First Win: Tops the Driver-Model Count at the Bob Hope Classic Second Win: Pat Perez Uses it to Win the Tournament
Pat Perez Wins with the R9 DriverCARLSBAD, Calif. (January 26, 2009) – TaylorMade’s new R9™ driver’s debut on the PGA Tour started strong and ended spectacularly. The start was heralded by the winning the count for No. 1 driver model*. The powerful finish came when TaylorMade-adidas Golf Tour Staff professional Pat Perez won the tournament with the R9 driver in his bag. “I’m telling you it’s the best driver I’ve ever hit, and I’ve tried a lot,” said Perez after his second round. “I nailed every single fairway during my practice round with the R9 driver and I didn’t even think twice about putting it in the bag. It’s unbelievable.”
Twelve players in addition to Perez put the R9 driver in play, making it the No. 1 driver model at the event. “In our company’s history we have never had a driver become the number one model played in its first week on tour,” said Chuck Presto, TaylorMade-adidas Golf senior vice president of global sports marketing. “This speaks volumes about the performance of the R9 driver.”
“We are absolutely blown away by the number of players who switched to the R9 driver after working with it for only two days,” said TaylorMade tour manager Paul Loegering. “They love the amount of influence that TaylorMade Flight Control Technology and Movable Weight Technology have on ball flight.”
What sets the R9 driver apart from all other drivers is that it incorporates TaylorMade’s new Flight Control Technology, or FCT for short. With a simple twist of a wrench, FCT allows you to change the R9’s face angle, loft and lie angle. How does FCT work? It starts with a small metallic sleeve positioned over the tip of the shaft. The shaft is secured to the clubhead with a specially made bolt in the bottom of the clubhead. The FCT bolt is designed to be retained in the well to eliminate the chance of losing it. The sleeve, made of high-strength 7075-T6 aluminum alloy, is ringed around the bottom with small teeth, which tightly mesh with a second ring of matching teeth within the hosel. You can change the clubhead’s characteristics (face angle, loft, lie) by loosening the FCT bolt, removing the shaft from the head, rotating the sleeve and shaft into a specified position, then locking them into that position within the head with the FCT bolt.
The R9 driver also incorporates TaylorMade’s Movable Weight Technology™ (MWT®). The clubhead features three weight ports and comes equipped with one 16-gram and two 1-gram weights. Put the heavy weight in the heel port to promote a draw, in the toe port to promote a fade, and in the middle port to promote a straight flight.
Perez’s R9 is an 8.5° with the clubface set at one degree open and the lie angle set between neutral and right, thanks to FCT. In terms of MWT he has 5-gram weights in both front MWT ports and an 8-gram weight in the back port.
The R9 driver becomes available to the public in March.
Learn more about the R9 driver, R9 fairway woods and Rescue® 2009 hybrid, all of which feature Flight Control Technology.
Overall, TaylorMade drivers were played by 55 different players – almost double the amount of the nearest competitor.
In Perez’s bag:
Driver: R9 8.5°
Fairway Woods: Burner 14.5° (3)
Hybrid: Rescue TP 19° (3)
Irons: rac Forged MB (3-9)
Wedge: rac (PW)
Footwear: adidas Golf
Apparel: adidas Golf
* Darrell Survey driver model count for the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic
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) or www.tmag.com, www.taylormadegolf.com, www.adidasgolf.com, www.ashworthinc.com, and www.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
