Women’s golf clubs are often treated as men’s clubs painted pink with a lighter shaft, and many times this turns out to be true, but not in the case of the new Bobby Jones ladies line by renowned club designer Jesse Ortiz. Jesse is extremely proud of this new line called Rouge, and he has put a ton of time, knowledge and technology into specifically designing it for women.
At the 2014 PGA Show, THP TV had a chance to speak with Jesse about this new line. You can watch the full interview here:
From the Company
The women’s line features a patented head shape designed to reduce pushed or sliced shots. The Ti driver is 400 cc’s in volume with a high toe-low heel design that squares the face at impact for players with slower swings speeds. The shallow faced fairway woods feature thin, super hot, maraging steel faces for greater ball velocity and lower spin. The look at address position instills confidence and low the profile ensures a higher ball trajectory. The slight off-set hosel positions the hands ahead for more solid impact.
Most women dread playing a wood, particularly a 3-wood, from the fairway…but not these. No other fairway woods designed for the recreational female golfer are as easy to hit as these. We have made these fairway woods available in 3-5-7-9 and 11 woods. I believe that women are much better off using fairway woods rather than hybrids due to their larger surface hitting areas and deeper centers of gravity.
The beautiful burgundy-rouge color enhances the elegant look of these clubs. The actual lofts are 14-18-23-28-33-39 degrees respectively for the 3-5-7-9-11.
Looks
Video Montage of the line
There is simply no denying the beauty these clubs possess. Pictures do not even come close to doing them justice. The burgundy-rouge color sparkles in the sunlight, and has an almost regal appearance. These clubs do not have a ‘girly girl’ look to them, but still have a softness that lets you know these are made for women.
The unique shape head was a welcome addition, especially in the 11 wood. It looked just like a hybrid at set up, removing any fear of hitting a wood off the ground and the design of the sole looks like a piece of art. The penny on the bottom did get dirty at impact, but cleaned right up.
The burgundy and white/gray shaft and gray grip were the perfect complement to the club heads. From crown to grip, these are well-thought out cohesive pieces of golf equipment. There is truly nothing negative to say about the looks of the ladies Rouge line.
Performance
Performance can be such a subjective thing. Everyone has a different swing, making their approach to a shot unique; however, science is a pretty strong definite. The research and development that went into these clubs is undeniable. Regarding this line, Jesse has said “The shallow faced fairway woods feature thin, super hot, maraging steel faces for greater ball velocity and lower spin. The look at address position instills confidence and the low profile ensures a higher ball trajectory. The slight off-set hosel positions the hands ahead for more solid impact.”
We found a lot of truth in this statement. From the 3 wood all the way through to the 11 wood, the ball got up in the air time and again. As mentioned earlier, the way the club head sits at address gives it the illusion of more of a hybrid than a fairway wood, taking some of that fairway wood off the deck fear out of the equation. This seemed to subconsciously take any doubt away from the shot, creating more confidence and resulting in a solid shot.
Another observation was in regards to forgiveness. We saw many shots that impacted the heel and toe of the clubs, but still found the center of the fairway. Of course, these misses didn’t have the same distance as well struck shots, but they also didn’t find the woods or water.
The driver being 400cc’s was a little difficult to get used to at first. The face is shallower than a typical 460cc head, which can make teeing up the ball a bit of a challenge. We saw a few popped-up shots at the beginning until the tee height got dialed in. The driver has a fairly high-pitched ‘ting’ rather than a deep muted thwack. Sound is and always will be a personal preference, so some will love the sound and others not so much.
Parting Thoughts
The Bobby Jones ladies Rouge line by Jesse Ortiz could arguably be the best looking ladies clubs on the market today. What is most impressive is that the research and development goes well beyond aesthetics. Creating a fairway wood that isn’t intimidating to hit off the deck is quite an accomplishment. Helping women bridge the gap in their bags from their hybrids to their driver can be a game changer.
The driver retails for $249 USD and the 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 woods all retails for $179 each. To learn more about this line, and to find a retailer near you, please visit the Bobby Jones website at www.bobbyjones.com.
Nice write-up, Morgan! My wife isn’t fond of hitting her fairway woods from the deck, so these are definitely something I would consider as a replacement for her.
Great review Morgan. Really love the red color scheme on this one, it really stands out. Definitely an odd shape but the ease of use can make someone easily forget about that. And really cool they have an 11 wood!
I had a feeling you’d find these easy to hit and get in the air. You get a good sense that these are truly designed with ease-of-use in mind, which is something the majority of players are looking for. Pretty sharp finish too.
Great review here Morgan!
I’m really digging how shallow the face is on those FW woods. I must give kudos to Jesse for avoiding the status quo and truly designing a line that makes golf more enjoyable for the ladies out there.
Great writeup, Morgan! Loved the way you described how it wasn’t ‘girly’ but definitely designed for women.
Good stuff Morgan. I love that they took the time to design these for women and I expect they will perform much better because of it.
I’ve had the good fortune to speak with Jesse in the past, and there is NO denying that he is truly passionate about what he designs. I find his wedges (designed with Pelz) to still be among the best I’ve ever used. I can’t wait to see the new wedge line he has planned for later this year.
Excellent write-up as well. I love seeing the new designs from this man. Always assured to be better than the last!
This is an outstanding article. I hope that a lot of female golfers run across this in their quest for better golf equipment. Shoot, I’m beginning to think that maybe I should give them a whirl, Burgundy can be manly right?
I bought the 3 wood after your review and it is a great club. I could never hit a fairway wood but have had great success with this club. Thanks!!
Love these woods! I could never hit my 3W but these are so easy. I had a BJ driver about 9-10 years and lived it. I thought I best buy a newer model because of technology. Was I surprised and happy. This driver and all the woods are a must to purchase ASAP. Thanks Jesse. Happy in Honolulu.
all reviews are old!
Hi Bill,
If you look at the date of the review, it was written 2 years ago when the clubs were first launched. We have new reviews on products every day, here is a link to our latest articles http://www.thehackersparadise.com/category/headlines/.