The R580 was a part of TaylorMade’s 500 club series released back in 2002. It quickly gained fame as Mike Weir, PGA player and professional golfer, won the 2002 British Open and PGA Championship. However, recently, many golfers have been discussing the legality of this club. Since its release, much has changed in terms of equipment regulations, so it begs the question, is this club illegal?
I decided to take a look at the USGA’s and Randa’s equipment rules to figure out if this club is in fact illegal.
Is the Taylormade R580 illegal? According to Randa.org and USGA.org, the Taylormade R580, R580 XD, R580 Tour, and R580 TP are legal to use in any casual, amateur, high-level amateur, or professional tournaments. Both of these drivers conform to the equipment rules, which make them legal to use for any golfer in any tournament.
To be more specific, both the Randa Golf Equipment Explorer and USGA Conforming Club List include the R580 and R580 XD in their ‘conforming club’ section. This shows that both versions of the club head are totally legal to use. Below are two screenshots from the respective resources.
Randa.org’s Conforming Clubs Database: TaylorMade R580
From https://www.randa.org/RulesEquipment/Equipment/Equipment-Explorer
As you can see from the photo above, the name filter is set for ‘R580’ and the category filter is set to ‘conforming drivers’. What this means is that any and all clubs that have the name ‘R580’ that are in the conforming club database will appear.
As you can see, all of the variations of TaylorMade’s R580 club heads are legal to use in this database. Below is a list of all variations of the R580:
- Regular
- XD
- XD (LH)
- Tour
- Tour (LH)
- XD TP
Regardless of which model you are using, as long as it says “TaylorMade R580” on it, followed by any of the above subsequent words, it is included in this legal list.
USGA’s Conforming Golf Club List: TaylorMade R580
Another resource that further backs up the legality of the R580 is the USGA’s conforming club list PDF. This list is an ongoing database of clubs that have been deemed legal by the USGA. This list is frequently updated, so it is safe to say that all clubs on this list are legal and up to date with the current equipment standards.
Generally speaking, when the main version of a club head is legal, typically all variations of that club head are legal. However, in order to ensure that players know that their version is legal, the USGA and Randa are required to list out all variations of the club.
Why Is The TaylorMade R580 So Controversial?
The main reason why most players suspect the R580 is illegal is because of its coefficient of restitution or COR. COR in golf is essentially the percentage of energy transferred from the club to the ball on impact.
The USGA has a strict 0.83 COR limit on any club. This means that no more than 83% of the energy generated from the club can be transferred to the ball. The R580 has exactly 0.83 (83%) COR. This is why most people believe it is illegal. However, it does not exceed the COR limit, so the club is fine to use.
Which Pro Golfers Have Used The TaylorMade R580?
To further prove that this club is in fact legal, I decided to look into which PGA Tour and other Professional golfers have used these clubs in tournaments. It is not only interesting to see which players have used a club you may be interested in, but this also proves that the club isn’t illegal. If it were illegal, then the players would not have been able to use it in a tournament.
MIke Weir is one of the most notable and documented tour winners that has used the R580.
According to records, he was able to win 2 championships using this club. You may not have the same luck with this club, but being able to use the same type of club that a pro used to win a couple of championships is pretty cool.
While there have been many clubs that have come out since its release, it could still prove to be a worthy club.
Final Thoughts: Legality of R580
So, if you are considering having this club in your bag, just know that it is totally safe to use. If somebody begins to question the legality of the club, just show them the USGA or Randa equipment page and you’ll be covered.
Seeing as this club as followed all of the equipment rules for the past couple of decades, there is a low chance that any rule is going to change that will make this club illegal, therefore there likely is no need to worry about this club from now on.