TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Fairway Review Thread

[War Eagle]

TaylorMade has sent out their new Rocketballz Stage 2 Fairway Woods for Forum Testing here on THP, and testers have started to receive their clubs at this time. This thread will serve as a long term review area for the the testers to post their thoughts, results and experiences with the new RBZ Stage 2 Fairways, as well as for others to ask questions and share their thoughts.

Please keep it clear until the testers begin posting their initial thoughts, Thanks.

 

[afwcardinal]

Welcome to the TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Fairway Review Thread.
Before I get into this I want to give a brief back ground about myself. I live in Fort Worth Texas and play any course that I can get on. I am turning 49 next month and still love learning and playing this game. My home course is not much, but to me it is convenient from work and I have unlimited range with there rocks for a monthly fee. I play to a 12.9 HCP which has not changed in over 6 months do to issues with work and the lack of time. Today, I try to get to the range at least 5 days a week and get to the course every other weekend. I will be starting to play more frequently starting next week and will spend a little less time on the range. I am not the longest of hitters out there. I have a driver swing speed around 105 and I am carrying a bag that only has TM woods in it.
I currently and play the Taylormade R9 TP 15* w/Fujikura Motore F1 85G that I absolutely love. Favorite club in my bag by far. I can drive the screws out of this ball with just about any desired flight and from anywhere on he course. I hit the R9 225 from the tee ad about 220 from the deck. I have been know to take it over 250 from both, depends on how happy(or not)I am hitting the ball that day. Looking forward to see how this Stage 2 stacks up against the best in my bag.

This was a great valentines day. I get home from the range and my wife sends me to the closet to get the kids cards and what do I find.

Now, I will tell you that I came straight out of the closet, looking at my wife, "Did you forget to mention something?"
What a wonderful Valentines gift from GG. Can't believe it got here this fast. I would like to thank THP and Taylormade right here. I hope that I can give the feed back that everyone is wanting about this club.
I did have to go back into the closet and get the kids cards/gift.

This is a very nice looking club. Excited to get it out on the range Saturday and start running it through the gauntlet. I hope the paint holds up.

 

[JeffReedMO]

Very nice, awfcardinal! Which loft did you end up receiving? Maybe I am getting tired, but that head looks huge, almost like a driver.

Mine should be here tomorrow and I look forward to seeing what I will putting through a workout. I'll update tomorrow afternoon with what I will be testing for THP and TaylorMade.

 

[Oregon Jack]

Very nice, awfcardinal! Which loft did you end up receiving? Maybe I am getting tired, but that head looks huge, almost like a driver.

Mine should be here tomorrow and I look forward to seeing what I will putting through a workout. I'll update tomorrow afternoon with what I will be testing for THP and TaylorMade.

looks like 15* to me. i know it's a 3, and it doesn't have the HL next to it. which loft/flex did you get?

 

[JeffReedMO]

looks like 15* to me. i know it's a 3, and it doesn't have the HL next to it. which loft/flex did you get?

Not sure yet. I'll find out tomorrow when I open the box.

 

[Jman]

Nice afw! Excited for this one to get going, I loathed last years because of off the deck issues for me and my damn swing, but after testing the driver, I'm curious about the fairway again.

 

[Damaikis]

Very nice afw! I can't wait to hear how this club performs. I'm pondering a new 3 wood and this one is on the list to hit.

 

[afwcardinal]

Very nice, awfcardinal! Which loft did you end up receiving? Maybe I am getting tired, but that head looks huge, almost like a driver.

Mine should be here tomorrow and I look forward to seeing what I will putting through a workout. I'll update tomorrow afternoon with what I will be testing for THP and TaylorMade.

Yes Jeff, it is 15*. I tried to get it in the pic, but it is just a bit blury. I probably would have caught that if my computer would have not locked up on me. It took me about an hour and a half to write that up. I will get some better shots up Saturday. I was in a small rush, with it being V day today. Need to spend a little time with the loved ones.

