460 cc Driver with Movable Weight Technology is Already Played on Tour
CARLSBAD, Calif. (August 9, 2006) – Taylor Made Golf Company Inc. has introduced the r7® 460 TP driver, which incorporates TaylorMade’s renowned Movable Weight Technologyâ?¢ (MWTâ?¢) into a 460 cc clubhead – the largest volume allowed by the USGA. As part of TaylorMade’s Tour Preferred® (TP) line of products, the 460 TP driver is designed to appeal to tour professionals and players who swing like them.
The r7 460 TP driver’s Movable Weight Technology gives players the power to change the clubhead’s center of gravity (CG) in order to promote different types of launch conditions and trajectories. The r7 460 TP driver is engineered with two MWTâ?¢ ports, one at the toe and one at the heel, and includes four MWT cartridges: a 2-gram, 6-gram, 10-gram and a 14-gram. Configuring the clubhead with more weight in the heel compared to the toe promotes a draw, while configuring the clubhead with more weight in the toe compared to the heel promotes a fade. The larger the weight discrepancy between the cartridges installed in the toe and heel weight ports, the more the trajectory should bend. The r7 460 TP driver and its four accompanying MWT cartridges offer 12 possible configurations, four of which are at standard swing weight. The largest degree of draw bias is created by installing the 14-gram cartridge in the heel port and the 2-gram in the toe port; while the largest degree of fade bias is created by installing the 14-gram in the toe port and the 2-gram in the heel port.
Same Shape, Size and Forgiveness as the r7 460 Driver
The r7 460 TP driver shares the same beautiful, authentic shape as the r7 460 driver, which was introduced early this year. The r7 460 TP driver also shares the r7 460 driver’s size and high MOI – together, they’re the most forgiving drivers that TaylorMade has ever created. A key difference between them, however, is that the r7 460 TP driver is engineered with a square clubface alignment, which is preferred by better players, while the r7 460 driver is slightly closed.
Choice of Five TaylorMade RE*AXâ?¢ TP Shafts
The r7 460 TP driver is available in a choice of five RE*AX TP shafts, each of which combine high-end materials with a sophisticated design and construction to promote exceptional consistency and head stability at high clubhead speeds:
RE*AX 54 TP by Mitsubishi / 54 grams / mid torque / mid-low kickpoint / promotes distance
RE*AX 64 TP by Mitsubishi / 64 grams / mid torque / mid-high kickpoint / promotes a penetrating trajectory
RE*AX 55 TP by Fujikura / 55 grams / mid torque / mid kickpoint / promotes distance
RE*AX 65 TP by Fujikura / 65 grams / mid torque / high kickpoint / promotes a penetrating trajectory
RE*AX 75 TP by Fujikura / 75 grams / low torque / mid kickpoint / promotes control
r7 460 TP Driver on Tour
Like the rest of TaylorMade’s TP line of golf equipment, the r7 460 TP driver was developed with significant input from tour pros, and has already been put into play on the PGA Tour. Members of TaylorMade’s Tour Staff who have used the r7 460 TP driver in competition this year include Fred Funk, John Daly, Tom Lehman and Peter Lonard.
"There are a great many skilled players who want a driver that offers great forgiveness, but who don’t want to sacrifice looks, sound or playability," said Sean Toulon, TaylorMade executive vice president of product and brand creation. "Those players don’t have to compromise anymore. The r7 460 TP driver combines an authentic look at address with great feel, great sound, and tremendous stability at impact. When we tested the r7 460 TP driver with tour pros, time and time again they told us how solid and stable it is at impact, and how that resulted in such consistently long and straight results."
Size, Forgiveness and Power Meet Movable Weight Technology
The r7 460 TP driver matches TaylorMade’s r7 460 driver, introduced early this year, for high MOI. "The r7 460 TP driver was created to deliver tremendous distance, forgiveness and accuracy to players that prefer a very large head and deep face, whether they’re tour pros or high handicappers," says Todd Beach, TaylorMade director of metalwood development. "The 460 cc clubhead sets up big and powerfully behind the ball at address, and our Inverted Cone Technology helps deliver greater average distance, drive after drive. On top of that, our Movable Weight Technology can help any player dial in a trajectory that enhances their distance and accuracy."
Additional Technologies Incorporated into the r7 460 TP Driver
The combination of the r7 460 driver’s ultra-large clubhead and Movable Weight Technology was made possible by TaylorMade’s Ultra-Thin Wall (UTW) technology, a casting process that allows for clubhead walls just 0.6 mm thick, which is fully 40â?° thinner than the walls of most competitive drivers and 25â?° thinner than the walls of the original r7 quad driver. The 10 grams saved by the r7 460 driver’s drastically thinner walls contributes to the discretionary weight necessary to allow for Movable Weight Technology in the 460 cc clubhead.
The r7 460 TP driver also features a small metallic swing weight plug permanently installed at the bottom-rear of the clubhead, between the MWT ports. Using plugs of differing weights allows TaylorMade engineers to simply and easily adjust the club’s swing weight.
Pull-Face Construction and Inverted Cone Technology
Like all TaylorMade metalwoods, the r7 460 TP driver is built via pull-face construction, wherein the clubface is made separately from the clubhead. That allows TaylorMade to cold-roll the clubface out of an exceptionally strong titanium alloy, resulting in an exceedingly fast, flexible and light clubface that bumps up against the USGA’s limit for spring-like effect, .830.
The r7 460 TP driver also features TaylorMade’s groundbreaking Inverted Cone Technology (ICT). The Inverted Cone variable thickness profile, which is milled directly onto the inner side of the clubface, increases the size of the club’s COR Zone, which is the portion of the clubface that delivers high COR (more than .800). That means that ICT allows a larger area of the face to deliver consistently higher ball velocity, resulting in consistently longer drives. An added advantage of ICT is that the exceptionally light clubface allows the saved weight to be put to use as discretionary weight.
r7 460 TP Driver Availability
The r7 460 TP driver is available in 8.5°, 9.5° and 10.5° lofts, and in X, S and R shaft flexes. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $725, and availability at TaylorMade’s retail partners started in July 2006.
About Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. dba TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company
TaylorMade Golf Company has led the golf industry’s technological revolution since the company was founded in 1979. TaylorMade metalwoods, irons and putters have been used to win hundreds of professional golf tournaments around the world. adidas Golf footwear and apparel is the choice of hundreds of professional golfers around the world. Consumers can learn more about TaylorMade-adidas Golf and its brands at (800) 888-CLUB or www.tmag.com, www.taylormadegolf.com, www.adidasgolf.com, www.maxfli.com or www.rossaputters.com.
Contact:
TaylorMade-adidas Golf
John Steinbach
Tel: 760.918.6330
eMail: john.steinbach@tmag.com
