Last year TaylorMade achieved what many in the golf industry thought was impossible… they made the 3 wood exciting again! By calling it “RocketBallz” (or RBZ) their lineup sounded like a joke initially, but what most golfers didn’t understand was that the RocketBallz name was meant to be taken literally. In fact, RBZ 3 woods boasted +17 yards of distance gained off the tee and proved to be very successful by the year’s end for TaylorMade – capturing 52% of the metalwood market share overall. And in case you’re wondering… 52% is massive!!
For the 2013 season Taylormade has decided to crank it up another notch with what they’re calling the RBZ Stage 2 line. They claim the Stage 2’s play-ability and ease of launch is what sets this year’s lineup apart from previous models. Some subtle changes have been made, including: lower profile, a shallow face and a lower CG. The Stage 2 fairway woods also incorporate an improved version of the TaylorMade’s now-famous Speed Pocket design, which flexes to promote faster ball speed for more distance. Take a moment to scroll over the image below to see all of the features the Stage 2 Three Wood has to offer!RBZ Stage 2 KEY FEATURES:
Our team continues to push the innovation envelope in the fairway wood and hybrid categories, RocketBallz represented a distance breakthrough, but we knew we could make improvements. The improved Speed Pocket, re-configured CG location and shallower profile make this year’s line-up of fairways and Rescues the best-performing metalwoods we have ever developed. -Todd Beach, VP of Metalwood R&DJust a few weeks before the official release of the RBZ Stage 2 lineup we were given an opportunity to test and review TaylorMade’s newest 3 wood personally. While we rarely hesitate to test out a new piece of equipment, I have to admit our crew was very excited about the possibilities the Stage 2 had to offer. It’s hard to believe they could squeeze any more distance out of this design, but we were happy give it a swing!
– TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Review –
FEEL: 
(8 out of 10) Our initial impressions were unanimous… the RBZ Stage 2 three wood feels tremendously solid and powerful throughout the golf swing. Its low profile face gave us the jitters at first, but we quickly realized its benefits. The sound the Stage 2 produces at impact is pleasing, yet nothing incredible. Overall its feel is very well balanced and doesn’t take many reps to get accustomed to.
DESIGN:
(9.5 out of 10) TaylorMade put a lot of time and energy into making the Stage 2 a fairway wood that not only looks magnificent, but also out preforms earlier RBZ models. Personally I think the new graphics are spectacular. For me – the crown graphics don’t draw any undue attention at setup and the triangular layout is even helpful for alignment in my opinion. That doesn’t mean it’s for everyone… in fact, a portion of our review crew were less than impressed with the paint job saying it was a bit much and even messy. Obviously the overall look of the Stage 2 is a personal choice, either you like it or you don’t, we’ll let you decide for yourself.
A few design aspects that caught our attention throughout testing were the Speed Pocket, which we fell in love with last year and was improved upon this year as well as its incredibly low center of gravity which has also been moved forward for 2013 to promote a higher launch trajectory for more carry. If you’re a golfer who has trouble getting air under the ball when hitting woods from the fairway, first of all… SWING DOWN! But you’d also likely benefit from the Stage 2’s shallow face and re-configured CG location. It helps to send the ball soaring at an optimal trajectory. It’s a beautiful thing to see!
DISTANCE:
(9.5 out of 10) Amazingly, the Stage 2 is even longer than we had expected! Last year we were blown away with the RBZ’s distance and this year TaylorMade has built on it. On average our test and review subjects gained +7.3 yards when compared to last year’s RBZ three wood, and +13.8 yards on average when compared to PING’s G20 three wood which we had on-hand at the time of testing.
In their own testing – TaylorMade claims a +10 yard increase over last year’s model. Our numbers don’t match up exactly, but they do prove that the Stage 2 has made some good improvements in distance this time around. Due in large part to the club’s ultra thin high-strength “RocketSteel” face and improved speed slot, which work in unison to create a trampoline effect at impact sending the ball screaming though the air. One of the longest tee balls recorded at the time of testing was an amazing 289 yard bullet, proving the Stage 2 is an absolute beast!
FORGIVENESS:
(7 out of 10) We didn’t find the Stage 2 three wood to be exceptionally forgiving throughout our testing sessions on the range. The Stage 2 line rewards well struck shots and lets you know quickly when something goes wrong. The shallower face leaves the club with less of a sweet spot overall. That being said we did find this fairway wood to be extremely consistent when struck well.
VALUE:
(8 out of 10) Golf clubs are valued in distance and play-ability these days. The Stage 2 is certainly long (very long!), but it’s not overwhelmingly forgiving making the $250 ($USD) price tag a tad steep in our eyes. Ideally the Stage 2 would be available for $200 to $220 in a perfect world.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
If you’re the kind of golfer who is looking to stretch every ounce of distance out of your golf ball we highly recommend you try out the RBZ Stage 2 three wood ASAP. This 3 wood will devastate par fives while launching the ball high and landing it soft. The Stage 2 three wood we had in-house for testing was an absolute pleasure to swing. We found it to be stylish, functional and freaky long! I wasn’t sure Taylormade could squeeze much more distance out of a three wood, but with the Stage 2 they proved this game isn’t getting shorter anytime soon!Buy Now: $250 ($USD) or go to: TaylorMadeGolf.com
Now that you know how we feel about the RBZ Stage 2 three wood, make sure to check out the embedded video from Taylormade to see the reactions from their tour pros after first setting eyes on it…
[…] in unison with the same technology that TaylorMade engineers initially developed for the RocketBallz line of fairway woods and hybrids. Not only have these irons been revamped with a new name and speed […]