Well it happened again...

[MasonAsher2014]

I was playing a round 2 days ago and hit my Taylormade RBZ 3 wood off the tee and pured it. It went a little higher than normal and I looked down and I see the huge crack. This happened to me last year with my driver, which I had a thread for last year. I can't think of any reason for it to cave in like this. I hit it very well everytime, center face as you can see. I think it's starting to become a Taylormade problem. Has anyone else had this happen? I've had it for over 2 years I think so there's nothing I can do, unfortunately. I just regripped it last week too! Lol. 

[jkelley9]

I think I remember your thread on your driver. Sorry to hear this happened to you. Where did you purchase this club? I doubt at a 4 HCI that you would make the mistake of buying a counterfeit club but I feel it doesn't hurt to ask.

One reason I can see more damage happening to a club face is if you play in more wet conditions. When the ball hits and brings dirt with it without a clean and place in play, smacking the ball with dirt/debris between the clubface and the ball can cause an issue I would think. 

The damage may have been cause by only a pinhole but once it's compromised it will crack across the face almost guaranteed. 

Sorry if this is not helpful. Could you maybe call TM directly and have them replace it? I think I've heard of people being successful with that route. Especially with your picture and it's obvious that you have a pretty good face wear dispersion,

[MasonAsher2014]

25 minutes ago, jkelley9 said:

I think I remember your thread on your driver. Sorry to hear this happened to you. Where did you purchase this club? I doubt at a 4 HCI that you would make the mistake of buying a counterfeit club but I feel it doesn't hurt to ask.

One reason I can see more damage happening to a club face is if you play in more wet conditions. When the ball hits and brings dirt with it without a clean and place in play, smacking the ball with dirt/debris between the clubface and the ball can cause an issue I would think. 

The damage may have been cause by only a pinhole but once it's compromised it will crack across the face almost guaranteed. 

Sorry if this is not helpful. Could you maybe call TM directly and have them replace it? I think I've heard of people being successful with that route. Especially with your picture and it's obvious that you have a pretty good face wear dispersion,

I haven't really played in wet conditions this year at all. I mostly hit it off the tee anyway. I bought it at Dicks. I called and they said there's nothing they can do with it. 

[paininthenuts]

My suggestion is not hit to hit the ball so hard. Seriously, have a look at how the club is being stored when not in use. 

[JxQx]

I've had that happen with a Taylormade driver and they replaced it with the equivalent production model for free. Probably wouldn't hurt to email them direct.

[MasonAsher2014]

1 hour ago, paininthenuts said:

My suggestion is not hit to hit the ball so hard. Seriously, have a look at how the club is being stored when not in use. 

I can't help the speed I swing. I have over a 100 mph swing speed so it won't affect anything if I tone it down a little. I always store my clubs in my house after my rounds, I never leave them in the car.

[Pretzel]

My best guess would be a manufacturing defect or a counterfeit club. I only have seen a cracked face on a wood/driver once and it was from someone on my high school golf team with a swing speed in the neighborhood of 125-130 mph (it was a Ping Anser driver, if I remember correctly).

I would contact Taylormade and the retailer who sold you the golf club. They may not be able to offer a full replacement, but many places will at least offer a discount on a replacement. They have good incentive to retain you as a customer and might be willing to at least offer you a personal use discount on the replacement if you purchase through them.

[MasonAsher2014]

4 minutes ago, Pretzel said:

My best guess would be a manufacturing defect or a counterfeit club. I only have seen a cracked face on a wood/driver once and it was from someone on my high school golf team with a swing speed in the neighborhood of 125-130 mph (it was a Ping Anser driver, if I remember correctly).

I would contact Taylormade and the retailer who sold you the golf club. They may not be able to offer a full replacement, but many places will at least offer a discount on a replacement. They have good incentive to retain you as a customer and might be willing to at least offer you a personal use discount on the replacement if you purchase through them.

I don't think it was counterfeit since I bought it from dicks but my swing speed is over 100 so the assistant pro said it probably just got weak after hitting it so many times.

[Pretzel]

11 minutes ago, MasonAsher2014 said:

I don't think it was counterfeit since I bought it from dicks but my swing speed is over 100 so the assistant pro said it probably just got weak after hitting it so many times.

Many golfers swing over 100 mph and don't see issues, so I would imagine the problem was more of a manufacturing defect. I have a driver SS of over 120 and still use my 3-wood from six years ago, so I think there's more to it than just simple wear. I would agree that a counterfeit is much less of a concern from a retail outlet though.

