TaylorMade RSi 2 Irons Review Thread

Glad to have you here Jim.

Glad to be here. Another comment I was wondering. I have noticed as well that these Clubs are a good deal stronger than my Rbladez Tours. In some of them, the loft is as much as 2 degree's . I am wondering how much that plays into any of the increased distances in these irons that some of the testers found. Got to believe this strengthening of the loft's has a little to do with the increased yardage. I have been gaming an SLDR driver for about 6 months now, and I know that was a big part of the marketing of that Slot in the bottom and the lowering of the CG, wondering if the slot on the bottom of these allowed them to strengthen the loft a bit and combine with the shaft to give it a little higher trajectory and longer distance a bit. I would love for the Testers to do a quick comparison where they saw longer distance from their current clubs vs these and what the difference is in the lofts.

It will certainly give more distance. Its a byproduct of moving weight deeper to produce a higher ball flight. You can see that in everything from some player's irons to many of the larger club heads out today. Its similar to the hybrid (hollow body) theory. To give people an idea, look at the SLDR driver. The weight was moved forward, therefore people had to loft up to hit it as high as needed. Some irons are the exact opposite. Weight moved back, means that lower lofts might be necessary to bring the flight down.

What you get is a high ball flight that is longer.

I can be of assistance on that one on two different irons for you Jim.

Apex Pro 9i: 41 degrees, 145 carry
SLDR iron: 41 degrees, 155 carry
RSI2: 40 degrees, 155 carry

Apex Pro 5i: 26 degrees, 180 carry
SLDR: 24 degree, 200 carry
RSI 2: 24 degree, 200 carry

And to throw you for a loop..
SLDR 6i: 28 degree: 185 carry
Rsi2: 27 degree: 190 carry

Just cause I bump the loft up, doesn't always mean the club will have extra distance.

JimG22 said:

As a Newbie to this Forum, thanks to all of you here for some great input. I will admit though, this stuff get's awful confusing for us common folk. With that said I read every single post out here, all 25 pages of it. Why, well, because 7 days ago I got myself custom fit for a set of RSi2's and just wanted to see what I had done to myself... LOL, actually, I hit them for over an hour at a TM Demo day at my dad's club and fell in love.... ya I know, fell in love with the 7 iron they laid in my hands , dialed up / down with different shafts, lie's.... blah blah blah. I am a 7 HDCP so i went back and forth between the forged and the 2's as they most logically fit my game. I have been playing with Rbladez Tour's for the last 18 month and honestly really liked those clubs but felt I was missing a little something. I had changed those out from some Callaway X-22 Tours that were the 2 years prior. The one thing I really liked was the flight of my ball. Given my "crappy swing" I have a lower than average ball flight off my irons and loved the way these travelled off the club. Yah, I know, could have probably spent a lot less by taking some lesson's and fixing the crappiness in my swing, but hey, where is the fun in that. So now I am stoked as less than 7 days later, the clubs have been received, are unpacked and in my bag waiting for tomorrows 645a tee time and away we go.

The testers have put together some fantastic comments and I enjoyed reading each and every one of them. But here is my 2 cents worth and why this stuff get's very confusing to us common folk (actually maybe everyone else get's it and it's just me who is alone in the woods). There were a tremendous amount of comments in the testing that called into play the fact that these clubs did not have great "feel". Many of those comments were coming from testers that were currently gaming Forged sticks at present. Just curious, these are not Forged clubs and I really would not expect them to have the same "Feel" as a forged club. What I can tell you for sure at least with my demo of the clubs to be confirmed tomorrow evening, these felt a heck of a lot better than both my prior Rbladez Tour's as well as my Callaway X-22 tours (which in my mind are direct comparable clubs in the pseudo game improvement / better player clubs than comparing to Forged Irons). So I'm must wondering if the lack of feel is in relation to how this category of club feels across other offerings or is the lack of feel vs forged irons ???. Workability was another interesting factor that came up a lot. OK, now I am a 7 HDCP, like many others in my range, I am usually more concerned with hitting the ball straight where I aim, not whether I can hit a high fade to a tight pin back right. I leave that up to the guy's that do it for a living, not those of us playing for the fun. Now, with that, I'll admit, when I get in trouble, there are time's I will have to hit that low/high fade around a tree to get back into play or a slight draw to avoid some other trouble and get me back into play. So yah, I might be concerned with my ability to do that, but I think those characteristics might be more for the Forged Clubs played by the stud golfers. Anyway, you guy's made me feel really good about this club going straight, woo hoo that is what I want it to do.... I also got a kick, I'm just poking fun and hoping not to p*&^ people off, but found it funny with 12+ handicappers talking about working the ball.

