TaylorMade R11 Irons Reviews

You've hit quite a few sets of irons over the past year CB. Do these rank up at the top? I don't know why but I generally don't look at TM irons. I've liked some in the past quite a bit but if I'm being honest I tend to only look at TM woods. But these for some reason peak my interest:skywalker:

These do rank right at the top, but of course there are some other great iron sets out there as well. The head is sleek looking, forgiving and just feels amazing and makes the ball launch high and far. Paired with a shaft that fits your game these are just the best irons I have hit.
 
These do rank right at the top, but of course there are some other great iron sets out there as well. The head is sleek looking, forgiving and just feels amazing and makes the ball launch high and far. Paired with a shaft that fits your game these are just the best irons I have hit.

That is some strong praise brother! Good stuff:taylormade:
 
Last video of the night I promise, you all must be tired of my bad swing. We tried a little video editing here with some of the videos we made. Thanks to the Hoff for doing most of this.

[YOUTUBE]ksLvwH-Jt38[/YOUTUBE]
Great vid. Im sure you already realize this but try to dial back the volume of the music next time. The music is so loud that its kind of hard to understand what you are saying. Still a great vid though!
 
[YOUTUBE]tEvGVpbNvFQ[/YOUTUBE]
 
Finally got to hit these today. After all the hype and thinking MAYBE these could knock the Ping Ansers out of my bag, I came away un-impressed. They are a very nice iron but a little bigger than I am used to. I think I would really like the short irons but the 6 iron did nothing for me. They were a much better fit for me than the Burner 2.0's though. Overall, this is a very solid iron and sure it will sell for TM.

As a sidenote, I also hit a Titleist 910 D2 driver and bought it on the spot!
 
Great vid. Im sure you already realize this but try to dial back the volume of the music next time. The music is so loud that its kind of hard to understand what you are saying. Still a great vid though!

We did this with an iphone and it was video that we already had posted and were just playing around. We knew the music was a little loud, but there was no way to turn it down.
 
We did this with an iphone and it was video that we already had posted and were just playing around. We knew the music was a little loud, but there was no way to turn it down.
No worries. Im not trying to be that guy who tells people how much their Youtube videos suck when I havent posted any of my own. Just trying to give a little constructive criticism.
 
I've been sick and bedridden for several days, so forgive my tardiness.

biggsy....did you tinker with the lofts (i.e strengthening them) or did you leave them stock
I kept them all standard length, lie and loft.

Something I've been wondering about is the consistent distance dispersion of R11 vs the 2.0's. Can someone give me a tangible reason for that? I've noticed some longer than normal shots with the 2.0's that I just shook off as great contact or perfect swing etc etc. Several I talked with at the MC spoke to the same things and related that as in this thread that they hadn't seen that with the R11.

I'm guessing it may be somehow related to weighting of the clubs being different for forgiveness purposes but if someone has some insight, please share.
I experienced it with the R11 3 iron in my on the course and simulator testing (see the post below). I don't think it's anything but the fact we as amateurs are inconsistent and you've experienced the perfect strike you or I can muster. Other than that, I am not sure what it would be.

....

Great stuff CB. The course looks phenomenal and enjoyed the video. Glad the irons are treating you well.

....

Great update DD!

I'm right there with you. These irons are intriguing me more and more. I mean if CB can hit them well....:blob:
Aren't you set on irons for a while? :alien:

Finally got to hit these today. After all the hype and thinking MAYBE these could knock the Ping Ansers out of my bag, I came away un-impressed. They are a very nice iron but a little bigger than I am used to. I think I would really like the short irons but the 6 iron did nothing for me. They were a much better fit for me than the Burner 2.0's though. Overall, this is a very solid iron and sure it will sell for TM.

As a sidenote, I also hit a Titleist 910 D2 driver and bought it on the spot!
Funny story. I took these to a charity scramble I played in over the weekend. The club pro was all about these irons and asked a ton of questions but did not want to hit them. He revealed he was a Titleist staffer. I was really hoping to hear what he thought about them after he hit them, but no luck. Not everyone is going to like them, thanks for your thoughts.
 
i always like this guy's vids.
Me too. I subscribe to his vids on Youtube and I like his tips, how well he explains things and I appreciate his honestly on club reviews.
 
