TaylorMade RocketBladez - Review Thread

[Brianbigoats]

So i played my first round it was cold and wet 54 degrees and the fog did not lift until mid afternoon
I went out a 2pm and only played 9 i had the slowest group in front of me

#1 par 4 399 Drive was ok to 150 yard marker just off fairway in rough ball slightly below my feet hit a 8i to pin high but pulled left
#2 Par 4 378 popped drive up had about 170 to green pulled out 7i hit it did not close face pin high 10 yrd wide of green
#3 Par 4 335 Layed up to 120 with the 4i Pitching wedge to the center of the green ball did not move more than 5 feet from Pitch Mark
#4 Par 3 125 PW of tee t*t it right into sand but pin high
#5 Par 5 500 No irons needed 3wood 5 wood gap wedge
#6 Par 3 154 7i pin high left on the fringe into a light wind
#7 Par 5 489 250 yard drive into rough decide to hit a 4 iron straight just came up 35 short on line
#8 Par 4 332 no Irons need
#9 par 4 402 Drive found the fairway bunker so 175 to pin hit a 6i hit it a little fat and end up on the fringe

It was a ok forest time out for the clubs my short game was hit or miss today so score was a little rough
i think i need a few more range sessions to really get the hang of the clubs going from a light reg flex to a heavier xflex is a big change

 

[stevie-a]

Loved reading about that beauty you had with the 6i on 17. How was the trajectory on that shot? Did it land softly?

Overall, it appears that you still got some pretty impressive distance despite not having the swing dialed in as much as you'd like!

I have always hit the ball high, regardless of make/model. That said, the 6i I hit on 17 was a high shot that basically sat in it's pitch mark. Since I normally hit the ball pretty high, I don't get a lot of action on the green, but I did have 2 shots with my PW that backed up about 5-10 feet after they landed...one was my 3rd shot on a par-5 from 143 yards out that backed up off the front of the green.

I did some serious work today grooving my swing, so we'll see how my round tomorrow goes. My previous irons were stock, so I knew that having clubs spec'd for me would take some getting used to...so it will only get better! Less than 12 hours to round 2. Update to follow midday tomorrow.

 

[tequila4kapp]

I love the enthusiasm and involvement of non testers in the thread! Really good stuff everyone!

 

[Hawk]

I love the enthusiasm and involvement of non testers in the thread! Really good stuff everyone!

Me too. I've really enjoyed chatting with everybody at this point. Even better that people have them in their hands right now.

 

[JConn]

I will get to hit these tomorrow, pretty dang exciting with all of the positive things in this thread. I will update this thread tomorrow night with my thoughts.

 

[chasd3]

Anybody notice the lie angle gaps are pretty radical.? Ordering a set 1 or two up will make the long irons really upright. Any thoughts on that?

 

[rafdo]

Anybody notice the lie angle gaps are pretty radical.? Ordering a set 1 or two up will make the long irons really upright. Any thoughts on that?

I think they're a bit more upright than other sets, I had mine flattened 1* and I think I need to flatten them another degree...

 

[Proteacher]

I ordered mine (4-AW) a couple of weeks ago. They will arrive on Tuesday. I will find a way to play them even if I have to play in bad weather.

 

[stevie-a]

Played my 2nd round with my 'bladez and came away with mixed results again...but the issues had nothing to do with the irons. I drove the ball very well again today, so when I had shots in to the green they were 140 or less typically...meaning a 9i or less. When I didn't make good contact I was not penalized, which is inline with what we've all been seeing with the 'bladez.

I saw someone below comment about the possibility that these irons are a little more upright and I'm beginning to wonder the same. I ordered mine 2* upright which is what I normally need, but I continue to make poor contact and feel like I am bottoming the hosel out -- something that will happen with a lie angle that is too steep. I'm going to get them bent back to their natural lie angle and see if my contact doesn't improve.

Anyone else seeing this too? Perhaps I'm just getting sloppy in my swing mechanics with my 3i-7i....

 

[teed-off]

Anyone know what the stock shaft is, or what it is similar to?

 

[TeedUpThoughts]

So I played my first holes on the course today with the Rocketbladez...

The first hole I was 215 out after a pushed drive with a side-hill lie and the ball above my feet. There is water short and right of the green with a very narrow strip of grass that leads to the green and a small landing area just short of the green. I figured I'm just out for fun, so instead of laying up, I grabbed the 4i and took a swipe at it. I pulled off a low draw that landed just short of the green! Wasn't very pretty but worked well.

The 6 holes I was able to get in before I had to run to my sons' indoor soccer game left a few impressions:

1) I had trouble reproducing the "click" from the irons with the speed slot which was disappointing. I know it was user error for the first time out, so I will follow up on this again.

2) My accuracy was vastly improved with the Rocketbladez! I didn't spray anything outside of 15yds of where I pointed it. I can see this getting better in short order too which is exciting.

3) The AW is just awesome! I want to replace my wedge with either the SW or an ATV! Turf interaction on short pitches and chips was superb and I had confidence in the wedge after the first shot.

The short amount of time I had today left me wanting to get back out immediately and play more. I can't wait until later this week!!!

