In Hand Pics! TaylorMade RocketBladez Tour and RocketBladez irons! New Pics Added! 1-3-13

I have a hard time believing they are as consistent as they state, but who knows maybe they are.  They look nice though.  Hopefully they will come with some kind of pick to clean the dirt out of the slot after every shot as well.  ;)  I had the woods for a while.     

Quote:

Originally Posted by cipher 

I have a hard time believing they are as consistent as they state, but who knows maybe they are.  They look nice though.  Hopefully they will come with some kind of pick to clean the dirt out of the slot after every shot as well.  ;)  I had the woods for a while.     

I read earlier today on another forum, the guy did some testing and his distance numbers were crazy consistent. He started off the review saying he despises TM and he will not bag these but the consistency numbers TM claims are legit. Also supposedly there is some goop inserted to keep dirt out of the speed channel thing. I dont know a better way to decribe it but it's some goop 3M developed.

I was just on the website, they say it is a polymer that is put in the slot.  Makes sense as it would stay flexible.  I do like the look of the tour ones.   

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonTheSavage 

I read earlier today on another forum, the guy did some testing and his distance numbers were crazy consistent. He started off the review saying he despises TM and he will not bag these but the consistency numbers TM claims are legit. Also supposedly there is some goop inserted to keep dirt out of the speed channel thing. I dont know a better way to decribe it but it's some goop 3M developed.

You better start carrying a pin knife in your pocket if you game these.  3M is pretty genius with their various adhesives, glues, films, textiles, etc... But there is no 'goop' that is going to keep muddy/sandy sod from creeping into that 'speed slot'.

Another comment... The offset makes the unplayable for me.  I'd be taking folks out down the right side of the fairway!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by cipher 

I was just on the website, they say it is a polymer that is put in the slot.  Makes sense as it would stay flexible.  I do like the look of the tour ones.   

Yeah Polymer sounds wayyyy better than goop! lol

But there is no 'goop' that is going to keep muddy/sandy sod from creeping into that 'speed slot'.

Im with you, not sure Im buying that either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beachcomber 

You better start carrying a pin knife in your pocket if you game these.  3M is pretty genius with their various adhesives, glues, films, textiles, etc... But there is no 'goop' that is going to keep muddy/sandy sod from creeping into that 'speed slot'.

 

Another comment... The offset makes the unplayable for me.  I'd be taking folks out down the right side of the fairway!!

The slot looks to be completely filled with polymer.  It should be ok at fist.  The question is, will it hold up over time?  I think it would eventually have to start separating but maybe not.  Call me a skeptic, but this is coming from the guy who had his irons de-laminate on him. 

Ummm....those arent blades and its a joke that TM would name them, "RocketBladez".

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaijinGolfer 

Ummm....those arent blades and its a joke that TM would name them, "RocketBladez".

Who cares?  It's just a name.

You know what else these clubs aren't?

They aren't rockets.  Anybody here from NASA wanna complain about that too?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cipher 

The slot looks to be completely filled with polymer.  It should be ok at fist.  The question is, will it hold up over time?  I think it would eventually have to start separating but maybe not.  Call me a skeptic, but this is coming from the guy who had his irons de-laminate on him. 

Here is some close-ups of the irons. I didn't realize they eliminated the speed slot on the 8i down... Makes sense as distance control is critical for shorter irons and you don't want a ball hitting hot of the face.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151303501359665.523010.119500444664&type=1

Regarding the comment on the 3M polymer insert... I guess they could use a clear polymer - similar to what we use in the electronics manufacturing world, to fill the void/air gap between a touch screen and an LCD.  The process is called optically bonding - where the adhesive polymer is injected under a vacuum and it ultimately adheres the two component layers together...  But the polymer is transparent to the human eye.

The problem I see with this polymer insert is regarding it's shear strength and elasticity.  I would think it's shear strength would be lower than that of steel?  And thus, over time would begin to flake and crumble??

Is anyone other than O'Hair using the tour version yet?

I do like this idea.  The longer irons are really the only place it would be of use anyway.

I think TaylorMade makes better irons than most people think. I for one was very pleasantly surprised with how well the R11 irons performed during my review. I would bet that these irons are much better than people expect. 

Interested to see how the top line looks on the tour model....looks pretty good though.  I'm a typical sucker for Taylormade's marketing,  but I will say my OCD wouldn't get along with that slot for very long.  q-tips/toothpicks+flashlight after every round =p

Quote:

Originally Posted by NOVAgolfer 

Interested to see how the top line looks on the tour model....looks pretty good though.  I'm a typical sucker for Taylormade's marketing,  but I will say my OCD wouldn't get along with that slot for very long.  q-tips/toothpicks+flashlight after every round =p

Here is the top line of the Tour taken from TM's Facebook page.

Hopefully this means the RBZ irons are coming down in price soon. Love to get a set of those.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamo 

They also use polymer in the Method putters, but of course the speed at which putters hit the ground is entirely different from what irons experience.

Clearly coming from a man who hasn't seen my post-shot putting routine.