TaylorMade RBZ Irons Review - Forum Testing

Mutt · Jun 19, 2012

Well I went out and hit them for the first time last night despite the shaft difference. Some initial thoughts. On the iron side, nothing wowed me yet. The range however was wet and sloppy so that wasn't ideal. Had to wipe the mud off of every iron every shot.

I hit a few balls that seemed to go a lot further....maybe a wow... but generally pretty much on par with old clubs. Still, difficult to tell on range. I know they weren't being hit flush when the AW was going very close to the same distance as the PW.

4 iron did not go so well. At first it did and then I started pushing everything to the right and a bit short. Might have just been tired.

However... the 3 Hybrid was a wow club. Did I hit it perfect... no. Close though and a whole lot easier than a normal 3 iron. I honestly thought I hit my RBZ 3 wood and not the iron. It almost seemed go as far. So right now that's the WOW club. I have no clue how far it was going but since my 3 wood is in the 220 to 230 range, I would put this club in the 205-215 range or even 220.

I hit the course tonight. I really shouldn't play with these tonight since it's an informal leauge that folks expect you to try and play well. Ah heck... so my partner loses a few $$$ lol. Then again.... Rocketballz FTW!

MWard · Jun 19, 2012

Ospreyci said:
Yea? I want to reshaft but worried about having to go at least 20 grams heavier in pretty much any shaft. How would a club builder keep the swing weight the same? I am thinking S300 or C-Tapers.

They might try and counterbalance the shaft by putting a little more weight at the grip end? That's my only guess.

Sooner21 · Jun 19, 2012

FrankA said:
What shaft are you going to go with?

I'm going to schedule a shaft fitting sometime soon I hope, so right now I really don't know.

FrankA · Jun 20, 2012

Quick Update:

I know the official testing is over but I have really been working hard on my golf game and been using the RBZ's quite extensivly. I have been playing the 5-AW, electing for the 4H instead of the 4i. I played a quick 9 yesterday and then hit some range balls. I am closer to playing good golf than I have ever been and these clubs keep giving me more and more confidence. I am loving the 5-7 irons, I am hitting these irons better than the 9 and PW on the course. Thankfully I got my setup fixed on the range with the scoring irons. I know that people have praised the AW from the set. I ignored it for a short period of time but it's been a great all around club the last couple of rounds. It is a terrific wedge and I was loving the ATV sole on it so much that I ordered a 56* ATV to go along with this set. In reading JMan's wedge assessment from another testing thread I really just need a couple of go to wedge shots and not try to be all fancy. The RBZ AW allows me to do that beautifully. I'm still seeing decent distances and am having a lot of fun with these right now.

Jugger18 · Jun 20, 2012

Well went over to golf galaxy over lunch. Walked out with 4-AW, std,std stiff shaft. I even got $20 for my ancient Cobra II tours. Fighting the urge to leave work early and hit the range.

bahester · Jun 20, 2012

Jugger18 said:
Well went over to golf galaxy over lunch. Walked out with 4-AW, std,std stiff shaft. I even got $20 for my ancient Cobra II tours. Fighting the urge to leave work early and hit the range.

Nice, congrats on the new sticks!

Jank · Jun 21, 2012

Quick question, kind of: I went yesterday after work to pick up some golf balls at a small place by my house. Someone working there asked if I wanted to do a ball fitting, and I gladly accepted. Anyways, I didn't have my clubs with me, so I used an RBZ 6-iron that they had in the demo rack. After hitting about 8-10 different types of golf balls, I found the right ball for me.

What surprised me was the fact that I was carrying the 6-iron consistently from 175-180 on the monitor. I usually carry my 6-iron 160-165, so I was wondering if these irons are THAT long, or if the simulator was possibly off a bit? I currently game the AP2 710's (had them for about 2 years). The guy helping me didn't believe that I only hit the 6-iron 160, but it's the truth, I'm a rather short knocker for my skill level. Thanks in advance for the input. I am not really in the market for new irons, but 10 yards is very tempting. :act-up:

Nate · Jun 21, 2012

jank1434 said:
Quick question, kind of: I went yesterday after work to pick up some golf balls at a small place by my house. Someone working there asked if I wanted to do a ball fitting, and I gladly accepted. Anyways, I didn't have my clubs with me, so I used an RBZ 6-iron that they had in the demo rack. After hitting about 8-10 different types of golf balls, I found the right ball for me.

