TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Fairway Wood Review

This past Sunday I took my new TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 3-wood down to Chelsea Piers driving range for a test run. The facility doesn't suck, in any way, but the problem with that particular driving range is a net that lives roughly 193 yards away to stop the balls from sailing into the Hudson River, which, of course, is a hindrance when you're testing out clubs that travel much further than that distance, but it was the best I could do living in this concrete jungle, so bare with me.

Prior to receiving the new RBZ Stage 2, I was using a 15-degree Titleist 980F with a steal shaft that I bought a few years ago. The first difference I noticed between the clubs, other than the shaft material, was that the RBZ Stage 2 has a bigger head and is a full inch longer than my Titleist, which certainly helps when you're looking to squeeze extra distance out of your 3-wood.

How It Looks
Aesthetically, you can't lose with this club. The color pallet offered on the RBZ Stage 2 clubs, in my opinion, far exceeds that of last year's model, which boasted neon green accents and the worst pleathor head covers my eyes have ever seen (my driver is a RBZ first generation). If I'm weary of one thing, it's scuffing the white head with a dreaded sky mark. I'm not a pro; loose swings happen.

How It Performs
It took a while to acclimate myself with the graphite shaft and the extra length but once I got used to it, shots felt impossibly smooth. I should note, I didn't use a tee for any of my shots and like I said earlier, I couldn't gage how far the balls traveled thanks to that good for nothing net, but they jumped off the RocketSteel clubface and the shallowness of the face also made it extremely easy to launch the ball off a tight lie.

I can't really speak to the increased speed brought on by the Speed Pocket, because I wasn't hooked up to any kind of swing monitor and I'm certainly not good enough to tell the difference between a few MPH of clubhead speed but all things considered, this club seems ideal for someone like me: a long hitter but wildly erratic with a driver. 

Final Thought
By adding extra distance without compromising accuracy, my Titleist won't be going back in my bag anytime soon. For that matter, I'm hoping the extra 27 yards that the RBZ Stage 2 promises to provide will allow me to use it more off the tee this season and keep that ugly ass head cover on my RBZ driver, too.

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