Notebook: TaylorMade's R9 SuperTri No. 1 in First Week

By Jennifer Gardner
GPA Equipment Editor

TaylorMade introduced a new driver, the R9 SuperTri, at the Farmers Insurance Open; it promptly became the No. 1 driver model with 25 in play. As well, the company debuted the Burner SF (SuperFast), designed especially to appeal to long hitters like Jason Day and Dustin Johnson.

With a stated goal of getting the new model to No. 1 in its first week, TaylorMade tour reps took the exact specs of each player prior to the week and had SuperTri clubs waiting so that they wouldn't have to build a large number of new drivers on site. TaylorMade had launch monitors on the range at Torrey Pines to show players their results with the new drivers and made changes to loft and lie as needed.

"Contrary to popular belief, players won't just switch, just to 'switch.' Our job is to show them that they are getting a better product. So far with the SuperTri, players are happy with its performance," a TaylorMade rep wrote in an email.

LONGER OFF THE TEE: Long hitter Alvaro Quiros switched to Callaway's new Tour i(z) golf ball for the Qatar Masters, and the results were impressive. Combining the ball with a Callaway FT-5 driver, the Spaniard averaged 317 yards off the tee - 9 yards more than the next closest bomber.

Quieros said he's averaging 10 to 12 more meters off the tee with a better trajectory after instituting some swing changes.

"One of the most important parts of my game is always the driver, the strength that I have with it," he said. "I think I hit it longer now. It's difficult to believe, but now I can coordinate more the moment and the turn of the body is always the same, so I don't need to accelerate with the hands, just going through."

Quiros, who was the defending champion in Qatar, finished in a tie for second. Last year, when he won, he averaged 314 yards off the tee.

SRIXON SWITCH: You may have heard of Shane Lowry - the young Irishman who won his country's Open as an amateur last May, then promptly turned pro. Lowry is a new Srixon staff player in 2010; in two outings this season he finished fourth at Abu Dhabi and a respectable 24th at Qatar. Lowry is gaming a Srixon ball, wearing a Srixon hat and carrying a Srixon bag as well as using equipment from Srixon's sister company, Cleveland Golf. At Qatar, Lowry had Cleveland CG14 wedges and a Launcher DST 3-wood with a Miyazaki Blue 83 shaft.

According to the Irish Independent, he's free to use whichever other clubs he likes - at Qatar, he also had a TaylorMade R9 driver and an Odyssey putter in the bag. Previously, Lowry used Titleist equipment.