Anyway, loved all the feedback and reviews from some very talented folks out there with varying abilities and from different parts of the country and their opinions on these sticks. Honestly, I haven't been this excited to get a round in with a new set in many many years.

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Awesome comments and welcome to the forum. I think feel is so subjective it's not funny, the biggest difference in feel for me is with the misses, they feel much worse than my blades but a well struck ball is the same as my forged gamers, you don't really feel it you hear it more than anything.

As far as working the ball I enjoy shaping shots and it's something I've practiced for a long time, I do notice I hit the straight ball a bit more with these but it's nice to have the ability to turn it if you want to or need to.

I'm anxious to hear your thoughts after you game them for a few rounds, they are really nice clubs.

I think after having an opportunity to sit back and think about my round Friday I'm really pleased with the performance of the TM RSI 2 irons, from the way they look in the bag to the way they perform it's a no brainier for me to keep them in there for the foreseeable future.

I keep going back to the long and mid irons in the set because I really have loved the flight with these, it's just not what I'm used to but everything I want lol. Turf interaction is really good, it will take some time to fully adjust to the wider sole but I like the way they take a shallower divot and on a well struck shot the muted thud is right on track with what I expect from good contact.

I like them enough to put the mizzies on the bay and anyone that knows me or my game, that speaks volumes for how much I like these.

The forged short ironed are nothing short of brilliant!

Trout,
Thanks for continuing to kill it in this thread.

Trout Bum said:

I think after having an opportunity to sit back and think about my round Friday I'm really pleased with the performance of the TM RSI 2 irons, from the way they look in the bag to the way they perform it's a no brainier for me to keep them in there for the foreseeable future.

I keep going back to the long and mid irons in the set because I really have loved the flight with these, it's just not what I'm used to but everything I want lol. Turf interaction is really good, it will take some time to fully adjust to the wider sole but I like the way they take a shallower divot and on a well struck shot the muted thud is right on track with what I expect from good contact.

I like them enough to put the mizzies on the bay and anyone that knows me or my game, that speaks volumes for how much I like these.

The forged short ironed are nothing short of brilliant!

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I never thought I'd see the day that the mizzies were kicked out of the bag. Many other irons have tried and failed.

Bullitt5339 said:

I never thought I'd see the day that the mizzies were kicked out of the bag. Many other irons have tried and failed.

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Lol all others have tried and failed!

Don't be surprised if the TP version makes it in there one day but for now these are just fun!

I still say these are a players style iron, misses are penalized just not as severe as a blade style offering. To get the best out of these you have to find the right spot on the face and it certainly takes some time but well worth the effort.

After my round yesterday I am leaning towards doing same as Trout Bum. If I can get the distance control down with these I think it's going to be time for a permanent change of the guard

Saturday's Round Review (3/21/15)
Course: Olivas Links - Ventura, CA (6530 yards, 71.6 Raiting/127 Slope)
Weather Conditions: Sunny 75 Degrees, 5-10mph Wind
FIR: 7 of 14, GIR: 7 of 18, Putts: 29
Total Score: 84

The RSi 2's are continuing to out perform my old set the RBladez Tours. Not only the balls are traveling farther but the mishits are NOT punishing me as much. I have yet to hit a chunk with these after 6-7 rounds, which amazes me. Most of my misses has been thin shots and toe hits. The thin shots should punish my hands but the Speed Pockets are flexing enough to not only carry far and roll out but to go easy on my bones.
The toe hits do not help with direction. Still can hit a hook with toey shots but not too much distance loss. Example: Hole 8 is a 164 yard par 3. The flag was back left at 173 ish. Normally this would be a 7 iron distance but I know that hitting a 8 would be plenty. I planned to hit it middle of the green at 160. It was a toe miss and went left side edge instead in the middle. It must have lost no more than 5 yards and still left an opportunity to putt at it. Still made par after thinking that I'd bogey.
The Short irons are fading more than I'm used to. I know that's more of my swing than the clubs' performance but I now have to take that into consideration everytime I use them. Still feel really soft and they do feel like true forge.
The Long irons are straight. I've never hit more straight shots in my golf career. I'm so used to seeing draws with my past irons but these are keeping the ball right in the middle. The ones I purposely try to draw don't fly left as I want them to.
I am using more 3 iron/4 iron off the tee on short par 4s than I have in the past. I know I can hit the fairway with my long irons off the tee so anything under 380 yards, I hit my long irons. Matter of fact, I hit my 3,4,5 irons on 6 out of 9 Par 4s. Five of those were FIR. I'm happy with that!
I said before but I'll say it again. If you don't believe the hype of how long and forgiving they are... fine. I understand. But I have gained tremendous amount of confidence with the RSi 2s and they will continue to be in my bag.

