SuperQuad Indeed
Written: Jan 29 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: 460 cubic centimeters with four movable weights
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: Everything you have come to expect from the number one driver in golf, extreme forgiveness and distance without sacrificing control.
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| lmh3's Full Review: TaylorMade SuperQuad TP Driver |
Taylor Made has been the number one driver in golf for the last several years, their domination on Tour started with the introduction of the r7. The r7 SuperQuad is the latest in the proud line of Taylor Made movable weight technology drivers. In the first week the club was released on the PGA Tour, it found it's way into the bag of several Taylor Made staff players. I have been on the Taylor Made staff for the last six years and have been playing a 9.5* SuperQuad TP with a Mitsubishi Diamana Red Board shaft for the last few weeks.
The first thing that you will notice about this driver is the fact that the entire head is black, the sole and face are finished with a gun metal color that gives the club a very unique appearance. The stock Taylor Made TP shaft is made by Fujikura and is the same as the one in the r7 425 TP. The shaft features Rombax material, a layer of very thin strands of triax that are tightly woven and then put over the graphite strands. This adds stability to the shaft through the swing and prevents ovaling for a more consistent flex from swing to swing. This shaft is available in three weights, 65 gram, 75 gram, and 85 gram this allows players to choose the weight that is best for their swing (there are also some tour issue shafts that have heavier weights). The stock grip is a Golf Pride Tour Velvet, one of the most popular grips ever released.
Onto the technology that made this club possible. The reason that the original r7 was "only" 400 cubic centimeters was the fact that the ports for the weight screws were too heavy to make the club head larger. As Taylor Made was able to make the walls of the club thinner, the r7 425 was the result. Now, the SuperQuad offers the thinnest crown and club walls to allow for the weight required to accommodate four ports. Using only the four weights in the club, you are able to create six different launch conditions, using the TP weight kit, you can create over 2600 different launch conditions covering six different swing weights. The added size combined with the movable weight ports give the r7 SuperQuad an effective moment of inertia of 5800 gram centimeters squared which provides ultimate forgiveness as well as giving you control over the golf ball.
The SuperQuad also features the patented Inverted Cone in the back of the face. This extends the size of the sweet spot and keeps the COR high even on off center hits. The result of this is increased distance over a larger part of the face. The beta titanium face is at the USGA limit for characteristic time, meaning the ball comes off the face as fast as legally possible resulting in greater distance. The Tour Preferred (TP) version of the SuperQuad, like the other TP drivers, is set a degree open, which is more soothing to the eye of the advanced player.
I tested the SuperQuad TP extensively before making the switch since I had a lot of success with the r7 425 TP. Using the same shaft combination and weight configuration in the 425 TP and the SuperQuad TP I compared the results on our Launch Monitor on the range. The first thing that I noticed when testing was that the black finish on the face made the club appear smaller which is more soothing to my eye. The sound off the face was very nice, the larger head gives the club a slightly deeper and fuller sound at impact, you really feel as though you crushed the ball every time. The feel was extremely solid, you still get enough feedback to tell where on the face you have hit the ball, but the results on off center hits are still more than playable. The launch angle and spin rates were very similar to the 425 TP, but the ball speed was almost always a few mile per hour faster. As a result, I was hitting the SuperQuad TP about three to five yards further than the 425 TP. I also noticed that when I missed the center of the club, the spin rates did not vary as much as they did with the 425 TP, this caused my shot dispersion to be much tighter. I also sensed after a while that I was able to take a slightly more aggressive swing due to the larger effective hitting area which allowed me to add a few more yards.
On the course, I was very happy with the way that this club performed. I tend to hit a slight draw off the tee, but there are a few holes that require a fade to find the fairway, this club allows you to hit both shots with ease. Some of the larger headed drivers on the market have a built in draw bias which makes it very difficult to hit a controlled fade. The SuperQuad TP has a slightly higher center of gravity that is located slightly closer to the face (of course you can change this depending on your weight configuration), this allows for greater control over the trajectory and ball flight. While I am not a huge fan of the Rombax shaft, as of January 1 Taylor Made staff players were not required to use this shaft in their drivers, it is more than playable for the better player. It provides a level of consistency that one would expect from a tour caliber shaft.
My main concern with the SuperQuad drivers was the finish on the sole and face, anyone who has played with a gun metal finish knows that it tends to wear. I was worried that the face was going to start to look like a wedge after a few rounds of play. I am pleased to report that there are some slight signs of use on the face, a result of some dirt on the ball scratching the face at impact (this happens with any driver, just a little more noticeable with the black finish). I love the way that the black face frames the ball at address and helps to conceal the size of the club head a bit.
I would recommend the SuperQuad to any player, the larger head size combined with the ability to maneuver the weight to suit your swing provides an immeasurable amount of confidence before you swing. The TP version I would recommend more to the skilled player, mid to low handicap. This is due to the open club face and the lower torque stock shaft (Rombax in the TP versus Reax in the standard). The nice thing about the TP driver is the fact that the price has been lowered from an MSRP of $800 for the 425 TP to $600 for the SuperQuad TP.
Recommended:
Yes
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lmh3
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Location: North Carolina
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