw, Burner TP, Tour Burner...etc., etc., ... I pick the Burner 2009 driver to start with due to its popularity and high ratings.
The first Burner was launched in 1983. 1988 - Curtis Strange won the US Open using a TaylorMade Burner the 1st time TM metalwood won a major.1995 - The Burner Bubble shaft was introduced after 5 years of development in 1995. 1996 - Tom Lehman won the British using TM's first titanium driver the Ti Bubble. 1997 - Business Week named the Burner Bubble a "best product". 1999 - Firesole driver was born. 2002 - TM R500 series was launched. 2004 - R500 series was named driver of the year by Golf Digest. 2005 - r7 quad got 100.0 rating by Golf Digest withe the r5 just in second place. 2006 - r7 425 debuts. 2007 - r7 Superquad with MVT & Burner were launched. Burner was the best-seller in the US. 2008 - r7 CGB Max & Tour Burner were released. 2009 - r7 Limited R9 and R9 460 & Burner 09 were introduced.
Features
When the Burner was brought back in 2007, it took the golf world by storm. It was promoted as a "grip it and rip" driver promising long and straight shots all day. This club was built such that the shaft, grip are super light and the overall club weight is light since lighter clubs naturally promote faster swing speed and this is ideally brilliant especially for golfers with slower swing speed. Add to that a much longer length of the shaft, a big, deeper club head with a bullet like almost triangular shape with high MOI adds to the allure of the promise of long hits. While it was fabulous driver, I found it too light and whippy for my liking. Fast forward to 2009 and you now have a Burner with some changes while retaining the previous good aspects.
The familiar features are still there - Inverted Cone Technology to enhance ball speed and distance, Super Fast Technology with super light RE*AX shaft of 49g, super light grip of just over 44g to promote faster swing speed, very long shaft, high launch (to help easy launch), low spin for faster ball and high forgiveness. All this means it it suitable for golfers with swing speed of between 70-105 mph, a good enough range for majority of golfers.
An important note is that the shaft of the 2009 Burner is not as whippy as the previous model so do not go thinking that you should get the stiff shaft unless you have the required swing speed for a firm shaft. Although this is high launch, it has a boring trajectory and majority of us should really just go for the 10.5 degrees instead of the 9.5 degrees. Lie angle is 60 degrees with a 460 cc head size and a swing weight of D4. Torque is 4.5 (10.5) & 4.4 (9.5). However, be careful and note that due to its longer shaft, it can be too much to handle. For the American specification, the shaft is probably the longest you can find at 46.25 inches while the Japanese version comes in at 45.75 inches. I personally find that 46.25 is way too long for a driver.
An important note is that the shaft of the 2009 Burner is not as whippy as the previous model so do not go thinking that you should get the stiff shaft unless you have the required swing speed for a firm shaft. Although this is high launch, it has a boring trajectory and majority of us should really just go for the 10.5 degrees instead of the 9.5 degrees. Lie angle is 60 degrees with a 460 cc head size and a swing weight of D4. Torque is 4.5 (10.5) & 4.4 (9.5). However, be careful and note that due to its longer shaft, it can be too much to handle. For the American specification, the shaft is probably the longest you can find at 46.25 inches while the Japanese version comes in at 45.75 inches. I personally find that 46.25 is way too long for a driver.
The appearance itself was designed so that looking at it, it appears built for speed with a bid bold red "B" and an insignia that resembles a golden flame. The crown has lines to give a flowing look. The Dual Crown Technology gives a delineated groove separating the crown and the sole. You can see that it has a deep face and it has an ultra-thin wall of just 0.55mm thick.
So there you have it, super light shaft/grip and overall weight plus longer shaft to increase swing speed. Deep face height for easy high launch. Thin face wall for extreme perimeter weighting, high MOI for extra forgiveness and stability. Reduced spin and ICT for faster ball speed. It is claimed that the club will give you an extra 13 yards in distance with all the features combined. It is also a Tor-proven club having been used by Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia, Sean O'Hair, David Toms and Kenny Perry.
Conclusion
While I still think that the Ping G10 is absolutely fabulous, I have added the Burner in my arsenal as a back up due to its potential to be a champion and weapon of destruction burning the path to glory. It is like a foolproof club with a straight shot on every swing. It feels good and stable with a consistent feel and a good sound on impact. The ball flight has a boring trajectory and it goes long and far.
Accurate and forgiving and it is giving me a new distance problem to adjust to. You will probably find yourself in new uncharted territories as you reach new landing areas further afield as due to its boring trajectory, the ball will tend to roll out more than would some other drivers. You may find yourself playing a slightly different game for your second shots from tee off. The G10 is more playable meaning if you know how to play a draw or fade but the Burner just likes to go straight. It gives me an option to turn to when the swing and tempo goes awry with the other club.
Accurate and forgiving and it is giving me a new distance problem to adjust to. You will probably find yourself in new uncharted territories as you reach new landing areas further afield as due to its boring trajectory, the ball will tend to roll out more than would some other drivers. You may find yourself playing a slightly different game for your second shots from tee off. The G10 is more playable meaning if you know how to play a draw or fade but the Burner just likes to go straight. It gives me an option to turn to when the swing and tempo goes awry with the other club.
Accolades
A prestigious magazine gave the Burner a 10/10 rating which is impressive which means they have rated it the Best in 2009 followed closely by the Titleist 909D2 and the Ping G10 and the Cleveland Launcher. Another that gave the Ping G10 the crown rated the Burner the Best in Class of 2009 stating that this is impressive and effective, effortless to swing, explosive, very easy to use, long and straight all day.
As in all clubs, check it out by going for a test drive. The most important thing is that it must be suitable. Well, you can put down some $$ for my green fee and I can let it out to you for a few $ per try. Game on?
Golf as in life, play as it lies!
Golf as in life, play as it lies!
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