One question: is everyone hearing the same sound off the turd as they heard off the mats??


On my iPhone T.. T.. Tapatalking away!

 

[TeedUpThoughts]

Anyone know what the stock shaft is, or what it is similar to?

Stock stuff shaft that we got is the 85g Rocket Fuel, seems similar to the 85g stiff that was in the Burner 2.0's. I'm not sure what aftermarket shaft would be similar as I haven't had much experience with that.


On my iPhone T.. T.. Tapatalking away!

 

[Mark]

So I played my first holes on the course today with the Rocketbladez...

The first hole I was 215 out after a pushed drive with a side-hill lie and the ball above my feet. There is water short and right of the green with a very narrow strip of grass that leads to the green and a small landing area just short of the green. I figured I'm just out for fun, so instead of laying up, I grabbed the 4i and took a swipe at it. I pulled off a low draw that landed just short of the green! Wasn't very pretty but worked well.

The 6 holes I was able to get in before I had to run to my sons' indoor soccer game left a few impressions:

1) I had trouble reproducing the "click" from the irons with the speed slot which was disappointing. I know it was user error for the first time out, so I will follow up on this again.

2) My accuracy was vastly improved with the Rocketbladez! I didn't spray anything outside of 15yds of where I pointed it. I can see this getting better in short order too which is exciting.

3) The AW is just awesome! I want to replace my wedge with either the SW or an ATV! Turf interaction on short pitches and chips was superb and I had confidence in the wedge after the first shot.

The short amount of time I had today left me wanting to get back out immediately and play more. I can't wait until later this week!!!

One question: is everyone hearing the same sound off the turd as they heard off the mats??


On my iPhone T.. T.. Tapatalking away!

I hope not... hehe. I find mats vs turf sound different too.

 

[Proteacher]

Has anyone hit the SW and LW on this set yet? Just interested !!

 

[jlukes]

I'm pondering the 3 iron from this set or an Rbz 3 rescue

Tapped out on my EVO 4G LTE

 

[tequila4kapp]

Has anyone hit the SW and LW on this set yet? Just interested !!

Not yet. I just ordered the SW and am hoping to have it late this week.

I am just back from Tacoma, where I played Chambers Bay with Oregon Golfer and JConn. My writeup will likely come tomorrow or Tuesday - I need some time to digest my experience and put it into words. In the meantime, consider Oregon Golfer and JConn your guest testers for the day, I believe they intend to add thoughts of their own.

 

[JConn]

Not yet. I just ordered the SW and am hoping to have it late this week.

I am just back from Tacoma, where I played Chambers Bay with Oregon Golfer and JConn. My writeup will likely come tomorrow or Tuesday - I need some time to digest my experience and put it into words. In the meantime, consider Oregon Golfer and JConn your guest testers for the day, I believe they intend to add thoughts of their own.

Yep...I had a heck of a time today and will share my thoughts on these either tonight or tomorrow morning.

 

[Fbickley]

I would love to hear some thoughts on the shaft. 85 seems like a fairly light weight for steel. I am trying to increase my swing speed and am looking to go light. Previously I was thinking graphite, but now I think the steel may be light enough. Anyone tried the graphite yet? I have only had time on the steel 7i

 

[Oregon Golfer]

I am just back from Tacoma, where I played Chambers Bay with Oregon Golfer and JConn. My writeup will likely come tomorrow or Tuesday - I need some time to digest my experience and put it into words. In the meantime, consider Oregon Golfer and JConn your guest testers for the day, I believe they intend to add thoughts of their own.

Great time today. I was excited to get a chance to hit the RocketBladez. Here are some random thoughts about them.

-when I first grabbed one to hit on the range a few things jumped out at me (this was a 7 iron);
1. A lot more offset than I am used to
2. Thicker topline than I am used to
3. Lighter feeling than I am used to.

The offset was a struggle to get over for me when hitting morev than a PW and as a result I hit a bunch of hooks. I'm sure with time I would adjust to this, it was just difficult for the limited shots I hit.

I got over the topline issue real quick. After hitting a couple of good shots I didn't care about this.

I think the lighter feeling comes from the difference in shaft weight and maybe the shaft length. In general I had less sensation of where the clubhead was during the swing with the RocketBladez but this was a non issue in the end as I had no problem returning the clubhead to the ball.

After hitting the 5, 7, 9 irons I came away with the following thoughts:

-A full club more distance than many current irons.
-Very soft feel, (I told Tequila that if I was blindfolded I would have guessed they were forged)
-Little/no difference in feel between a sweet spot hit & slight mishit with slotted irons
-Higher ballflight than I'm used to (not ballooning)
-Still don't really like the looks

I had a chance to hit the PW & 50* on a couple par 3's and a couple chips and here are my thoughts:

-Distances are similar to my current clubs.
-Very easy to hit.
-Good feel
-Better turf interaction for me than the longer irons.
-Chips reacted as expected, no surprises.

These are just a few random thoughts, I will try to put more organized thoughts together in the next couple days.


Chipped via Tapatalk, never chutted.

