We’ve all been there: standing in the local pro shop, staring at a shimmering new 3-wood with a price tag that rivals a monthly car payment. The marketing promises “unprecedented ball speed” and “revolutionary forgiveness,” but for many of us, the results on the course just don’t justify the $400 investment.
The truth is, in my opinion, golf club engineering hit a “sweet spot” about a decade ago where materials and COR limits peaked – meaning that some of the most consistent, fastest fairway woods ever made are currently sitting in used bins for the price of a sleeve of premium balls.
If you’re tired of chasing marginal gains at maximum prices, it’s time to look backward.
Article continues below
1. TaylorMade RBZ (2012)
(Image credit: Howard Boylan)
We have to start with the club that changed everything. When TaylorMade released the RocketBallz (RBZ), it made the audacious claim that it was “17 yards longer” than its predecessor. Remarkably, for many golfers, that was actually true.
The introduction of the large “Speed Pocket” in the sole allowed the face to flex in a way we had never seen in a fairway wood. It turned the 3-wood into a secondary driver. Even by today’s standards, the ball speeds produced by a well-struck RBZ are frightening. It remains a “rocket” in every sense of the word and compared very favorably when we tested it against a fairly new model.
2. TaylorMade M2 Tour (2017)
(Image credit: Future)
If the RBZ was about raw power, the 2017 M2 Tour was about refined precision. This club became an instant classic on Tour, notably finding a permanent home in the bags of players like Rory McIlroy for a significant period, while Brooks Koepka is still using it to this day!
The “Tour” head featured a smaller, more compact profile and a slightly deeper face. It offered a neutral-to-fade bias that better players craved. With its iconic black-and-white crown and a recessed Speed Pocket, it provided a crisp, compressed feel at impact that many modern,…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Latest from Golf Monthly in Features…