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TaylorMade RSi 1 Irons Review Thread

SuperStroke
Took these out Thursday for a round on a course I know very well, and usually plays really long. I figured a distance iron out here could do me a little bit of good as I knew I'd have some longer yardages into some very long par 4's. I went 10/18 on greens, which was nice. Of the 8 greens missed, 3 were just on the fringe after either spinning back or just releasing enough to roll through the green after landing too close to an edge. Results were very good from that aspect. After getting several rounds with these in though, I'm still not ever sure what yardages are going to come out of each iron and I'm not quite happy about that.

Several times during these rounds, I've pulled a club expecting X distance based off of past experiences they've flown as much as 15 yards past my intended distance. That sounds fun, but then when you play for that yardage after a few times of having it happen, then they go back to what was expected. Contact on both of these results have been similar, so it's not a matter IMO of just catching one just right vs hitting one off the toe or heel and seeing such a fluctuation of yardage. I'm kind of at a loss of what's causing it on both results.
 
Great thoughts wardy. I was wondering if too many slots could lead to inconsistency of ball speeds on similar strikes.

Hopefully some others can chime in
 
jlukes said:
Great thoughts wardy. I was wondering if too many slots could lead to inconsistency of ball speeds on similar strikes.

Hopefully some others can chime in
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It shouldn't, not on center contact vs center contact. I wouldn't think so anyway?
 
Great reviews so far, the irons look really interesting. How has the gapping been at the short end of the set? Does 6 degrees between PW and AW make a big difference?
 
davjol51 said:
Great reviews so far, the irons look really interesting. How has the gapping been at the short end of the set? Does 6 degrees between PW and AW make a big difference?
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It didnt for me, but the AW did not last long in my set as I moved to something more versatile.
 
ddec said:
I'm not sure if Pete is traveling with these to FL this weekend or not.
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I didn't bring them this trip--and I missed them.
 
davjol51 said:
Great reviews so far, the irons look really interesting. How has the gapping been at the short end of the set? Does 6 degrees between PW and AW make a big difference?
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I did not receive a GW in my set, only 3-PW. However my previous set(SLDR) had a 5 degree gap and my current(VRS Forged) has a 6 degree gap there and for me I have no issues.
 
Ok so here's the real question: in world where $ doesn't grow on trees, is the incremental value (performance) worth the incremental cost? i.e. is it worth is to pay over $100 more for the RSi1s vs. the Speedblades?
 
SirBigSpur06 said:
Ok so here's the real question: in world where $ doesn't grow on trees, is the incremental value (performance) worth the incremental cost? i.e. is it worth is to pay over $100 more for the RSi1s vs. the Speedblades?
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That's user dependent to be honest. Side by side, the RSI's were longer and higher for me than the speedblades. Your mileage may vary though, so it would be strongly advised to hit them side by side and see what works better for you.
 
Mward said:
That's user dependent to be honest. Side by side, the RSI's were longer and higher for me than the speedblades. Your mileage may vary though, so it would be strongly advised to hit them side by side and see what works better for you.
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Fair enough... I kind of expected that response. So to be more direct, for the average weekend warrior - who can afford it, but can't simply disregard a $100 price difference - would that extra $100 be better spent elsewhere? Regardless of your situation, (most) people don't want to unnecessarly spend $. If the RSi1s only give me an extra couple of yards over the SpeedBlades, I'm not sure the incremental value would be worth the cost... I'd be better off just getting the Speedblades and pocketing the $100.
 
Mward said:
That's user dependent to be honest. Side by side, the RSI's were longer and higher for me than the speedblades. Your mileage may vary though, so it would be strongly advised to hit them side by side and see what works better for you.
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Do you mind if I ask your swing speed. I suspect the distance gains are greater for higher SS's and not in a linear fashion.
 
Mward said:
Took these out Thursday for a round on a course I know very well, and usually plays really long. I figured a distance iron out here could do me a little bit of good as I knew I'd have some longer yardages into some very long par 4's. I went 10/18 on greens, which was nice. Of the 8 greens missed, 3 were just on the fringe after either spinning back or just releasing enough to roll through the green after landing too close to an edge. Results were very good from that aspect. After getting several rounds with these in though, I'm still not ever sure what yardages are going to come out of each iron and I'm not quite happy about that.

Several times during these rounds, I've pulled a club expecting X distance based off of past experiences they've flown as much as 15 yards past my intended distance. That sounds fun, but then when you play for that yardage after a few times of having it happen, then they go back to what was expected. Contact on both of these results have been similar, so it's not a matter IMO of just catching one just right vs hitting one off the toe or heel and seeing such a fluctuation of yardage. I'm kind of at a loss of what's causing it on both results.
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Seems like with your game, you would be more suited with rsi2 if not the tp model
 
Blazer said:
Do you mind if I ask your swing speed. I suspect the distance gains are greater for higher SS's and not in a linear fashion.
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For a driver, right around 100mph. Not sure about irons though.
 
Answers to these questions are highly variable. But I'd suggest that you don't interpret performance as just distance. You have to look at everything...accuracy being just as important and for most of us hackers, forgiveness determines much of accuracy and consistency in distance.

