TaylorMade r7 Fairway Wood Review

The r7 isn’t just a driver (or irons): it’s also a fairway wood, and it’s a damn fine one at that.

Taylormade R7 Fairway SoleTaylorMade must really like their “r7” logo because they’re sticking it on everything these days. Just recently they announced “r7 irons,” their r7 driver line (Quad, HT, and TP) continues to sell well, and earlier this spring the r7 TP fairway woods were announced. It’s taken us awhile to get this review online because, with a $399 price tag, the r7 TP fairway wood isn’t one that your average golfer is going to want to try.

Make no mistake about it, this club – like most of TaylorMade’s “TP” or “Tour Preferred” line – is for the better player.

Better players who do put this club in their bags will find one of the best fairway metals on the market today. They’ll also find their wallets four bills lighter. Read on to see whether I felt the performance justified the cost.

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Formulating a Formula

Using the results of the Tour Championship, I devise the 40-30-20-10 rule for determine a golfer’s finishing position.

The Numbers GameIn my musings before, during, and after the Tour Championship, I came across some more fodder on our favorite topic: driving distance and how equipment is ruining the game. Readers of this site know where I and most here at The Sand Trap stand on this, so I won’t rehash.

The question remains, how do I prove it? How do I prove that it isn’t all about distance? I’ve beaten it into you about Greens in Regulation like a dead horse. Well, the answer is in a formula… something that over time can be tried and trued… something a bit more tangible than “I’m right and you’re wrong.” The difficult thing about formulas is creating one that is just that: right.

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Sneak Peek at TaylorMade’s 2006 New Products

The R7 Quad driver has been a huge hit for TaylorMade, which has become the top driver brand at retail. Now the company is refreshing the driver, and adding some irons to the R7 family.

TaylorMadeJust two days ago, the Bag Drop brought you the skinny on Callaway Golf’s new 2006 lineup. Now our operatives have come through with information on one of golf’s other equipment heavyweights: TaylorMade.

Given TaylorMade’s ongoing success with the r7 Quad driver, it is no surprise that the company’s four major upcoming new products all bear the r7 badge. Read on to learn more about two new r7 drivers and two sets of r7 irons.

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Preview: The Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions

Expect to actually view golf this weekend on television as the women travel to a beautiful Robert Trent Jones golf course.

LPGA logoThe LPGA is heading into the final stretch, nearing the last hurrah of the season playing golf in Alabama this weekend. Who better to defend at this tournament than LPGA Tour President Heather Daly-Donofrio?

Forty-five previous LPGA tour champions will take part in this limited field event in an attempt to win one of the final trophies of the year and a piece of the $850,000 purse.

Kathy Ireland Worldwide has signed on as the presenting sponsor but no, the ladies won’t be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated Magazine!

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Scotty Cameron Putter Restoration and Custom Shop

Scotty Cameron introduced custom and restoration services in April, and we take them for a test drive with an old, beat up Coronado.

Scotty CameronScotty Cameron is an artist. Modern artist to some, renaissance artist to others, and an artist of his own breed to a thoughtful few. Though he doesn’t work with oils, he does offer his pieces of art in an oil (can) finish, and while you may not find him among the lilies at Giverny, you will find him among the mills at his California studio.

Scotty Cameron makes putters. Far from ordinary putters, many believe them to be the best in the land. What began as a hobby has turned into a world-class business and a long-standing association with Titleist. Scotty’s works of art routinely top the professional golf tours in putter counts and can be found in the bags of players like Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Adam Scott, Brad Faxon, Davis Love III, and more. These pros and more trust Scotty with their “gamer,” the putter they know will make the crucial 10-footer to win a major.

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The Young Americans Need to Step Up

Will any young Americans step up and compete with Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, and Luke Donald?

Thrash TalkThe PGA Tour season is officially over, and it’s time to get ready for 2006. I watched the Tour Championship this past weekend, and I definitely enjoyed the golf. It will have to hold me over for a couple months. I’ve been known to notice things in various tournaments that some people don’t really care to notice, and this past weekend was no different.

First off, congrats to Bart Bryant for winning his second event of the season. Bryant outlasted a tough field and definitely isn’t a no-name winner anymore. Tiger Woods battled the entire event and was in contention as usual. Other Americans in the top-10 included Scott Verplank, Davis Love III, and Ben Crane. Verplank and Love are both in their 40s as far as age goes, and Woods and Crane will both turn 30 in the next four or five months.

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Sneak Peak at Callaway’s 2006 New Products

After a comeback year that included products like the Big Bertha 454 and Fusion FT-3 drivers and the X-Tour irons, Callaway Golf has some new products ready for 2006. Here are the details.

Bag DropIt wasn’t long ago that Callaway Golf unveiled the long-awaited Big Bertha Fusion FT-3 driver. It’s been a solid hit at retail, but the season is drawing to an end. Several companies – including Cleveland, Cobra, Ping and Titleist – have already announced and/or shipped new products with next year in mind, and TaylorMade is expected to announce new products any day now.

Callaway gave some of its key accounts a sneak peek at what new products it will be bringing to market in the first part of next year at the recent PGA Fall Expo in Las Vegas. The Bag Drop has the scoop on those new sticks, some of which are already in the bags of tour players as prototypes.

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Volume Thirty-Four

Breathe easy, the links are here!

Hittin' the LinksI had some great weather in the nation’s capital this weekend, so I decided to play some golf. Bad idea. I played horrible and ended up getting so angry about it. It pretty much ruined my weekend. I haven’t been this upset on the course since I played in high school.

Anyway, enough about me. On to the links.

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Sorenstam Breaks Record at Mizuno Classic

Annika Sorenstam wins fifth straight Mizuno Classic breaking records on both the LPGA and PGA tours.

annika_sorenstam_mizuno.jpgNeither wind nor rain nor intense competition could stop history from being made this weekend at the Mizuno Classic. Annika Sorenstam knew what was at stake if she won and put her blinders on to accomplish her goal.

Although the fierce competition from both Jennifer Rosales and Young Kim kept Annika on her toes, the Swede’s final round rally secured her place in history on both the LPGA and PGA tours. With her fifth consecutive win Sorenstam passes legends Gene Sarazen, Walter Hagen and Tiger Woods as the only golfer to accomplish this feat.

“I am very, very happy. I had the chance to do something today that nobody else has done,” said an ecstatic Sorenstam.

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