JimG22 said:

As a Newbie to this Forum, thanks to all of you here for some great input. I will admit though, this stuff get's awful confusing for us common folk. With that said I read every single post out here, all 25 pages of it. Why, well, because 7 days ago I got myself custom fit for a set of RSi2's and just wanted to see what I had done to myself... LOL, actually, I hit them for over an hour at a TM Demo day at my dad's club and fell in love.... ya I know, fell in love with the 7 iron they laid in my hands , dialed up / down with different shafts, lie's.... blah blah blah. I am a 7 HDCP so i went back and forth between the forged and the 2's as they most logically fit my game. I have been playing with Rbladez Tour's for the last 18 month and honestly really liked those clubs but felt I was missing a little something. I had changed those out from some Callaway X-22 Tours that were the 2 years prior. The one thing I really liked was the flight of my ball. Given my "crappy swing" I have a lower than average ball flight off my irons and loved the way these travelled off the club. Yah, I know, could have probably spent a lot less by taking some lesson's and fixing the crappiness in my swing, but hey, where is the fun in that. So now I am stoked as less than 7 days later, the clubs have been received, are unpacked and in my bag waiting for tomorrows 645a tee time and away we go.

The testers have put together some fantastic comments and I enjoyed reading each and every one of them. But here is my 2 cents worth and why this stuff get's very confusing to us common folk (actually maybe everyone else get's it and it's just me who is alone in the woods). There were a tremendous amount of comments in the testing that called into play the fact that these clubs did not have great "feel". Many of those comments were coming from testers that were currently gaming Forged sticks at present. Just curious, these are not Forged clubs and I really would not expect them to have the same "Feel" as a forged club. What I can tell you for sure at least with my demo of the clubs to be confirmed tomorrow evening, these felt a heck of a lot better than both my prior Rbladez Tour's as well as my Callaway X-22 tours (which in my mind are direct comparable clubs in the pseudo game improvement / better player clubs than comparing to Forged Irons). So I'm must wondering if the lack of feel is in relation to how this category of club feels across other offerings or is the lack of feel vs forged irons ???. Workability was another interesting factor that came up a lot. OK, now I am a 7 HDCP, like many others in my range, I am usually more concerned with hitting the ball straight where I aim, not whether I can hit a high fade to a tight pin back right. I leave that up to the guy's that do it for a living, not those of us playing for the fun. Now, with that, I'll admit, when I get in trouble, there are time's I will have to hit that low/high fade around a tree to get back into play or a slight draw to avoid some other trouble and get me back into play. So yah, I might be concerned with my ability to do that, but I think those characteristics might be more for the Forged Clubs played by the stud golfers. Anyway, you guy's made me feel really good about this club going straight, woo hoo that is what I want it to do.... I also got a kick, I'm just poking fun and hoping not to p*&^ people off, but found it funny with 12+ handicappers talking about working the ball.

Anyway, loved all the feedback and reviews from some very talented folks out there with varying abilities and from different parts of the country and their opinions on these sticks. Honestly, I haven't been this excited to get a round in with a new set in many many years.

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I'm a 13 handicaper and I like to work the ball. What's wrong with that?

In ways, these sound to me like what I wanted the Tour Preferred CB's to be.

Continuing to enjoy the updates guys.

Hawk said:

In ways, these sound to me like what I wanted the Tour Preferred CB's to be.

Continuing to enjoy the updates guys.

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Good point. I was the same, I had high hopes for the TP CB and they did not come close to meeting those expectations. The SLDR irons were closer, and these sound like they are hitting the mark.

ddec said:

Good point. I was the same, I had high hopes for the TP CB and they did not come close to meeting those expectations. The SLDR irons were closer, and these sound like they are hitting the mark.

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I have a feeling if you liked the SLDR irons, you will like these as well.

The CB was always a weird iron to me. It was big enough that they better players would lean towards the smaller versions, but didn't have as much of the things that so many of us like about larger irons. Seems like they added a little more forgiveness and some distance, which is where an iron like this should be in my opinion.

Hawk said:

The CB was always a weird iron to me. It was big enough that they better players would lean towards the smaller versions, but didn't have as much of the things that so many of us like about larger irons. Seems like they added a little more forgiveness and some distance, which is where an iron like this should be in my opinion.

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And SUCH a performance disappointment coming off of the SpeedBlades which were just SO good.

