Just as we thought, it was only a matter of time before TaylorMade offered up some new clubs for the 2008 season. We’re hearing some rumors about new CGB hybrids, but for now the big news from TaylorMade is all about the Burner. Coming to a store near you this April will be 2 new Burner Series drivers, a new Burner Series iron, and a brand new Z-TP Wedge lineup. As I often do, let’s start with the drivers.

Tour Burner & Tour Burner TP

TaylorMade is promising that their new Tour Burner will deliver “longer, tour like distance” for the average player. It features what TaylorMade is calling “Dual Crown Technology” which means there’s a groove that circles the clubhead to clearly differentiate the crown from the sole. In my opinion the new design looks very similar to the CGB driver without the movable weights, and perhaps with a bit flashier graphics.

The crown of the new design is 12% lighter thanks to ultra thin walls (only .55 mm thick). The lighter crown (stop me if you’ve heard this before), allowed TaylorMade to move additional weight lower, and to the back of the clubhead. The result, as we all know, is an extremely forgiving golf club that delivers higher ball speed, and greater distance on mishits.

TaylorMade measures the forgiveness of their clubs in eMOI (effective moment of inertia). It’s somewhat troublesome that TaylorMade uses a different unit than the rest of the industry, but then again, MOI is pretty much an arbitrary number anyway, and there isn’t a clearly defined standard for measurement anyway. My point? Throw the numbers out the window with the knowledge that for drivers in this class, you’re not going to see a tremendous difference from one brand to the next. They are all extremely forgiving, although one could argue that the Tour Burner is among the most forgiving one can buy without moving to a square head.

The Tour Burner has a large sole, which the company claims inspires confidence at address. TaylorMade also asserts that the changes in geometry have not compromised the great sound and feel synonymous with TaylorMade woods. Trust me, that’s a good thing, as TaylorMade is one a select few that really have the acoustics and feel figured out.

As with last year’s Burner, the Tour Burner (MSRP $499) incorporates “SuperFast” Technology, which basically means that the Burner comes with a longer (45.5″), lightweight shaft (60 grams), and ultralight grips, all of which work together to increase the golfer’s swing speed. From the there the very familiar formula kicks in; faster swing speed = higher ball speed = greater distance.

For more advanced players, TaylorMade has also announced the somewhat redundantly named Tour Burner Tour Preferred (or TP for short). Already in play on the PGA tour by players such as Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia, and David Toms, the TP model differs from the standard in the 3 areas:

• The Tour Burner TP features a 2° open face, which allows for greater workability, and helps to prevent better players from losing the ball left.
• There are 3 shaft options available (sort of like the Tour Van in a Box interchangeable driver).
  • 55 gram Ozik XCON-5
  • 65 gram Mitsubishi Diamana Whiteboard
  • 75 gram Rombax Z75
• The Tour Burner TP has a standard weighted grip instead of the ultralight

Retail price for the Tour Burner TP is $699

Tour Burner Irons

TaylorMade claims the new Tour Burner Irons are “Designed for Everybody”. While that’s probably a bit of a stretch (I can guarantee there is no single iron that’s right for every golfer), I can see where the Tour Burners will appeal to the average golfer, and still manage to hold that appeal as that same golfer improves. Realistically, they probably fall somewhere in the middle of the game-improvement category.

The Tour Burner irons feature an ultra-thin face (.6mm thinner than their average competitor), and inverted cone technology borrowed from their lineup of woods; which increases ballspeed and provides greater forgiveness on mishits. The new design incorporates a heel to toe weighting system, with a new multi-function sole that’s beveled in the middle; providing the performance of a thinner sole (playability from all lies), without sacrificing forgiveness.

The face is bound to the backing using a new adhesive which provides better feel, and a more appealing sound.

The appealing shape of the new irons features a medium to thin topline, and a modest offset. The Tour Burner head is finished in chrome plated satin, and if the pictures are any indication, looks really sharp. The checkered TaylorMade graphics on the new head look like they were inspired by auto racing, although thankfully it’s more Grand Prix than NASCAR.

The Burner Tour irons come with Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips, and are available with TrueTemper 105 gram steel shafts (MSRP $840), or ReAx 65 gram graphite shafts ($1040).

Z TP Wedge

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a new wedge from TaylorMade, but the new Z TP Wedge has me thinking the wait was worth it. TaylorMade has replaced it’s Y-Groove design with a new Z groove design. The Z Grooves have 10% more volume than Y Grooves which allow the wedge to channel debris such as grass, dirt, and water so that the wedge can do what a wedge is supposed to do; spin the golf ball. The grooves on the Z TP Wedge are exceptionally sharp, which provides additional bite, although it has me wondering if they might also increase damage to the surface of my golf ball.

The design of the head is similar to past TaylorMade wedges. The Z Wedge features the familiar teardrop shape, along with TaylorMade’s Feel Pockets which dampen vibration and promote a soft, yet solid feel.

The Z Wedge is available (in April anyway) in lofts of 52°, 54°, 56°, 58°, and 60°. What I’m most excited about is that the 54°, 56°, and 58° models are available with a C-Grind sole which increases playability from a variety of lies. As we’ve too often seen this year, TaylorMade isn’t offering lofts above 60°. Is anybody listening to Dave Pelz? Actually, the answer is definitely “Yes”. More on that next week.

The Z Wedge comes with a smoky PVD finish that’s both aesthetically appealing, and durable. Retail price for the TaylorMade Z TP Wedge is $140.

At some point in the near future, full details will be available at the TaylorMade website.

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