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Wilson Staff Di11 Irons Review Thread

SuperStroke
I think I'm the only one who got the half/half shafts I will have to write a yorkems friend style review now that I've been playing them for a few months to sum up how I feel about them
 
That these clubs in no way fit me yet I still want to make them work is a testament to everyone's feedback in this thread. Great work guys.
 
RonInThornton said:
Love the bag, where did you find it?

Wow, looking at that sentence just made me realize how much It sounded like my wife talking with her sisters
Click to expand...

ROFLMFAO!

http://www.fairwaygolfusa.com/wilson-staff-elite-tour-cart-bags-p-7516.html
Above link is the cheapest I found it on the net. Most others sell the bag for $150-160. This is the US version.

I actually like the EUR version better, but I couldn't find a US site selling it.
http://www.golfonline.co.uk/wilson-staff-elite-cart-bag-2011-p-7180.html
 
Yorkems friend, aka chunkylover, that was one hell of a write up, well done my friend.

+10000
 
Great write up CL! You have me intrigued to try these now. And congrats for W/S picking up the tweet from THP and re-tweeting it to their masses!
 
Great thoughts chunky. I enjoyed reading that.

tapatalk: even available for lefties!
 
Wilson Staff Di11 Half/Half Shaft Review
These are my thoughts on these irons, yours may differ. Thanks to CL for posting the first review.
After a little over 3 months of playing the Di11 irons from Wilson Staff, I think I am comfortable enough with them to write a review and not just my day to day thoughts about them. I’ll use the same format as he did just to give the review a feeling of continuity with my fellow testers.


LOOKS:
These are some SEXY sticks. Before you even get to the club head you have the black grip on the red graphite shaft section, the red shaft section transitioning into the stainless steel section of the shaft. Black, Red and Steel, Seriously, is there really any sexier combination out there? I doubt it.
The head itself is very stylish, with a black cavity fill and a very classy W/S logo sitting on what looks like to me a stylized steel lightning bolt. The cavity is, as mentioned, visible on the 4-6 irons and the top line, while certainly not as thin as a blade is not as clunky and thick as on some other Game Improvement Irons.

FEEL:
This is so subjective, and will be even more so as I was testing a totally different shaft than my fellow testers. The one thing we all seemed to agree on was that Tempo was the key.
I saw multiple comments on the harsh feedback when hitting off the sweetspot, that is not something I have experienced. As the others who have made those comments are all using the steel shafts I can only attribute this to the half/half shaft, the graphite portion must be absorbing more of that feedback than the straight steel shaft does.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying there is no feedback at all from these, just that it is not harsh, more a light vibration that gets slightly stronger the further you miss off the sweet spot.

Performance:
These clubs perform as advertised and then some. They are long, I am not talking about “It added 2 yards to my shots” long, I’m talking about hitting the ball a country mile long, and they are straight, if my ball doesn’t go where I want it to, I check my hip alignment and 9 out of 10 times my it’s my body that is not aimed correctly at the target.
Distance: . Within 2 weeks of hitting these clubs I gained 12-15 yards on average over my previous clubs. Over 18 holes that is a significant gain by anyones standards.