Not that I disliked them...Just kinda felt like the guy in the above video...Which by the way, I LOVE that guys videos even though he has no love for my Ansers.
 
Here is my update so far on these irons:

I've had 6 rounds with these, several range sessions and a chance to get some simulator numbers with the new Taylormade R11 Irons.

Look

I wasn't sold when I saw pictures alone of the irons. I thought it was a knock-off of the forged line and I wasn't impressed. That was before I actually saw them in person. I don't think pictures do these irons justice. The offset is less than I thought. The top line is medium-sized in thickness and not nearly as beefy as I thought it would be. Another plus for me and what I am used to looking for at address. I like the fact that they added some design and color to the cavity, giving it some character and distinguishing characteristics. You'll know what they are when you spot them in a bag. Overall, impressive and stylish looks when the club is in the bag, yet not very busy and strong looking at address.

Feel

I hadn't played a GI type iron in quite some time, so I didn't know what to expect once I hit these. Going from a players iron to these was not that big of an adjustment and my worries of feel were soon negated once I struck these irons. Irons feel soft and not harsh at all. I'm not saying they are as soft as butter that's been sitting on your counter overnight, but then again they aren't as hard as CMU blocks either. Casting of clubs has improved so much over the years that these feel as good, if not better than most irons I've hit. The feel is top notch in my book.

I can get why some have said they feel springy, the ball does jump off the face.

Forgiveness is an entirely different story and I will get to that shortly.

Sound

Sound is so hard to describe, because I am not only hearing the strike, but also feeling it in my hands. All I can say is it's very crisp sounding. Hearing some of the other Morgan Cuppers strike their R11's was like a symphony of sweetness. They sounded great.

Forgiveness

Wow. I really can't get over the forgiveness of these irons. I've said it a few times while playing these, that I think I could turn these around and hit them with the weight port and I'd get the same forgiveness as a face shot. The R11's are packed with forgiveness. Coming from a player's iron, you'd expect that, but I'm blown away by the amount of forgiveness I get from them.

Shaft

I had originally ordered the C-Tapers from KBS due to the fact that I was worried about how high I was going to hit a club with more offset than I was used to. Unfortunately, those shafts were not available and I went with what was in my current iron set, KBS 130 X.

I hit these a mile high and it's probably to my detriment. You'll see from the launch monitor pictures below that I get a high trajectory and then the ball just falls out of the sky and that is pretty much what I experience on the course.

Distance

I had said several times during the MC updates that I felt that I was getting about a half a club of distance gain. I can say that is not the case after more testing and the launch monitor session. I am hitting them about the same distance with the current setup. I think a lower flighted shaft (C-Taper) would help me experience the distance gains that some are seeing.
 
Interesting Observation (to me)

My round last Friday had three sets of Taylormade irons in play. The Burner 2.0s, CB's and the R11s. Since the R11s are supposed to be a bridge between the two, I thought it would be interesting to shoot a sole picture of the three irons together.

Visually, the R11s appear to have a smaller sole than the CBs and a lot smaller than the 2.0s. Here is the sole shot of all 3. Unfortunately, I didn't get shot of the top line, which is a lot closer to the CB than it is to the 2.0 and maybe even smaller than the CB.

4c650e3a-1e38-a3d9.jpg


I can see how these are marketed as a blend of the 2.0 and CB, but to me, I think these fall in the Taylormade iron line more between the MC and the CB.
 
Disclaimer on this monitor and take it for what it's worth. The side spin aspect is still acting goofy. The tech has been out to look at it, made adjustments and then it goes back to not registering it. Please keep that in mind when looking at these numbers.

My distances have come down since I first started posting these. I went through a swing adjustment when I was chosen for the Morgan Cup in hopes of gaining some accuracy, which I did, but distances went down, which I can live with. I'm actually experiencing about 5 yards more when testing outside, so that could be the sidespin aspect it is not registering.

Launch Monitor (PW)

This will be a common theme with the PW, 8 and 6 in that I hit it high and it drops out of the sky.

