00:00Okay, welcome back to another retro review from Golf Monthly and today we've got an absolute
00:04humdinger and it is the tailor-made Rocket Balls fairway wheel.
00:09Now this is a particularly favourite one for me.
00:11This was in my bag for probably over five years so I'm really looking forward to seeing
00:14how it stacks up against its modern-day equivalent.
00:17We partnered up with Golf Club for Cash, one of the leading retailers of pre-loved equipment
00:21and they supplied us with some absolute gems to test.
00:24So if you want to check those guys out, look in the description below.
00:27Let's get to it.
00:30Okay, so the tailor-made Rocket Balls three-wood, now this came out in 2012 to a lot of fanfare
00:41and a lot of marketing from tailor-made with claims of 17 extra yards and it was a really
00:46clever marketing ploy and the other marketing ploy that was great was the white head.
00:50You could see it from miles away on the golf course.
00:53Anyone you saw on TV, you knew they were playing the tailor-made Rocket Balls head.
00:56Now the tech story behind the extra speed was what they called their speed slot which is
01:01this little carved out piece on the sole which increased the COR and had massive jumps in
01:06ball speed which is what people noticed.
01:08So let's get to the range, test it out and see how it goes.
01:11Okay, so I've come down to the driving range now at the Oxfordshire Golf Club and it's
01:13probably a good time to introduce what I'm going to be comparing the Rocket Balls to.
01:17So the modern-day equivalent we're using is the tailor-made Stealth.
01:20When you put them down beside one another, surprisingly similar in terms of dimensions, the overall
01:25footprint is very similar, face depth very, very similar.
01:29There's not a lot of change in terms of its overall profile which is really interesting.
01:32So I'm going to hit a couple away and just see what I can tell in terms of difference
01:36wise from the feel and the sound.
01:38So I'm going to go with the Rocket Balls first.
01:41It sits nicely behind the ball, very square.
01:49That's a lovely strike, it's right out the middle, nice strong flight.
01:53Feels hot, feels very quick off the face, let me go again there.
02:05Yeah it's quite a high pitch noise and it feels harsh wouldn't be the right word but you can
02:10certainly feel the speed there, that's really interesting but yeah very strong penetrating
02:15ball flight.
02:16Let's have a go with the Stealth.
02:18Again like I said really similar look down by the ball in terms of its overall size and
02:22footprint.
02:23Nice strong hit again, it's popped up a little bit more than the RBZ and felt probably again
02:32less high pitch, a little bit deeper in terms of strikes.
02:35So different sensations, I wouldn't say I preferred one over the other but noticeably different in
02:40ball flights.
02:41It's probably a good time to introduce some of the data that we've taken here and as you'll
02:45see from the Rocket Balls, the data I got there, a fair bit less spin than with the Stealth.
02:51It's quite a hotter flight so it reached less of a peak height, much more penetrating ball
02:56flight.
02:57Ball speed numbers were very comparable and overall distance was very comparable.
03:01They achieved it in two very different ways.
03:03More launch from the Stealth, a bit more spin, stayed in the air for longer.
03:07Whereas the Rocket Balls had a really penetrating, strong flight which again depending on the
03:12conditions you're going to be playing in, could be really beneficial.
03:15Okay, so we've come out on the course to see how it performs in a real life situation.
03:19I'm on the 17th, the beautiful 17th at the Oxfordshire Golf Club.
03:23It's a tough par 5, I've got about 240 over water into a bit of wind so it's a good test
03:28for it.
03:29So I'm going to hit three away with the Rocket Balls, three with the Stealth and see where
03:31we end up.
03:36A little bit out of the neck, go in, middle of the green, left of the pin, interesting
03:46to see if it's made the carry.
03:48Joel will tell us that shortly, let's go again.
03:58Similar line, that's come off very flat with no spin.
04:03Very very similar in terms of line, let's see if we can get this one holding up against
04:08that wind a little bit more.
04:18Touch heavy, it's going to make the carry, it's about 220 over it.
04:22I think I've got away with it and just about got that on the green.
04:26All a touch left of the pin which might be explained by the wind.
04:31Let's have a little look at Stealth.
04:34Looks like a nice lie again.
04:45Little straighter, a little higher than the RBZ, it's got a touch more spin.
04:51Maybe just carried a little bit further that one, it was very well struck.
04:59That one could be really good, that started on it, holding against it with a fade.
05:11Last one, let's go and see where they end up.
05:20Just left of the pin, cutting back 10 or 15 feet left of it.
05:24Okay, let's go and take a look and see where they've gone.
05:28Okay, so we're up by the green now, let me just show you where those balls have ended
05:31up and then I'll give you my thoughts on maybe how and why they got there.
05:34So first of all, the one we've got just here, this was from the Stealth.
05:39The other two Stealth that I hit are sat pretty on the green there, the furthest one, the closest
05:42to the hole and the one on the right here.
05:45The Rocket Balls, one on the green, which is great, and then another two in the bunker
05:49here, which is probably 8 to 10 yards past pin high and about 20 yards, 15, 20 yards left
05:56of where I was aiming.
05:57And I noticed that in the fairway.
05:58I felt when I put the Rocket Balls down, face angle was slightly towed in.
06:02So I was probably expecting a bit more left than I was in Stealth and that's what I saw.
06:07But what I also saw was a lot more penetrating ball flight from Rocket Balls.
06:10It probably had 10 to 12 feet less peak height and certainly less spin.
06:16It kept penetrating a little bit further.
06:18That could be attributed to the fact that Stealth I'm trying has a slightly softer shaft, which
06:22tends to add spin as well.
06:24But it was really noticeable that the Rocket Balls did have that much more penetrating
06:28ball flight.
06:29So that was interesting.
06:30Okay, so the key differences there that I noticed were there was a little bit more left
06:35in Rocket Balls, but the main thing I noticed was the ball flight.
06:38Ball flight was a lot stronger with Rocket Balls, a lot less peak height and less spin.
06:42On a day like today when it's really, really soft, not a huge problem.
06:46They both carried very similar distances, but that land angle would change significantly
06:50between the two.
06:51Stealth coming in a little bit higher gave me that bit more stopping power and maybe
06:54control there on the green.
06:56But the Rocket Balls would have its advantage in windy conditions, particularly into the wind
07:00with that flight.
07:01Okay, that concludes the test for the Rocket Balls.
07:03And if you like what you saw and you want to grab yourself a bargain, head across to
07:07Golf Clubs for Cash.
07:08Link's in the description below and you'll grab yourself some really good bargains there.
07:12So that's it from me at the Oxfordshire.
07:14We'll see you next time on Retro Reviews.
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