Jman said:

And SUCH a performance disappointment coming off of the SpeedBlades which were just SO good.

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The CB looked like everything I wanted in an iron, but were very disappointing in hand. I bought the RSi1s because I hadn't played in 9 months, but the RSI2s have the look that I'm accustomed to as someone who has always played players type irons. I'm watching this one closely as my game improves for a possible upgrade. These seem to be the sleeper iron of the year. Not too much chatter about them outside of this thread, but appear to be very solid.

Got another round in with the RSi 2's yesterday. It was unplanned, but the sun finally decided to show itself, so we went out in the slop and played!

I did not have my "A" game to say the least. But overall, I was not displeased with the way I hit my irons. Again, I had many opportunities to work my approach shots from trouble. I have a lot of confidence with these irons when it comes to hard, low hooks or high fades. One shot in particular called for a very high, hard-cutting shot over and around a tree from 172-yards out. I hit a 6-iron to 20' after clearing the tree and cutting about 40 yards - I'll have to post that shot in the other thread as the best of the round!

In another instance, I took a 5-iron and trudged across the rain-soaked ground to where I had blocked a tee shot (it was cart path only). When I got there, I realized that my tee ball had clipped a tree and I was 198-yards away, over water, into a very strong wind. 5-iron was not nearly enough. I turned down the face a bit and played a hard trap draw that came out like a rocket and buried into the front fringe - I've been saying how these irons aren't as long as my Callaways, but I really don't think I could have hit this shot with my current irons.

Also, I have been saying that the feel of a well-struck shot with the RSi 2 irons is "tinny" or "hollow". And so it was even with the 5-iron shot described above. This was, out of necessity, the hardest I have swung with these irons. I hit it as pure as I possibly could, and still, the feel was not there.

I've also said that these irons appear to be for every type of player. The larger heads and offset should inspire confidence with the higher handicappers, and these irons are very easy to hit. They should also appeal to lower-handicappers who place a premium on the ability to work and flight their shots.

The RSi 2 irons are definitely quality sticks, and I do love the feel of the KBS 105 stiff shafts.

In the coming days, I'll attempt to quantify the loss of distance I've been experiencing with the RSi 2 vs. my Callaways by going to a launch monitor in the Woodlands. In play, I'm finding the RSi 2 irons are consistently shorter by a factor of 5%. 5% is usually the amount I factor in when travelling from Houston to Phoenix (i.e. I can hit the ball 5% farther in Phoenix than in Houston). I also have to add another 5% when going from Phoenix to Flagstaff, AZ. So playing with the RSi 2 irons is like that for me; I just have to adjust my carry distances vs. my Callaways by 5%, consistently.

So for another interim conclusion, as I'm still "getting to know" the RSi 2's:

- Looks: the irons are beautiful, and I like the way the clubs evolve from the long irons through the forged AW. The larger heads and offset don't bother me at all.
- Playability: the irons are very easy to hit and very easy to work. I have no problem fading or drawing; I can also flight them higher or lower with ease.
- Distance: carry distances are very consistent, although shorter than my Callaway X-forged 6-PW and Callaway X-20 in the 4 and 5-irons.
- Durability: I've not noticed any problems with the face slots as others have described.
- Feel: Again, pure shots do not provide positive feedback with the RSI 2 irons. The feeling is "tinny", "hollow" and unsubstantial. I'm sure some of this is partly because I game a forged iron. But I've also played cast irons in the past, and I've hit my friends' irons. Always with any other set, a well-struck shot still feels good - not so with the RSi 2 for me.

I really do want to have an extended range session with these, and go head-to-head vs. my regular irons throughout both sets. We've had SO much rain lately that our range has been closed most days; hopefully the ground will dry out a bit this week. I also want to do the same at a launch monitor with the 4-iron, 7-iron and PW. I'll be making a trip out to GS in the Woodlands soon for this.

The feel/sound lacking a bit compared to some others doesn't surprise me. That's been an issue since they stuck slots in the RocketBladez.

I forgot to post this from yesterday's round. For those wanting to know about spin or stopping power on the greens, here was an unexpected surprise from my RSI 2's. I usually hit high shots into greens with my ball stopping very close to its pitch mark.

Yesterday, I hit a 9-iron from 143-yards downwind (you can see the way the flag is blowing). I had dropped a Titleist NXT tour out of my bag to that spot as I had lost my original ball. When I hit this shot, the ball landed on the green, pitched forward about a foot, then backed up about 16 inches! I wasn't expecting this downwind, but it was a very pure shot.