4c650e3a-2115-28e3.jpg


4c650e3a-2136-7e09.jpg


Launch Monitor (8i)

4c650e3a-214d-0738.jpg


4c650e3a-215e-753b.jpg


Launch Monitor (6i)

4c650e3a-2173-7a8a.jpg


4c650e3a-2184-dfc6.jpg


Launch Monitor (3i)

This was the most interesting iron to me. I don't play a 3 iron and haven't for some time. They are too low and I don't think I'm a good enough ball striker to play one. I was anywhere from a 193 carry (209 total) to 232 carry (244 total). I must have hit the long one perfect. So this is the distance dispersion I am seeing with the long iron only. The 5-PW have been pretty accurate in the way of that dispersion.

4c650e3a-2197-5ee9.jpg


4c650e3a-21a8-1cc6.jpg


Dispersion:

The dispersion for the irons was another thing I found interesting:
PW- 12 yards (not great for a wedge)
8i- 10.3 yards (better)
6i- 21.8 feet (excellent)
3i- 34.7 yards (trust me, I have no idea where it's going and it's the reason I don't play one)

Would really like to get some thoughts on these, especially the spin numbers, which I thought were pretty high.
 
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Biggsy,

Although it could be a bit of an unorthadox statement, I think that the short irons could be to short for you. I mean, youre so comfortable with the mid iron range.. Id want all my irons near that length, or closer to it...
 
Last video of the night I promise, you all must be tired of my bad swing. We tried a little video editing here with some of the videos we made. Thanks to the Hoff for doing most of this.

[YOUTUBE]ksLvwH-Jt38[/YOUTUBE]

Sweet video, You picked a beautiful spot to do this video. Good info too!
 
i currently game the burner 2.0 and like the look of the r11 irons, would i gain anything by switching or should i just stick with the 2.0 irons i have.
 
Biggsy, I've never had a PW or an 8iron on a vector or anything so I am not too sure what kind of numbers to compare yours too but looking at your 6iron #'s, man, you're getting way too much backspin. The launch angle is pretty awesome, but you're experiencing around 3-4,000 rpm's more than me. One can only imagine that perhaps you're being robbed of some distance. Based on all of your other numbers, you should be seeing a bit more carry distance for sure.
 
Interesting Observation (to me)

My round last Friday had three sets of Taylormade irons in play. The Burner 2.0s, CB's and the R11s. Since the R11s are supposed to be a bridge between the two, I thought it would be interesting to shoot a sole picture of the three irons together.

Visually, the R11s appear to have a smaller sole than the CBs and a lot smaller than the 2.0s. Here is the sole shot of all 3. Unfortunately, I didn't get shot of the top line, which is a lot closer to the CB than it is to the 2.0 and maybe even smaller than the CB.

4c650e3a-1e38-a3d9.jpg


I can see how these are marketed as a blend of the 2.0 and CB, but to me, I think these fall in the Taylormade iron line more between the MC and the CB.

Excellent write ups Biggsy. This pic is very good for comparing the R11s. Makes them look a lot nicer to my eye than the initial pics when they're compared to the other 2. The sole does look more compact.

Great job so far reviewers, these irons sound like the real deal. Never really got on with TM irons in the past, but I'd like to give these a go. Enjoying following this one.
 
Biggsy,

Although it could be a bit of an unorthadox statement, I think that the short irons could be to short for you. I mean, youre so comfortable with the mid iron range.. Id want all my irons near that length, or closer to it...

I'm not sure I follow you. Are you talking about length of shaft? Could you elaborate?

Biggsy, I've never had a PW or an 8iron on a vector or anything so I am not too sure what kind of numbers to compare yours too but looking at your 6iron #'s, man, you're getting way too much backspin. The launch angle is pretty awesome, but you're experiencing around 3-4,000 rpm's more than me. One can only imagine that perhaps you're being robbed of some distance. Based on all of your other numbers, you should be seeing a bit more carry distance for sure.
That's my fear based on watching the ball reaction and now seeing the backspin numbers. Would you attribute that to an iron shaft issue?
 
That's my fear based on watching the ball reaction and now seeing the backspin numbers. Would you attribute that to an iron shaft issue?

Yeah, but I thought you had KBS X in your R11's?
 
i currently game the burner 2.0 and like the look of the r11 irons, would i gain anything by switching or should i just stick with the 2.0 irons i have.

It never hurts to try new equipment in my book, plus it's a lot of fun. Comparing the 2.0 and R11s you are more than likely not going to see distance gains or any increased forgiveness. My issue with the 2.0 was I couldn't get comfortable with the size of the head.

