TaylorMade RBZ Irons Review - Forum Testing

[Ole Gray]

If they work well in the rain and mud that will sell a ton of these puppies ! Good work partner :clapp:

I am looking forward to seeing how you hit the longer irons and what your take will be with them vs hybrids.

 

[barryboymunro]

Do we feel that the Rocketballz impressive numbers are hugely down to them being lofted stronger than lots of irons out there?

 

[Ole Gray]

Do we feel that the Rocketballz impressive numbers are hugely down to them being lofted stronger than lots of irons out there?

Barry that is a good question. Having a stronger loft will definitely produce good numbers however without the technology behind it, they would be harder to launch. I think it's a combination of both.

 

[Nate]

Heading out today to play with the RocketBallz irons and some fellow THP'ers. Weather is sunny, mid 50's and no wind! Should be a great day to test 'em out.

 

[Sooner21]

Do we feel that the Rocketballz impressive numbers are hugely down to them being lofted stronger than lots of irons out there?

I wouldn't say that at all. They are stronger lofted than traditional irons, but the forgiveness in them is incredible. For example, the 5-iron loft is more like a 4-iron, but when you hit it it feels almost like a 7-iron. It's extremely forgiving and for me very accurate. The whole set is like that so far, and I'm loving what I've seen both on the range and on the course.

 

[Sooner21]

I am looking forward to seeing how you hit the longer irons and what your take will be with them vs hybrids.

I am too. I got the 5-iron out 3 or 4 times yesterday, (activate overspin putter voice) and what do I call my 5-iron? Money! (deactivate overspin putter voice). Really though the thing is extremely easy to hit. I only hit my 4-iron twice, the punch shot and on an approach that was 210 out and I ended about 2 feet off the green on the left side.

 

[bahester]

Great writeup Sooner! Looks like there will be a lot of feedback in here tonight with OG and DD playing, as well as Nate and the other THP'ers he's playing with! Hopefully it continues to be a decent day here today, and I'll be going to the range tonight!

 

[sharkwrestler]

Nice hit with the 4 iron Sooner21 . What kind of ball flight are you seeing with the long Irons?

 

[Sooner21]

Nice hit with the 4 iron Sooner21 . What kind of ball flight are you seeing with the long Irons?

Thanks shark. For me it's a very penetrating flight in the long irons that continues to climb the farther out the ball gets. The ball stays much lower for most of the flight compared to the PING's I was playing. It still gets plenty high, but just farther out instead of right away like my previous irons.

 

[barryboymunro]

I understand that they are very forgiving but was just not sure if people were getting caught up in "ground breaking technology" when its merely down to the loft. I can't comment as i've not played them but keep giving us the feedback then we can make a decision! Keep up the good work lads!

 

[CharlieMoy]

I believe they have thinned out the face as well..

I understand that they are very forgiving but was just not sure if people were getting caught up in "ground breaking technology" when its merely down to the loft. I can't comment as i've not played them but keep giving us the feedback then we can make a decision! Keep up the good work lads!

 

[MWard]

I understand that they are very forgiving but was just not sure if people were getting caught up in "ground breaking technology" when its merely down to the loft. I can't comment as i've not played them but keep giving us the feedback then we can make a decision! Keep up the good work lads!

Changing the loft only does so much though. I won't hit a PW 200+ yds by just bending the loft down to 21 degrees. You strengthen the loft when the changes in technology force you to because the iron is launching the ball too high and ballooning at a traditional loft.

Next time out, I'll bring my 8i (39 degrees of loft) and put it up against the 9i in this set (40 degrees of loft) and I'll put the two against each other. 1 degree isn't gonna make that much of a difference in distance IMO.

 

[barryboymunro]

1 degree isn't gonna make that much of a difference in distance IMO.

If this is the case then why are people mulling over the exact degrees of wedges in their bag or so hung up on being able to lower the loft on their driver etc all i'm saying is why not keep the degrees of loft in line with their other irons, ironic their longest iron is lofted stronger than their previous irons. Only asking the questions!

 

[MWard]

If this is the case then why are people mulling over the exact degrees of wedges in their bag or so hung up on being able to lower the loft on their driver etc all i'm saying is why not keep the degrees of loft in line with their other irons, ironic their longest iron is lofted stronger than their previous irons. Only asking the questions!

Fair questions, I'll see if I can break them down.

1. If this is the case then why are people mulling over the exact degrees of wedges in their bag or so hung up on being able to lower the loft on their driver
Because golfers are a little bit of headcases. Let's be honest, we're all a little sick. Example of me personally being a headcase: Why does my 58 degree wedge go 5 yards shorter than my 56 degree wedge, but 15 yards longer than my 60 degree wedge? Why did my 58 degree wedge all of a sudden go 12 yards further on one hole than it's supposed to on a full swing? Do I need to find a club to fill the 15 yard gap between my 58 and 52? Or just swing my 52 a little easier, or hit the 58 harder?

