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Question: After a great year with white-headed metalwoods in 2011, what’s ahead for TaylorMade in 2012? Answer: RocketBallz.

TaylorMade is about to introduce a line of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and irons called RocketBallz. These clubs will not be available at retail until Feb. 3, but retailers expect word of mouth to create interest before that date. The creation of RocketBallz will give TaylorMade three distinct lines of clubs – R11 (which becomes R11S for 2012), RocketBallz and Burner. For the upcoming year, Burner will be positioned as TaylorMade’s value line ($199 driver), and RocketBallz will share centerstage with R11S. The new RBZ 6-iron. The new RBZ 6-iron.

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The face of the RBZ MAX 4-iron. The toe of the RBZ MAX 4-iron.

The RBZ MAX 6-iron. The RBZ MAX 6-iron. The face of the RBZ MAX 6-iron. The toe of the RBZ MAX 6-iron.

The new RBZ Speed Rescue. The face of the new RBZ Speed Rescue. The toe of the new RBZ Speed Rescue.

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R11S will remain TaylorMade’s most expensive club at retail. The R11S driver will sell for $399, and the TP version (same head, but with more than two dozen shaft choices) will be priced at $499. The RocketBallz driver, meanwhile, will cost $299 for the standard model and $349 for the Tour model.

All three lines will have white heads, as TaylorMade seeks to reinforce the identity it established in 2011 by switching from black heads to white heads in drivers, fairway woods and hybrids. If the name RocketBallz creates mental images of rocket-like tee shots, that’s exactly what TaylorMade had in mind. Sean Toulon, TaylorMade’s executive vice president, admitted there was a certain risk in choosing such a contemporary, slang-like name, but he said TaylorMade was encouraged by major retailers who saw the clubs during the final stages of the development cycle. “Golfers want performance,” said Pete Line, general manager of Carl’s Golfland in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “They will pay for performance. I’m not sure the name has that much to do with it.

I remember a little company that came out with a product with a very weird name – Big Bertha. Install Package Sendmail Cf here. I think Callaway proved that the name is secondary to performance.” Dustin Johnson is credited as the first TaylorMade player to use the word rocket. After testing the early product, Johnson is said to have warbled, “It’s like a rocket.” But it was TaylorMade’s engineers who etched the name RocketBallz into the computer model and the prototype clubhead. “I never thought RocketBallz would actually show up on the prototype,” said Todd Beach, senior director of product engineering for metalwoods. “Typically it’s got an MW label and a number. When the prototype came back, I was like, ‘What are you guys doing?

I can’t believe you put that on there.’ There was no way we were going to call the product that.” Guess again. However, the new clubs won’t actually have the name RocketBallz on them. In order to fit on all the clubheads, regardless of size, the name will be shortened to RBZ.

How important is RocketBallz to TaylorMade? Important enough that TaylorMade touring pros are expected to split equipment usage between R11S and RocketBallz. For example, Camilo Villegas, TaylorMade’s poster boy for Burner in 2011, will carry a RocketBallz bag and become one of the prominent faces behind the line.

In the process of introducing an entire line of clubs, TaylorMade will place particular emphasis on fairway woods. The RocketBallz fairway woods have a scooped-out area called a Speed Pocket directly behind the face.