Golf Galaxy R11 Debut

[Aquaguru]

So my local GG held a midnight event to release the new R11.  They gave the first 10 customers a $50 gift card for just demo of the R11.  I was wondering if anyone here went and how many actually bought the driver?  I'm not sold on all the hype that Taylormade has put on this club.  Either way its great marketing to have it be all white because now you know what tour players play it cause you can't miss that white head.

I drove by GG on my way home from work and saw about 30 people waiting outside the store at 11:30.  I don't see it being worth the wait in low teen temps at night.

[ghalfaire]

I have always thought the "adjustable" driver was just a gimmick.  You are not permitted to adjust it during a round and once you have it properly adjusted to your swing why would you adjust it again.  Save some money and just purchase a club that "fits" you would seem to make more sense to me.  But maybe I missed something.

[2bGood]

Yes you missed something! A club ho gotta ho! An adjustable driver allows you to tinker. I love the MWT, not so much for the movable part, but that it allows me to adjust club head weight. This is critical if you want to change shafts, or shaft length. I also like to play a different driver int eh summer /winter. More carry in winter as the fairway won't role no matter what. I in the summer I look for a more optimal ball flight.

[ronaldkuntoro]

  Aquaguru said:

Originally Posted by Aquaguru

So my local GG held a midnight event to release the new R11.  They gave the first 10 customers a $50 gift card for just demo of the R11.  I was wondering if anyone here went and how many actually bought the driver?  I'm not sold on all the hype that Taylormade has put on this club.  Either way its great marketing to have it be all white because now you know what tour players play it cause you can't miss that white head.

I drove by GG on my way home from work and saw about 30 people waiting outside the store at 11:30.  I don't see it being worth the wait in low teen temps at night.

Somebody posted About R9 here he spent more time adjusting the head than playing the

driver.... sounds ironic.....

And why the white theme this year?   It's supposed to look better during daylight?

[iacas]

  ghalfaire said:

Originally Posted by ghalfaire

I have always thought the "adjustable" driver was just a gimmick.  You are not permitted to adjust it during a round and once you have it properly adjusted to your swing why would you adjust it again. Save some money and just purchase a club that "fits" you would seem to make more sense to me.  But maybe I missed something.

What you missed is that you may not be able to "purchase a club that fits you." The odds of that go up and let you "self fit" a little more with an adjustable club. And even if a club fits me, occasionally (rarely, I admit, but not zero times) I change the settings to change up the ball flight (typically just loft).

Plus, resale value is higher because the club isn't fit for JUST your swing.

Or, it would be higher, if TaylorMade didn't replace it in four weeks with another model...

[jamo]

  ronaldkuntoro said:

Originally Posted by ronaldkuntoro

And why the white theme this year?   It's supposed to look better during daylight?

That's what they say.

[Marauder31]

I participated in the GG R11 Debut last night. I thought I would take a minute just to detail my experience.

I have attended GG promotional nights like this one in the past. They have always had nice incentives (prizes and food) and have always been reasonably well attended.

A golf buddy of mine and I decided to make our way out last night and grabbed a beer at a local pub before heading to the store.  We arrived at 11:30 to find three or four guys waiting at the front door. We walked up and another dozen guys emerged from their cars. As we waited we learned that ALL of the $50 gift cards were already handed out. Puzzled I asked why that was and at exactly what time that occurred. Apparently there was a line that formed just after 10PM. The sales team inside decided to hand out the cards at that time which dispersed the crowd.

Now I am not going to say that I wasn't enticed to show up at midnight by the possibility of receiving free money but I also didn't expect it either (based on the time we showed up). With that said I wouldn't do it again knowing that the giveaways could be gone well before the posted times. Why didn't they just give them away at 8PM? I think if your willing to wait in line you should have to wait until the doors open at midnight or there should be some other way to distribute the prizes via a random raffle or something. From a business standpoint the store would benefit as more people would attend knowing they have the chance at a prize and knowing they don't have to waste their valuable time and freeze their butt off waiting outside just to learn that the prizes were given out hours beforehand.

