TaylorMade has launched a new Raylor rescue club it says is the “ultimate secret weapon for getting out of the rough.”

The new golf club is named after a highly popular utility club released by TaylorMade in 1988 designed to get wayward tee shots out of the rough and onto the green.

If your home course or one you play regularly has lots of rough or is exceptionally undulating, it could be the perfect club to add to your bag.

“Twenty-one years of making metalwoods has allowed us to engineer the new Raylor to hit the ball higher, longer and straighter from tall grass,” said Tom Olsavsky, TaylorMade senior director of metalwood creation. “It’s the ultimate weapon for getting out of the rough.”

The Raylor, which is available in lofts of 19° and 21°, is designed with a slightly sharp, slightly pointed leading edge that TaylorMade says allows golfers to slide the face through the grass and onto the back of the ball more effectively.

Also, the sole of the clubs is shaped like a ship’s hull, sloping upward at the sides and this also helps to guide the club glide more easily through rough.

According to the TaylorMade, these two features reduce the area that would normally hinder the club in the rough by 23%.

They say the Raylor sole also helps golfers hit the ball solidly from sidehill lies because of its sole radius.

Whereas the sole radius of a Burner Rescue hybrid presents an angle of about 10 degrees up from horizontal, the Raylor’s angle is 17 degrees.

That means that the Raylor hybrid boasts 70% more sole relief on the heel and toe side compared to a typical Rescue club, which makes it dramatically easier to make solid contact with the ball when the ball is above or below your feet.

The Raylor is equipped with a RE*AX 65-gram shaft that’s one inch longer than typical for TaylorMade Rescue clubs of equal lofts, to promote the added clubhead speed and leverage to help get the ball out of thick lies.

Both Kenny Perry and Fred Funk tried out the then prototype TaylorMade Raylor clubs at this year’s US Open and found it effective in battling Bethpage’s deep wet rough.

TaylorMade says the Raylor is beneficial to golfers of all levels and is the sort of club to add to the bag when conditions warrant.

 “It should be kept on hand to replace a long-iron, hybrid or fairway wood when you play a course with significant rough, or maybe an exceptionally undulating track where severe sidehill lies are frequent,” Olsavsky said. “Point being that the Raylor isn’t necessarily an everyday club, but rather is a great weapon to have on hand when conditions call for it.”

The Raylor hybrid golf club becomes is now available at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $229.

Callaway Golf says its new FT i-brid iron set can help change your game and is the latest in a long legacy of innovation aimed at helping to make the game a little easier.

 Callaway says their “most technologically advanced game-improvement set” yet includes three “i-brids”, hybrid-like clubs designed to replace hard-to-hit long irons.

 The company says the i-brids “blend the control and accuracy of irons with the forgiveness, distance and versatility of hybrids. The low, deep center of gravity (CG) helps get the ball in the air quickly and easily, and the wider sole improves turf interaction.”

 The set then “seamlessly progresses” to game improving short irons that are designed for the ultimate in forgiveness and playability.

 The Mid and Short Irons have an oversized design with an increased offset, a large effective hitting and a wide sole for better turf interaction.

 The company says the clubs incorporate its “Fusion Technology, the superior weight shifting science created by Callaway Golf”.

 ”Multi-material construction enables weight to be shifted for optimal performance,” it says. “The lightweight titanium body allows for an oversize club head with increased offset for greater forgiveness and an increased effective hitting area. Heavy Tunite® weighting in the sole has been concentrated more toward the heel and toe for a higher MOI and better stability while keeping the CG low and deep. The TPU SenSert® is composed of a chemically engineered thermoplastic urethane that decreases vibration and creates an incredibly solid feel.”

You often hear discussions about the benefits of “clone” golf clubs versus brand name equipment. You also hear the comment, “they’re all made in the same factory in China anyway.” For many people it is not just a discussion about club performance, quality and value, the name on the back of the club is of major importance. Some say it is just like the fashion industry, all about perception.

Here, Cliff Nunn from Golf Clubs Down Under gives his side of the story. Others are welcome to comment. Just click the “Comment” tag at the end of the story or email ASG.

Clones V Brand Names 

by Cliff Nunn

In the family car market we have Ford, GMH, Toyota, Hyundai, and on and on. They all look very similar. Each of these companies learns from the other and “clone” or “knocks-off” the other’s design concepts. They all do this legally, ethically and with great vigor. It is a game of leap frog.

Well, so do we at Golf Clubs Down Under, but we do it in golf.

The most popular name brands in golf today are Callaway, Ping, Titleist, Cobra and TaylorMade. These companies (and we too) are just like the auto makers - leap frogging each other with innovative new product concepts, materials and fashion statements.

People say that a Honda looks like a “Merc.”, or that a Mercedes “looks like a Lexus”. Well, it is the same thing in golf. Consumers attribute a particular look/design to an advertised brand name and that is why we describe our clones as “Similar to …” to help you relate to the clubhead..

The goal of Clones in golf, as in cars (or computers for that matter), is to provide all of the performance features of a big name brand with a better value to the consumer.  We do not spend millions on marketing nor do we pay Tiger Woods to use our equipment.  These are costs which the brand names have to recover in the price of every club sold.  Money you pay over and above the true value of the club.

Essentially, clone clubheads are made from the same materials and employ the same design principles as the brand names they seek to flatter. Assembled with your choice of shaft and grip, they perform similar to or, (according to our customers) often better than the name brands.

The number of quality golf clubhead manufacturers world wide (mostly today in China) is very small and, very often, the clone club head is produced in the same foundry using the same materials, same machines as the brand name.

Illegal knockoffs and counterfeits have been a significant problem in the golf industry. The Name Brands talk about illegal clubs ripping them off, but counterfeiters also rip us off and you, the consumer, too. Be wary when you travel overseas. That set of Titleist or Callaway’s that look to be a “Steal” probably are a steal and, with anti-counterfeiting import measures now in place, you could loose them before you get home or get home to find they’re constructed of rubbish materials. We at Golf Clubs Down Under do not want that to happen.

Golf Clubs Down Under is very careful to not violate the valid rights of other companies. The clubheads we sell are legitimate clones that may look like and do play like but cost a lot less than the brand names.

Be my guest.  Call in and have a look at the range of Acer, Turbo Power, Power Play, Dynacraft, Raven and other clubs we offer at sensible prices at www.golfclubsdownunder.com.au  Have you been fitted recently?  You’ll play better with clubs that properly fit your person and your game; http://www.golfclubsdownunder.com.au/Fitting.asp

Photo inset:  A clone driver. Look Familiar?