TaylorMade RocketBallz Stage 2 Fairway Wood Review

With a number of tweaks and improvements to the original Rocketballz woods, TaylorMade releases the RBZ Stage 2 and calls them Rocketballz-IER.

RBX Stage 2 FWLast year TaylorMade made a huge splash with the announcement of their Rocketballz fairway wood. They advertised that golfers would get seventeen more yards by making the switch to this oddly named club. It debuted to a huge success with numerous professionals and amateur golfers alike making the switch to this new technology.

In 2013 TaylorMade has now released an update to the Rocketballz line with Stage 2 fairway wood. The marketing campaign has termed the new line Rocketballz-IER. With the advent of social media they have added #IER and added the -IER to all of the TaylorMade professional staff bags. Much of the underlying technology that made the initial Rocketballz a success is packed into the Stage 2 clubs and they have also added some new features which TaylorMade claims added an additional ten yards to the club. Although to be fair in terms of advertising this claim is made with a ball speed of 150 MPH which is much greater than any of the weekend warriors I play with, myself included.

For this review I was given a 15 degree fairway wood, with a graphite Matrix RocketFuel stiff shaft. Join me as I go through the details of this RBZ Stage 2 fairway wood.

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Adam Scott wins the 2013 Masters… Now What?

Adam Scott won a very exciting playoff for the 2013 Masters, the real question is where does Adam go from here?

Thrash TalkI have to admit that I did not get to watch the final round of the 2013 Masters Toonamint live. I was flying on a plane to Asia, but my DVR caught the whole thing and I was able to watch every minute. Ever since the 2007 Masters where Zach Johnson won with an over-par score, the Masters tournament has done a wonderful job making exciting back nine drama.

This year’s event was no different with the event in complete doubt leading up to the playoff. Although I knew the outcome, watching it unfold was still quite compelling. I am very happy to see Adam Scott take his first major especially after his falter down the stretch as the Open Championship last year. It would have been easy to let that event damage him and cause him to falter again coming into the final holes at Augusta.

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Volume Three Hundred Forty Eight

Derek Ernst needs a hotel reservation in Ponte Vedra Beach!

Hittin' the LinksIt was a soggy Sunday in Charlotte. The players did not look like they were having a very good time as they made it around Quail Hollow. And how about those beautiful greens? The big boys got a taste of what its like to hit a putt at the local muni this week. Several players even withdrew citing personal reasons, I guess putting on less than immaculate greens was too much to bear.

In this edition of HtL we start with a look at the newest ruling, check out the newest special edition driver from Cobra, and peruse some fan favorites still looking for their first major. Also, we take a peek at a Presidential putter, find out who the cool kids are on tour, and do a wrap up of the week’s events. Read on!

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Volume Three Hundred Forty Seven

Billy Horschel gets win number one, Tiger gets some approval, and Greg Norman wants better drug testing.

Hittin' the LinksHello again golf fans and welcome to another edition of Hittin’ the Links. So what do you think Tiger had to do to get Lindsey Vonn’s parents to come out publicly and give him the thumbs up? Expensive dinner perhaps, extravagant gifts, maybe he just wrote them a blank check? Anywho, you just can’t seem to look anywhere at the supermarket checkout line and not see a picture of the two of them smiling ear to ear. Personally, I hope them the best, all we can hope for in this life is to be happy and they seem to be enjoying each others company, a lot!

In this edition of HtL, we check out Tigers newest approval, then look into Greg Norman’s thoughts on drug testing, and take a peek at the three-legged beast of the Zurich Classic. Also, we peruse a recent golf memorabilia auction, find out what Jack thinks about balance, and do a wrap-up of the week’s events. Read on!

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Why Tiger Should Have Withdrawn From the 2013 Masters

After getting incredibly unlucky, Tiger took a two stroke penalty, but he missed an opportunity to improve his image.

Thrash TalkTiger Woods should have withdrawn from the 2013 Masters.

Yes, it was more than he had to do, because the rules state that he was able to finish out the tournament, but withdrawing would have been the right thing to do.

On Saturday morning I got to my club as I do for most Saturday mornings for breakfast with my regular group. By that time ESPN and Golf Channel had already been talking about the drop. One of my good friends came in and I told him of the ruling and he immediately said that when he was watching the event he had told his wife after Tiger made the drop that it was not a correct drop. Sadly I did not get to see it live that day because I was working but I certainly saw the replay on all of the sports channels.

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Volume Three Hundred Forty Six

Australia’s Golden Boy, Adam Scott, wins the first Masters for Aussies.

Hittin' the LinksHello again golf fans and welcome to yet another Hittin’ the Links. Australia is celebrating! After years of runner-up finishes the Aussies finally have their green jacket. I personally celebrated that yet another long putter captured a major championship, long live anchoring!

In this edition of HtL we begin with a look at how Greg Norman spent Masters Sunday, then look again at the Tiger debate, and check out the big number Bubba made. Also, we peruse the Holly Sonders photo shoot, find out what David Duval had to say, and do a wrap-up of the week’s events. Read on!

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2013 Masters Final Round Chat

The 2013 Masters – who will win? Sneeeeedeker? El Pato? An Aussie? Tiger (nah)?

2013 Masters Tournament Staff Picks and Questions

The 2013 edition of the Masters has all the makings of a great event. Let’s see what the staff expects for the event.

Thrash TalkHello friends. For me the official start of spring is the sound of the opening tee shot at Augusta National. This year the man on form and who is likely everyone’s favorite is Tiger Woods. He has started the season with three wins and hasn’t looked this good going into the Masters for at least the past five years. To add to the drama Phil has already won in Phoenix this season and is also looking good. Then last week Rory McIlroy – who has been pretty awful this season – has seemingly pulled his game together and finished second at the Texas Open. There are no shortage of storylines going into the event.

This year here at Thrash Talk we have decided to change it up by allowing a different forum member to answer each our five questions along with the staff. We had some great responses. Without further ado here are everyones thoughts.

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Titleist Introduces the New 712U Forged Utility Iron

Titleist introduces the new 712U for players looking for a long iron replacement but don’t want hybrids.

Bag DropIf there is one thing you can say about the golf equipment industry, it is that it is one of trends. Over the last handful of years we have seen larger club heads, better balls, adjustable clubs, etc. One of the biggest equipment advances over recent years was the hybrid iron. Originally designed with the weekend golfer in mind, the hybrid was designed to replace the long irons but play more like a fairway wood. They helped players launch the ball higher and further than they ever could with their long irons.

However, even though the demand for hybrids are high and they have a place in many bags, some still don’t like them. For players in this category there have been a few options. For years now, Mizuno has offered the Fli-Hi irons which have become very popular, and last year we saw Callaway jump in the mix with the X Utility iron which was in Ernie Els’ bag when he won the British Open Championship. Starting in mid-May, golfers will be able finally be able to get their hands on Titleist’s offering in this category, the 712U, which was introduced on the Tour late last year.

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