LIVE ROCKETBLADEZ Q&A with TaylorMade! Thursday, Oct. 25 1-3PM ET! Win RBLADEZ TOUR IRONS!

[trgolf18]

Once again Great Job on your irons can't wait to put a set in my bag!!

What are some of the differences I can expect from my current set of TM Burner 2.0s?


What pros took part in the research and development of them?

[Tiwedge]

I currently have a RBZ Tour 2H and I love it. I do not normally take a dig divot when I swing this club, but sometimes I notice that the "Speed Pocket" gets full of grass and dirt post swing.

My question in regards to the RocketBlades Irons is..."will the Speed Pocket on the Irons act as a scoop and fill with grass/dirt and compromise my distance/ball flight, when I take a healthy divot with these irons?"

I am looking forward to the answer...as I am shopping for a new Christmas Gift..

Cheers!

Patrick HENNESSY

[Hendu24]

With the club head being adjustable, how will this affect club repair and shaft replacement?

Second question is, will we be seeing the adjustable heads on wedges as well?


Thank you!

[cheers big ears]

Q1: Whats the point of Irons going longer?
Q2: If there a revolutionary 'speedslot' in a 7 iron, then not in an 8 iron, should i expect a 'freakishly longer" yardarge gap?
Q3: How much freakish long-ness is attributable to a 20 degree loft on a 4 iron 0.5 inches longer than last year?
Q4: Why would your lofts be 4 degree stronger that titleist/mizuno etc
Q5: Why does a poor ball striker who buys the standard model need longer, stronger lofted clubs than a 'tour' club player?
Q6: Why fill the void with hard plastic?
Q7: Will TM have a buy back option for players who bought the original rbz irons, and now want to upgrade, again.
Q8: Due to the freakish extra distance, how have the tour players changed their bag set up, have they added loft or are all there specs identical?
Q9: Why does everybody keep falling for all this?

[moonshine]

As a low hdcp golfer playing more than 25 years, how would you sell the new tour iron to a person hung up on traditional looks? Thanks, always enjoy your Q&A!

[Drewrealty]

Will you keep the MB line when the tour edition of hese hit the marke in February? Or will those be phased out completely...Cant wait to hit these!

[viperstudio]

Can the badge be removed at the back on the irons? If so is there any performance lost? Thanks

[adam10]

I'd like to know more about the [b][u]rocketfuel shafts[/u][/b] the rocketbladez are shafted with. were they developed at the same time as the irons? how do they compare to other top level shaft offerings? can they be used with other irons? will you be offering the rocketbladez with other shafts?

thanks

Adam

[code_alpha]

Having 17-4 stainless steel on the 3-7 irons, and 431 stainless steel on the 8-A wedge is their any difference in feel? and how did you alleviate this?

thanks

dan

[ronanarmstrong]

The stock shaft offering is the Rocketfuel 85g steel, will players used to DG, PX or KBS Tour shafts with a standard 115-130g weight, not be put off by the light shaft, and if not why not?
Looks like a great product, all the best.

[aceb1]

Thanks for the opportunity! TM, it appears you are going to have a real winner here. My question is, with the technology built into this iron, are the better players going to have problems controling their ball flight, especially in the wind?

[Beege35]

Will there be a 2 iron available? I would think the demand for that on tour would be HUGE if these irons really are as long as advertised.

[Beege35]

How far was DJ hitting the 3 iron?

[eegolf2]

I notice that the shaft lengths and lofts are consideraby different than you might term a standard set in the past. What do you recommend for someone who is a little taller and usually uses a .5" additional length shaft? IE. 38.5" in a 5 iron.

Thanks.

[hyolee]

I played RBZ this year and didn't care for the 4 and 5 irons. What benefit do I have by changing to Rocketbladez? What finish does Rocketbladez have? I didn't care for the black RBZ finish. I wish they have the chrome coating on them.

[MPG]

Thank you for the great opportunity!!

Q1: I understand distance compaigns around Drivers and fairway woods but why irons?
Q2: Why not a forged head?
Q3: Are there plans to have a "B" and/or "C" version of this head?
Q4: if there are plans - is there anyway to introduce this to the public and not just the tour only path?

Thanks again!

[HackerDad78]

[quote name='cheers big ears' timestamp='1351179637' post='5844169']
Q1: Whats the point of Irons going longer?
Q2: If there a revolutionary 'speedslot' in a 7 iron, then not in an 8 iron, should i expect a 'freakishly longer" yardarge gap?
Q3: How much freakish long-ness is attributable to a 20 degree loft on a 4 iron 0.5 inches longer than last year?
Q4: Why would your lofts be 4 degree stronger that titleist/mizuno etc
Q5: Why does a poor ball striker who buys the standard model need longer, stronger lofted clubs than a 'tour' club player?
Q6: Why fill the void with hard plastic?
Q7: Will TM have a buy back option for players who bought the original rbz irons, and now want to upgrade, again.
Q8: Due to the freakish extra distance, how have the tour players changed their bag set up, have they added loft or are all there specs identical?
Q9: Why does everybody keep falling for all this?
[/quote]

Why participate if you're just going to ask questions like these? We get it. You don't like TM. Continue playing whatever it is you prefer, but why waste so much time and energy on your negativity when others are excited about new gear? Seems rather sad...

[johnstone610]

Thanks for taking the time with us! From my understanding the speed slot ads a trampoline effect to the face of the club at impact. What is going to happen when the faces wear out over thousands of shots? How will the trampoline effect remain consistent and not become volatile at some point similar to a driver face? Thank you!

[HipCheck]

[size=6][color=#B22222][b]LIVE Q&A WITH TAYLORMADE STARTS HERE[/b][/color][/size]

[attachment=1396443:RBZCHAT2.png]

GolfWRX members,

We are being joined today from inside the walls at TaylorMade headquarters by a number of iron product experts for a town hall Q&A regarding the new RocketBladez Tour irons. Together they represent decades of experience in the golf industry and they are thrilled to be able to join the community for today’s chat. Those folks are:[list]
[*]Sean Toulon, Executive Vice President (SIGNATURE – ST)
[*]Bret Wahl, Vice President of R&D for Irons and Putters (SIGNATURE – BW)
[*]Brian Bazzel, Director of Product Creation from Irons, Putters and Wedges (SIGNATURE – BB)
[*]Gary Gallagher, Global Product Line Manager, Irons (SIGNATURE – GG)
[/list]
Additionally, we are joined by a few members of TaylorMade’s Global Marketing and Social Media teams to help support the Q&A and hammer through as many of your great questions as we can in the next 120 minutes. Please help me welcome them to WRX and with that, fire away.

- Rob

[url="http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/746225-and-the-winners-of-the-taylormade-rocketbladez-tour-irons-giveaway-are/"]TaylorMade RocketBladez Tour Winners: Click Here[/url]

[TaylorMadeGolf]

[quote name='ron lefthanded holmes' timestamp='1351104207' post='5840025'] [quote name='CallawayLefty' timestamp='1351097726' post='5839433'] [quote name='Lefty66' timestamp='1351095893' post='5839267'] [list] [*][b]I am interested to know why the tour irons are not offered in left hand? Will this change in the future?[/b] [/list] [/quote] I second this question. Please show the lefty love. After my recent r11s purchase, I'm considering going all TM with my next set! Is that notch on the hosel of the Tour version for lie adjustment purposes? Also - it looks like the AW to the set is a completely different design than the rest of the clubs - any comments on that? Thanks! [/quote] well well TM if true you have lost me as a customer [/quote]

[b]Hi guys, we absolutely offer the RocketBladez Tour in lefty – 3 thru P and AW (same as right handed). And yes, the notch on the hosel is for lie and loft adjustments (4 up / 4 down lie; +2/-1 loft). We also carry golf balls for lefties too. - GG[/b]

[TaylorMadeGolf]

[quote name='TheMoneyShot' timestamp='1351091838' post='5838831']
Wow, thanks Hip and TM!!!

Why did you decide not to bring these out in a forged version since you had great success with the forged tour preferred line in the past year? In addition to that, why was the TP logo not added to the tour irons?
[/quote]

Thanks for your question!

