If today were April 1st, I’d congratulate TaylorMade on a well-played April Fools joke to the industry. But it’s November and the freshly leaked photos of the new 2012 RocketBallz line let us know that this is not a joke.

When we first saw the photos, our first thought was obvious; the branding. Rocketballz!?! Really? This definitely strays away from TaylorMade’s conservative messaging and branding of the past few years. The second thing that comes to mind when I see RBZ is Reebok’s RBK logo. Reebok and TaylorMade are both subsidiaries of Adidas Global so maybe they’re recycling logos? Then again, maybe its just coincidence.

Looking over the drivers we see that TM is sticking with the white crowns for 2012. We also see the adjustable shaft and weight port, although it doesn’t pick up the adjustable sole plate from the R11. We do like the aggressiveness of the static sole plate though. The tired, outdated retro graphics on the top of the head need to go. Spy pics do have a way of leaking before product is final, so hopefully they’ll change that before these drivers/fairways hit retail.

Irons pick up several cues from the very successful Burner line. We’ll see how similar the specs are when they are released but our hunch is these irons are a rehashed Burner set with a new backplate. (Similar to how the R11 irons were taken from the TP CBs)

Rumor has it they will officially be launched at the 2012 PGA show in Orlando and the retail date is Feb 3, 2012.