[MasonAsher2014]

Just now, Pretzel said:

Eh, that's not likely. Many golfers swing over 100 mph and don't see issues, so I would imagine the problem was more of a manufacturing defect. I have a driver SS of over 120 and still use my 3-wood from six years ago, so I think there's more to it than just simple wear.

That's what I meant. The defect was there and after hitting it so hard so many times it finally just broke it. I have noticed it flying higher than normal this year.

[Pretzel]

Just now, MasonAsher2014 said:

That's what I meant. The defect was there and after hitting it so hard so many times it finally just broke it. I have noticed it flying higher than normal this year.

Interesting. Makes me wonder if the face was gradually caving or if you just started to hit the ball differently.

[MasonAsher2014]

Just now, Pretzel said:

Interesting. Makes me wonder if the face was gradually caving or if you just started to hit the ball differently.

I would say it was gradually caving in my opinion. I changed my swing this winter, but am now hitting the ball lower throughout my set, especially with driver and my hybrid. That leads me to think that it gradually went since it was going so high. I barely used it off the ground though, maybe 5 times this spring season.

[newtogolf]

The makes the faces on these clubs really thin, so given your swing speed you might catch it at a weak point and crack it occasionally.   Call Taylor Made, see what they say.  

[phan52]

That happened to me with an R5 driver years ago and I sent it back and they replaced the head.

[rehmwa]

Go find someone else at Dick's, or even go to a  different store location.  That person is likely being lazy.  they have the ability to call their contact at Taylormade - who should take care of it.

Or just contact Taylormade directly.

If that's not replaced, I'd not shop at that Dick's again - or buy T-made again.  Ever

as for 100mph swing speed - that's pretty normal, even slow for a driver - no reason for it to matter.  The guy at Dick's is stroking your ego to get out of making a couple calls to help you.  Or, he has no idea what typical swing speeds are.  either way, you don't want this rep to work your complaint

(I've had great help from Dick's when my Nike broke a couple years ago - they called Nike who immediately replaced it - actually twice as it broke twice for two different reasons.  Nike insisted on it.  and this was a club I bought on clearance.  It's still a great club and in my bag today.)

[Big C]

18 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

Go find someone else at Dick's, or even go to a  different store location.  That person is likely being lazy.  they have the ability to call their contact at Taylormade - who should take care of it.

Or just contact Taylormade directly.

If that's not replaced, I'd not shop at that Dick's again - or buy T-made again.  Ever

as for 100mph swing speed - that's pretty normal, even slow for a driver - no reason for it to matter.  The guy at Dick's is stroking your ego to get out of making a couple calls to help you.  Or, he has no idea what typical swing speeds are.  either way, you don't want this rep to work your complaint

(I've had great help from Dick's when my Nike broke a couple years ago - they called Nike who immediately replaced it - actually twice as it broke twice for two different reasons.  Nike insisted on it.  and this was a club I bought on clearance.  It's still a great club and in my bag today.)

This is the correct answer. I had the crown of my Taylor Made R-9 Driver crack about 4 years ago. I had won the club at a charity raffle (so obviously had no receipt) and figured that I was S.O.L. 

All the same, I had a pretty good relationship with the guys at Roger Dunn, where I make most of my retail purchases. I brought the club into them and asked what they thought. The sales guy was extremely helpful and said he would send it in for me. Two weeks later, I get a call that my new club had arrived. Not only did Taylor Made replace it, they upgraded me to the new R-11S. It made me a believer in the power of relationships with local retailers. 

I agree with the above. The guy you spoke with at Dicks was just being lazy.

Edited to add: These days, pretty much the only reason to ever buy from a brick and mortar retailer like Dick's (as opposed to the Ebay route) is for situations like this: That you actually have some support when something goes wrong or a product turns out to be defective. I wouldn't hesitate to escalate it to management level at Dick's and remind them of that very fact.

[Buckeyebowman]

6 hours ago, newtogolf said:

The makes the faces on these clubs really thin, so given your swing speed you might catch it at a weak point and crack it occasionally.   Call Taylor Made, see what they say.  

I have to agree. Go straight to the source. Tell them that Dick's isn't giving you any satisfaction. They may choose to lean on Dick's or resolve the problem themselves. Also, it might not hurt mentioning that you're member here and have posted about this problem.

[MasonAsher2014]

I called customer service again told me to go to Dicks for help but if I did not have a receipt I would be SOL. Who saves receipts from clubs? I am starting now. So, I browsed the intrawebs and found the key accounts rep email and emailed him. He has been very helpful especially after I voiced my displeasure. He wanted to know a course near me to go through and I gave him the name of the club I work at. He said he would call them tomorrow and organize a replacement through them if possible. I'm looking forward to what comes of this. After multiple calls I'm excited someone will help.