The new and much talked about adjustable technology of the TaylorMade R11 driver certainly proved its success at this year’s Open Championship when Darren Clarke braved some of the toughest conditions in years to lift his first Major at Royal St George’s.
But it wasn’t only Darren’s driver which saw him lift the Claret Jug, as every single other golf club in the bag was tested with every shot hit, so let’s have a look at what golf equipment he used to tame the field and weather at the 2011 Open Championship.
TaylorMade driver
Clarke’s low-hitting weapon against the wind
Darren has been using the TaylorMade R11 9° golf club since it was launched, and last week combined it with a Project X 8A4 shaft. This is the stiffest of the Project X shafts and also weighs in at 83 grams, which is fairly heavy for a driver shaft. Clarke needed the heaviness and stiffness to keep his ball-flight as low as possible without losing too much distance.
TaylorMade fairway wood
Darren’s tee box alternative
Clarke used the TaylorMade R9 13° fairway wood with the same shaft as his driver, the Project X 8A4. Obviously the shaft was slightly shorter than his driver shaft, but produced the same results, a low, penetrating ball flight that would have suited a 13° head perfectly. This was a necessary alternative off the tee as the fairways were really hard and sometimes a driver was too much. I wouldn’t recommend this combination to amateurs as it takes a really strong player with good ball-striking to hit a golf club like this.
The R9 fairway wood is modelled off the old TaylorMade V-Steel golf club, which some players still believe is the best fairway wood produced by TaylorMade, so if you can get your hands on either the V-Steel or R9 golf club, do it. They have a really great feel.
TaylorMade hybrid
Clarke’s saving grace from the difficult rough
Darren had a TaylorMade Rescue TP 19° hybrid with a Projext X HA1 shaft in the bag. He used this golf club a number of times from the lighter rough and also from the fairway. It was also this golf club that saw him finding the par-five 7th hole in two on more than one occasion, and he eagled the hole on Sunday on his way to the win.
TaylorMade irons
Blades to suit Clarke’s shot-making abilities
Darren used the TaylorMade TP Forged MB irons (4 - PW) with Project X Monaco prototype shafts. The shafts had a slight gold tinge to them and not much information has been released about them just yet. Darren also had them tipped, which stiffens them up, and made a ¼ inch longer.
Just like Rory McIlroy who is also from Northern Ireland, Darren relies on blades to keep the ball lower, having grown up on the windy links courses.
TaylorMade wedges
Low-lofted wedges help Clarke tame the high winds
Darren used three TaylorMade TP xFT wedges with lofts of 50°, 54° and 58°. They also featured the Project X Monaco prototype shafts. The lower lofts helped Clarke to keep the ball slightly lower with less spin, which is what’s required when playing windy links courses. Being able to change the faces also keeps the grooves fresher especially in wet and sandy conditions.
Scotty Cameron putter
New prototype does the trick for Darren
The story was all over the web last week that Clarke has ditched his Scotty Cameron putter of 11 years and took it to the Titleist van last week to be restored so he could put it on his wall. He then started using a Scotty Cameron Tour Rat prototype and this obviously worked wonders for him. Look out for this putter being officially launched in the future.
TaylorMade golf ball
Five layers do the trick for Darren
Clarke used the TaylorMade Penta TP golf ball. This is the only golf ball with five layers on the market and needless to say, the ball is incredible. It flies long off the tee and spins really well off the shorter irons and wedges. It also reacts really well to shot-shaping and keeping the ball low or high depending on what you are looking for.
I have no doubt that TaylorMade’s white drivers and fairway woods will win more Majors especially with the levels of adjustability that can be achieved. With just one Major remaining for 2011, it will be interesting to see which equipment brand will take the honours there.