 

[tequila4kapp]

They do not feel light to me, and certainly not too light. I think some of us have actually seen our swing speeds increase, probably as a result of the 85g, while at the same time seeing tighter dispersions. I think those are some early indications the shafts are really good.

 

[chasd3]

Lie angles compared to ping i20 are .50 to 1.50 more upright and shafts are .25-.375 longer. Add to that the lofts are stronger and it should not surprise that they are longer. I think the technology pick up is ball flight and larger sweet spot which is saying allot

 

[Hawk]

Anybody notice the lie angle gaps are pretty radical.? Ordering a set 1 or two up will make the long irons really upright. Any thoughts on that?

Played my 2nd round with my 'bladez and came away with mixed results again...but the issues had nothing to do with the irons. I drove the ball very well again today, so when I had shots in to the green they were 140 or less typically...meaning a 9i or less. When I didn't make good contact I was not penalized, which is inline with what we've all been seeing with the 'bladez.

I saw someone below comment about the possibility that these irons are a little more upright and I'm beginning to wonder the same. I ordered mine 2* upright which is what I normally need, but I continue to make poor contact and feel like I am bottoming the hosel out -- something that will happen with a lie angle that is too steep. I'm going to get them bent back to their natural lie angle and see if my contact doesn't improve.

Anyone else seeing this too? Perhaps I'm just getting sloppy in my swing mechanics with my 3i-7i....

I've noticed the same. I had the whole set bent 2° flat and the long irons still need to go further. At least it seems that way from my observations on the range and the course. Was going to get them looked at last week, but decided to just go play instead. My issue has just been a lot of strikes towards the heel on the long irons, which is what happened with my 588's before I got them adjusted. I actually feel like the mid/short irons seem fine at this

I ordered mine (4-AW) a couple of weeks ago. They will arrive on Tuesday. I will find a way to play them even if I have to play in bad weather.

Congrats on the new irons! Hope you'll stop back in to chat after you get them on the course.

Anyone know what the stock shaft is, or what it is similar to?

I would love to hear some thoughts on the shaft. 85 seems like a fairly light weight for steel. I am trying to increase my swing speed and am looking to go light. Previously I was thinking graphite, but now I think the steel may be light enough. Anyone tried the graphite yet? I have only had time on the steel 7i

Easiest way to try out the shaft (if you can't get your hands on these) is to swing the 2.0's. The specs appear to be identical.

So I played my first holes on the course today with the Rocketbladez...

One question: is everyone hearing the same sound off the turd as they heard off the mats??


On my iPhone T.. T.. Tapatalking away!

Nice job, TeedUp! I've found the sound to be similar, though I've only hit them off mats a couple times.

 

[C-Mac13]

On Friday I was at the driving range working on my swing and I get a phone call from Roger Dunn telling me my RocketBladez are in. A week earlier then promised. :bananadance:I debated picking them up being that I was playing my second ever tournament on Saturday and on Sunday I was playing the Stadium Course at PGA West rated the 4th toughest course in the US. It didn't take very long for me to decide to pick them up and use them for the weekend.

Anyway, I thought I would give a little feedback on my experience.
On Saturday my nerves got the best of me and I blew the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] hole with 2 OB shots for a 10. After I composed myself things started to click. I ended up with 5 birdies and taking 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] place missing 1[SUP]st[/SUP] by one stroke. I also took 7 skins.

Sunday was not about competition so I came in a little more relaxed. I walked off 18 with a 90 which I don’t think is too shabby for the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] hardest course in the US.

As stated earlier these irons are very forgiving. Even missed shots didn’t stray too far. The feel of the ball of the face is just incredible. The distances where pretty close to what I had with the RBZ’s. More importantly the 4 and 5 iron were much easier to hit for me then the RBZ 4 and 5. In a nut shell I'm very satisfied with these irons and I look forward to gaming them for quite a while.

 

[Canadan]

I had a chance to hit the Rocketbladez irons this weekend, and I really didn't come away as impressed as I thought I would.

They do have a smooth feel, but I felt my distances were hurt a bit (which was weird - Could have been the fact that I wasn't using the best shafts for me) especially on well struck shots, and the sound on the lower lofted irons could sometimes be downright confusing. In fact, hitting them on the range before the round, i had a number of people turn around and ask me if I just broke the iron (I did not, no worries haha). It just had a muted, thwacky, plunky, I don't even know what kind of sound to it.

I look forward to the TP offerings in early 2013, but I'm fairly certain these aren't the irons for me.

 

[tequila4kapp]

I had a chance to hit the Rocketballz irons this weekend, and I really didn't come away as impressed as I thought I would.

They do have a smooth feel, but I felt my distances were hurt a bit (which was weird - Could have been the fact that I wasn't using the best shafts for me) especially on well struck shots, and the sound on the lower lofted irons could sometimes be downright confusing. In fact, hitting them on the range before the round, i had a number of people turn around and ask me if I just broke the iron (I did not, no worries haha). It just had a muted, thwacky, plunky, I don't even know what kind of sound to it.

I look forward to the TP offerings in early 2013, but I'm fairly certain these aren't the irons for me.

RocketBallz or RocketBladez?