 

[Brianbigoats]

Nice afw! Excited for this one to get going, I loathed last years because of off the deck issues for me and my damn swing, but after testing the driver, I'm curious about the fairway again.

I was in the same boat with my RBZ tour 13* i love to hit the new 14.5* stage 2 tour off the deck only a few yards shorter than off the tee I did change the shaft because it felt soft

 

[afwcardinal]

Very nice afw! I can't wait to hear how this club performs. I'm pondering a new 3 wood and this one is on the list to hit.

I hope this is a good one. I believe the head has delivered the proof of design to being good already, but now let's see if it performs with this shaft. I think this 60g rocketfuel shaft might take me a few swings to adjust to, but it shouldn't take to much since I am using a 65g driver shaft already.

 

[afwcardinal]

I was in the same boat with my RBZ tour 13* i love to hit the new 14.5* stage 2 tour off the deck only a few yards shorter than off the tee I did change the shaft because it felt soft

The shaft is my main concern with this club. It has a nice feel to it, for what a waggle is worth, but that is all I have done with it so far.

 

[#Cookie]

Nice start to the testing Eddie! I am definitely curious to hear your thoughts on this given the hype I have read/heard/seen about RBZ over the last year.

With so much of the hype being distance and knowing that you/I hit it almost exactly the same off the tee I feel your feedback would apply to me pretty well. Anxious to see/take some swings with this in person when we tee it up as well!

If I did not know any better, I would have thought in the photo with it leaning against the wall with the head cover on that it was a driver. Head cover looks big for a FW wood!

 

[JRod]

Anyone of the testers have access to a loft/lie machine? I would be curious as to what the actual loft of these clubs are.

 

[afwcardinal]

Nice start to the testing Eddie! I am definitely curious to hear your thoughts on this given the hype I have read/heard/seen about RBZ over the last year.

With so much of the hype being distance and knowing that you/I hit it almost exactly the same off the tee I feel your feedback would apply to me pretty well. Anxious to see/take some swings with this in person when we tee it up as well!

If I did not know any better, I would have thought in the photo with it leaning against the wall with the head cover on that it was a driver. Head cover looks big for a FW wood!

Cookie, with the head cover on it does look big, but I believe it actually is slightly smaller than my R9. I will get some comparison shots tonight with my driver and 3w. We can definitely get this into your hands next time we tee it up.

 

[Jeff Spicoli]

Thanks to THP and TaylorMade for the opportunity to test the new Rocketballz Stage 2 fairway wood. I am very excited and honored to have been chosen and hope I can do nearly as good a job as so many of the other testers on this site have done. I am going to do my best to answer any and all questions to the best of my knowledge and as fast as I can.

I've been tracking "the package" religiously and knew that it was going to be waiting for me after work today. I didn't know what version of the Stage 2 I was going to be testing, so I was ready to find out what was waiting for me. Upon opening, I am going to be testing the 15* FW with the Matrix Rocketfuel 60 Stiff flex shaft, which is very cool as I have the original RBZ Tour 14.5* so I am pumped to see what changes have been made.

I haven't had a chance to hit the Stage 2 yet, so my initial thoughts are just going to be an aesthetic assessment.

Initial thoughts:

The crown definitely has a lot more going on than the original RBZ and I think it is a slight improvement as the graphics serve as an additional alignment aid. While I'm still not sure about the yellow and black color scheme yet, I like the additional graphics on the crown compared with the starknes of the original and R11.

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There will be no mistaking what you've got in the bag with the head cover. The color scheme is reminiscent of Bruce Lee's or Uma Thurman's (ala Kill Bill) yellow and black jumpsuit--and I can't believe I just made that comparison.

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The sole of the club is pretty similar to last year's with the Speed Slot and the RBZ logo running the down the middle. The sole feels flatter and with slightly shallower face, which makes the Stage 2 feel like it rests a little more comfortably on the ground if that makes sense.