What surprised me was the fact that I was carrying the 6-iron consistently from 175-180 on the monitor. I usually carry my 6-iron 160-165, so I was wondering if these irons are THAT long, or if the simulator was possibly off a bit? I currently game the AP2 710's (had them for about 2 years). The guy helping me didn't believe that I only hit the 6-iron 160, but it's the truth, I'm a rather short knocker for my skill level. Thanks in advance for the input. I am not really in the market for new irons, but 10 yards is very tempting. :act-up:

jank1434....Here are the specs for the 6 iron on each club:

AP2(710) - Loft 31 degrees, Length 37.50", Lie 62.5 degrees
RBZ - Loft 26.5 degrees, 37.625", Lie 62.5 degrees

So the big difference is the loft; about 4.5 degrees off between the clubs. The RBZ 6 iron is more loft similiar to the AP2 5 iron (27 degrees). So you do have to take that into consideration. This may also explain the gain in 10 yards.....for you and your swing. The thing you want to look at is how accurate were you using the RBZ 6 iron compared to the AP 6 iron, or to make it similiar, the AP 5 iron. Where were you misses? Left or right? How much height were you getting with each? Etc.

Jugger18 · Jun 21, 2012

Whether true or not is debateable. The salesperson told me that even though the RBZ loft is lower when compared to other clubs if you take for example 2 6irons the launch angle will be similar but the RBZ will be longer. sounds like salesspeak to me though

enyahs · Jun 21, 2012

I have noticed a gain of distance ever since I have gotten my rbz irons. But I have had no trouble with the flight. I feel as they almost go higher. Could just be me but when I hit the course. My shots really do go long high and straight. I love my irons

Ole Gray · Jun 21, 2012

enyahs said:
I have noticed a gain of distance ever since I have gotten my rbz irons. But I have had no trouble with the flight. I feel as they almost go higher. Could just be me but when I hit the course. My shots really do go long high and straight. I love my irons

Me too buddy... I played today and with an adjustment to my swing I am hitting a beautiful fade with these irons. At one time that shot shape was no where in my bag with me being a convicted hooker (just kidding but not really). It's a long process to adjust to new irons however once you play with the RBZ irons, you just keep going back!

titleist-fan · Jun 22, 2012

clubs arrived with graphite shaft

clubs arrived with graphite shaft

so yesterday i played my second 9 holes with the clubs. im very satisfied. as i told in my first post i played titleist ap2 with stiff project x steel shafts for years but the last months i played not very well. these clubs help me very much at the moment. very easy to play and they are really long. i dont need a wood anymore. i use the iron 4 from the tee and hit it around 220 yards. of course with a driver i can be much longer but to be honest....with my golf at the moment only 1 of 4 balls will lay then on the fairway. i decide to order also an iron 3. im very happy with the graphite shaft (but i must say that i dont had the opportunity to try the irons with steel shaft....but i think there will be not much differnce). the clubs are not to compare with the titleist ap2 ... the feeling and feedback of the ap2 ist much better. but thats not so importent at the moment for me. i want to have fun and want to see an iron4 shot flying in the air and not on the ground

. i think these are very forgiving irons and i can recommend them for all players to test them. i will continue to write my further experience with them. greets from germany

Ole Gray · Jun 22, 2012

titleist-fan said:
so yesterday i played my second 9 holes with the clubs. im very satisfied. as i told in my first post i played titleist ap2 with stiff project x steel shafts for years but the last months i played not very well. these clubs help me very much at the moment. very easy to play and they are really long. i dont need a wood anymore. i use the iron 4 from the tee and hit it around 220 yards. of course with a driver i can be much longer but to be honest....with my golf at the moment only 1 of 4 balls will lay then on the fairway. i decide to order also an iron 3. im very happy with the graphite shaft (but i must say that i dont had the opportunity to try the irons with steel shaft....but i think there will be not much differnce). the clubs are not to compare with the titleist ap2 ... the feeling and feedback of the ap2 ist much better. but thats not so importent at the moment for me. i want to have fun and want to see an iron4 shot flying in the air and not on the ground. i think these are very forgiving irons and i can recommend them for all players to test them. i will continue to write my further experience with them. greets from germany

Good for you! I bet many of the golfers on here are interested about the graphite version of these irons. It will be cool to hear from you as you bond with these new irons and share your experience with them.

DawgDaddy · Jun 22, 2012

Ole Gray said:
Me too buddy... I played today and with an adjustment to my swing I am hitting a beautiful fade with these irons. At one time that shot shape was no where in my bag with me being a convicted hooker (just kidding but not really). It's a long process to adjust to new irons however once you play with the RBZ irons, you just keep going back!

Yes you are my friend, I never thought I would see you consistently hit a ball left to right (on purpose) but you certainly have dialed in that shot now. It was fun seeing how happy it made you to now be a reformed hooker. :smile:

Ole Gray · Jun 22, 2012

DawgDaddy said:
Yes you are my friend, I never thought I would see you consistently hit a ball left to right (on purpose) but you certainly have dialed in that shot now. It was fun seeing how happy it made you to now be a reformed hooker. :smile:

Thank my friend! I am going to put my RBZ fade to test today at our possible new course in Monroe, Ga. All fades all day long with the rocket launchers :blob:.