As you might recall, the Tour Preferred iron line utilized a new five-step forging process, more difficult to implement in mass production than we have ever undertaken before. It was not possible to use such a forging process given the complex structural design of the new RocketBladez irons, especially with the inclusion of the Speed Pocket. Our pursuit for meaningful performance enhancement drove us to innovate away from basic forgable structures. That said, many of our Tour players who have tested the iron have said that the RocketBladez Tour irons feel as good as a forged iron off the face. That is in large part to the special polyurethane that fills the Speed Pocket to dramatically improve sound and feel in these irons. We are confident you’ll find the feel of these products to be as pure and solid as any product in the marketplace and that you’ll find the added consistency, higher trajectory, and longer distance game changing. Certainly, we all know and appreciate the feel of a true forged blade but if you’re willing to take a small step away from traditional thinking toward the RocketBladez Tour’s immense technology benefits, we think it will be worth it, in this case.

As our product franchises have progressed, we have moved away from active use of the TP logo, which was introduced a number of years ago. It’s great to know that many golfers still appreciate the TP badge as an iconic representation of TaylorMade Golf but don’t expect to see it in new product franchises anytime in the immediate future.

- BW

[Featherhammer]

How compatible are the two sets? Would a 4 and 5 iron in Rocketbladez pair well with 6-PW Tour? Or would there be a significant gap between 5 and 6 because of lofts?

[TaylorMadeGolf]

[quote name='bigmoneyp' timestamp='1351104511' post='5840045'] How does the speed slot affect the sound of impact? [/quote]

Since the speed pocket is filled with a polymer, it enables us to dampen unwanted vibration and make the club quieter which ultimately creates a softer feel. -BB

[CTEagle]

How does the speed pocket increase distance on mishits hit high on the face of the club? Or is that something else in the design?

[Ranger Rick]

How is the slot constructed into the head? Is it cast in or perhaps milled in or some other method?

[TaylorMadeGolf]

[quote name='Kadin 25' timestamp='1351092084' post='5838849'] Thank you for taking the time to educate us on your new product release. With the speed slot design aiming to assist with lower faced hits or "thin hits" what affect will this have on flushed hits as far as distance control is concerned? [/quote]

RocketBladez Tour are designed to deliver our longest and most consistent distance than any Tour iron we’ve ever created. We are promising more consistent distance on improved hits because we’ve increased the size of the “sweet spot’ in a traditional iron from the size of a pea to the size of a quarter, thanks in large part to the Speed Pocket technology. This in effect has created a much larger margin for error in terms of promoting consistent distance off the face.

-BW

[Beege35]

Will a 2 iron be available?

[TaylorMadeGolf]

[quote name='hoganfan924' timestamp='1351092201' post='5838863'] Why did TM not put the speed slot into the 8-PW? Why would it not be advantageous to do so? [/quote]

The biggest distance gains in the RocketBladez Tour irons will be experienced in the 3-4 iron. These heads have the most aggressive face and pocket designs, and will also demonstrate the largest consistency gains, because of the way which the pocket is activated. But as you work down to the short irons the flex of the face does less to influence distance and distance control as much. This is due to loft and the oblique nature of the impact with a higher-lofted club head. The 8, 9, and PW still feature the face design changes, and CG management and the gapping across the set will match really well. The milled face and grooves also contribute more to control and consistency in the short irons as compared to the long irons.

- BW

[TaylorMadeGolf]

[quote name='Richpenny' timestamp='1351105594' post='5840151']
Is there any risk of the polyurethane polymer getting gouged or damaged during use? If so, would it be able to be replaced?
[/quote]

[b]The polymer is durable yet flexible and while we don't forsee a problem we'd take care of it under warranty if there is a problem. Thanks for the question! - GG[/b]

[TaylorMadeGolf]

[quote name='huynh' timestamp='1351092487' post='5838901']
Will you eventually release an MB set with the slot technology? If not, is it expected that players gaming the current Tour Preferred MBs will want to switch to the RocketBladez Tour irons?
[/quote]

Thanks for the question!

Although the design of the RocketBladez Tour iron is more in line with the Tour Preferred MC in terms of size, shape, offset and topline and sole design, the technologies have been specifically and precisely designed to give better players the longest, most consistent, and best feeling Tour iron we’ve ever made. A true muscleback – like the Tour Preferred forged MB – would not benefit from the incorporation of the Speed Pocket like in RocketBladez Tour because the MB’s small, thick-faced, blade-like design does not lend itself to the combination of features needed to deliver the performance enhancement.

- BW