Oldies But Goodies (OBG) - TaylorMade r5 & Burner Hybrid

I remember when I was driving old cars, I was not only paying a loan and other costs, I have to cough out cold hard cash to do repairs as well. There were no source of reference, forums or Internet to surf and do research. Car magazines only talk about all those new marques I could never afford, none about used cars. Once, in a car wash, I saw from the side mirror, a rubber strip at the roof being blown off by by blow-dryer. I have to get out and searched around to retrieve it. Then during a day of thunder storm, one of the wipers flew off leaving me in the lurch and near panic.


People frequently refer to the good old days. There have been more old movie remakes and even songs of yesteryear keep coming back sometimes as a repackage. There are always something good about old stuffs when we look back in life like the Van Cleef Aquarium or even the National Theatre where some of us have even performed there before. More so for people - older folks who bore the brunt of inconvenience in days of old where poverty was prevalent compared to present time where things are done with a touch of a button or a click of the mouse. Older folks have experience that are invaluable and occasionally I still reflect on those days where my grandmothers would tell us so many interesting stories. That's why they say "grandmother stories" some of which have practical truths about them.

Golf is the same, they only talk new stuffs. Things that are younger and sexier. Old can usually still be gold. Products of one to two years ago are still good and can be very good indeed. They were just not too longer highly-rated. You can find bargains in new clubs that are of older models or even in the used category. Old can actually be gold. They can be oldies but goodies. Here are a couple of solid gold if you can find them:

TaylorMade Burner Hybrid (2008)

This is the TaylorMade Burner Rescue Hybrid (2008) and this is what TaylorMade says:

Features: Designed with a shallower club face to promote higher launch and flight resulting in greater carry and distance. Engineered with a slight draw bias to help prevent a slice while encouraging a distance-enhancing draw. Dual Crown club head saves weight and lowers the CG for increased carry and distance. Fast-looking triangular Burner® head shape permits an ultra-deep CG location and is more forgiving and easier to launch. Incorporates Super Fast technology to promote faster swing speed for more distance. Touts the largest footprint of any TaylorMade Rescue® club, increasing confidence at address. Includes a Super Fast 60-gram graphite shaft with Arrow 2 ultra-light 47-gram grip. Club/Loft: #2 Wood - 17°, #3 Wood - 19°, #4 Wood - 22°, #5 Wood - 25°, #6 Wood - 28° (The one I have is a 22 degrees).

What Guru says: A very distinctive look is the Dual Crown and it came with a an ultra thin club head wall at a mere 0.55 mm saving weight to push the CG super deep and extra low in order to deliver solid launches easily and smoothly. It has a slightly triangular head less profound than the 2007 model for higher MOI so that it is even more forgiving on mishits. The head is larger front to back and this gives confidence at address. In fact, it look a little like a fairway wood. It seems built with a slight draw bias to help take the right side of the fairway out of play and to provide good distance. 


This has won a "Gold" category in Golf Digest. In your hands, it feels like you can't hit a bad shot with it. The face is hot and sound the is good. You just need to hit easy and it seems like you will get better results with less efforts. It could be easily launch for a 170-180m distance. The outstanding feature about this club is that it is easy to use and hit with confidence to produce a consistently good result. It does not give any sting to the hands.

TaylorMade r5 Driver

This is the TaylorMade r5 Driver:

Features: The TaylorMade Dual Type D (Draw) r5 Ti driver combines high forgiveness and proven draw-enhancing attributes, ideal fro players seeking to alleviate a slice or promote distance- enhancing draw. They have permanent pre-configured cartridges for launch control in order to have high MOI (Moment of Inertia) with Type N (Neutral) which goes straight and Type D (Draw) to promote a draw shot and longer distance. It comes in a 450cc titanium head with TaylorMade's patented Inverted Cone Technology (ICT). In 2005 this was TaylorMade's most forgiving driver ever engineered. It works by positioning weight cartridges towards the heel to provide more powerful draw bias.

What Guru says: TaylorMade rebounded strongly with their 300 and 500 series titanium drivers and successfully followed up wit new products like the r7 Quad driver which was one of the most played and most imitated at retail and on Tour. They then applied the same principles to the r5 Dual drivers. They simplify the configuring process by fixing the screws to give you fixed weights design to play neutral or draw. At that time, 450 cc was the new "big" considering previous drivers at that time were all about 400cc. Bigger club head gives stability to keep your shots going too far off-line. 


Once in a while, you will discover a wonderful club like when I first laid hands on a Nickent Genex 425 driver. Both the brand and the 425 head size was unheard of then. Though it seems ages ago, the r5 still look futuristic and high-tech now. Its twin weight cartridges when viewed from behind looks like the twin exhaust of a sports car. It has medium trajectory and good roll on the fairways. Feel and sound at impact is good and meaty. Best of all, it is easily found suitable for most golfers. It was like the best driver I have found after the Genex 425.

The old turn-tables, cabinets, wardrobes, tables and chairs that we have discarded in our time have now become much sought after antiques. I wonder now if I should keep some old clubs, wait for them to become classics and exchange it for a few quids in future during old age instead of selling them off in some unfair trade-offs or giving them away.

Remember, oldies can be goodies. Just like older workers and managers. We must remember not to go into stereotype. If you are discerning enough, sometimes you know that a newer model of a car, golf club, whatever is actually not as good as the older version. You know it when once in a while something or someone comes along that/who is special like an old friend. More often than not these days, people would say "you have more grey hair now" and I will tell them they are not grey but platinum. Read my lips - "Pla-ti-num". Platinum hair as in platinum cards. Get the drift. Check them out dude.

Golf as in life, play as it lies.