DawgDaddy · Jun 22, 2012

Ole Gray said:
Thank my friend! I am going to put my RBZ fade to test today at our possible new course in Monroe, Ga. All fades all day long with the rocket launchers :blob:.

Good luck, look forward to hearing your report on the course. I have gone into a ponder mode on the RBZ irons here the last couple of days, this is not good as I really don't need to change from what I have. Ponder's can be expensive.

Jugger18 · Jun 22, 2012

Well I took them to the range for the first time. All I can say is wow. So much softer feel compared to my very old K Cobra II tours. Now here is the really interesting part. I hit these much higher on a per club basis but also much longer. The ball does not balloon at all. A high boring trajectory. I am a decently long hitter but when I dropped 3 straight 5 irons on the 218 flag with range balls, I am sold. I was also killing the RBZ driver. Many well over 300 with rollout. I have noticed in the past that thye range balls (wilson staff) are generally 5-10 yards shorter than what I see on the course.

titleist-fan · Jun 24, 2012

i have a question to the grips. i find it really sad that these irons have so cheap grips on them. i have after 18 holes a black hand and my glove is also black, also the smell like if im in a storage for car wheels. i remember this last time when i order my first cheap golf set. but with titleist and the grips they deliver i never had these problems. really think about to regrip them but i think its not the sense with a new high price set. whats your experience with the grips?

bahester · Jun 24, 2012

titleist-fan said:
i have a question to the grips. i find it really sad that these irons have so cheap grips on them. i have after 18 holes a black hand and my glove is also black, also the smell like if im in a storage for car wheels. i remember this last time when i order my first cheap golf set. but with titleist and the grips they deliver i never had these problems. really think about to regrip them but i think its not the sense with a new high price set. whats your experience with the grips?

I personally didn't have that problem at all. Don't remember seeing anyone else that did either.

Sooner21 · Jun 24, 2012

titleist-fan said:
i have a question to the grips. i find it really sad that these irons have so cheap grips on them. i have after 18 holes a black hand and my glove is also black, also the smell like if im in a storage for car wheels. i remember this last time when i order my first cheap golf set. but with titleist and the grips they deliver i never had these problems. really think about to regrip them but i think its not the sense with a new high price set. whats your experience with the grips?

I was not a fan of the grips at all and re-gripped after a round or two.

FrankA · Jun 24, 2012

titleist-fan said:
i have a question to the grips. i find it really sad that these irons have so cheap grips on them. i have after 18 holes a black hand and my glove is also black, also the smell like if im in a storage for car wheels. i remember this last time when i order my first cheap golf set. but with titleist and the grips they deliver i never had these problems. really think about to regrip them but i think its not the sense with a new high price set. whats your experience with the grips?

I wasn't a huge fun but I like a softer grip, personally. Have loved them more and more since slapping some new grips on there.

Jugger18 said:
Well I took them to the range for the first time. All I can say is wow. So much softer feel compared to my very old K Cobra II tours. Now here is the really interesting part. I hit these much higher on a per club basis but also much longer. The ball does not balloon at all. A high boring trajectory. I am a decently long hitter but when I dropped 3 straight 5 irons on the 218 flag with range balls, I am sold. I was also killing the RBZ driver. Many well over 300 with rollout. I have noticed in the past that thye range balls (wilson staff) are generally 5-10 yards shorter than what I see on the course.

Glad you are having success Jugger. Sounds like you can crush it.

MWard · Jun 24, 2012

titleist-fan said:
i have a question to the grips. i find it really sad that these irons have so cheap grips on them. i have after 18 holes a black hand and my glove is also black, also the smell like if im in a storage for car wheels. i remember this last time when i order my first cheap golf set. but with titleist and the grips they deliver i never had these problems. really think about to regrip them but i think its not the sense with a new high price set. whats your experience with the grips?

I still have the stock grips on there and I had little to no problem with them. New grips on a new glove can turn the glove a little black just cause of the grip twisting, but we're talking minor discoloration. Try washing them with soap and water and it should make that stop happening. They didn't feel cheap to me, JMO.

FrankA · Jun 24, 2012

Are all of the testers still playing these. I am and hit a bit of a stride with them lately. Love them more and more each time I take them out.

bahester · Jun 24, 2012

FrankA said:
Are all of the testers still playing these. I am and hit a bit of a stride with them lately. Love them more and more each time I take them out.

I've taken mine out of the bag. Sending them to Super Tuna next weekend for him to game.