As soon as the TaylorMade R9 TP iron came out of the box we were immediately impressed with the clean lines of the club and the classy look at address.
In terms of a better players club these heads are oversized, but we think that is a good thing as this translates into more forgiveness. It's a fine line between creating a better players iron that is forgiving but performs well and looks like a blade, but in the R9 TP TaylorMade have pulled it off.
You can see Nick Faldo's influence in the design and the extra grind on the back of the sole that goes right around the head, not only looks good and makes the head look more compact, but also helps the club through the turf at impact.
The R9 TP heads look and sound very solid and at impact they felt that way too. Although the feel was very good for a cast head, it is not quite the same as a forged iron and there are a couple of oversized forged irons around that will have you smiling more than these.
There is a trade off between forgiveness and feel but in this sector of the market this is what better players will look for. The trajectory was a little on the high side for a better players iron, especially in the mid to long irons where the weight extends further to the back of the clubhead.
We were also not over the moon about the KBS shaft but that is more a personal thing and TaylorMade's excellent custom fitting options should be able to get the right shaft for you.
The TaylorMade R9 TP iron has the potential to be a category killer and with a bit more feel it would be, but for now we would have to say it's one of the best and worth a try.
Overall Rating - 5 stars: