TaylorMade RocketBladez Irons Review

[BK in TEXAS]

Didn't get a chance to try them again because we weren't near each other on 8 or 9 and it started pouring after teeing off on 10 -

Kev...if you didn't have a bag of brand new clubs would you consider these?

[fsav]

Merry new year all!!!!

 

My knee came along a little better than thought after the scope on dec 20th. Being the crazy person I am I had new toys and wanted to get them to work. Obviously the mid winter day 40 mph winds and soggy snowy turf aside I Said screw it. Mgs does it year round least I could do Is man up. All kidding aside my knee is remarkably strong 10 days out of surgery.

 

Anyways, on with the data.

 

Took my swing smart out and clamped it to my 8 Miura and 9 rbZ. The average swing speed was 88.66 rbz to 88.33 miura all coming rest around the same area I maxed out the rbz 9 at 98 mph which has me wondering and you'll find interesting as u read on might impress.... The real gap I wanted to close was the 5 hybrid to 6 miura. Considering I had the seven iron rbz 1* strong listed as 29.5 but not yet checked I went with it. 6 iron miura was average 91.3 mph with the rbz 90.3 mph miura topping out at max 98mph and rbz 95. Now granted the rbz has a regular KBS tour 90 shaft and my miura c tapers regular fitted I think the mph says a lot for itself as we get to the long club also there was a shot comparison of 2-1 in 9-8 iron and 3-1 6-7 iron comparison hitting more rbz's then miura to get a better data set.

 

Seems like I lost some speed in the longer iron (my 9iron maxing out more than 7) and maybe with the right shaft should close that gap

 

My conditions were hideous. Soggy ground 40mph gusts steady at 30mph and 35-40 degrees. I hit the 8-9 from 150 lasered with callaway rzr and 175. Wind was down and to the right which with a normal draw flight isn't the most opportune.

 

The balls ended in the same areas with my mishits being dramatically improved with the rbz. I am interested to see how the swing speed would be with the rbz fitted. All in all the bad miura shots missed the green 3-1 while rbz bad swings missed at a crazy 1-1.33 ratio. Even with shafts that are too light flexible that's beautiful to see.

 

Does anyone know if shafts too light or loose would cause less swing speed???

 

Also As I said before I like to chip with all clubs and these were fantastic bump and run clubs!!!

 

HERE ARE SOME PICS (second pic is a sequence of PW-7 iron bump and runs the few furthest from the whole hit some goose crap along the way). last two pics are the shots into the green from 150 & 175 respectively.

 

 

[revkev]

Kev...if you didn't have a bag of brand new clubs would you consider these?

 

Beyond a doubt! I like the ball flight on them - he has their stock graphite which is what I hit at TPC - the ball goes high and straight. I haven't hit them enough to try and see if I can hit them down a bit. I'd want to know that before bagging them. I'm not one who cares a lot about being able to work them - I can always produce a slice or a draw if I need to (around a tree or something else) but don't work the ball often to try and attack a pin - I'll go middle of the green and trust the putter rather than trusting my ability to work shots from the fairway or tee on a par 3.

[Super Tuna]

Does anyone know if shafts too light or loose would cause less swing speed???

 

Absolutely it can.

[fsav]

Thanks st! Hope the aerotech install will straighten that out then things might be crazy good.

[JBones]

I can't wait for this snow to melt and the temp to get back above 45*, so I can see if my success with these was a honeymoon period or if its gonna stick. Have a feeling it's going to be at least another two weeks.

[BK in TEXAS]

I can't wait for this snow to melt and the temp to get back above 45*, so I can see if my success with these was a honeymoon period or if its gonna stick. Have a feeling it's going to be at least another two weeks.

I'm jealous. It's 10-12 more weeks minimum up here....grrrrrrrr

[The Dansome]

So got to the range tonight after a month off. Can say that it's not a honeymoon phase, the ball felt so good coming off the face of my 8 iron. I really love the ball flight off these especially.

[Lambo]

Did anybody stick with the OEM shaft, or did all the testers switch to a custom shaft? If anybody stuck with the OEM, are you happy with this shaft?

 

I picked up a set of the irons today, and just wondering your thoughts.

[revkev]

I can't wait for this snow to melt and the temp to get back above 45*, so I can see if my success with these was a honeymoon period or if its gonna stick. Have a feeling it's going to be at least another two weeks.

 

There is a land where the snow has metled and its 75. A land where friends await with a nice single malt and stogies - It's called Florida.

[JBones]

There is a land where the snow has metled and its 75. A land where friends await with a nice single malt and stogies - It's called Florida.

My 3 year old will be there next week at Disney with her mamaw and aunt, but I will be here in snowy cold Indiana.

[GolfSpy WD]

Did anybody stick with the OEM shaft, or did all the testers switch to a custom shaft? If anybody stuck with the OEM, are you happy with this shaft?

 

I picked up a set of the irons today, and just wondering your thoughts.

