Ball flight

Hi guys, this has been puzzling me since I changed to R9 irons with R flex steel shaft. When trying out the clubs, R9 and R9 Max, at the range I noticed both clubs offers quite a different trajectory. With the R9, it is very much an inverted U while the R9 Max has a more penetrating flight before dropping. Distance wise, the R9 Max seems to offer 5-10m more.

Thus, I would fellow GRians will shed some light on ball flight. Does penetrating ball flight really offers better distance? Besides club head design, any other factors, such as shafts, changes the ball flight?

Thanks in advance.

Wah... you asked a question to which there is no straight answer to... too many variables to take into account. All of which you mentioned, and then some, affects ball flight.

Without looking into the specs of both the R9 and R9 Max, I'll hazard a guess that the Max version has stronger lofts for the same iron number, which probably is the reason for the more penetrating flight and longer distance, although the Max is supposed to produce a higher launch. Like I said earlier above, there are many factors, not only equipment, that can determine ball flight. Best to speak to a club fitter like DGman if you want to get into the nitty gritty of it.

R9 - Game Improvement irons

R9 Max - Super Game Improvement irons.

How to know if an iron set is more for the skilled golfer or newbie to the game?
A good general gauge is to look at the sole width of the iron, the wider the sole, the easier it is to hit. A narrow knife like sole requires a more precise swing which consistently bottoms out at the same point.

Head to the TaylorMade website to better understand the design characteristics of each iron model.

Did r9 max had the same shaft , lie & loft ?

Thanks Birdman and Cyp_PGA. I just checked the website, you guys are correct, both clubs have different lofts and lie. Comparing the 7i spec of both sets (loft/lie), R9 is 35/61.5 while the R9 Max is 32/63. So I guess the main contribution to the difference is the loft.

Besides bending the club to reduce loft, any other ways to get a more penetrative ball flight?

get fitted with shaft that allow you maximum distance . i will recomend project x or Dynamic gold are the most penetrating golf shaft. but get fitted will be good . go see big fish or mark higgs , even the taylormade club fitter at cathay is good ...

More distance / lower launch = we can learn how to deloft the club at impact and hit the sweet spot. No scooping.

Practice with the tourstriker, you will see what i mean. Your 7i becomes 6i.

1. Understand impact
Know how impact should look like. Body positions, shaft angle, clubface.
2. Learn impact
Use tools and drills to train impact. The tourstriker is indeed an awesome tool

I tried tourstriker at the den. It is not easy getting it initially. But together with some tips from DGman and a number of swings with tourstriker, I gained 10m based on Trackman. Too bad, have not gotten myself a tourstriker to practice with it.

I guess the approach to gain better distance and trajectory will be to practice hard with tourstriker and then get fitted after being correct at impact?