Martin Hopley
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The TaylorMade RocketBladez iron has been launched with much fanfare, but that is OK when there is a significant technical improvement. In this case it is the speed pocket on the sole of the club which allows the face to flex more to generate more ball speed and hence distance

It is the same principle that you know and love from the RocketBallz fairway wood, but this is the first time it has been put into an iron. TaylorMade want to be the number one distance iron and this is right in that category as it is all about ball speed. The technologies for increasing speed that started in drivers are now coming to irons and the manufacturing processes have improved to allow them to increase the spring like effect of the faces of irons.

The other main benefit is more forgiveness and TaylorMade say that in comparison to previous distance irons, there are less hot spots where the ball goes further off one part of the face than another. Certainly when we tried them the iron was very forgiving right across the face and the feel was excellent. You hardly ever got the feeling that you had mis-hit the TaylorMade RocketBladez iron as it always felt good and even strikes that were near thins, felt and flew much like a normal shot.

The other big difference for us was the design of the RocketBladez iron. You might expect it to be chunky with lots of offset, but you would be wrong. They are not blades (despite the name) and the mid-sized heads had a generous but not too thick top line and the offset was no more than you would expect on an average iron. We feel that the RocketBladez, especially the long irons, will be in the bags of a wide range of players.

The speed pocket only features in the 3-7 irons and then they go to more traditional cavity backs. Normally this is where we get worried as the short irons in a cast distance set are well it all falls down. However, we have to say the RocketBladez wedges are really lovely to hit,complement the rest of the set very well and are one of the best wedges we have tried in this category.

Finally we have reached stage in club design where the lofts are basically 1 club up from where there used to be. The 4-iron behaves like a 4-iron with the distance and 20 degree loft of a strong 3-iron and that is where iron sets have been heading over the years. The lofts are much stronger than in the past and you will need the A-wedge at 50 degrees to take you into your wedges. However this makes this set fit easily into the gaps at the top end of the bag created by the bionic RocketBallz woods.

There is also a notch on the hosel now to allow it to be bent for custom fitting and this is a great development and it adds to the style of the club, which apart from the graphics is very good.

There is a choice of Rocketfuel shafts which are a little lighter than normal to aid more speed and could be why we felt the heads seemed a little heavier than normal when you swing them..

Overall TaylorMade have managed to blend distance with looks and playability and this could turn out to be one of the defining irons in golf club development so we would definitely recommend it.

Golfalot Rating: 5 stars
Overall Rating - 5 stars:
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TaylorMade RocketBladez Irons - Product Details

UK Launch03 December 2012
USA Launch03 December 2012
Handicap Range
Low
High
GolferMens
Hand AvailabilityLeft, Right
MaterialSteel
Shaft TypesSteel, Graphite
Shaft FlexLight, Regular, Stiff
Set Makeup4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, PW
Additional Clubs3, SW, AW, LW
Manufacturer's WebsiteTaylorMade Website

User Reviews

Tom Austin
January 2018

I have owned Taylor made irons for years. First R-7. Then R-9. Played burner drivers still have four of them. R-11 driver. Bought RocketBladez really enjoyed them. After one year the shaft on my 5 iron snapped at hosel during a tournament. Year later 7 iron shaft snapped at hosel. One month ago the 6 iron face collapsed. My clubhead speed is low as I’m over 70. I’m sure I am not the only one having these problems with these irons. TaylorMade won’t replace them. Everyone of the irons with slot have failed. Good luck with RocketBladez.

Steve Griffith
May 2017

Love these clubs, have taken 5 to 6 stokes off my game. I have shot under par on every round maybe 8 or 9. Only Missed only 3 or 4 swings so far. GREAT CLUBS!!

October 2016

Have had these clubs for 12 months now and like wow, feel and distance A1 for a cavity back. Stripped 3 shots from my hcap , would recommend them as a game-improver.

Smokey99
December 2012

This is only a provisional review after a single range session using a 7 iron but I felt compelled to write about this club as I have not experienced anything like this before with an iron.

Initial impressions are good as its a nice compact design with clean lines and to those like me (mid handicapper) its just the right amount of head size and offset to give you confidence but not too big to be off putting or turn away better players.

In the hand it feels very light and those that like a lighter shaft and the increased head speed that comes with it will benefit from the lighter, almost graphite feeling head/shaft weight ratios. Clearly if you like a heavier shaft you can custom fit.

Anyway down to the business end of things. When struck the ball just flies off the face and it really does go a like a Rocket! We've all seen the TM videos and I'm very cynical but I really do believe now. I just kept saying to myself that it felt like cheating. Feel off the face was good with a very satisfying soft clip but clearly not forged soft, but what is these days except blades. I'm using AP2's at the moment and the RBZ's were only a little more cast feeling than the 712's.

So whilst feel was slightly down the extra forgiveness on offer was on another level completely. Even slightly thinned shots flew straight and long with unerring accuracy and I would say that it was roughly 1 club stronger the 2 other (forged) irons I tried that night.

Finally a quick word about consistency. I really felt that I was in control of distances which not something that has been labelled at previous TM distance irons.

So yes I need to try the long irons to see if they are just as easy to hit. I also need to test the scoring irons for feel on shots around the greens. But at the moment I'm this close i.e. very very close, to trading he AP2's which is something I never thought I would do. Well done TaylorMade.

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