Well, its soooo easy to use, and having the option draw/fade bonus is cool for those that have trouble with their drives. But for the player who hits a reasonably consistant and fairly straight shot, they don't actually hit as far as some of the other Taylor Made models. The sheer size of the head is the defining factor. You see, a flush shot with this club does not go as far as the old Taylor Made R360, as it basically is designed with a larger sweetspot (which obviously means can't be hit as far) more forgiving head, to allow for less error on wayward shots, and thus is actually harder to hit long drives with this club as opposed to a smaller 460cc or even 360cc head. But for medium players it will probably be a dream come true, allowing consistent and very easy to hit drives all the time. Its definately worth a try if you have a bad fade, or a hook, to use this club to try and correct, but better advice would be to change your swing, rather than use a club to correct an already underlying error. The weight is amazing, its very light and is very easy to use, its lighter than many of the clubs on the market, which makes the swing speed seem higher than what you might be used to. Hope this review helps.Read full review
Originally bought the 12 degree--senior flex--achieved fair distance, but needed to close the face to avoid bad fade. It took extra swing to match the distance of my TM 360 R flex @10.5. Swing balance was better than 360. Secondly bought 10.5--senior flex. Distance is better than both the 360 and the R5-12. Easier club to swing, but still requires closing the face to hit straight. At 70 yrs old, I'm keeping both clubs in case I lose swing speed and need the greater height of the R5-12. Both clubs were immaculate when received. The total price of both was less than the price of one new club at the local(chain) sports stores and price determined the first purchase. I love the ease of swing for consistent good hits, but dislike having to estimate the amount of face closing to eliminate fade or achieve too much draw.Read full review
Let me start with some background - I am 22 and have been playing for about 8 years on and off, probably have played maybe 30-50 rounds in my lifetime so I am by no means a constant player I have been looking into improving my golf game so i picked up a new set of irons - I have always been pretty decent with them so that only shaved a few strokes off my game My biggest problem is my high irons - I can only hit a 3/4 iron about 150-175 yards off a tee and it leaves me at a big disadvantage on every hole I am a BIG slicer whenever I broke out my driver - I can hit it well but will end up on the next fairway or water every time I hit it. That lead me to just put the driver down and sacrifice the distance by taking something easier to hit to the tee box. Finally a coworker was talking about how he loved his new taylormade set he just purchased. I went to ebay and the internet and stumbled across the R5 Dual Type D driver. I didn't know what to think of it so after reading the reviews on here as well as other forums I decided to drop the 80 bucks on a good but used club. This can be found new for like $130 at Dick's or Sports Authority but I figured if it didn't work out I could probably get back what I paid for it. The driver came yesterday and I went straight to the driving range after work. I brought only the driver as I wanted to focus on that and bought a small bucket. The first 2 balls came off the club well but sliced - I immediately got a little discouraged but they definitely did not slice as much as before. For my third shot I played my hands a little forward of the clubhead and that let the face come across the ball more square than it had been. That shot went 220 yards straight down the middle. From my experience this club is a godsend. I was able to hit the rest of the bucket and probably 6-8 out of 10 balls were right where I intended them to be. Some of the shots came off drawing but due to my slicing tendencies it ended up playing a real nice left to right shot. Most shots traveled down the middle and easily past 200 yards (and up to 250) which in my 8 years of golf have never been able to do. I am happy now to say the least and cannot wait to hit this club on a course. For someone who slices to the point where you rarely break out your big daddy driver you need to get this club. The impacts on your game will be amazing. Just think about having to hit a 9/PW instead of a 6 or 7 on your second shot. That's what I got this club for, and thus far it has delivered everything I had hoped it would.Read full review
Lots of hype on this club. Purchased because my distance has been dropping so thought it would help. The club is easy to hit and does work better on off center hits. The ball flies straight but I actually lost about 10 yards distance compared to my old driver!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
About me: I'm a mid- to high- handicap golfer (18-25) and play 1-2 rounds a month. I'm average length off the tee (230 yds- 270 yds), but I miss a lot of fairways (both right and left). The R5 model I have is the Draw Biased 10.5 degree with the upgraded Aldila NVS shaft in Regular flex. I've played the R540XD, the R540, and the Cleveland QuadPro drivers in the past. About this driver: If you're looking for the utlimate slice correction tool, look no further. The R5 Draw Bias is it! But the Draw Bias version of this club is really for serious slicers only. This club has a HOT face, and the ball just jumps off it. I've hit some of the longest drives, I've ever hit with this club. For my money, I'd bet that TaylorMade makes as long a driver as there is on the market. But what makes this club unique is that it is set up to correct for a serious slice. Like other draw biased clubs, this club is extremely heel weighted, which I think would be enough to correct most fades/ slices. But TaylorMade went even further