Men's Journal

Three screwed-in weights on the R9 let you change the club's center of gravity.

The latest trend in golf is drivers that adjust to cure your swing’s ills. We took three to the links and swung hard.

By Josh Sens

TAYLORMADE R9
The R9 has a seemingly endless array of minute adjustments: eight settings each for loft, lie angle, and face angle, plus three removable weights in the head. Shifting from one extreme to the other can vary the ball’s side-to-side flight by 75 yards– great for guys who need serious help and are willing to fiddle. That said, some tweaks are too subtle; no weekend hack will notice the loss of a one-gram weight.
————————-—————————–[$399; taylormadegolf.com] Rating: 8

NIKE SQ DYMO2 STR8-FIT
You can only alter the STR8-FIT’s loft and angles. Still, that’s more than enough to fix a hook or a slice. But we’re guessing the reason Trevor Immelman won the 2008 Masters with a prototype of this driver is because it’s as forgiving as Charlie Sheen’s priest, smashing long drives despite off-center hits. In fact, the trampoline-like club is so lively that better players might lose some feel. The STR8-FIT also comes in a round-backed head.
[$540; nikegolf.com] Rating: 9

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KING COBRA L5V
This meaty-headed club allows for fewer adjustments than the others here, offering just two settings: neutral and draw-bias, the latter designed for anyone with a slice (i.e., most of us). Yet what it lacks in tinkering options it makes up for by effortlessly nuking tee shots–you’d be hard-pressed to find a longer-hitting club, adjustable or otherwise. Confidence is key in golf, and the L5V’s sheer size is enough to embolden doubting players. You feel as though you can’t miss, which often turns out to be self-fulfilling.
[$375; cobragolf.com] Rating: 7

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PERFORMANCE ENHANCERS

Three more new products that will eliminate your excuse for a bad round.
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ECCO ULTRA PERFORMANCE HYDROMAX SHOE
If the golf shoe fits, it likely came from Ecco, which specialized in casual shoes long before it made a foray into spiked footwear. But the waterproof Hydromax goes beyond comfort by actively trying to help you swing better. It sounded like hype to us, but the flexible outer sole–made from the same stuff as bouncy balls– really did let us turn freely on takeaway and follow through smoothly.
[$250; eccousa.com]

GARMIN APPROACH G5 GPS
Unlike other golf GPS systems, which require you to download course maps yourself, the Approach G5 comes with more than 7,000 layouts, so it’s ready to pinpoint distances out of the box. As a result, you’ll know for sure which club to use on every lie. The Garmin’s touchscreen display is bright even in sunlight and puts the awkward keypads used by competitors to shame.
[$500; garmin.com]

ODYSSEY WHITE HOT XG 2-BALL F7 PUTTER
“Moment of inertia” is geek speak for a club’s resistance to twisting during impact, and the White Hot XG’s M.O.I. is very high, making for a smooth, steady stroke. Balanced weight distribution keeps the putter square, a Starship Enterprise tail fin design decorated with two alignment balls ensures you’re set up properly, and a soft putter face delivers a pleasantly buttery feel.
[$169; odysseygolf.com]

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This article originally appeared in the July/August 2009 issue of Men’s Journal.

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