While I’d hoped this year’s demo day post would be the largest ever, it just didn’t work out that way.  The guys that I had hoped would be around to help me sort through the piles of new equipment available for testing at Northway 8 Golf’s annual demo day event all had prior commitments.  To further complicate matters, my swing and I are fighting a serious case of the Barkley’s.  If you’ve ever seen Sir Charles swing a golf club, you know exactly what sort of affliction I’m battling these days.  The bottom line, as desperately as I wanted to be able to provide you all with a multitude of reviews, sadly, it just wasn’t in me this Spring.

Instead, I chose to narrow my focus to a select few clubs that are of particular interest to myself, and based on traffic patterns, to my readers as well.

TaylorMade Tour Burner

From what I can tell, no other fixed-shaft driver for 2008 is attracting as much interest as TaylorMade’s new Tour Burner.  The big hold over from the 2007 model is TaylorMade’s SuperFast™ Technology, which reduces overall weight through the use of an ultralight shaft and grip.

The new model features a low gloss black paint with red accents.  The shape of the head itself is reminiscent of the CGB Max, albeit without the movable weights.  While last year’s model could be considered bullet-shaped, the new model most definitely fits into the triangular category.

I had a chance to hit a dozen or so balls with the new Tour Burner.  I hit some good, some not so good, and some absolute abominations.  Since the standard model is designed with the 15 (give or take a few strokes) handicap in mind, it’s a decent approximation of how the club might perform on the course.

First and foremost, I LOVE THE BURNER.  It looks great, it sounds great, and most importantly it feels great.  The face didn’t feel quite as hot as last year’s Burner, but make no mistake, it’s a raw distance machine.

The only potential negative is the triangular design of the head, which some might have a problem with.  As much as I do like the new model, it’s very difficult for me to recommend it over last year’s model.

The 2007 Burner was my driver of year last year, and if I’m being perfectly honest for $100 to $150 less, last year’s model is, for my money, a no brainer of a decision.

Other TaylorMade thoughts…

Earlier this year, I put the CGB MAX fairway in my dreambag.  Having had the opportunity to look it over and take a few swings with it…well, it won’t find its way into my actual bag.  The combination of the triangular shape, and the candy-apple red paint job are more than I can handle.

I also took a good long look at the TaylorMade Rossa Spider putter.  I’ve been a fan of the Rossa series from day one, and generally I’m not the least bit put off by ‘unique’ putter designs.  I love the feel of the AGSI+ insert, and am a sucker for movable weights.

Even with all that working in its favor, I, much to my own surprise, didn’t care for the Spider.  The feel is excellent and the ball rolls well.  Esthetically, however; it just doesn’t work for me.  Again, I don’t mind the Starship Enterprise design, but visually the face looks smaller than it is, and I find the gap between that face and all the perimeter weighting a bit distracting. No real worries though, there are plenty of other Rossa putters to choose from.

Finally, a huge, huge kudos to TaylorMade for showing up at demo days with a launch monitor.  Although I didn’t personally take advantage of the free service, it was really cool to see so many people getting properly fit for the right head/shaft combo.  Unfortunately, the CGB MAX Limited “Tour Van in a Box” wasn’t available for demo.

The entire 2008 TaylorMade Lineup, including the Tour Burner, and Rossa Spider, are available at The Golf Warehouse - Golf’s #1 Online Superstore.