2. All i'm saying is why not keep the degrees of loft in line with their other irons, ironic their longest iron is lofted stronger than their previous irons
Disclaimer: I'm entirely making all these numbers up, so don't rely on a single launch angle, spin rate, etc. It's just used to prove a point. Scenario: If the 2.0 4 iron at 21 degrees for your swing launches at say 14 degrees at 4000 RPM of spin, giving you 210yds of carry at whatever ball speed numbers are needed to make that happen. The RBZ 4i at 21 degrees launch at 16 degrees, but at 4500 RPM. Well that's a problem. It's launching 2 degrees higher which is nice, but spinning 500 RPM too much for that club and causing you to lose out on yardage because the ball's falling at too steep of an angle. If we want to drop that RPM down 500 RPM, we know we can do so by strengthening the loft 1 degree. We strengthen the loft, bring the RPM down to just about, if not 4000 RPM. Now you have an iron launching 2 degrees higher still by design, and at the appropriate spin rate.

That's probably how these iron companies work. That's just my opinion, I'm sure someone with a lot more knowledge would have a better or at least better detailed answer.

 

[Redbird]

I understand that they are very forgiving but was just not sure if people were getting caught up in "ground breaking technology" when its merely down to the loft. I can't comment as i've not played them but keep giving us the feedback then we can make a decision! Keep up the good work lads!

Losing battle. I had it awhile back. The vast majority on this site believe the number on the bottom of the club is where it's at, regardless of what the actual loft is. A PW is a PW, regardless if it's 45, 40, ect. It says PW on the sole, so it must be a PW.

 

[Tim]

This is awesome. Try going to youtube and getting much of any revire on these. I have been playing the R7 myself. 1 inch long and 3 up Are the RBz's already close to that length? This is the year for new sticks!

Thanks all

 

[Redbird]

Changing the loft only does so much though. I won't hit a PW 200+ yds by just bending the loft down to 21 degrees. You strengthen the loft when the changes in technology force you to because the iron is launching the ball too high and ballooning at a traditional loft.

Next time out, I'll bring my 8i (39 degrees of loft) and put it up against the 9i in this set (40 degrees of loft) and I'll put the two against each other. 1 degree isn't gonna make that much of a difference in distance IMO.

No, if you bent your PW to 21 degrees you'd have a 3iron that's 3-3.5 inches shorter than standard. Yes, you'd hit it about 170ish at the least. Loft and length are the main physical principles that affect how far a golf club goes.

 

[Jersey Nate]

Losing battle. I had it awhile back. The vast majority on this site believe the number on the bottom of the club is where it's at, regardless of what the actual loft is. A PW is a PW, regardless if it's 45, 40, ect. It says PW on the sole, so it must be a PW.

Please don't start this argument here in this thread. These guys are giving honest feedback and trying to help as best they can. That's what this is about - it isn't a debate about lofts, lie angles, what have you. It's about their personal experiences about the clubs and what they have been doing (or not doing) in terms of their game.

 

[MWard]

Losing battle. I had it awhile back. The vast majority on this site believe the number on the bottom of the club is where it's at, regardless of what the actual loft is. A PW is a PW, regardless if it's 45, 40, ect. It says PW on the sole, so it must be a PW.

The bottom number doesn't matter to me as much as will X club hit the ball to Y target at Z yards with enough height to carry there. More importantly, does it do it better than the prior set?

I don't know of very many golfers that have 50 degree pitching wedges anymore, FWIW..

 

[Redbird]

Please don't start this argument here in this thread. These guys are giving honest feedback and trying to help as best they can. That's what this is about - it isn't a debate about lofts, lie angles, what have you. It's about their personal experiences about the clubs and what they have been doing (or not doing) in terms of their game.

Did I "start" it?

 

[Jersey Nate]

Did I "start" it?

Let's keep this thread positive and productive. We ALL are wasting our time with this here.

 

[DawgDaddy]

Just got home from my round today and I never in my life thought I would say this but "I really like Ole Gray's RocketBallZ." :embarrassed: I too have many of the same thoughts that several on here have already expressed. a-They are slightly longer than current irons, though not by much and certainly not a full club. b-The 5I & 4I are not particularly pretty to look at. c-They are easy to hit with the exception of the 4I & 5I for me. d-They are easier to hit a draw with than they are to cut. e-They will bring an "oh wow" reaction at least once during the round guaranteed. f- The grips are not very comfortable to me either. g- Unlike others on here, I hit the RBZ lower than I hit my current irons.

