TP Version Features TaylorMade’s Flight Control Technology to Change the Face Angle, Loft and Lie
CARLSBAD, Calif. (January 19, 2009) – Six years ago TaylorMade created a new category of golf club by introducing the Rescue® Mid, an incredibly easy-to-hit club designed to take the place of long-irons. Whereas the typical long-iron is hard to hit, it was easy to launch the Rescue Mid high and straight, thanks to its low and deep CG and high MOI. Yet not only did casual players take to the Rescue Mid in droves, so did accomplished players, including tour pros, although they used it as a replacement for anything from the 1-, 2- and 3-iron to the 4-wood, 5-wood, 7-wood and even 11-wood. With its compact head, the Rescue Mid truly was a hybrid – a cross between an iron and a fairway wood. It was easy to hit straight, easy to hit out of the rough, and even great to chip with from certain greenside lies.
“As hybrids have evolved since the Rescue Mid was created, they’ve gotten bigger. The heads have lengthened from front to back and from heel to toe, and the soles have expanded,” said Harry Arnett, TaylorMade senior director of the metalwood category. “Compare an original Rescue Mid to a 2008 Burner® Rescue hybrid and the difference is plain to see. These changes were made for good reason – to move the CG lower and deeper and to increase MOI and forgiveness. Unfortunately they made the head bigger, bulkier and more like a fairway wood, when one of the most attractive of the Rescue Mid’s qualities was that its head was bigger than an iron’s, yet much more compact than a 5-wood’s. That’s why we’ve harkened back to our roots when we designed our newest hybrid by borrowing liberally from the original Rescue Mid while at the same time incorporating with our newest technologies. We call it, simply, the TaylorMade Rescue 2009.”
Right away you notice that the new Rescue hybrid’s clubhead is refreshingly compact, which improves its playability, especially out of trouble spots like the rough. Despite it’s smaller size, it still looks substantial and easy to launch, its appealing shape is more refined, and its two-tiered, monochromatic crown and silver clubface are a distinct improvement over the Rescue Mid’s appearance. A crown decal is strategically positioned to make it easier to align the clubface properly to the target-line, promoting increased accuracy.
Although the Rescue hybrid’s size is similar to the original Rescue Mid, the new club has the benefit of Ultra-Thin Wall technology in the crown, which saves enough weight to significantly lower the CG location. Meanwhile, the sole has been redesigned with substantial areas at the toe and heel significantly recessed, so that a much smaller percentage of the sole area comes in contact with the turf. “By minimizing turf-resistance, the Low-Friction Sole helps the Rescue hybrid’s head glide freely and squarely through impact without slowing or twisting,” said Todd Beach, TaylorMade senior director of metalwood development. “That promotes longer, straighter results, even on “heavy” shots when you hit slightly behind the ball.”
Two versions are available, the standard Rescue and the Rescue TP, the key difference being that the Rescue TP hybrid features the same TaylorMade Flight Control Technology (FCT) that’s in the R9™ driver and fairway woods, while the standard Rescue hybrid does not. FCT gives the player the ability to change the Rescue TP’s face angle, loft and lie angle, which has never before been possible with a hybrid of any kind.
Rescue 2009 TP Technology
The Rescue TP hybrid is also equipped with an Aldila® Voodoo VS8 graphite shaft with S-core technology, which is the No. 1 hybrid shaft on the PGA Tour. S-core technology involves an internal carbon-fiber rib system to stabilize the shaft’s cross-section. According to Aldila, S-core technology increases the Voodoo’s hoop stiffness by 80% compared to conventional graphite shafts, allowing the Voodoo to better resist ovaling and deformation during the swing, which in turn maximizes energy transfer to the ball to promote increased distance. And because the Voodoo’s symmetry remains constant throughout the swing, the shaft loads and unloads more consistently to help the player square the clubface to the ball with greater regularity, promoting greater accuracy. X, S and R flexes. Additionally, the Rescue TP hybrid is available in two custom shaft options, the Fujikura® Motore 85 graphite hybrid shaft and the Matrix Ozik Altus Hybrid graphite shaft; both in X, S and R flexes.
The standard Rescue hybrid is equipped with an Aldila RE*AX® 65-gram graphite shaft, designed to promote greater distance, accuracy and control to the average golfer. Offered in 2, 3, 4 and 5 right-handed and 3, 4 and 5 left-handed. Availability begins on May 1st at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $199. S, R and M flexes. The Rescue TP hybrid is offered in 2, 3 and 4 right-handed and 2, 3, and 4 left-handed; the MSRP is $249 and it becomes available at retail on May 1st.
About Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. dba TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company
TaylorMade Golf 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. In 1998, TaylorMade became a wholly owned subsidiary of the adidas Group. adidas Golf creates high-performance, technology-infused golf apparel and footwear worn by hundreds of professional golfers around the world. Ashworth, which became a brand of the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company in 2008, creates relaxed, lifestyle-oriented golf apparel synonymous with authenticity and quality. Learn more about TaylorMade-adidas Golf and its brands at (866) 530-TMAG (8624) orwww.tmag.com, www.taylormadegolf.com, www.adidasgolf.com, www.ashworthinc.com, andwww.taylormadegolfpreowned.com.
About the adidas Group
The adidas Group is one of the global leaders within the sporting goods industry, offering a broad range of products around three core segments such as adidas, Reebok and TaylorMade-adidas Golf. Headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, the Group has more than 33,000 employees and sales of ?10.3 billion.
Contact:
TaylorMade-adidas Golf
Public Relations Department
Christa McNamara
Tel: 760.918.6466
email: christa.mcnamara@tmag.com
