PRODUCT PRESS RELEASES FROM THE MEDIA

TaylorMade
Introduces New
R540XD and R580XD Drivers

CARLSBAD, Calif. (Aug. 7th, 2003) -- TaylorMade Golf has announced the introduction of two new drivers, the R540XD and R580XD, to be available at retail in September.

What is XD?

"XD stands for 'extra distance,' but it's actually much more than that," says Sean Toulon, Senior Vice President of Brand Management and Creation, TaylorMade. "XD is also a procedure, a process and a formula wherein the performance elements of a metalwood are tweaked and tuned up, transforming the club into a more muscular, more forgiving, more powerful version of its former self. Our engineers took our original R540 and R580 back to the lab, closed the door and executed the XD treatment, emerging with drivers that are bigger, better and longer."

Compared to the R540 and R580, the new R540XD and R580XD both feature:

• Bigger head size and a longer, deeper clubface, resulting in large MOI for greater forgiveness
• New soleplate design for deeper CG, resulting in improved launch conditions, a larger sweetspot and larger hitting area above the CG
• Improved Inverted Cone Technology for an even larger COR Zone than before, increasing average ball speed

"These clubs are engineered to be longer," says Toulon. "And with their combination of larger size, increased MOI and enhanced Inverted Cone Technology, they're longer more often."

Features specific to the R540XD include:

• Substantial 400cc head that fuels massive MOI for greater forgiveness
• 45-inch length
• Ultra light, 55-gram graphite shaft, which is mid-torque and tip-soft to promote a higher trajectory and longer carry
• 290-gram overall weight for faster swing speed
• Longer, deeper clubface than the original R540: The R540XD boasts a total clubface area of 35.56 square centimeters, and a generous 21.22 square centimeters of clubface area above the CG
• Tour-proven Tuned Weight Cartridge

Features specific to the R580XD include:

• Substantial 440cc head that fuels massive MOI for greater forgiveness
• 45.5-inch length
• Ultra light 65-gram shaft, which is low torque and tip-firm to enhance workability and control
• 315-gram overall weight
• Longer, deeper face than the original R580: The R580XD boasts a total clubface area of 42.12 square centimeters and a generous 23.97 square centimeters of clubface area above the CG
• Classically shaped head
• Tour-proven Tuned Weight Cartridge

"Because the R540XD and R580XD offer such a large hitting area above the CG, the player will hit more shots that achieve a high launch angle and low spin-rate," says Benoit Vincent, Chief Technical Officer for TaylorMade, "which is the optimum combination for achieving maximum distance."

Though manufacturing a large-sized clubhead that performs at a high level is a challenge, TaylorMade has succeeded with the R540XD and R580XD, in part because of these clubs' Inverted Cone Technology. "Making a large-headed driver isn't difficult," says Vincent , "but making a large-headed driver that performs well is. A key problem inherent to a large metalwood head is that the CG is too far forward, because it's difficult to achieve the kind of low, deep CG needed. TaylorMade's Inverted Cone Technology, besides expanding the size of the COR Zone, is also more weight-efficient, allowing for a low, deep CG and contributing tremendously to the overall performance of the R540XD and R580XD."

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TaylorMade's Inverted Cone Technology is a proprietary innovation developed to expand the COR Zone - the area of the clubface that delivers the club's maximum COR when it makes impact with a ball. (Generally, when impact is made outside the COR Zone, initial ball velocity decreases, and distance is lost.) The Inverted Cone is CNC-milled directly into the inner side of the clubface to exacting dimensions and results in a drastic variation in face thickness. Inverted Cone Technology radically changes the way the clubface behaves at impact, resulting in a dramatically expanded COR Zone.

Both the R540XD and R580XD will be available in M, R, S and TS shaft flexes, and in right-handed lofts of 8.5, 9.5 and 10.5, and left-handed lofts of 9.5 and 10.5. Manufacturer's suggested retail price is $499.