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TaylorMade RocketBladez - Review Thread

SuperStroke
Starting to like my rocketbladez now, at first I thought I made a mistake as on the range off mats I was shanking all the time. On the course yesterday they were so much better they glide through the turf and I love the PW for small chip shots. They made such a difference I shot a 91 yesterday which is my best score for a while
 
Hey Chas. good round. What are you getting ball flight wise?
 
chas said:
Mid to high with 7 iron up, 6 iron is a bit lower for me
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Sounds pretty good. That is some bag you have there! Been shopping?:act-up:
 
El Bandito said:
Sounds pretty good. That is some bag you have there! Been shopping?:act-up:
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Yep i love this time of year, cant decide my favourite driver yet as they are both so good
 
I like the club modding that's going on with RBladez, but I actually really like the yellow flash on the back and think the the RBladez are one of the more attractive clubs on the market at the moment.
 
I have to say that it had never even occurred to me to personalise my clubs the way that jlukes, Hawk and other have. It is great to see, and really makes each set unique. But I agree with you. I like the yellow, green accents.
 
jlukes said:
Love it cleaned mine up a bit more

IMG_20130110_183619_0.jpg


Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD
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ok now I see what you guys did and they both look great. I especially like the blacked out look of Hawk's
 
Really like some of the mods going on here with the irons.
 
Tadashi70 said:
ok now I see what you guys did and they both look great. I especially like the blacked out look of Hawk's
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Yeah, mines actually not even a paint fill, I just scraped away the yellow.

y4y6ypah.jpg


Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD
 
I thought I'd give a little feedback on forgiveness of the non slotted clubs from my range session yesterday, which was otherwise unspectacular (i.e., another regular session with the Bladez).

The range has targets at 112, which is close to my gap wedge distance, and 105, which is close to my full SW distance.

Here is a representative photo of how I was hitting those clubs yesterday -- hopefully this comes through in the picture but just in case, the contact was way out on the toe:

P1020044_zps71988fa6.jpg


My ball flight was still very high, directionally the shots were right of the target but straight, and they were landing in the neighborhood of 5 yards short of the target. That's superior forgiveness, at least in my book. Combine this forgiveness with the sole's turf interaction, versatility and performance I see with these clubs from 100 yards and in, and I am continue to be very impressed with the stock wedges that come with the set.
 
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Are any of you testers former gamers of Bridgestone DPCs? I'm looking for some feedback of differences and the good and bad of RBLDZ vs DPCs...
 
Sorry, can't help you with that one. Maybe Jman or Hawk???
 
Weather and background
Well yesterday was the first chance I've been able to get out in England to play on a course that didn't resemble a pudding underneath your feet. For the past few weeks we've had rain during the weeks then snow at weekends with the occasional grey miserable day wedged in between. This weekend we had a couple of lovely clear days and thankfully, my home course drains very well on the hillside giving me my first opportunity to see what I could do with the Rocketbladez when it matters.

On the driving range I had started to dial in a little more with them after what was a slow start. A correction had been made in my previous lesson with regard to my swing and since that I have been very happy with the ball striking. As I doubt you will remember my previous posts in this enormous thread, I'll remind you I have been playing golf since May 2012 and have got myself a 16 handicap though this makes me out to be better than I am as a result of a totally out of sync 87 score that was one of my three scorecards handed in.

I'm still trying to establish my distance gaps with the Rocketbladez but they are at least 10 yards longer than my previous Mizunos that I think were about 5 years old.

The Round
I'm pleased to report that yesterday saw me get my best score to date. I managed to get an 85 that would have been better were it not for a couple of duffed iron shots, a duffed chip and an out of bounds drive. The duffed iron shots were completely down to me.

Ball Striking
The hours that I've been putting in at the range definitely were carried into the round yesterday. I've never liked hitting anything longer than a 7 iron prior to the Rocketbladez with consistent striking of the ball being better as I moved towards PW. The most positive thing for me yesterday was my first shot of the round. The first hole at my club is an intimidating shot up a steep hill onto the level fairway. This hole has often ruined my round before it had even begun. Bearing in mind what I said above about 7 iron, imagine my delight when I pulled out the 4 iron and hit the most perfect shot with it up the hill and onto the fairway with a slight right to left movement. I think that shot set the tone for my hole round.

