R7... could this spell the end of the Tour Issue...

[vokester]

I don't really see that most golfers are that concerned with equipment these days... I think each foursome you see has its gear junkie but I think, from what I see, most golfers just use the driver that thier wife bought for them for fathers day, the irons they got when they graduated from college, the wedges thier friend sold to them, and the fairway wood the guy at the pro shop talked them into.

I am willing to bet the a lot of people who buy the R7 will never even touch the weights.

Don't forget we are in the minority here... the internet brings us freaks together but in the real world we are few and far between.

I agree 100% with what you just said

maybe the customization trend will go down, and people will pay attention to their drivers weighting rather than their shaft or loft

[MGB]

Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2004 9:01 am

I see d**k De La Cruz has a new company. Good for him! Always thoght he was a good designer that didn't get enough success.

The Tour version of TM's R7 series has four weight ports two about where the weight port on the R5 series is and two more about where they're located on the Mag Cruzer. The standard R7 has only two weight ports located in about the same places as the Cruzer. Tm's definitely not magnesium, though. That much I'm sure of.

That quote was from MGB who was the first to break the news on the R7 Quad back in Dec. '03. I was looking for his Jan'04 thread titled "Just Saw The R7...pics of it anyway" but it mysteriously disappeared somehow. In this thread, he attended the Adidas Dealers Conference where a TM Rep showed him pics of both a Tour and Retail model R7 Quad. He basically said the same exact thing mentioned in the quote above which was taken from NikeMike's Jan. 30 '04 thread titled, "Someone Has Taken TaylorMade's Thunder." He also mentioned that the Tour R7 Quad looked smaller than the Retail version in the pictures, about the same cc's as an R500. If he's right about a second version of the R7 Quad having two screws located in the rear of the sole, this will give give both the Tour players and the average golfer a solid alternative.

Most of the criticism has come from the R7 Quad being to gimmicky and looking to extreme with the four weight screws. However, the two weight screw version will appeal to those who have grown accustomed to the simple R500 Series weight port located in the rear. Since the R500 series weight ports aren't available to the public unless you have a TM Tour Van contact, the R7 comes with differently weighted screws so that you can configure it according to your desired ball flight and are beneficial to get the head weight up or down after reshafting which almost everyone on this forum will likely do. The heaviest R500 series weight port I've seen is 16g and I'm wondering how heavy TM will go with the R7 Quad screws. All in all, I see the two weight screw R7 Quad as a suped up R510 TP with the addition of 10cc's and the ability to tweak the weight screws in the rear of the sole. Maybe even a suped up smaller cc predessor of the R500 according to MGB. Hope MGB chimes in soon on this topic and I remember in that lost thread he said he was going to the Japan Golf fair with his team and would take a large amount of pictures and report anyhing new on the R7 Quad.

Hey guys! Sorry to be away from the board while all this excitement was going on.

Anyway, I didn't go to Japan, the local TM unit did. They didn't bring back a sample of the R7 so the pics that Chris posted in his ad for the R7 are the best I've seen. TM's being very secretive about this driver. Their contracted pros aren't allowed to use the club in public, even if they already have 'em. They did bring center shafted Monzas and one XR-05 Monza. The center shafted one is very interesting...

Back to the R7. The heaviest weight screw supplied with the included weight set is 10g if memory serves. There should be heavier weights available in the accessory weight set that TM will offer as an after purchase option. The trajectory wheel they supply with the driver has recommended configurations of weights depending on the ball flight you have or wish to have.

More interesting news. Part of the reason I was away for a bit was I was working on expanding my relationship with TM. I've been appointed to their local advisory board and have set up a sports event marketing company that is handling the launch of the R7 here on April 16. We're also organizing an inter-club match play tournament to heighten awareness of the R7 on the local market.

Will let you guys know when I have more on any of TM's new products.

[phillypete]

Thanks MGB... you the man with teh TM hook-ups fo' sho'!!!

[ProSpec]

MGB- If the staff players aren't able to test them in public are you saying no R7 protos. or R7s were tested by staff members in actual tournament play? Wouldn't that be considered unusual. Seems like the pros are always playing/testing the latest drivers out on tour for quite a while before introducing them to the public.

[MGB]

MGB- If the staff players aren't able to test them in public are you saying no R7 protos. or R7s were tested by staff members in actual tournament play? Wouldn't that be considered unusual. Seems like the pros are always playing/testing the latest drivers out on tour for quite a while before introducing them to the public.

I was told that the TM staff pros have been fitted for their new drivers but have been instructed not to use them in public til the formal launch of the product. I know that's unusual, but it's their way of creating interest in the R7. Here, the only pics available are teasers showing the sole with the weight screws highlighted. no views of the top or anything. I haven't heard anything about the two screw version since the dealer's conterence, though. Not sure what's up with that.