Give it a try, you may find something new you like, if not, what have you lost...plus you gain some piece of mind knowing you have the right iron if you don't like them as much.
 
Yeah, but I thought you had KBS X in your R11's?

I do and I know it's a good shaft for me based on my history and fitting with them.

I mentioned it before, but the head offset was always a fear based on height.

I'd love to hit these with some C-Tapers in them.
 
Here is my update so far on these irons:

I've had 6 rounds with these, several range sessions and a chance to get some simulator numbers with the new Taylormade R11 Irons.

Look

I wasn't sold when I saw pictures alone of the irons. I thought it was a knock-off of the forged line and I wasn't impressed. That was before I actually saw them in person. I don't think pictures do these irons justice. The offset is less than I thought. The top line is medium-sized in thickness and not nearly as beefy as I thought it would be. Another plus for me and what I am used to looking for at address. I like the fact that they added some design and color to the cavity, giving it some character and distinguishing characteristics. You'll know what they are when you spot them in a bag. Overall, impressive and stylish looks when the club is in the bag, yet not very busy and strong looking at address.

Feel

I hadn't played a GI type iron in quite some time, so I didn't know what to expect once I hit these. Going from a players iron to these was not that big of an adjustment and my worries of feel were soon negated once I struck these irons. Irons feel soft and not harsh at all. I'm not saying they are as soft as butter that's been sitting on your counter overnight, but then again they aren't as hard as CMU blocks either. Casting of clubs has improved so much over the years that these feel as good, if not better than most irons I've hit. The feel is top notch in my book.

I can get why some have said they feel springy, the ball does jump off the face.

Forgiveness is an entirely different story and I will get to that shortly.

Sound

Sound is so hard to describe, because I am not only hearing the strike, but also feeling it in my hands. All I can say is it's very crisp sounding. Hearing some of the other Morgan Cuppers strike their R11's was like a symphony of sweetness. They sounded great.

Forgiveness

Wow. I really can't get over the forgiveness of these irons. I've said it a few times while playing these, that I think I could turn these around and hit them with the weight port and I'd get the same forgiveness as a face shot. The R11's are packed with forgiveness. Coming from a player's iron, you'd expect that, but I'm blown away by the amount of forgiveness I get from them.

Shaft

I had originally ordered the C-Tapers from KBS due to the fact that I was worried about how high I was going to hit a club with more offset than I was used to. Unfortunately, those shafts were not available and I went with what was in my current iron set, KBS 130 X.

I hit these a mile high and it's probably to my detriment. You'll see from the launch monitor pictures below that I get a high trajectory and then the ball just falls out of the sky and that is pretty much what I experience on the course.

Distance

I had said several times during the MC updates that I felt that I was getting about a half a club of distance gain. I can say that is not the case after more testing and the launch monitor session. I am hitting them about the same distance with the current setup. I think a lower flighted shaft (C-Taper) would help me experience the distance gains that some are seeing.

Really appreciate the write up Biggsy! I saw/heard firsthand how sweet these irons play and sound. You're definitely generating a lot of spin and like TC said it could be robbing you of distance. From what my last fitter said, he usually likes the spin in low 5k range. I'm sure its different with everyone because of the difference in swings though.
 
Biggsy - This is probably going to be rambling and insignificant to the discussion.

While I haven't seen launch monitor numbers, I feel like I was getting a lot more back spin with the R11s than my Burner 2.0s also. Now for me, I need it. In talking to Charlie, I think part of it may be the redesigned grooves that the R11s have that the Burner 2.0s and the TP line don't have. While I can't speak to the MC or MBs (not that I could hit them anyway), the CBs were also notorious for hitting the ball real high. Therefore, I wonder if there is something with the combination of the cavity back and the weight port that just makes the center of gravity so low that the launch and spin are higher than other sets.

I had the stock stiff 85 gram shafts in the Burner 2.0s, and when I tested the CBs, a KBS 90 stiff sent the ball into orbit. When I was fitted for those, I had to go to a DG S300 (130ish gram) to bring the ball flight down to be comparable to the Burners. I went with the KBS 90 stiff in the R11s and the flight is a bit higher than the Burners, but nowhere near as bad as the CB/KBS90 combo.

From what you've said and shown above, I would think a set of C-Tapers would probably help those spin numbers.
 
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