Final post about the recent TaylorMade demo day at my home course:

I didn’t get to put these clubs through my regular extremely detailed review process. But here are my quick impressions on the r7 460 and r7 425.

r7 460

I hit an r7 460 with the RE*AX shaft, stiff. I had problems making solid contact with this one. I couldn’t feel the sweet spot. I’m sure there is a sweet spot, but I suspect that the shaft on the club I hit was not right for me and made finding it difficult. I hit some weak push fades, not my normal straight or draw shot.

I checked the weights and they were configured for a fade so I had the tech change them for me but that didn’t help. So I can’t give this particular demo unit much of a decent report because it obviously wasn’t set up right for me.

I’ll hopefully give the 460 more justice when I get a chance at the proper one.

r7 425 TP

I have several r series TP clubs. The r7 TP 3-wood in particular is a permanent fixture in my bag.

The 425 TP with the standard TP Fujikura shaft is a special club. Unlike the 460, I found the sweet spot on the 425 every time. I was hitting into a very strong head wind and nearly knocking the ball to the other end of the range.

The ball flight was perfect for me. Not too high with either a straight line or slight draw. I could really feel the trampoline effect of the club face. Even hitting lame, rock hard range balls I seemed to be able to feel the ball on the club face, compressing and staying there for a few milliseconds longer.

I could work this baby to a nice draw or fade at will. If you work the ball you need the TP setup so there’s no closed face or draw bias. I could hit a nice low punch for the wind or tee it high and go for a towering ball flight.

Hard to believe I’m saying this, but the “smaller” 425 head works well for me.