Forgiveness: These are very forgiving irons. They remind me of a good dog, they just want to please you even when you make a mistake. Hit far enough out towards the toe or in toward the heel and you are going to see a slice or a hook but no where near as severe as you would with another set of clubs and when you don’t get the sweet spot but are close to it the ball flies long and straight.
Other Impressions:
Workability: Being fairly new to the game this is not something I can really comment in depth on other than to say that I have been able to get a really nice fade with these clubs. I feel like I am in control of them instead of just swinging at the ball and dealing with the results.
Club Wear: I have seen many comments on club wear, and while I am seeing some dulling of the faces due to repeated impacts, I am not seeing any issues with the cavity paint. This might have something to do with the fact that I rarely if ever take divots, I have more of a sweeping type swing.
Final Thoughts
In the three months I have been testing these, I have gone from shooting in the 112-118 range to consistantly shooting in the mid to upper 90’s. How can you not love a set of irons that help you accomplish that? These really are Game Improvement Irons.
There are a couple of other things I would like to mention.
First off the wedges. This set comes Standard with 42.5* PW and a 46* Gap wedge, in my opinion this leaves you with the choices of:
1. adding additional wedges to your set, having the wedges
2. bent to a more reasonable degree such as a 48* for the PW and 54* for the Gap or
3. just discarding the wedges that came with set and sticking with your old wedges.
The PW is only 3.5* more loft than the 9I, not a significant difference. I would find it much more beneficial to have more loft in my wedges.
Secondly, brings me back to point 1. above. When I decided to add an additional wedge I scoured every golf shop in Denver looking for the 55* Di11 sand wedge. Not one store carried Wilson Staff clubs, let alone the individual Di11 Sand Wedge. Looking online wasn’t much better, while I could find the SW a few places that was limited to Right handed versions so no help to me. I finally settled on a W/S Di9 SW and have been very happy with it.
W/S really needs to improve their distribution and get these clubs in the local shops. Once people play them they will want them, they are that good.
In conclusion, I want to thank THP and Wilson Staff for giving me this amazing opportunity to test these clubs.
 
Another great review Ron, after yours and Yorkems friends reviews I'm going to have to step my game up.
 
Well done CL, that was a good read and very informative.

I had a chance to hit these at the 2011 THP Demo Day and was really impressed with these irons. I thought the FG Tour Irons were my favorite, after hitting them at the PGA Show, but these just blew them out of the water.

These are incredible sticks and would game them in a heartbeat if I wasn't so married to my current irons.

Thank you again for generous contribution to the outing and allowing us to experience your wonderful clubs.
 
Thanks everyone. I really appreciate that. I have to admit I had a bit of a time getting that review completed. It's difficult to put up a solid review and be concise. The Equipment testers here do a fantastic job and now I know how difficult those reviews must be. This has been such a great experience. I will of course continue to talk about these irons and answer any questions that come up. What a great time. Ron that was a great review buddy!!
 
First round out with the clubs and shot an 86 yesterday with an absolutely terrible round of driving (I ended up using the Di11 5-iron off the tee about 5 times, so that also says alot haha). My putting was as good as it's ever been, and for the first time in my life I made back-to-back birdies (which felt so good lol).

First one was a 135-yard par 3, pin up... perfect gap wedge, put it within ~8 feet and made a nice putt breaking downhill and to the right. Next hole was even more impressive, as I didn't make great contact with my PW (little bit thin), so it didn't feel that good and the trajectory was low. But sure enough, the distance was almost spot on and it actually held on to the back of the green despite coming in so low and hard. Another good putt and bam, back-to-back birdies haha

Two things to mention that I've noticed. The high irons in this set are just fantastic (esp. PW and GW)... I don't think I can say one bad thing about them so far. The one issue I found though was that the clubs were playing too "boardy" for my liking... and felt hard and hollow at impact about one in every 4 or 5 shots. The results would usually still be good, however. It tended to happen due to shots being on the thin side. Like I said in an earlier post... the clubs are great for chunkers though... and actually feel the best when a fairly decent-sized divot is taken along with the ball (usually SGI irons aren't like this). So I think I can fix this... it's just that my usual miss (ugly miss) is badly chunking it, so I'm still reluctant a bit to really trust the clubs and get down into the shot.

Oh, and even though this is kind of unrelated haha... I bought a new set of X-Forged wedges to go with the set the night before (50* and 56*, mack-daddy grooves), and wow, these things are awesome too, unreal spin (chews balls up though). Combined with the PW and GW of the Di11's, my approach game is feeling much improved... anything from 150 in and I actually believe that I'm going to put it on the green every time.
 
I am trying to decide between the Wilson Staff Ci9's and the Di11's. Any comments would be most appreciated.
 
Baliol said:
I am trying to decide between the Wilson Staff Ci9's and the Di11's. Any comments would be most appreciated.
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From my experience its no comparison. Id take the Di11's all day for one major reason and that is I saw much better distances from the Di11's. The Ci9's are great irons but they just didnt offer the same level of forgiveness and distance that the Di11's do.
 
Not having tried the Ci9's I couldn't objectively say, but judging by my experience with the Di11's I can't see how anyone could possibly be disappointed with them.
 