Prior to receiving the clubs, I was concerned about comments I'd read about whether or not you can really tell when you've hit the ball as well as possible. My old Mizunos had a lovely sound which made it clear you'd caught it flush and I was concerned about losing this. For me though, you can really tell when you've caught it nicely by the sound and not just by the way the ball takes off! I have to say though I am absolutely ADDICTED to the popping sound of the speed slot irons. The thought of that alone makes me want to go and hit them now!

Forgiveness
Whilst I did catch a lot of them well, there were the odd shots that I didn't. When this happened I was pleased to see the ball still took off in a straight line and distance loss wasn't too bad. The important thing was that even though I didn't always catch it well, the forgiveness still gave me the opportunity to get close with the next chip or pitch shot. I think it is this alone that makes the clubs worth every penny.

Dispersion
Again, the balls had a mostly straight path. I am not at a level where I can put deliberate fade or draw on the ball yet so I can't comment on the workability of the clubs, but if I do catch it right the ball tends to have a slightly right to left path, albeit only a couple of yards. That is what my instructor seems to want to see from my strikes so if these clubs help that then I'm happy.

Wind
One thing I was pleased to have been able to sample yesterday was how to deal with distance in the wind on the back 9. You could see that the ball did hang in the air much longer but I think because of the initial penetrating ball flight, not too much distance was lost. The course does get a lot of wind at times but I was never having to go more than two clubs longer which from my previous clubs is pretty standard for me.

Wedges
With me being in the early stages of my development, my wedge play is still very basic. I don't fear the shots though which I might have done previously. I did duff a chip shot in the round but again that was completely down to me looking to see my ball before I'd even hit it. At this stage I only use the SW and PW for pitch shots and 8-9 for chips. I didn't get the AW and the only other wedge I have is a 52deg Titleist GW. Sorry I can't really give much information on this!

Looks
I see a few people have painted their clubs recently. Perhaps I'm in the minority that absolutely loves these clubs. I see them in the hallway and just think about how fantastic they look and personally don't see the need for modding them in any way.

You may recall it was me who had the RBLADEZ decal come off the back of my 4 iron at the driving range. I pushed it back on there and then at the driving range and it hasn't come away since. It has been the only concern I've had with the clubs to date but I think it was most likely as a result of the cold weather we've had here and me foolishly leaving them in my car over night.


Anything else you want to know, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer!
 
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Pkielwa said:
Are any of you testers former gamers of Bridgestone DPCs? I'm looking for some feedback of differences and the good and bad of RBLDZ vs DPCs...
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I know Jman owned the DPCs for a minute last year, and really liked his set before the i20 irons showed up in his bag.

I have gamed the DPCs for about a year now, and have spent a good bit of time with the Rbladez as well. The Rbladez have a slightly larger sole on them compared to the DPCs, and just slightly larger overall. Lofts on the Rbladez are a bit stronger than what you see in the DPCs as well. In terms of ball flight, I saw similar results in the height of my shots, both coming in at a higher ball flight. I felt dispersion for me was slightly better with my DPCs, just felt that my control was a bit better. However, what I found with the Rbladez was that at times, my shots almost had an effortless feel to them, able to achieve my result with an easier swing, and that was something that kept drawing me back and still has me pondering the Rbladez.
 
Sorry, I've only hit the DPC's a few times. Not enough that I can offer anything helpful.

Hinchy, congrats on the personal best! I also had a piece of the badging come off an iron and glued it back on over the weekend. Stayed put yesterday.



I continue to be impressed with these irons. Performed very well in some heavy wind yesterday, especially considering how high I hit the ball with them. Distance is definitely there outdoors for me as well. Also, worked a little on hitting the ball from the rough and they performed better than I expected, granted things aren't nearly as thick as they will be in a couple months. Regardless, clubbing up and choking down did the trick quite well.
 
