Why do you think the RocketBallz line is so successful? Is it JUST the name?

[2nd Swing Golf]

It's no joke that the RocketBallZ line by TayloMade is dominating the golf market.  What is worth noting, however, is that this line accounts for around 25% of woods market this golf season, and the line has only been available for purchase a little over a month.

Is it marketing hype?

Is it that these woods REALLY DO add 17+ yards to your shots?

Jeff Shelman, guest contributor to the 2nd Swing Golf Blog says it's both:

"While this golf season is still very young – especially here in Minnesota – there seems to be an early leader in the equipment game. That leader? Rocketballz .  It has been difficult to miss TaylorMade’s new line of clubs. There is the name that sits somewhere between brash and slightly inappropriate. There is the claim of 17 yards gained versus older fairway woods. And there is the seemingly endless marketing push..." READ MORE from Jeff's article

What are your thoughts?

[jpalermo]

I went to the midnight launch party at GG and wasn't really impressed with the results in the simulator. I take lessons on Friday's from my buddy who is the head pro at my local CC. They stock them in the pro shop and I asked him if I could hit them outside and it was a different ball game. I bought the HT 17* and a 21.5* hybrid. The feel of the club took some getting used to but you can't argue the results of a 4w that goes as far if not farther than my old 3w.

I didn't buy into the initial hype, I waited till I could hit them outside.

[RayG]

Adding an inch to the length of a 3wd will add that much. PLUS, the new RBZ Driver is priced less than the top o' the line R11s, I think they needed a mid point price to expand their market.

[LuciusWooding]

3 woods are not that sexy, even though a lot of amateurs feel confident with them and use them a lot. They spend money on shiny drivers and sets of irons, and hybrids to a lesser extent, but fairway woods are expensive to replace and don't see much marketing or technology increase.

Along comes the RBZ line, promoting the fairway wood ahead of anything else in their line. It claims a huge leap in technology and a lot of people choose to replace their old woods.

The name is retarded. That is all.

[Ernest Jones]

Originally Posted by LuciusWooding

The name is retarded. That is all.

Amen, preaching to the choir on that one!

[glock35ipsc]

TaylorMade makes the BEST lemming food!

[Beachcomber]

The name - Rocketballz is ridiculous... Ridiculously lame.

From my perspective - I've hit the RBZ driver, fairway woods and hybrids.

Driver: I didn't like the driver... The dispersion was not good for me during my demo/test when compared to my current R11 TP gamer - or even the new R11S.  But I will add, that I definitely didn't have the right shaft in it when I was tooling around with it back in the pre-release days at Golfsmith.  The distance of the RBZ driver was consistent with my current R11 TP - but the dispersion of the RBZ was much much worse.

Fairway Woods: I have the RBZ Tour 3W 14.5* with the Xcon 7 stiff shaft, and it is a beast.  It is the best 3W I've ever hit - and the ball does rocket off the face.  The face just feels hot as the ball flies off of it.  I will be gaming this 3W for many years to come.

Hybrid: I have the 3H 19*.  I'm not crazy about this club as I feel like I may need to upgrade the shaft as I seem to hook/draw the ball too much with it.  Whereas my 5H R11 is money - my 3H RBZ is causing me issues with missing it to the left.  I've contemplated taking the 3H back to my fitter and getting an upgraded shaft.  Will probably do this within the next 30 days given I have a tournament in May.

Lastly, I've never hit the irons to comment on them... But I would honestly say - if you are in the market for a 3W... Do yourself a favor and at least hit the RBZ 3W before you buy another branded 3W/fairway wood.  In my opinion, the RBZ 3W is one of the best clubs that can be found in today's current marketplace.

[xmanhockey7]

The woods are long. Some argue too long and I don't totally disagree with them but I'm a short hitter so for me it'd probably let me hit some par 5s in 2 I otherwise couldn't hit. Although for the price I'd rather stick with my R7 3 wood.

[jamo]

I think the obvious answer is that they are pretty long. Not the longest out of what I've tried (that was the new Nikes, though who knows if that stock shaft just fit me better), but they are properly long. But I do genuinely think that a the name is part of it. You can't call a product "Rocketballz," give it lime green accent coloring (which I love), and then not back it up.

[carrx]

I'm interested in the fairway woods, as mentioned in a post above.  I do have a buddy/regular playing partner that recently swapped an R11 for a RBZ driver.  He is really sneaky long with the new driver, and frequently plays a low "stinger" that seems to just roll forever.  I will be looking to replace my 4-wood this year, and would like to see what the RBZ version can do, probably comparing to Exotics.

[SVTGolfer]

"Succesful" by who's standards or opinion??

Im in the market for a new 3 woood, and ive hit the RBZ several times. I think its completegarbage!! Ive tried every different trim of the model as well. The standard 3, the 3+, the 3 "tour", etc… all with the same results… All hype and no feel! Its heavy and clunky! Hell even the Nike VR_S is better than the RBZ. Plus the white is still as annoying as its ridiculous name…

Nobody I know plays one. And that includes all 140 members in my golf club.

