Equipment

Review: TaylorMade Rescue Dual Hybrid Woods

Introduction:

I have had trouble with two areas that this particular club should be able to address:

• Hitting 230+ yard shots accurately while getting them to stop quickly
• Hitting long irons out of fairway bunkers/moderate rough

With these requirements in mind, I tried out both #4 and #2 TaylorMade Rescue Dual Hybrid clubs. The results were mixed, though, I love the clubs.

The set up is as follows:

#2
16° Loft
59° Lie
105cc Head Volume
Weighting: Toe 2 heel 14 (Draw Bias)
Length: 40.5″
Swingweight: D3
Shaft: Steel T-Step Ultralite

#4
22° Loft
60° Lie
110cc Head Volume
Weighting: Toe 2 heel 14 (Draw Bias)
Length: 39.5″
Swingweight: D3
Shaft: Steel T-Step Ultralite

Appearance:

The club is grey as opposed to the original TM Rescue’s black, and although it is supposed to be the same size, it sure looks bigger to me. I believe it is slightly larger, and the fact that it is not black doesn’t do much to hide it.

Taking out the fact that it looks different to the older Rescue, it looks very good. The shape is very much Rescue, it retains the two tone with the bead blasted topline that so many are accustomed to.

The sole looks very good too, and Taylormade did a great job of hiding the weights in the sole. Without turning it over, you would never know. Overall the club looks fantastic, and the grey color has been growing on me.

Feel and Sound:

In comparing to the original Rescue, the Dual is a little higher pitched with more of a metallic “tink” to it. It certainly is not loud or offensive in any way, and I became comfortable with the sound pretty much right away. I would best compare it to more of a steel fairway wood type sound. The club also makes a slight whistling sound as you swing it, which is a little strange at first, but nothing that is overly distracting.

Feel wise, it is pretty solid. It feels much like the original Rescue where as you feel like hitting the ball with a solid billet of steel. There is no vibration or really strong feedback. Pretty traditional hybrid feel.

Performance:

When it comes to the traditional tee shot, teeing it up as normal, it hits high. The trajectory, with the exact same shaft goes quite a bit higher than the original. I though maybe it was me, but I am hitting the ball dead flush and when going back and forth with the original, it definitely hits a higher ball off the tee. I can certainly see how this would be very advantagous for most players, and it fits my requirements of being able to get a long shot to stop quickly. For those of you wanting a lower ball flight, you may be able to achieve this by playing with the weights.

Off the deck it is really pretty similar to the original. The only thing I find is that it tends to grab the long grass on the leading edge just a little more than the original club. Not that it is diggy, but there is just a very slight deceleratory hangup that I experience in thick rough. It’s an every so slightly different feel through the turf than I am used to.

Overall:

Overall, it really is an outstanding golf club, and the fact that you can make it severely anti left OR right is a tremendous advantage in terms of dialing it in for the player. The look has really grown on me, to the point where I take it out sometimes just to look at it. While I think I’ll be sticking with a 4 iron/3 iron instead of the #4 hybrid, I’ll definitely be carrying the #2 in lieu of a 5 wood from now on.

Marketing Material:

• TaylorMade’s Movable Weight TechnologyTM gives players the power to change the CG to create a larger draw bias or a neutral trajectory bias, promoting greater accuracy and/or distance
• Dual TLC ports, widely spaced, contribute to an MOI that’s 15 to 20% higher than the Rescue Mid for increased forgiveness on mis-hits
• New T-shaped sole promotes increased clubhead stability at address and reduced drag at impact, promoting greater accuracy and distance
• Low CG makes the Rescue Dual dramatically easier to launch than a long-iron, equaling consistently higher, longer shots

Where to Buy

• Rescue Dual on Ebay – $75->$125
• TaylorMade Rescue Dual Hybrid – Graphite Shaft – $129.99
• TaylorMade Rescue Dual TP Hybrid – Steel Shaft – $199.99

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