 

MBP and I went with KBS Tours and JBones went with C Tapers. Golfspy T did his brief testing with the stock shaft and got very good results, but for me, light shafts never seem to work as well. I don't get swing speed gains and lose all feel, so I doubt my review would have been as good with them. Everyone's different though, I also wouldn't have done well with JBones' choice of shaft.

[The Dansome]

I was going through some of my Photoshop folders and totally forgot about this.

 

Before putting time on the RocketBladez I thought they were going to be "moon balls" - little rockets to the sky. In the end my findings were more of a mid trajectory deal. So I never got to use this little beauty of a header.

 

[Blade]

Faaaarrr ouuuut maaaaan!

[Lambo]

wdgolf,

 

thanks for the heads up.

[BK in TEXAS]

My 3 year old will be there next week at Disney with her mamaw and aunt, but I will be here in snowy cold Indiana.

A little unsolicited advice.......Your 3 year old's first trip to the Magic Kingdom is really something you don't want to miss.

[JBones]

A little unsolicited advice.......Your 3 year old's first trip to the Magic Kingdom is really something you don't want to miss.

She's been twice with us already and we are taking her back again next year when our youngest will be about 2.5. She loves Magic Kingdom though, every time we watch a Disney movie and it has the intro with the fireworks above the castle she says "O....M....G, I was there". Is it sad that my 3 year old says "OMG" and "LOL" all the time?

 

We go to Disney every year, we're just sitting this year out, since we have an 11 month old and another family vacation planned for June. My mother-in-law has went to Disney 2-3 times a year for the past 20+ years.

[BK in TEXAS]

She's been twice with us already and we are taking her back again next year when our youngest will be about 2.5. She loves Magic Kingdom though, every time we watch a Disney movie and it has the intro with the fireworks above the castle she says "O....M....G, I was there". Is it sad that my 3 year old says "OMG" and "LOL" all the time?

 

We go to Disney every year, we're just sitting this year out, since we have an 11 month old and another family vacation planned for June. My mother-in-law has went to Disney 2-3 times a year for the past 20+ years.

They love the Kingdom don't they We're going back in October.

 

Oh...mine say OMG too. The 6 year old also like to say "What the?"

 

Sorry for going OT

[revkev]

Disney World and TMag - In some ways speaking of both together is not OT.

[BK in TEXAS]

Disney World and TMag - In some ways speaking of both together is not OT.

LOL...from one Kingdom to another

[JBones]

Had a GREAT range session with these yesterday, was knocking down pins. If the weather holds, I'm gonna play Saturday, for the first time in about a month and a half.

 

After chatting with WD and MBP, we realized that we've had been hitting these stupid long and accurate and none of us have hit them with the temperature being over about 55*. We are all really excited to give these a go when it warms up.

[sparnar]

Went to the range last night, after I received my Rocketbladez 4i in the stock stiff shaft. After having read the reviews it got from wdgolf, MBP and JBones, and reading their views on the long irons in the set, I thought it might be worthwhile to try out the 4i for a option off the tee.

 

The clubhead felt quite heavy when I removed it from its packaging, and the clubhead also felt quite big. I was eager to try it out though, and made the trip to the driving range.

 

Hit about 30 shots with it, and I managed to hit a few all over the show. Hit a couple of hooks, but couldn't really get it to slice much. Note that I was trying to hook or slice, I just lacked a bit of consistency, and perhaps should have taken more time between shots. As for drawing\fading, you'll have to ask someone else :-) I am not at that level yet, where I can hit either on demand.

 

Anyway, you can just feel the ball go off the clubface. The ball really shoots off the face. But I am not a fan of the feel. It feels very dead, even though I just said the ball shoots of the face... Bit of a contradiction, but the feel felt very similar on my hooks, and pushes compared to the ones that was well-hit. A couple that I really striped, felt a wee bit better.

 

I will say that the club is ridiculously easy to get in the air. Even on very crappy contact, you'll be looking for your ball a good deal away from where it was.

 

The ball did go very high on full swings. And all of these shots was off the deck. There has never been a 4i hit by myself, that is as easy to get up in the air off the deck. Disclaimer: I haven't hit too many different clubs.

 

Towards the end of my session, I wanted to play around with a knockdown type shot. At least I think it was a knockdown type shot.

 

I think of it as a bit of a Steve Stricker (very little wrist hinging) type of swing, but only a 3/4 at that. I tried to keep my wrists from hinging, and would only take a 3/4 backswing. Without the wrists hinging, and with a limited follow through, the ball went quite a bit lower, a bit lower than my standard 4i ball flight (just a note, I typically hit quite a high ball). So playing it to a lower trajectory wasn't too big an issue. I don't think a punch shot is going to be very easy with these clubs.

 

I hit about 15 of these, and I think this might become a bit of a go-to shot in future, when the wheels come off on the course. I hit this shot with great consistency last night, and will keep working on it. This might become a weapon off the tee on shorter par 4s, and on par 5s.

 

Anyway, those are my quick thoughts on the 4i after just one range session. Definitely easy to launch. I don't want to say this club is longer than that one, or something along those lines, but I will say for the distance you get out of this club, it is quite easy to hit.

 

I will also mention that on my first couple of shots with the club, I tried to murder the ball. I have this tendency to try way too hard when I get to the long irons. These shots still went a very nice distance for what is a crappy, crappy, crappy swing, but the accuracy wasn't quite there. When I relaxed, and made the club do the work, it went much better.

 

I was in contact with the TMag guys down here in SA, and have arranged for a demo 7i to be brought to my local course, so I can take it out on the course and see how it performs as well. But since having been in contact with them, I think I'm going to keep the MP53s in the short irons, with perhaps the JPX long irons (still undecided on 800 vs 825, and Std vs Pro).

[fsav]

Sparnar,

 

good Stuff. I recently put the aeortech i 95 regs in my rocketbladez and played this weekend. I have huge changes in my distances sicne I took out my 6-PW and added 7-PW RBZ 1 degree strong (trying to clos emy 5 hybrid to 6 iron gap) which I did and then added a 61 degree. I hit the irosn more consistent and that was another thing i was looking for. all in all after some work they shoud be stout addition to my game. I didn't have the 7 iron as I was still waiting onthe shaft but have it and plan on getting it in during my snow day today.

[JBones]

After getting some mileage on these irons, I wanted to give an update on these irons. They are stupid..........and I mean that in a good way. While these are a distance iron, they are best used when not trying to gain distance. I have resorted to taking a 3/4 knockdown type swing with these irons to keep the distance on par with my previous set and I've just been throwing darts. It also leaves enough room to swing a little harder when I need the extra distance and/or spin. I'm hitting these things close from distances that I previously was just trying to get close to the green. Now that I have these things dialed in, there isn't a shot that I can't hit with them, with that being said, they still aren't easily workable. I keep looking for an excuse to kick these out of the bag, but the only one I can come up with is "a 5 handicap shouldn't be playing GI irons". That excuse will be invalid when these knock my handi down to a 3 by the beginning of summer.

[The Dansome]

So finally got out for a round after a few months, just hitting at the range wasn't cutting it for an overall impression of these. I was getting into a visual funk that they're to thick. Well a day on the course will do a lot for you.

 

First off it took only a few shots to get over the club head size thing. Playing and getting an on course feel does wonders. So let me mention it was like 5* Celsius and foggy rain, but fun to play. Anyways I'm still in shock by how these handle shots that are slightly miss hit. They don't skip a beat! I mean seriously, you don't lose more than 3-4 yards. But where these are really holding up is when you flush em on the screws.

 

Let's talk the 3 shots where my winter swing was what I felt as perfect. 4 iron off a tee - got up due to being tee'd up but flattened out and just went. Solid 210-220 in heavy air, straight and not a hint of moving. Next 4 iron out of rough 192 from pin, shot out like a bullet, mid ball flight and dead straight. landed pin high rolled another 20 feet. Finally 8 iron. Tuna gives me 156 and I nut the thing. On a rope solid mid ball flight no movement, plugs in hill 8 yards behind pin. That thing probably would have flown 170.

 

All in all I'm looking forward to spring and warm temps to really see what these baby's are truly capable of. I was worried that the honeymoon period was giving me false impressions of these. But after the way they felt and performed on the course today I can really see myself bagging them all summer.

[The Dansome]

Should also add onto JBones comments too. Playing 3/4 shots with these matches my old iron distances and makes these even more controllable & point and shoot so to speak.

[Wannabegolfer67]

I have not had a chance to hit these yet....are they really as great as you all say??

 

We're you fit for them???

 

Stock shafts or custom????

 

If they are as good as you guys say I feel I owe it to myself to check them out but with a fitting what kind of cash am I looking at dropping????

[The Dansome]

I have not had a chance to hit these yet....are they really as great as you all say??

 

We're you fit for them???

 

Stock shafts or custom????

 

If they are as good as you guys say I feel I owe it to myself to check them out but with a fitting what kind of cash am I looking at dropping????

 

We weren't fit, these were test sets sent us by MGS for member reviews. We did however get to select our prefered shafts, grips and iron specs. I have KBS tour Stiff soft stepped.

 

If you go to page one of this thread all our specs are laid out in our 3 reviews as well.

[Wannabegolfer67]

We weren't fit, these were test sets sent us by MGS for member reviews. We did however get to select our prefered shafts, grips and iron specs. I have KBS tour Stiff soft stepped.

 

If you go to page one of this thread all our specs are laid out in our 3 reviews as well.

 

Thanks MBP, I didn't mean to be so dumb, I just get a little over-excited thinking about the possibility of new equipment!!

[The Dansome]

Thanks MBP, I didn't mean to be so dumb, I just get a little over-excited thinking about the possibility of new equipment!!

 

I know the feeling