with this club and designed it with a 5 degree closed face- really setting it up to eliminate even the most severe banana-balls. If you compare the R5 Draw Bias with the Callaway Fusion Draw Bias club, the Callaway is a 1 degree closed face vs the R5's 5 degree closed face. Personally, although this club is long off the tee, I found the 5 degree closed face to be too aggressive for me. I wasn't quite comfortable at address with the 5 degree closed face. I found that if I addressed the ball as the club was designed, I tended to hit hooks. So I found myself adjusting the face more open to be more square at address, which increased the loft of my club and made it difficult to be consistent. Overall my take on this driver is that while I love this club's length, I think the draw bias version is really designeed for golfers with a more serious slice than the fade/ slice I occassionaly hit. If you're a serious banana-ball slicer, this club might be heaven sent for you and could help you hit the straightest drives of your life. If you hit the occassional fade/ slight slice, this might be too much draw bias and I would consider the Neutral Bias version of the R5 or another driver like the Callaway Fusion with less draw bias.Read full review
From what I understand, the Superfast 3.0 Burners were made exclusively for Dick's Sporting Goods. I have owned two of these outstanding drivers...sold the first one and got seller's remose and bought another one off of eBay this year for around $60...a STEAL for this club) and love them. They are extremely forgiving, very light and easy for older guys to swing, and are great-looking clubs too. If you can find a Burner Superfast 3.0....BUY IT AND KEEP it. I have nothing bad to say about this driver. I also own and play with the TaylorMade R5 Dual titanium fairway woods...which I consider to be the finest fairway woods that TaylorMade had ever made. They are also getting hard to find on eBay or anywhere else. In my opinion, and I am 65 years old, if you go with the Burner Superfast 3.0 driver and the R5 Dual fairways...you will have a perfect set of woods that compliment each other perfectly.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I originally bought this driver and loved it. I had the 10.5 Type D with a Grafalloy Blue Regular flex shaft (which actually plays like a stiff). I had 2 great seasolns with it and sold it as I figured the technology was better and there was more available. I bought a Ping G5 10.5 ProLaunch Stiff and it was good but not as good as that r5 Dual Type D I used to have. I found a brand new Type D with a YS-6+ Stiff shaft for $100 and I compared them, I was consistently 15 yards longer with this club. I tried every new driver the r7 superquad, Cleveland Hi-Bore, Callaway X460, Nike Sasquatch Sumo's and couldn't beleive a driver made 3 years ago was hands down better than all of them. This is a solid club and it just goes to show that technology is now just a gimmic to get you to buy clubs which don't really make that much of a change in your game.Read full review
I'm a hobby club maker and some of my playing partners are seniors. I've solved my own problems off the tee box by experimentation with seemingly endless shaft and head combinations, swing speed meter and lie board. Seniors I play with are good golfers. Over the years they develop short games which make them formidable. A consistent problem many seem to have is declining distance on nearly every club. One senior friend was particularly chagrined to be constantly 50 yards or more shorter off the tee box and frequently right. I've played with him for years and was itching to help him out. He, of course, was not about to ask for any such help. Hey what's a do-gooder for if he can't give unsolicited advice? I began bringing along an extra driver an encouraging him to try them. Using Maltby Playability factor information I was experimenting. I finally set up an R5 Dual type D with a graphite design YS ++5 in the RR flex, (something between an A and an R). I had the R5 Dual type D as part of a failed experiment working on my own right bound issues. For me it's got too much correction built in, 5 degrees is a lot of off-set. I fixed him up with that soft tipped, low bend point, (promotes high trajectory). His swing speed is smooth and consistent at 80mph. The change was dramatic. He began immediately to drive with the rest of us, adding an unbelievable 50 yards. But the best part? He's the most consistent hitter of fairways now of my playing partners. And, I've seen him connect occasionally well over 250 yards. A second senior friend tried out the driver in practice for a tournament not long ago. This guy is plus 80. He wanted an R5 too. The only R5 Dual head I had was another D, which I assumed would not work because the second senior is very straight. He needed more trajectory height so I went even lower on the flex with an accuflex in an "A", lengthened the club an inch while I was at to gain a bit of club head speed. The right over correction isn't a problem. And he too has added great distance.Read full review
I'm not a good golfer, but I wanted to treat myself to a new Driver. Did a little research and decided the Taylormade R15 might be the best club for the money for my typical 48-54 9-hole game. The club hits straighter and longer than my old driver. An improvement even my friends have noticed. To be honest, I don't use the weight adjustments. Just a great club as it is.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
The R5 is a long and straight driver. The head is a little smaller than USGA maximum, but has a sizable sweet spot and when properly struck still gets this 62 year old golfer well over 300 yards. I changed out the shaft to a Bi Matrix Rxi Stiff for more control and tip stability. Taylormade woods have been in my bag for yeaed and this driver is one of the best of the lot.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned