• Welcome To ShotTalk.com!

    We are one of the oldest and largest Golf forums on the internet with golfers from around the world sharing tips, photos and planning golf outings.

    Registering is free and easy! Hope to see you on the forums soon!

Taylor Made R5 XL?

ManchesterGolfer

AKA.... Obi-Wan Ho-Nobi
Jan 4, 2006
3,467
0
Is this another new model? I must admit that I didn't see this one in any golf mags recently & I don't think Ez has had the TP version (yet). I know the Super Quad and new Burner have just come out but when did they slip this one out? Are the SuperQ & Burner out dated already?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TAYLOR-MADE-R...yZ115280QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem

On another note I saw a TM Pull out in Todays golfer about the SuperQ & Burner and that says the New Burner is the longest driver that TM have ever produced? I thought the SuperQ was the flagship driver?
 

Sandy

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2006
907
0
I mentioned them in a thread the other day - they were a line built specifically for the nationwide Dick's Sporting Goods chain over here (think of it like a very well stocked JJB Sports that also sells guns) but were never part of the TaylorMade line.

I read one of their engineer's blogs at the time they came out and he basically said they were only produced because they were waved a substantial wad of cash by Dick's to produce them but they're nothing they would ever have made themselves. They were released after the R5 line had been dropped and the R7s had started to be released.

In terms of the two new TM drivers, it seems like they're starting up two different product lines again, like Callaway have been doing successfully with the X and Big Bertha product lines. The Burner is marketed as all about distance and has fairways and hybrids on the way, all marketed as being the longest available. The Superquad is being marketed for 'better players' who are interested in shot-shaping and take a more technical approach. Over here the in-store promotional materials are all based around this distinction, with different colours and the idea of whether you want distance or control.

I think Uatim's photos from the merch show in Florida show how they set up their booth in this way too.
 

Sandy

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2006
907
0
I've just visited TM's website and I can't find the r5 XL listed on there?

I won't be - they kind of disowned, and just produced it as a special order for one specific chain of stores. It was never part of their own range, and when you see them in person they stand out like a sore thumb in terms of build quality and aesthetics. I doubt they'd ever let anything like them go out as part of their own range.
 
OP
ManchesterGolfer

ManchesterGolfer

AKA.... Obi-Wan Ho-Nobi
Jan 4, 2006
3,467
0
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #5
I mentioned them in a thread the other day - they were a line built specifically for the nationwide Dick's Sporting Goods chain over here (think of it like a very well stocked JJB Sports that also sells guns) but were never part of the TaylorMade line.

I read one of their engineer's blogs at the time they came out and he basically said they were only produced because they were waved a substantial wad of cash by Dick's to produce them but they're nothing they would ever have made themselves. They were released after the R5 line had been dropped and the R7s had started to be released.

Cheers Sandy that explains it then. It was A JJB advert on the Golf Channel UK where I saw it being advertised by Justin Rose. They wouldn't have made it themselves? looks just like the R7 460 draw to me?

BTW I don't think the R5 range was dropped, they are still listed on TM's website as an available club. (not in classic spec section) I'm pretty sure the R5 & R7 where released around the same time. The R5 for the mid handicapper and the R7 for the lower handicapper.
 
OP
ManchesterGolfer

ManchesterGolfer

AKA.... Obi-Wan Ho-Nobi
Jan 4, 2006
3,467
0
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #6
I won't be - they kind of disowned, and just produced it as a special order for one specific chain of stores. It was never part of their own range, and when you see them in person they stand out like a sore thumb in terms of build quality and aesthetics. I doubt they'd ever let anything like them go out as part of their own range.

Yet it still has the Taylor Made name branded on it and even one of there staffers advertising it. I thought it was strange because you get a R5 XL hybrid as well as part of 'this special deal'.
 

Sandy

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2006
907
0
looks just like the R7 460 draw to me?

The do until you go round the back:
r5xld_n_d.jpg


They look horrible in person though. When they came out, all the latest TM irons over here were in the R7 line, and they had already released the R7 Quad 425 and the R7 460 , and the R5 Duals were down in the sale sections. The R580s and R540s had been there a while by then.

Dick's is a great store compared to JJB though - usually absolutely massive and full of equipment for pretty much every sport and not just clothes - but they're like JJB, or even the Sport and Soccer stores, in that they push their own brands a lot. In Dick's case these always seemed to be Acuity and Walter Hagen Golf, but then they got these TMs in, and in the last couple of weeks Slazenger gear has started to filter in. Surprising for me as I always LOVED Slazenger gear - being a cricketer! - but this seems pretty cheap stuff with the name just licensed.