Sunday's Round Review (3/22/15)
Course: Rustic Canyon GC - Moorpark, CA (6628 yards, 71.6 Rating/128 Slope)
Weather Conditions: Sunny 70 Degrees, 10-15mph Wind
FIR: 9 of 14, GIR: 11 of 18, Putts: 41
Total Score: 91

It was another great round with the RSi 2s. Unfortunately, my putting was absolutely terrible so the round was kind of ruined.
This was an informative round because I had a gentleman in my group who had the SLDR irons and we had a good chat about the comparisons between the two. I let him hit one of my RSi 2's and I hit one of his.
Comparing the looks of the two, there's barely any difference. I say the SLDRs are little slimmer on the top line, similar sole size, a little chromier but other than that; Uncanny.
I think the feel is a little bit softer with the RSi 2 and the sound was clickier than the SLDR. The SLDR reminded me of my RocketBladez Tours a lot. Distance wise between the SLDR vs. RSI 2, they looked the same. I tried to mishit on the toe with his irons but unsuccessful.
Then he tried mine (5 shots) and he was convinced that it was going further. He stated that the thicker head gave him more confidence and the TruSlot was beneficial. I asked him how it felt compared to the SLDR and said it was soft and couldn’t believe the long irons weren’t forged. Though he did state that good and bad shots felt the same and he doesn’t think that’s a good idea. When he misses, he wants to see and feel the bad hits. I think I agree with him on that. But overall, I think it made a believer out of him and told me that he’s going to purchase these as soon as the price goes down.
This reminded me when I was looking to replace the RocketBladez Tours. I tried the SLDR and the SpeedBladez in the past but there weren’t enough significant difference so I held off. Don’t get me wrong; the RocketBladez Tour, SLDR and the SpeedBladez are good irons but the RSi 2 irons are in a league of their own.
The Tungsten on the toe of the longer irons are great for me. I often have issues hitting the long irons too low but the tungsten is in fact helping me to get it in the air more. The higher it carries, the further it goes, IMO.
This isn’t an easy course to shoot low. Even though the greens are extra-large and easy to get GIR, but the putting will get your score high. Though I had a terrible day putting, I was very pleased how the irons performed again.
I know some have said that these irons are more of the “Player’s” irons but I don’t know if I can completely agree with that. Though, you still have to hit them well to get the best out of them (you can say that about all clubs), I think high handicappers would have no issues transitioning into them.
I will play 9 holes tomorrow evening (Tuesday) and write a short review after. Thanks for reading!

Hey C-Mac 13, I see you are playing the Project (a) ball from TM. Can you tell me something. I have been gaming it now for 2 rounds after my buddy the TM Rep gave me a couple of sleeves and I loved the feel. But I have measured it now in those 2 rounds and I swear I have lost about 20+ yards off the Driver with this ball. I am not seeing any loss of distance in any other clubs, except the driver. Seems really strange to me. Gonna give it a few more rounds , but don't like that as my distance off the tee is an advantage but I love how this feels with all my irons.

C-Mac13 said:

Looking forward to all your thoughts. I have really enjoyed mine. Great set of clubs and I'm sure we'll see a lot of great reviews.

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Ok, 2 more rounds under my belt with the New Sticks ------- still liking them more than my Rbladez Tour's from a couple of years back.

First - the Long Irons are to die for. In my previous set - my 4 iron was used as a place to hook my towel and the occasional punch shot from out of the Tree's. It has now become a key cog in my arsenal around 200 yards on those long ugly par 3's. I have also hit it a few times on the short par 4's that used to see my Hybrid with the dreaded HOOK. No mas... The ball flight when I flush it is truly amazing with just a little tail of a fade. Loving it. Don't know about the 3 iron, cuz I don't play that club and didn't order one.

6-8 irons I am seeing about the same distance as my prior Rbladez Tour's but with a good deal more height on my ball flight. That was something I was lacking and am seeing across the entire set but especially in these blubs.

9 - PW I am seeing about a half a club longer with good ball flight and the feel is very nice

Like a few folks have stated, I am seeing my predominant miss as being a thinned shot. Maybe cuz I am afraid to mess up these new sticks , but have found more thins than chunks to date. Thinned hits are traveling well despite the miss. I am seeing more of a fade ball flight when I get a little lazy which is something I didn't see as often with the old Rbladez. Most likely my crappy swing, but my shafts are very similar in that I had the old KBS Stiff's in the Rbladez and the KBS 105's Stiff in this one.

All in all, these are definite upgrades over the Rbladez as far as how they feel in my hands and the results of my shots. No buyers Remorse.