TaylorMade RocketBladez Irons Include the 'Speed Pocket'

The TaylorMade RocketBladez Irons are built around the "Speed Pocket" - a 2-millimeter-wide "slot" in the soles of the 3-iron through 7-iron.

At impact, the slot flexes and rebounds, and in so doing, TaylorMade says, increases ball speed, increases launch angle, and heightens the trajectory. In other words, the company says the RocketBladez make the golf ball go higher and ****her.

The Speed Pocket is particularly effective, TaylorMade says, on shots struck low on the clubface - a miss (hitting the ball too low on the clubface) common to mid- and high-handicap golfers.

The slot is not a gap, however; it is filled with "a specially formulated polyurethane developed by 3M" that serves a dual purpose: It keeps debris out of the "pocket," and it dampens vibration - but without, TaylorMade says, significantly lessening the flex of the Speed Pocket.

Combined with the ultra-thin clubface, the technology helps give the RocketBladez irons a higher COR than the cheapest burner 2.0 irons. The higher-flying trajectory also means that golf balls descend on a steeper angle, helping stop the ball more quickly.

The base set includes taylormade rbz driver plus TaylorMade R1 Fairway Wood, but the 3-iron, sand wedge and lob wedge are available separately. The stock steel shaft is the RocketFuel 85, and the stock graphite shaft the RocketFuel 65. Many custom options are available for both shaft and grip.