Well, I did it. Dropped my topend Rapture Driver and Wood for R9s. Some observations.
Yes! Using Callaway i(z), for the record. Did my fairway % drop? Yep, it did. I played an 18 at BPB where I hit 9 fairways. But my GiR went up, my distance to the cup dropped, my putting avg went down. Something to be said for being 295 in the first cut of rough over 255 in the fairway. I hit 9 fairways, but I only missed 2 greens, and I scrambled 100%, didn't find sand, and made 11 birdies in 18 holes, including a birdie on the first 5 holes of the back 9. Missed 4 eagles by inches, I was so on the pin on my approaches. Why? 40 yards closer to the pin, my average drive was 290+.
The meter took a little getting used to after the Rapture. But, after a couple high 70 rounds, I settled down with a 67 at BPB and a 67 at SA, both under TP conditions. Then back to the Black. I shot a -8 62, with 11 birdies. A double bogey on the evil b*tch #15 and a putting snafu on #18 where I didn't check my meter length and hit a 14' 2 inch downhill birdie putt 85% on a 30' meter. It was dead in, too, if it had been half as hard. I missed the comeback to 3 putt. Was really close to a 60 or less. The true highlight of the round was the long par 4 at #7. It was the only drive I really lost, right, long and into the trees. But I punched a Cleveland 60 out 40 yards into the fairway, then dropped a 5 iron 2' from the cup to save the hole.
The club has a med trajectory, so I am finding that it behooves me to hit it with full backspin all the time. I get more distance with it even into the wind, because the wind will knock it down quickly at it's normal trajectory. Also, with full backspin, it is landing soft as a baby's butt. I'm able to drop it on the narrow fairways of Bethpage over trees and nestle softly on the short grass, or edge into the first cut at least 50 yards closer than I could get with the Raptures. The Raptures weren't 50 yards shorter than this club, but I can get places with this one. And as far as the clubs listed 275? I don't think I had more than one drive the whole round under 275. I'm also loving the Wood as well. With this upgrade, I removed the Hybrid from my bag and went to the extra wedge. Playing Cleveland 56 and 60, with the Satin64 my scalpel. And there is no par 4 I can't reach now, and most par 5s are now theoretically reachable with a strong tailwind. I just missed a legit 337 yard drive on BPB that just edged into the first cut. The better I get with the R9, the greater the chance I turn in the Rapture Irons, which I like a lot, for the G10s or Tour Preferred.