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 wheel, now this came out in 2012 to a lot
00:40of fanfare and a lot of marketing from tailor-made with claims of 17 extra yards and it was a
00:46really clever marketing ploy and the other marketing ploy that was great was the white
00:50head.
00:51You could see it from miles away on the golf course, anyone you saw on TV you knew they
00:54were playing the tailor-made Rocket Balls head.
00:56Now the tech story behind the extra speed was what they called their speed slot which
01:01is this little carved out piece on the sole which increased the COR and had massive jumps
01:06in ball speed which is what people noticed.
01:07So let's get to the range, test it out and see how it goes.
01:10Okay, 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, there's not a lot of change in
01:30terms of its overall profile which is really interesting so I'm going to hit a couple away
01:34and just see what I can tell in terms of difference-wise from the feel and the sound.
01:37So I'm going to go with the Rocket Balls first, it sits nicely behind the ball, very square.
01:49That's a lovely strike, it's right out the middle, nice strong flight, feels hot, feels
01:54very quick off the face, let me go again there.
02:05Yeah, it's quite a high-pitched noise and it feels, harsh wouldn't be the right word,
02:10but you can certainly feel the speed there, that's really interesting.
02:13But yeah, very strong, penetrating ball flight, let's have a go with the Stealth.
02:17Again, 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,
02:33less high-pitched, a little bit deeper in terms of strikes, so different sensations.
02:36I wouldn't say I preferred one over the other, but noticeably different in ball flights, it's
02:41probably a good time to introduce some of the data that we've taken here and as you'll see
02:45from 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 flight.
02:56Ball speed numbers were very comparable and overall distance was very comparable.
03:01They achieved it in two very different ways, more launch from the Stealth, a bit more spin,
03:05stayed in the air for longer, whereas the Rocket Balls had a really penetrating,
03:09strong flight, which again, depending on the conditions you're going to be playing in,
03:13could be really beneficial.
03:15Okay, so I'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 five, I've got about 240 over water into a bit of wind,
03:27so it's a good test for it, so I'm going to hit three away with the Rocket Balls,
03:30three with the Stealth and see where we end up.
03:40Okay, a little bit out the neck, go in, middle of the green, left of the pin,
03:46interesting to see if it's made the carry.
03:49Joel 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.
04:06Let's see if we can get this one holding up against that wind a little bit more.
04:18Touch heavy, it's going to make the carry, it's about 220 over it.
04:23I 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.
04:30So let's have a little look at Stealth.
04:35Looks like a nice lie again.
04:36A little 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.
04:55That 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.
05:13Just left of the pin, cutting back 10 or 15 feet left of it.
05:26Okay, let's go and take a look and see where they've gone.
05:28Okay, so we're up by the green now.
05:29Let me just show you where those balls have ended up,
05:31and 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.
05:38The other two Stealth that I hit have sat pretty on the green there.
05:41The furthest one, the closest to the hole, and the one on the right here.
05:45With the Rocket Balls, one on the green, which is great,
05:48and then another two in the bunker here, which is probably 8 to 10 yards past pin high,
05:53and about 20 yards, 15, 20 yards left of where I was aiming.
05:57And I noticed that in the fairway.
05:59I felt when I put the Rocket Balls down, face angle was slightly towed in.
06:03So 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,
06:22which tends to add spin as well.
06:24But it was really noticeable that the Rocket Balls did have that much more penetrating ball flight.
06:29So that was interesting.
06:31Okay, so the key differences there that I noticed were there was a little bit more left in Rocket Balls,
06:36but 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,
06:48but that land angle would change significantly between the two.
06:51Stealth coming in a little bit higher gave me that bit more stopping power,
06:54and maybe control there on the green.
06:56But the Rocket Balls would have its advantage in windy conditions,
06:59particularly into the wind with 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,
07:06head across to Golf 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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