So are a few yards worth $100? Well considering the expenses in golf, $100 for equipment you may have for many years - yes. You should evaluate though on many additional factors - dispersion, decent angles and spin rates for instance. Doesn't do you any good to reach a green only to roll off the back each time.

Get a quality fitting and compare numbers is the only way to determine the answer for yourself.
 
Mward said:
Took these out Thursday for a round on a course I know very well, and usually plays really long. I figured a distance iron out here could do me a little bit of good as I knew I'd have some longer yardages into some very long par 4's. I went 10/18 on greens, which was nice. Of the 8 greens missed, 3 were just on the fringe after either spinning back or just releasing enough to roll through the green after landing too close to an edge. Results were very good from that aspect. After getting several rounds with these in though, I'm still not ever sure what yardages are going to come out of each iron and I'm not quite happy about that.

Several times during these rounds, I've pulled a club expecting X distance based off of past experiences they've flown as much as 15 yards past my intended distance. That sounds fun, but then when you play for that yardage after a few times of having it happen, then they go back to what was expected. Contact on both of these results have been similar, so it's not a matter IMO of just catching one just right vs hitting one off the toe or heel and seeing such a fluctuation of yardage. I'm kind of at a loss of what's causing it on both results.
Click to expand...

Thinking about this a little - do you think this could be an outcome of the design goals for the RSi1? Minimizing distance all over the face at the expense of variance in distance right around the center? It would be interesting to see a comparison of close-to-center strikes on the 1's and 2's, at least. But I wouldn't think this is the case, as that seems like it isn't necessarily a tradeoff worth making.
 
SirBigSpur06 said:
Fair enough... I kind of expected that response. So to be more direct, for the average weekend warrior - who can afford it, but can't simply disregard a $100 price difference - would that extra $100 be better spent elsewhere? Regardless of your situation, (most) people don't want to unnecessarly spend $. If the RSi1s only give me an extra couple of yards over the SpeedBlades, I'm not sure the incremental value would be worth the cost... I'd be better off just getting the Speedblades and pocketing the $100.
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If it were me, I'd still go get fit :). If the RSI's won, I'd find out if it made sense to drop the 3 and/or 4 iron from the set. In my case, the 3 and 4 aren't as good as the hybrid and fairway they would be replacing so if I were purchasing, I'd just go 5-AW or just 5-PW.

Also in my case, these launched higher than the SB's. That would be important to know if I were a high or low ball hitter, thus why it's really important IMO to get fit.

Blazer said:
Do you mind if I ask your swing speed. I suspect the distance gains are greater for higher SS's and not in a linear fashion.
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5i speed in the mid 80's. I've seen it as low as 83, as high as 88 so mid 80's it is!

Kchauv said:
Seems like with your game, you would be more suited with rsi2 if not the tp model
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I would be very interested in hitting the RSI 2's. The TP's aren't out till January. Since the 2's are comparable to my SLDR's, I don't really want to hit it considerably shorter cause that's just not very fun when you're pulling 5i from the distance you were pulling 7i. The height differences alone are a big factor in that.
mpeterson said:
Thinking about this a little - do you think this could be an outcome of the design goals for the RSi1? Minimizing distance all over the face at the expense of variance in distance right around the center? It would be interesting to see a comparison of close-to-center strikes on the 1's and 2's, at least. But I wouldn't think this is the case, as that seems like it isn't necessarily a tradeoff worth making.
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I'm really not sure to be honest. It's pretty frustrating though to fly a green with one iron, then pull it two holes later and hit it shorter than what you were trying for the first time when contact is similar
 
I was just curious if any of the other testers have anything to add, or any differing experiences from what I've seen?
 
I hit this side by side against the standard apex today with the same shaft (kbs tour)

Apex launched higher, rsi spun more, peak Heights were similar and Apex average carry distance was 6 yards further
 
Mward said:
I was just curious if any of the other testers have anything to add, or any differing experiences from what I've seen?
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You have me a little nervous dude, I know your game and we both share similar feelings toward jumpers and distance jumps like that. Are you seeing it with multiple clubs? or just one?
 
jlukes said:
I hit this side by side against the standard apex today with the same shaft (kbs tour)

Apex launched higher, rsi spun more, peak Heights were similar and Apex average carry distance was 6 yards further
Click to expand...

interesting, did you hit the rsi1 ord the rsi2?
 
jlukes said:
I hit this side by side against the standard apex today with the same shaft (kbs tour)

Apex launched higher, rsi spun more, peak Heights were similar and Apex average carry distance was 6 yards further
Click to expand...

Wonder if the KBS shaft wasn't as good as a fit in that head as it is in the Apex.
 
Mward said:
I was just curious if any of the other testers have anything to add, or any differing experiences from what I've seen?
Click to expand...

I will have a full write up in the next couple of days. Playing a few more holes with them this week. Interesting irons for sure.
 
Trout Bum said:
You have me a little nervous dude, I know your game and we both share similar feelings toward jumpers and distance jumps like that. Are you seeing it with multiple clubs? or just one?
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Last round, it only happened with my 7i. Jumped once, then another time pulled it went weirdly short in comparison to what its normal distance is on normal hits. I just chalked it up as a weird result.
 
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