Enough of that nonsense. The club was awesome. I didn't purchase one (yet) as I only got a few swings before allowing the next person in line a turn. I found the pro inside who manned the launch monitor to be knowledgeable and he shared a lot of info on the adjust-ability aspects of the club. It is certainly one of the best  if not the best as far as dialing in your best possible fit.

Aesthetically it looked better in person than I initially thought. The white paint has a nice matte finish that seems odd but is quite inviting.  I might have ommitted the graphics on the crown however. Performance wise, I was given a stiff which probably doesn't fit my swing profile. I did hit several balls with decent distance with a nice fade biased trajectory. I can't wait to hit it again with a little more time to play around with it and the correct shaft flex.

[jamo]

  Marauder31 said:

Originally Posted by Marauder31

A golf buddy of mine and I decided to make our way out last night and grabbed a beer at a local pub before heading to the store.  We arrived at 11:30 to find three or four guys waiting at the front door. We walked up and another dozen guys emerged from their cars. As we waited we learned that ALL of the $50 gift cards were already handed out. Puzzled I asked why that was and at exactly what time that occurred. Apparently there was a line that formed just after 10PM. The sales team inside decided to hand out the cards at that time which dispersed the crowd.

So they ended up giving gift cards to people who didn't even buy the driver? That's dumb.

[Radford Wooly]

  jamo said:

Originally Posted by jamo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marauder31

A golf buddy of mine and I decided to make our way out last night and grabbed a beer at a local pub before heading to the store.  We arrived at 11:30 to find three or four guys waiting at the front door. We walked up and another dozen guys emerged from their cars. As we waited we learned that ALL of the $50 gift cards were already handed out. Puzzled I asked why that was and at exactly what time that occurred. Apparently there was a line that formed just after 10PM. The sales team inside decided to hand out the cards at that time which dispersed the crowd.

So they ended up giving gift cards to people who didn't even buy the driver? That's dumb.

Not just dumb, but bad business!! The people who got the giftcards got off easy and the people who were actually there at midnight got the shaft!!

[Marauder31]

  Radford Wooly said:

Originally Posted by Radford Wooly

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marauder31

A golf buddy of mine and I decided to make our way out last night and grabbed a beer at a local pub before heading to the store.  We arrived at 11:30 to find three or four guys waiting at the front door. We walked up and another dozen guys emerged from their cars. As we waited we learned that ALL of the $50 gift cards were already handed out. Puzzled I asked why that was and at exactly what time that occurred. Apparently there was a line that formed just after 10PM. The sales team inside decided to hand out the cards at that time which dispersed the crowd.

So they ended up giving gift cards to people who didn't even buy the driver? That's dumb.

Not just dumb, but bad business!! The people who got the giftcards got off easy and the people who were actually there at midnight got the shaft!!

That about sums it up. I can't speak to how many R11/Burner 2's they sold last night. I saw maybe 2 go out the door. I know that there were other unhappy customers in the crowd and that by the time I demoed the club the place had cleared out considerably (in 25 minutes).

[bshack]

i went last night to my local GG.

The rule was you had to demo the driver with intent to buy it to receive gift card. After Demo'ing the driver you are given the gift card. I was 8th in line at my store and arrived at 11pm. I was going to buy the driver if I got good value on trade (didnt get good value) so passed. My buddy is good friends with the TM rep and the rep is giving me one for 200.

Nonetheless the GG only sold 2 r11 drivers but sold two r11 bags and 2 Burner superfasts

the kids they had running the demo were turds but as far as the driver goes loved the way it felt and am excited mine is on the way. Also happy i got the 50 bucks.

Joke of the night... the guy who was 1st in line brought his wife who doesnt really play golf... She swung the club with "intent to buy" got the Gift card gave it to her husband and they left.

To each their own and they waited for 3 hours so i dont have a problem with it.

[clubchamp]

  Radford Wooly said:

Originally Posted by Radford Wooly

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marauder31

A golf buddy of mine and I decided to make our way out last night and grabbed a beer at a local pub before heading to the store.  We arrived at 11:30 to find three or four guys waiting at the front door. We walked up and another dozen guys emerged from their cars. As we waited we learned that ALL of the $50 gift cards were already handed out. Puzzled I asked why that was and at exactly what time that occurred. Apparently there was a line that formed just after 10PM. The sales team inside decided to hand out the cards at that time which dispersed the crowd.