Pkielwa said:
Are any of you testers former gamers of Bridgestone DPCs? I'm looking for some feedback of differences and the good and bad of RBLDZ vs DPCs...
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War hit on some of it for me as well, but...

Having gamed the DPC's and the Bladez for extended times I can safely say that IMO the Bladez are far less demanding. Now, thats not to say that the DPC's are incredibly hard to hit, just moreso than the Bladez for me. They do have a larger profile, footprint, and topline but it isn't all that bad. The biggest difference for me is overall forgiveness (especially off the toe, the DPC's AND i20's have a TON there IMO but the Bladez make them pale in comparison off the toe) and the Bladez were easily a club to a club and a half longer for me.

Both TREMENDOUS sets of irons anyone would and should be happy with, all depends on what YOU are looking for.
 
I went for a little practice session yesterday but just wasn't mentally into it so i cut it short. Got a good night sleep and am probably going to head out for a round this morning.
 
Good luck out there, t4k.
 
Hinchyoooo

Great review. Sounds like a cracking fit and a good round.
 
Pkielwa said:
Are any of you testers former gamers of Bridgestone DPCs? I'm looking for some feedback of differences and the good and bad of RBLDZ vs DPCs...
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I gamed J38 DPC's for over a year before the Rbladez. I prefer the thinner soles of the DPC's, they have better turf interaction for me especially in the short game. However the Rbladez are more forgiving on misses low on the face & toward the toe, you don't lose as much distance on miss-hits. I had a bit more directional control with the DPC's, I suspect it has to do with the heavier PX 6.0 shafts. On the converse the lighter Rbladez 85g shafts provided higher launch and added distance. They're both great sets of irons, for me personally I think the sweet spot might be the Rbladez Tour. They sound like a good blend of the thinner soles with the forgiveness on thin misses that the Rocketbladez slot technology provides. I have yet to hit the Rbladez Tour, but I'm looking forward to testing out my theory.
 
rafdo said:
I gamed J38 DPC's for over a year before the Rbladez. I prefer the thinner soles of the DPC's, they have better turf interaction for me especially in the short game. However the Rbladez are more forgiving on misses low on the face & toward the toe, you don't lose as much distance on miss-hits. I had a bit more directional control with the DPC's, I suspect it has to do with the heavier PX 6.0 shafts. On the converse the lighter Rbladez 85g shafts provided higher launch and added distance. They're both great sets of irons, for me personally I think the sweet spot might be the Rbladez Tour. They sound like a good blend of the thinner soles with the forgiveness on thin misses that the Rocketbladez slot technology provides. I have yet to hit the Rbladez Tour, but I'm looking forward to testing out my theory.
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Yeah, what Rafdo said. Never hit the J38's but the few times i hit the RBladez they just felt weird. The head felt good, and when i made good contact they just flew, but the shafts were way too light compared to my KBS Tours. I also agree about the RBLDZ Tours- they sound absolutely perfect. Thinner sole, similar forgiveness. Love it. Havnt hit em yet, but i'm lovin it.
 
Has anyone compared these to the i20s?? Please point me in the right direction if so. Thx.
 
There were such substantial Indian problems today that testing value from today's round was minimal, other than giving the forgiveness of the clubs a massive run for their money. Actually, the forgiveness of the clubs really did pay dividends...a couple of examples:

I hooded a 5i from the FW for my 2nd shot into a par 5. That became a low runner that stayed in the middle of the fairway, leaving me 100 yards to the pin. I was very happy to have that result, given the swing I put on the ball.

165 yard par 3 where I hit the ball off the toe of the 7i. The ball had a very nice trajectory, flew perfectly straight and landed on the front fringe. Very solid result for a mishit.

5i uphill from 200. Pulled it pretty good but the ball didn't hook horribly like it should have, ended up pin high and maybe 25 yards left of the green, leaving me a pitch and putt for birdie.

Among the rare highlights: A beautiful SW from 100 yards to about 5ft (missed the birdie putt). A really nice SW from a greenside bunker with a downhill side stance lie. The ball popped out nicely and rolled up to about 3 feet (missed the par putt). A PW from 120 to 7 feet.
 
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Whered you play at, Frank?
 
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