If you check threads on here, the Slazenger adverts they show on US TV aren't held in very high regard... ;)
 
OP
ManchesterGolfer

ManchesterGolfer

AKA.... Obi-Wan Ho-Nobi
Jan 4, 2006
3,467
0
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #8
The do until you go round the back:
r5xld_n_d.jpg


They look horrible in person though. When they came out, all the latest TM irons over here were in the R7 line, and they had already released the R7 Quad 425 and the R7 460 , and the R5 Duals were down in the sale sections. The R580s and R540s had been there a while by then.

Dick's is a great store compared to JJB though - usually absolutely massive and full of equipment for pretty much every sport and not just clothes - but they're like JJB, or even the Sport and Soccer stores, in that they push their own brands a lot. In Dick's case these always seemed to be Acuity and Walter Hagen Golf, but then they got these TMs in, and in the last couple of weeks Slazenger gear has started to filter in. Surprising for me as I always LOVED Slazenger gear - being a cricketer! - but this seems pretty cheap stuff with the name just licensed.

If you check threads on here, the Slazenger adverts they show on US TV aren't held in very high regard... ;)

If somebody at my club would have brought one of them up to me and said 'what do you think of my new driver' I would have told him i think it's a cheap Chinese fake. I can't believe that a major brand would put there good name on such a club. I couldn't see Cally letting the Big Bertha name, Titty the Pro.Trajectory or Cleveland the Launcher name go on some cheaper inferior product for all to see, but hey money talks.

BTW, Slazenger is now owned by JJB!!! They must have struck up a deal with Dicks to exchange some of there crap stock. The add for the R5 XL & Slazenger K1 Speed are very simlar.
 

Sandy

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2006
907
0
If you ever want a laugh, buy a US golf magazine and compare the adverts and opinions of gear in there compared to the UK golf magazines! I buy some of the imported UK mags over here and it always amazes me what brands are quite well respected back home that people wouldn't touch over here as they're seen as budget brands for beginners only!

When I eventually get back to the UK for a visit my clubs are DEFINITELY coming with me, to see what it would have been like if I *had* taken up golf while I still lived there!
 
OP
ManchesterGolfer

ManchesterGolfer

AKA.... Obi-Wan Ho-Nobi
Jan 4, 2006
3,467
0
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #10
If you ever want a laugh, buy a US golf magazine and compare the adverts and opinions of gear in there compared to the UK golf magazines! I buy some of the imported UK mags over here and it always amazes me what brands are quite well respected back home that people wouldn't touch over here as they're seen as budget brands for beginners only!

When I eventually get back to the UK for a visit my clubs are DEFINITELY coming with me, to see what it would have been like if I *had* taken up golf while I still lived there!

How long you lived in the US for Sandy? Slazenger are not a respected brand over here anymore, which brands do you mean?
 

FKA19

winter ho'in
May 21, 2006
1,202
0
they were made exclusively for golf galaxy and golf town i believe. those were the only north american places to sell them.
garbage IMO.
 

Sandy

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2006
907
0
How long you lived in the US for Sandy? Slazenger are not a respected brand over here anymore, which brands do you mean?

I've been here just about 3 years now, and loving every minute of it! Before I left the UK I was a very keen cricketer (if anything, taking up golf has been my way of dealing with my craving for cricket!) and most of my gear was Slazenger, right back to my very first V12 bat aged 12, which got me into the school team as an opening bat, and I never dropped down the order for the following 20 years! It's such a shame to hear their name has been devalued as I remember really dreaming of buying their cricket gear as it was always so innovative and suited my game.

When I look at the UK mags now it always makes me smile to see RAM and Hippo up at the top of their reviews - my RAM 64* wedge is the cheapest piece of kit I own, but I've seen them come top in several value club tests in those mags. They also talk so highly of Snake Eyes gear, which is mainly component gear over here. It always seems so very British for them to devote so much space to reviews of the budget brands, which the US magazines wouldn't touch with a bargepole, Can you imagine Golf Digest over here having a 'shootout' to see which was better out of a beginner's set of Cougar or Acuity clubs??? :laugh:
 

hypergolf

Well-Known Member
Mar 6, 2007
259
0
R5 XL

WARNING: DO NOT BUY R5 XL. THERE ARE PLENTY HERE IN ASIA. THEY ARE CHEAP VERSIONS MADE IN CHINA THAT LITERALLY HAS A SHAFT LIKE PASTA/NOODLE. IT WAS LAUNCHED JUST TO BRING IN PROFIT BY TAYLORMADE ASIA. I REPEAT DO NOT BUY R5 XL.

According to my friend who works for TM Asia (name withheld for job security reason... haha) TM launches many products only after few months to make people change clubs constantly and get consumers curious. Good tactic in a marketing standpoint. He also kind of hinted that Burner is one of those R5 XL launch type. Just hype up a crap on lighter, longer stick and boom... BURNER. Most legit launch would be the Superquad according to my sources.
 

🔥 Latest posts

Top