So they ended up giving gift cards to people who didn't even buy the driver? That's dumb.

Not just dumb, but bad business!! The people who got the giftcards got off easy and the people who were actually there at midnight got the shaft!!

As it is bad business but it's also the law that's why the phrase "no purchase necessary" is always attached to promotional give aways. You can't force someone to buy something if they would have set it up like an instant rebate they could have given the $50 to anyone who bought the driver.

[ghalfaire]

  iacas said:

Originally Posted by iacas

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghalfaire

I have always thought the "adjustable" driver was just a gimmick.  You are not permitted to adjust it during a round and once you have it properly adjusted to your swing why would you adjust it again. Save some money and just purchase a club that "fits" you would seem to make more sense to me.  But maybe I missed something.

What you missed is that you may not be able to "purchase a club that fits you." The odds of that go up and let you "self fit" a little more with an adjustable club. And even if a club fits me, occasionally (rarely, I admit, but not zero times) I change the settings to change up the ball flight (typically just loft).

Plus, resale value is higher because the club isn't fit for JUST your swing.

Or, it would be higher, if TaylorMade didn't replace it in four weeks with another model...

I can buy into both of those arguments.  I have two drivers I use and the only difference in them is the loft.  I use the higher lofted driver for courses that have big trees that need to be cleared from the tee.  I could have saved some money by having just one adjustable loft driver.  I usually just give my old clubs to First Tee or other kids charities but I suspect if I sold them they would not bring as much as an adjustable driver.

So who says you can't change someone's mind every now and again?

[PhilsRHman]

My wife's away and I didn't have to be up until 10:30 on Friday, so I went up to my local GG in Woodbridge, NJ. Got there around 10:45 and already at least 15 people in line and in their cars. Was going to turn around and go home but at that point I'd already driven up, brought a sandwich and magazine since I knew I'd have time to kill. Ended up sticking it out, thought it would be fun to check out what they had. By midnight, I'd say there were about 30-40 people, quite a turnout. The store is close to Rutgers and it seemed like a promotion ideal for college kids ($50 and something to do). Once they opened the doors, they brought the first 10 to the simulator. They had to hit the club, then they were given the gift card. It was actually a fun atmosphere, everyone watching, etc. I'd say there weren't many serious players among the first 10. One guy couldn't even get the ball to the wall, he was popping them up so bad. I asked how far they'd be marking that one down and the salesman just laughed.

While all that was going on, a few of us who were a little more serious and were asking questions were brought onto the fitting station. There's no simulator, just a launch monitor but that was fine for me. Hit the R11 and the Superfast 2.0 and was surprised at how much I loved the white head. I went in thinking I'd hate it, and had written it off as a marketing gimmick. But I've got to say, it was quite visually appealing, and they are right about it aiding alignment. I find myself constantly trying to get the face of a driver square, because I love a face that sits 1-2* open. Honestly, both the white heads just looked so right. I think it's black face on white head. You can see the hitting surface so clearly thanks to that contrast.

All in all, I think it was a good event. Reading about it elsewhere it seems that there were 25-30 people at most locations. Who knows how many drivers they sold, but for that matter, how many do they sell from noon-2 pm on a random Tuesday? I saw on R11 go right away and a few other people buying things. I almost pulled the trigger on a new bag since I need one but figured I've got another two months until I'm able to play, so no rush. The mood was cool, people were pretty into it, and the staff was awesome, very helpful and knowledgeable, which I haven't always been able to say at GG. I think they were caught up in the fact it was a special event and rose to the occasion.

[Aquaguru]

My buddy works at GG and they sold 11  R11 the first night then 12 more over the weekend

[Shorty]

  bshack said:

Originally Posted by bshack

The rule was you had to demo the driver with intent to buy it to receive gift card.

That's not right. How can you have such an intent?  What if you don't like the club when you demo it?  Isn't that why you demo it? To find out?

[bshack]

i didnt say you had to buy it. I said you had to have the intent / anyone can have intent