Over the years, TaylorMade have been re-releasing old drivers but with a modern and miniature twist. This year the brand have announced a remake of the popular R7 Quad but this time as a mini driver. It’s fair to say I was very excited to take it out for testing and compare it to my own driver, so let’s dive into it.
Who Is It Aimed At?
Mini drivers themselves have gained a lot of popularity among amateurs and Tour players in recent years. People who are uncomfortable hitting driver have been selecting these as an option to provide control and forgiveness off the tee. Mini drivers also offer another option for golfers who are looking for more distance from the fairway compared to their 3-wood.
TaylorMade’s original R7 driver was released back in 2004, and was one of the first drivers to offer adjustable weights, setting the trend for years to come. So if you’re struggling off the tee and seeking something nostalgic then this will be worth the read.
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The Tech
The new R7 Quad mini driver pays dividends to the original with its adjustable weight system. Allowing golfers to fine tune their spin, distance, trajectory and shot shape by adjusting the CG placement.
The Quad Weighting System includes two 13g weights and two 4g weights, with adjustable ports located at the back of the head, as well as on the toe and heel. Shifting the weights toward the front of the head encourages a lower-spinning, more penetrating ball flight to help maximise distance.
Meanwhile, moving the weight back is said to increase forgiveness, making it easier to control and launch from the deck.
The R7 Quad features the brand’s Infinity Carbon Crown, as seen in the new Qi35 Drivers. This ultra-lightweight design allows TaylorMade to save weight in the head, so they can relocate mass into other areas to be used more efficiently.
The R7 Quad mini driver also features Twist Face, which is designed to help improve the consistency of performance on mis-hits.
The Thru-Slot Speed Pocket allows the face to flex at impact to help produce more ball speed and launch.
The R7 Quad comes with a Fujikura Speeder MD stock shaft and a Golf Pride Z-Grip.
There are two heads available: 11.5 degrees (RH/LH) and 13.5 degrees (RH only).
TaylorMade R7 Quad Mini Driver Review
Looks and Feel
First impressions of the R7 Quad are quite simple really, I love it. I’m a big fan of this whole retro theme that TaylorMade have been following for the previous few years.
Aesthetically I think this is the best looking mini driver compared to the Callaway and Titleist offering. Even though the others are great to look at, having the R7 Quad Mini in hand gives me feelings of nostalgia. It made me want to fall in love with it before even hitting it.
On the sole of the club you can see the four adjustable weights with yellow racing stripes on the perimeter. For some reason this reminded me of the Cobra King SZ driver, but slightly toned down with a jet engine at the back giving me the impression of speed and distance this will provide.
Alongside this you can subtly see the brand’s Thru-Slot Speed Pocket that further elevates this modern retro look.
Looking at the crown of the club you can also subtly see the carbon print as seen in the Qi35 but spray painted in black this time. The carbon look definitely gives this a sense of premium finish and something I really like.
Printed on top of the crown is the brand’s trademark logo placed perfectly for alignment. Alongside more racing stripes towards the heel side, that kind of looks like a low battery health symbol. I’m not entirely sure what this is meant to be but definitely adds to the modern chic look!
The club face has a really sleek black milled finish, and doesn’t feature the carbon face as seen on the Qi35 models. However the face does look very classy and has high contrast white alignment lines. Underneath the sweet spot is branded with their Twist-Face technology, alongside a small R7 logo in the corner.
Down at address the head is noticeably smaller than a driver. It sits a bit closed from my eyes but the general shape of the head is really pleasing to look at.
On the first few shots I noticed a much higher pitched strike compared to drivers. It sounded quite hollow and tinny compared to the more modern drivers. I can’t help but think TaylorMade have actually done this on purpose. It matches everything that was great about the original, but with a modern twist.
Performance
To test this out properly we devised a plan to first collect some numbers at HUKD Bury before taking it out onto the course.
To start off I hit some shots normally off a tee. Straight away I noticed how hot the face at impact was. It offered really high ball speeds and a some incredible carry numbers.
I was seeing ball speeds around 160-165mph which is pretty similar to my own driver. As well as carry numbers around 275-285 yards which is pretty remarkable. One thing I would say is the spin numbers did seem quite low in general, at around 1800-2100 rpm. This is not bad for a driver but if you want this club to be versatile you could use a little more spin when hitting from the fairway. Very useful for windy conditions though!
After a few shots I started to notice on mis-hits that the club wasn’t very stable, especially from the toe. There’s a common myth between a lot of golfers that when you strike a driver high out the toe, the ball will generally still fly quite straight but go even further than it would from the middle due to low spin.
However on toe-strikes, the face really twisted over a lot, closing the face down and causing the ball to curve offline. I tested this numerous times and the numbers dramatically dropped off too with low spin. I followed up by hitting some shots from the heel. Even though it felt more stable, the ball appeared to curve an awful lot to the right.
On Course Performance
On my travels to Portugal I had the opportunity to test this out on the course. And straight away in my first few shots it performed just as it did at HUKD. Showcasing massive distance but at a cost of stability.
Finally, I hit a few shots off the deck and I felt like I had a totally different experience. Lower strikes on the face felt a lot more forgiving and really easy to launch the ball in the air. On a couple of long par fives, I managed to hit the ball through the greens from around 270 yards, with strong penetrating ball flights.
I was using the 11.5 degree option lofted down to 10.5 and still found it quite easy to hit, so for anyone wondering if this is easy to hit from the deck then yes, very easy.
TaylorMade R7 Quad Mini Driver Verdict
The TaylorMade R7 Quad Mini Driver could possibly be the coolest golf club that I have ever used. The nostalgic design and modern facelift really won me over even before testing.
The club itself is a rocket, it goes pretty much just as far as my own Ping G430 LST driver. It just doesn’t offer the same kind of forgiveness, especially off the tee.
Where this club comes into its own is the ease of use from the deck. Even when using the lowest lofted option I had no trouble in launching the ball, and I found it easier to strike compared to when it was teed up.
So if you’re looking for more distance off the fairway and maybe feel a bit more comfortable with a shorter shaft and smaller head size, then I’d definitely recommend giving this a try.
However, the R7 Quad Mini Driver does come in at quite a hefty price of £399. I’d definitely give this a try before buying, both off the tee and the deck.
Would I Use It?
Tough one! I love the nostalgia this club brings and when you rip one off the deck it is quite satisfying and LONG, but would I replace my driver with it? Probably not.