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by SVTGolfer

"Succesful" by who's standards or opinion??

Im in the market for a new 3 woood, and ive hit the RBZ several times. I think its completegarbage!! Ive tried every different trim of the model as well. The standard 3, the 3+, the 3 "tour", etc… all with the same results… All hype and no feel! Its heavy and clunky! Hell even the Nike VR_S is better than the RBZ. Plus the white is still as annoying as its ridiculous name…

Nobody I know plays one. And that includes all 140 members in my golf club.

Wow.  You track what all 140 members of your club game?  I find that impressive! :D

Sorry to hear that you didn't like the RBZ Tour 3W.  I see you're in SoCal.  I hope I don't hit into you on a Par 5 when I'm going for it in 2!! ;)

[SVTGolfer]

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

Wow.  You track what all 140 members of your club game?  I find that impressive! :D

Sorry to hear that you didn't like the RBZ Tour 3W.  I see you're in SoCal.  I hope I don't hit into you on a Par 5 when I'm going for it in 2!! ;)

Hahaha, you're a funny guy. You dont wear one of those hats with a green 17 on it and think it makes you longer too do you? Hahaha. I see you're in Newport Beach… You didn't just buy an RBZ because it was the newest, most expensive club on the shelf did you? Hahaha

And considering I see 80-95 of them at a time, once or twice a month (on average). Yes, I do notice what they play. And I can count the number of guys playing a white headed driver, fairway, or hybrid on one hand…

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by SVTGolfer

Hahaha, you're a funny guy. You dont wear one of those hats with a green 17 on it and think it makes you longer too do you? Hahaha

And considering I see 80-95 of them once or twice a month (on average), yes, I do notice what they play. And I can count the number of guys playing a white headed driver, fairway, or hybrid on one hand…

I'm just busting your chops bud.  And no - I don't wear a '17' hat.  I'm typically chilling in my Travis Matthews / Under Armor / Oakley getup. ;)

[yaksta]

I'm about to purchase a new 3 wood and 3 hybrid. I've played the RBZ 3 hybrid and love it and will be adding to my bag asap. The 3 wood is a different matter. I have only hit the RBZ in a regular shaft and need to try the stiff shaft. But I like the idea of the R11s and being able to adjust to suit my game. I'm not necessarily after distance as opposed to accuracy. Having said that the 3 wood will also replace my driver as I am nowhere near consistent enough with it. My hope is that I will fall in love with the R11s and then add the driver to the bag later in the year when the price has come down and I can afford it. Any thoughts on the RBZ 3 vs R11s and also which one is more suited to use off the tee and fairway.  Cheers

[SVTGolfer]

Originally Posted by Beachcomber

I'm just busting your chops bud.  And no - I don't wear a '17' hat.  I'm typically chilling in my Travis Matthews / Under Armor / Oakley getup. ;)

See!! I told you you were funny… Hahaha

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by yaksta

I'm about to purchase a new 3 wood and 3 hybrid. I've played the RBZ 3 hybrid and love it and will be adding to my bag asap. The 3 wood is a different matter. I have only hit the RBZ in a regular shaft and need to try the stiff shaft. But I like the idea of the R11s and being able to adjust to suit my game. I'm not necessarily after distance as opposed to accuracy. Having said that the 3 wood will also replace my driver as I am nowhere near consistent enough with it. My hope is that I will fall in love with the R11s and then add the driver to the bag later in the year when the price has come down and I can afford it. Any thoughts on the RBZ 3 vs R11s and also which one is more suited to use off the tee and fairway.  Cheers

Go to a local retailer and hit both of them on a launch monitor.  You should be able to see results and determine which is best for your swing.  Things you will want to pay attention to are ball speed and spin.  The higher the ball speed number - and lower the spin number - the better IMO.  Then the obvious thing to look for is how you are hitting the target (the straighter the better).  I wouldn't pay much attention to length as many of the monitors I've seen are all over the place.

Now - with that said - if you can find a fitter who will let you hit both clubs on a Trackman... Then do that.  Trackman is awesome and arguably carries the highest accuracy of all monitors/radars out there.

[mosnas]

I have to say that RBZ is by far the most clever marketing scheme I have seen (if any of you are hockey players it reminds me very much of the warrior line of hockey sticks when they came out).  Anywho remember who the market is, sure the majority of lower handicap players may find the name laughable and the white head distracting but heck those guys are definately the minority of the market.  And those guys are were the Titleist Mizuno's ect get more of their market.

The majority of taylormades market however is the 25+ year old higher handicappers who see that 17+ yardage gain and start drooling everywhere.  If they are advertising a gain that significant well heck if you had lots of money to spend then why would you not want to try it out?  This along with their irons if you don't do your research and no body tells you how would you know they are stronger lofted then average.  If you don't know this step up to the simulator hit two 7 irons one goes 165 and the RBZ goes 175, I sure as heck know which one I am buying.

I think they did a clever job with marketing not only do you see their ads everywhere but they are a good price point iron.  As well they have done extensive research and figured out where the majority of their market is and have tried appealing to them more than any other golfer.