TaylorMade to the Rescue... Again
by Justin
Ramers
In January of 1999, TaylorMade Golf answered the prayers of
golfers all over the world when they released the TaylorMade Rescue. Designed as a long iron replacement, the Rescue
found it’s way into bags everywhere and was one of the first
utility clubs to gain widespread acceptance on the professional
tours.
Hoping to improve on their design, TaylorMade recently
released their second-generation rescue club, the Rescue Mid.
I was able to get my hands on a 16* and a 19* with stiff steel
shafts for testing purposes. On looks, I really liked these
sticks. My wife keeps telling me that looks aren’t
important (actually she says that a lot, perhaps I should hit the
gym once in a while). But for me, the better it looks, the more
confident I am about the results I will achieve.
 I was all jazzed about getting these out to the range when
tragedy struck…a friend pointed out the shaft label to me.
Surely if TaylorMade was building such a high quality club, they
would put a high quality steel shaft in it… right? Guess
again. The stock steel shaft is a Royal Precision Microtaper
(as good of a shaft as you can buy for $3.50), definitely not the
worst shaft on the planet but certainly far less than I would
expect in my OEM long iron replacement.
After feeling somewhat disappointed with the shaft, I finally decided that I was going to withhold making any
more judgments about the Rescue Mids until I actually hit them.
Feel
I know it’s cliché but the ball really does jump off of this
clubface. There is a bit of offset and this club definitely
has some significant left bias. Nearly all of my misses were
left. Since this review is more about the club and less
about my swing flaws… we will just go with “Lively &
solid”.
Out of the fairway the Rescue Mid shines. I was able to
send the 16* 240+ yards on a couple of occasions putting myself in
position to 3 putt for easy pars. The Rescue Mids also have
enough face height to play well off of a low tee on those tighter
holes or simply when the driver isn’t working like it should.
My only disappointment (other than the stock steel shaft) is
how these clubs play when you actually need “rescuing”.
The head is larger than the original Rescue and you definitely
notice when you get into the tall grass. There was
significantly more twisting at impact as the long grass grabbed
hold of the larger head. They still play better than a full
sized fairway wood out of the deep stuff but not quite as well as
their predecessor.
Looks
I like the look a lot. It’s Black & Silver and
probably one of the more attractive utility clubs on the market.
There is one great feature that many mid-high handicappers will
appreciate, the paint job. As you can see from the photo,
the front of the crown is painted a nice silver color instead of
black; this looks like it would significantly reduce the
visibility of “skymarks” if you happen to pop one up from time
to time.
Playability
It swings more like an iron than a wood. The trajectory is a
bit lower than with some of the other rescue clubs on the market,
but the ball certainly still flies higher and stops better than
hitting a long iron. The leftward bias might be an issue for
players that fight a hook in their long irons and fairway woods.
On the other hand if you play the power fade, there is plenty of
correction to help straighten that shot out. It’s not
likely you pick these up and hit your first draw, but it will
certainly take a bit of that fade away.
When I made a hard move on it, I was punished by lack of
distance. When I scaled back with a nice smooth swing, they
were about a club longer than the iron they are meant to replace.
Who’s it for?
This club is suitable for players of all levels that are looking
for something a bit easier to hit than their long irons (which is
pretty much everybody). They are much easier to hit than long
irons and provide the same forgiveness as a fairway wood along
with some additional versatility.
Value
At $149.99 in steel & $179.99 in graphite it is definitely
worth taking a look at if the long irons are not so long and not
so straight.
In Summary:
Great clubhead, poor stock steel shaft choice. If you are
looking for something to hit out of the deep grass, I recommend
the original Rescue club. If you just want a long iron or
fairway wood replacement, the Rescue Mid fits the bill nicely.
The 16* has earned it’s way into my bag.
More information about the
Rescue Mid can be
found at:
http://www.taylormadegolf.com
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