I was immediatley able to hit all of the irons well except for the 4I & 5I, I missed all 5 or 6 shots I took with them on the course. After the round OG and I hit about 10 or 12 balls each on the driving range with the 4 & 5 and after failing to hit the ball well for the 1st 2 shots it finally clicked and I was busting both irons long and straight. I would certainly need to spend a little range time with those 2 clubs to find my groove with them.

The rest of the irons were very easy to hit and were really straight for me and as I said, "I really like Ole Gray's RocketBallZ."

 

[War Eagle]

Just got home from my round today and I never in my life thought I would say this but "I really like Ole Gray's RocketBallZ." :embarrassed: I too have many of the same thoughts that several on here have already expressed. a-They are slightly longer than current irons, though not by much and certainly not a full club. b-The 5I & 4I are not particularly pretty to look at. c-They are easy to hit with the exception of the 4I & 5I for me. d-They are easier to hit a draw with than they are to cut. e-They will bring an "oh wow" reaction at least once during the round guaranteed. f- The grips are not very comfortable to me either. g- Unlike others on here, I hit the RBZ lower than I hit my current irons.

I was immediatley able to hit all of the irons well except for the 4I & 5I, I missed all 5 or 6 shots I took with them on the course. After the round OG and I hit about 10 or 12 balls each on the driving range with the 4 & 5 and after failing to hit the ball well for the 1st 2 shots it finally clicked and I was busting both irons long and straight. I would certainly need to spend a little range time with those 2 clubs to find my groove with them.

The rest of the irons were very easy to hit and were really straight for me and as I said, "I really like Ole Gray's RocketBallZ."

Thats some great feedback there DD, thanks for sharing.

 

[Ole Gray]

I had a good ball striking day today with my irons. I hit the 4 iron on my approach on #1 (190 to the pin) and was just short of the trap. I used it off the tee on number two and busted it down the fairway with a slight draw approx 210 yds & hit my attack wedge in and birdied the hole. Used it again on number seven (200 yds) and hit another attack wedge in to 12 feet and 3 putted. Four 3 putts today or I would have shot 76. I used the 4i again on number 18. After crushing DawgDaddy's driver on the par 5 18th, I had 192 to the center of the green per Dawg's laser device. Now this is the funny part as I actually mis hit the four iron and made the green with a putt for eagle. Another 3 putt.

My mid irons were solid today with a nice high draw and either on the greens or very close by. I am feeling more love for the mid irons as they are easy to hit and provide a nice high with great carry type of ball flight. Unlike other testers my ability to work the ball with these irons, my ability to do so, is not up to par. It's hard for me to fade the ball but that is nothing unusual. The thing I like most is the ball flight is either straight or with a slight draw which is my go to shot.

The AW or gap wedge was money all day. I hit it consistently well which gave me several looks at birdie to only three putt and end up with bogie. I ended up with two birdies for the day and should have easily had two more with missing a three footer for one and three putted the par 5 18th. I hit the pitching wedge on number 15 from 139 yds downhill into a slight breeze and came up short by about 5 ft. I was smoking the pitching wedge and gap wedge when necessary. I used the 9 iron from 135 on number 16 however we were hitting into a gusty wind and I came up 10 yds short behind a green side bunker. The short irons in this set are so much fun to hit and that gap wedge with the fancy technology, is my favorite!

 

[MWard]

Just got home from my round today and I never in my life thought I would say this but "I really like Ole Gray's RocketBallZ." :embarrassed: I too have many of the same thoughts that several on here have already expressed. a-They are slightly longer than current irons, though not by much and certainly not a full club. b-The 5I & 4I are not particularly pretty to look at. c-They are easy to hit with the exception of the 4I & 5I for me. d-They are easier to hit a draw with than they are to cut. e-They will bring an "oh wow" reaction at least once during the round guaranteed. f- The grips are not very comfortable to me either. g- Unlike others on here, I hit the RBZ lower than I hit my current irons.

I was immediatley able to hit all of the irons well except for the 4I & 5I, I missed all 5 or 6 shots I took with them on the course. After the round OG and I hit about 10 or 12 balls each on the driving range with the 4 & 5 and after failing to hit the ball well for the 1st 2 shots it finally clicked and I was busting both irons long and straight. I would certainly need to spend a little range time with those 2 clubs to find my groove with them.

The rest of the irons were very easy to hit and were really straight for me and as I said, "I really like Ole Gray's RocketBallZ."

Were they physically longer than your irons or roughly the same length? I know the change in length, if any, takes a few swings to adjust to them hehe