TaylorMade RBZ vs Stealth | Test And Review - video Dailymotion

Golf Monthly

Retro Review:  Joe Ferguson gets his hands on the iconic TaylorMade RBZ fairway wood from 2012, which launched with bold claims of an additional 17 yards! So we wanted to put this to the test to see how it performed today against the more recently-launched TaylorMade Stealth model. Joe puts them both to the test on the range, launch monitor and golf course to fully get to grips with the performance on offer and see if the RBZ can still hold its own on the market today.

Transcript

00:00Okay, welcome back to another retro review from Golf Monthly and today we've got an absolute

00:04humdinger and it is the tailor-made Rocket Balls fairway wheel.

00:09Now this is a particularly favourite one for me.

00:11This was in my bag for probably over five years so I'm really looking forward to seeing

00:14how it stacks up against its modern-day equivalent.

00:17We partnered up with Golf Club for Cash, one of the leading retailers of pre-loved equipment

00:21and they supplied us with some absolute gems to test.

00:24So if you want to check those guys out, look in the description below.

00:27Let's get to it.

00:30Okay, so the tailor-made Rocket Balls three wheel, now this came out in 2012 to a lot

00:40of fanfare and a lot of marketing from tailor-made with claims of 17 extra yards and it was a

00:46really clever marketing ploy and the other marketing ploy that was great was the white

00:50head.

00:51You could see it from miles away on the golf course, anyone you saw on TV you knew they

00:54were playing the tailor-made Rocket Balls head.

00:56Now the tech story behind the extra speed was what they called their speed slot which

01:01is this little carved out piece on the sole which increased the COR and had massive jumps

01:06in ball speed which is what people noticed.

01:07So let's get to the range, test it out and see how it goes.

01:10Okay, so I've come down to the driving range now at the Oxfordshire Golf Club and it's

01:13probably a good time to introduce what I'm going to be comparing the Rocket Balls to.

01:17So the modern-day equivalent we're using is the tailor-made Stealth.

01:20When you put them down beside one another, surprisingly similar in terms of dimensions, the overall

01:25footprint is very similar, face depth very, very similar, there's not a lot of change in

01:30terms of its overall profile which is really interesting so I'm going to hit a couple away

01:34and just see what I can tell in terms of difference-wise from the feel and the sound.

01:37So I'm going to go with the Rocket Balls first, it sits nicely behind the ball, very square.

01:49That's a lovely strike, it's right out the middle, nice strong flight, feels hot, feels

01:54very quick off the face, let me go again there.

02:05Yeah, it's quite a high-pitched noise and it feels, harsh wouldn't be the right word,

02:10but you can certainly feel the speed there, that's really interesting.

02:13But yeah, very strong, penetrating ball flight, let's have a go with the Stealth.

02:17Again, like I said, really similar look down by the ball in terms of its overall size and

02:22footprint.

02:23Nice strong hit again, it's popped up a little bit more than the RBZ and felt probably, again,

02:33less high-pitched, a little bit deeper in terms of strikes, so different sensations.

02:36I wouldn't say I preferred one over the other, but noticeably different in ball flights, it's

02:41probably a good time to introduce some of the data that we've taken here and as you'll see

02:45from the Rocket Balls, the data I got there, a fair bit less spin than with the Stealth.

02:51It's quite a hotter flight, so it reached less of a peak height, much more penetrating ball flight.

02:56Ball speed numbers were very comparable and overall distance was very comparable.

03:01They achieved it in two very different ways, more launch from the Stealth, a bit more spin,

03:05stayed in the air for longer, whereas the Rocket Balls had a really penetrating,

03:09strong flight, which again, depending on the conditions you're going to be playing in,

03:13could be really beneficial.

03:15Okay, so I've come out on the course to see how it performs in a real-life situation.

03:19I'm on the 17th, the beautiful 17th at the Oxfordshire Golf Club.

03:23It's a tough par five, I've got about 240 over water into a bit of wind,

03:27so it's a good test for it, so I'm going to hit three away with the Rocket Balls,

03:30three with the Stealth and see where we end up.

03:40Okay, a little bit out the neck, go in, middle of the green, left of the pin,

03:46interesting to see if it's made the carry.

03:49Joel will tell us that shortly, let's go again.

03:58Similar line, that's come off very flat with no spin.

04:03Very, very similar in terms of line.

04:06Let's see if we can get this one holding up against that wind a little bit more.

04:18Touch heavy, it's going to make the carry, it's about 220 over it.

04:23I think I've got away with it and just about got that on the green.

04:26All a touch left of the pin, which might be explained by the wind.

04:30So let's have a little look at Stealth.

04:35Looks like a nice lie again.

04:36A little straighter, a little higher than the RBZ, it's got a touch more spin.

04:51Maybe just carried a little bit further that one, it was very well struck.

04:55That one could be really good, that started on it, holding against it with a fade.

05:11Last one, let's go and see where they end up.

05:13Just left of the pin, cutting back 10 or 15 feet left of it.

05:26Okay, let's go and take a look and see where they've gone.

05:28Okay, so we're up by the green now.

05:29Let me just show you where those balls have ended up,

05:31and then I'll give you my thoughts on maybe how and why they got there.

05:34So first of all, the one we've got just here, this was from the Stealth.

05:38The other two Stealth that I hit have sat pretty on the green there.

05:41The furthest one, the closest to the hole, and the one on the right here.

05:45With the Rocket Balls, one on the green, which is great,

05:48and then another two in the bunker here, which is probably 8 to 10 yards past pin high,

05:53and about 20 yards, 15, 20 yards left of where I was aiming.

05:57And I noticed that in the fairway.

05:59I felt when I put the Rocket Balls down, face angle was slightly towed in.

06:03So I was probably expecting a bit more left than I was in Stealth, and that's what I saw.

06:07But what I also saw was a lot more penetrating ball flight from Rocket Balls.

06:10It probably had 10 to 12 feet less peak height and certainly less spin.

06:16It kept penetrating a little bit further.

06:18That could be attributed to the fact that Stealth I'm trying has a slightly softer shaft,

06:22which tends to add spin as well.

06:24But it was really noticeable that the Rocket Balls did have that much more penetrating ball flight.

06:29So that was interesting.

06:31Okay, so the key differences there that I noticed were there was a little bit more left in Rocket Balls,

06:36but the main thing I noticed was the Ball Flight.

06:38Ball flight was a lot stronger with Rocket Balls, a lot less peak height and less spin.

06:42On a day like today, when it's really, really soft, not a huge problem.

06:46They both carried very similar distances,

06:48but that land angle would change significantly between the two.

06:51Stealth coming in a little bit higher gave me that bit more stopping power,

06:54and maybe control there on the green.

06:56But the Rocket Balls would have its advantage in windy conditions,

06:59particularly into the wind with that flight.

07:01Okay, that concludes the test for the Rocket Balls.

07:03And if you like what you saw and you want to grab yourself a bargain,

07:06head across to Golf Clubs for cash.

07:08Link's in the description below and you'll grab yourself some really good bargains there.

07:12So that's it from me at the Oxfordshire.

07:14We'll see you next time on Retro Reviews.

TaylorMade RBZ vs Stealth | Test And Review

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