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Now, if you have hear anything about the Stage 2, TaylorMade is promoting it as having a shallower face and lower head profile for versatility and better launch conditions. Just from comparing it side by side to the original RBZ, it is slightly shallower and not as large. That being said, I haven't had the chance to take it out to the range yet to see how the changes affect playability. I like the potential this thing has.

I did my best to capture the difference.

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I am going to try to sneak away to hit the range during my lunch break today, but if that doesn't happen, I have booked some launch monitor time for tomorrow morning, which I think will be a good place to start the testing.

Thanks again to TaylorMade and THP. afwcardinal has gotten us off to a great start and good luck to all the other testers. I can't wait to hear everyone's feedback.

 

[#Cookie]

Nice pics Jeff! Excited that you were selected as I think your comparison to the original RBZ will be great for our forum readers. Is the stage 2 at 15* longer than the original at 14.5*? Curious to find out.

 

[Jeff Spicoli]

Nice pics Jeff! Excited that you were selected as I think your comparison to the original RBZ will be great for our forum readers. Is the stage 2 at 15* longer than the original at 14.5*? Curious to find out.

Thanks, man.

That was one of the first things I checked out. Same length 43.5"

 

[mikedean441]

Great start to the reviews AFW and Jeff, will be following along with this one for sure

 

[#Cookie]

Thanks, man.

That was one of the first things I checked out. Same length 43.5"

Haha, I actually meant longer on the course but great point about the shaft length also!

 

[afwcardinal]

Nice start Jeff. I liked seeing the comparison shots with last year's RBZ. It will be good to hear the performance differences between them. Can't wait to see what you think of this club.

 

[Jeff Spicoli]

Nice start Jeff. I liked seeing the comparison shots with last year's RBZ. It will be good to hear the performance differences between them. Can't wait to see what you think of this club.

Thanks, man. And thanks for getting us started. Sounds like the Stage 2 has a lot to live up to compared to your R9.

Haha, I actually meant longer on the course but great point about the shaft length also!

I'm a genius.

 

[afwcardinal]

Thanks, man. And thanks for getting us started. Sounds like the Stage 2 has a lot to live up to compared to your R9.



I'm a genius.

It really does have a challenge there. And as for cookies question, I thought the same as you. I was thinking he wanted the shaft length. It was what I was curious about too.

 

[barryboymunro]

Is it as light as the first RBZ? I always thought the first edition was too light

 

[TheCrest4]

Way to get this off to a great start guys! I should be receiving mine today.

Great pics Jeff, the 2 clubs look quite similar actually not sure if I was expecting the Stage 2 to be drastically different but those comparison pics were great. Pretty cool that you will be able to compare the 2 years. My golfing buddy has the 2012 RBZ also so I will get a chance to swing that club also and do some comparison testing of my own.

A quick question to my fellow testers, so rules say you can not have more than 14 clubs in the bag, do you take out a club and put the test club in? I am going to be hitting the course Sunday and not sure if I should take out my current 3 wood or leave it it and take out another club?

Really looking forward to this guys!

 

[#Cookie]

Way to get this off to a great start guys! I should be receiving mine today.

Great pics Jeff, the 2 clubs look quite similar actually not sure if I was expecting the Stage 2 to be drastically different but those comparison pics were great. Pretty cool that you will be able to compare the 2 years. My golfing buddy has the 2012 RBZ also so I will get a chance to swing that club also and do some comparison testing of my own.

A quick question to my fellow testers, so rules say you can not have more than 14 clubs in the bag, do you take out a club and put the test club in? I am going to be hitting the course Sunday and not sure if I should take out my current 3 wood or leave it it and take out another club?

Really looking forward to this guys!

To answer your club question, if playing a round that you will report for handicap, I would take out a club and put the 3w in. If just a testing/fun round with no intention to post a score then play with as many as you want!