Before we talk about the weights, let's look at the rest of the head. The R7 Quad is a 400CC, full titanium driver with a .830 COR rating (there is actually a .860 COR version as well). The club is designed a lot like the R500 Series drivers in that it has a deep face and not an overly big backend a la the Titleist 983. And then there are the weights… four little plugs that have caused so much stir… four plugs that industry people like myself get asked about every single day. The driver comes with two 10 gram weights and two 2 gram weights. These give the player 24 grams of weight that they can put wherever they like. The club comes with a guide to weight distribution and I find that most people can figure it out. I don't really want to get into the weight combinations because I could talk all day. The stock shaft for the R7 is the TaylorMade M.A.S. 2 7-65. It is a decent graphite shaft and most mid to high handicaps find it to be a good fit for their game. TaylorMade has some good upgrade shafts and their prices are pretty good.
Do the weights really work? We get that question all the time… and the answer is yes. The real question should be, "will the weights work for me?" The answer for most mid to high handicappers would be no. There are three major problems that most people have with the R7 Quad. The first is that most mid to high handicappers do not have a consistent enough swing to allow the weights to work. Think of it this way… if you had a huge slice every time, you could adjust the weights in such a way to combat it. Most people have a slice one time, a hook the next, then a top, then they hit one straight. How are the weights suppose to help you? The next problem is that the club is not forgiving enough for the average player. I hear this all the time and in order to sell to the masses you need to make a club they can hit. I see most people that want a forgiving TaylorMade club lean towards the R580XD. The third problem I hear about is price… this club is expensive!
A better player with a consistent swing can really benefit from this driver. This type of player would probably set the weights once and then leave them. The R7 is exceptionally long and lower handicappers I talk to love it. A mid to high handicapper should probably invest their money elsewhere.
Overall Rating – 70%
Target Handicap: 10+
Ball Flight: Dependent on weighting.
Offset: None.
Head Size(s): 400CC
Shafts: TaylorMade M.A.S. 2 7-65