Hey thanks for the prompt feedback... as a newbie to this forum I am happy to get a response. Buying new irons is a pleasure and a challenge at the same time and any perspectives that may help me are most appreciated.

I have been fitted by the local WS rep; my decision now is which clubs. The WS website club selector program suggested the Ci9 over the Di11's but from the fitting with the rep I'm thinking Di11. I think my only reservation is in the workability of the Di11's.

In the fitting I noticed a considerable distance increase with both clubs; the Ci9's seemed more capable of working the ball while the Di11's were really tending toward a very straight ball flight.

What are folks experiences with shaping shots with the Di11's?
 
Baliol I think that if your main worry is shaping shots you might be happier with the Ci9's. The Di11's are capable of being worked however they mainly want to go high and straight. I have had no real issues with flighting the ball or moving the ball right to left. I have had issues with a fade though. Forgiveness wise it is a no brainer. The Di11's are crazy forgiving.
 
Chunkylover77 said:
Baliol I think that if your main worry is shaping shots you might be happier with the Ci9's. The Di11's are capable of being worked however they mainly want to go high and straight. I have had no real issues with flighting the ball or moving the ball right to left. I have had issues with a fade though. Forgiveness wise it is a no brainer. The Di11's are crazy forgiving.
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Chunky... when you say the Di11's are capable of being worked, would you please elaborate?
 
i have been able to get a very nice fade with them, still working on a draw shot, but I'm thinking that's more my skills than the club. i'm going to work on it at my lesson next week
 
Baliol said:
Chunky... when you say the Di11's are capable of being worked, would you please elaborate?
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:confused2: he mentioned he was able to work the ball from right to left but struggled with a left to right/fade.
 
It sounds so dumb to me when people start talking about needing "workability" in their clubs. Like seriously, you better be a 5 or under handicap to be able to be taken seriously as far as this. If you can't even consistently shoot around par, then why are you messing around so much with altering your flightpath on so many shots? All you need to do on 98% of shots is to hit it straight at your target line to be successful. Sure, some holes dogleg and such... but play it safe/short, and you should still be in a good position to get a par if you're a consistently straight ball-striker.
 
drew4008 said:
It sounds so dumb to me when people start talking about needing "workability" in their clubs. Like seriously, you better be a 5 or under handicap to be able to be taken seriously as far as this. If you can't even consistently shoot around par, then why are you messing around so much with altering your flightpath on so many shots? All you need to do on 98% of shots is to hit it straight at your target line to be successful. Sure, some holes dogleg and such... but play it safe/short, and you should still be in a good position to get a par if you're a consistently straight ball-striker.
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sorry but thats just dumb, i have seen plenty of players that are above a 5 be able to work the ball very very well, its for more than doglegs, get around trees, pin positions, ect...while i agree most should just worry about hitting them straight that first part of your post is just bogus IMO.
 
He's just asking questions which is what this thread is for so let's not make someone feel silly for asking. Baliol IMO and I think the other testers will back me up, you can work the ball with the Di11's. I don't think there is a shot that I can't hit just because I am using the Di11's. I can hit a hook on command with them. I can flight the ball lower with them. I can flight it higher as well. I struggle with fades and so I can't really hit a consistent fade with these. With something like the Ci9's for example, it is just easier to hit a fade or a draw. The Di11's are built to hit the ball straight. Now if I take a slightly exaggerated stance and swing, I can hook the ball off the course with these clubs. If I put the ball back in my stance and exaggerate the move I can keep the ball low. With these irons you have to try a little harder to make a shot because they truly want to hit the ball high and straight. Please continue asking any questions you have as that is what I am here for. Part of the testing is answering any questions anyone has and I am happy to do so.
 
Crappy swing today left a few strokes out there , had this ugly inside out swing on the first 11 holes finally worked out near the end to shoot 85 , my worst round so far with the Di's, no birds just pars and bogies, a boring round . Prob had something to do with doing a 20 sq roof this morning but hey got pay the bills i guess. Love the clubs if i was swingng my old clubs probably would of been in the 90's ouch . Thanks THP and testers for a great site and reviews . Just a minor set back today no big deal
 
85 is a good bad round dude.
 
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