Wilson Staff FG Tour V2 Review Thread

[Howzat]

I am not so surprised to see three different responses; one might gather from the Adams thread that those are going in my bag for sure, without a doubt. But these are fit to me while the HB3's are not (yet), and until I hit those after I get that done, it will be hard to say for me. But that and TC's post leads me to my next question.


Not so much bending the lofts, but otherwise taking them to a clubfitter to make sure they fit you; have you guys done this yet? (This may have already been answered and I apologize if I missed it)

I had a fitting at Golftec. We decided not to make any adjustments right away. Off the lie board I was almost center with the 6 iron. My swing has got shallower this year with some instruction as my Mizuno's are bent two degrees upright. My coach wants me to see how my divots look and check the ball flight before making any adjustments to the clubs.

While I was at Golftec they actually frequency tested the shaft and it actually came out in the X-stiff range even though it is listed as a stiff. When I do get adjustments made I will have them frequency test all the shafts. Also I was expecting the 6 iron loft to be similar to my MP 53's and it was actually 2.5* stronger. I did not have a chance to check all the clubs as I was expecting to do this when I had the clubs bent to spec.

 

[War Eagle]

9/22/11 - Review 2 of 3, Mid Irons (5,6 & 7)
97* - Blistering sun, hot as...

Had my 9 Hole league play last night, and a range session this afternoon so I am going to incorporate the thoughts of both into my review here, specifically focusing on the Mid Irons from the V2s, the 5, 6 & 7.

Why the focus on the Mid Irons? Following up my review of the long irons (3&4), and kind of the same theme, still focusing on that second shot (in this case more for Par 4s, rather than par 5s for the long irons). For me, my second shot is one of the most critical shots of my game, especially as of late with my short greenside game struggling. Personally, there is no better feeling that sticking a shot from 175 yards out tight to the flag. Who wouldnt want more tap in birdies right?

Testing: Taking the range with the mid irons, 5,6 & 7 (with lofts of 27*, 31* and 35* repectively) and focusing in on shot control, distance, distance control and ball flight.

Results: Quick warm up through the bag, and got straight in to it. With the long irons I started with the 3i and moved to the 4i. Decided to start with the 7 for the mid irons, and build off those results. During my rounds, the 7 has been sort of a “go to” club for me, as I am seeing distance of 150-160 yards (Typically hit my 7i 170 yards), the 150-160 yard shot is a common distance for me on the course, and it’s a club that I have to have comfort with and confidence in. Out of the entire set, I have used the 7i more than any other, like i said, it’s a very common distance for me. So with already having hit it many times, I started working on ball flight.

Three things I noticed with the 7 iron. 1. I was seeing consistent distance, right at 150 yards. The 7 iron feels nice, I can take some off of my swing and scale back the distance, or put a little more in to my swing and squeeze out some more yards. 2. The 7i can dig out some serious divots. 3. The ball flight is great, gets up quick, and has a nice arch to it that I feel would have a nice landing into a green. I really like that I am able to give a little bit more on my swing to create some added distance (not something I was seeing too much of in the long irons). With my regular swing, I was hitting my target landing area pretty well. Unfortunately, when I was swinging harder, I was not nearly as on target as I would have liked.

Moved from the 7i to the 6i, again a club that I have used quite a bit over the last week, as the distance I am seeing from the 6 is between 160-170 yards. I had similar results with the 6i as I did the 7i. The ability to get the ball into the air was the same as it was with the 7i. With the 7i I was not seeing many mis-hits, but swinging harder with the 6i resulted in some thin shots, and less than stellar results. Distance control was not something I had great results with, I saw that when I tried to get more distance, I would greatly sacrifice accuracy.

Moving to the 5iron, still focusing in on ball flight, distance and accuracy, I really wanted to see if I could repeat the success I had with the 5 iron from Monday (9/19). Being able to pull of a shot once is nice, being able to do it on a repeated basis is necessary. With the 5 iron, I have been able to get a nice ball flight, plus great distance, and have been able to do so on a somewhat consistent basis. I was hitting some great shots, and feel that when I need good distance, but a more controlled shot from the fairway, that I would be more comfortable hitting the 5i over the 4i, even with the distance loss.

One thing I can not comment enough on is the feel that you get with these irons. There is instant feedback through the club after your shot. When you hit a shot pure, it is about as smooth of a feeling as there is, almost as if you swing through the ball. When you miss, ouch, you know it. Get a good stinging feel straight through the hands.

Although I have seen some great shots and have had some good success with the V2s, I am also seeing my share of misses as well. I seem to be thinning more shots that I normally do. I am trying to understand why, but havent figured this out yet. Another issue I am having with the V2s is I will get to steep into my swing, and dig under the ball and into the ground. With the sharp leading edge going straight into the turf, these results are not pretty, at all.


Overall thoughts: With hitting the V2s, I have had to look at my game differently, mainly due to the differences I am seeing in distances. At times, I will try to compensate for the distance loss with trying to swing harder, resulting in a poorly executed shot. When I listen to myself, club up and put a nice smooth swing on the ball, the results are there for me. Never have I thought to myself “let the club do the work” more than I am right now. The mid irons of the V2s can preform, there is no doubt about that. Rather than thinking to myself, “Im going to go for it”, shot and club selection comes more in to play for me. My biggest challenge is being consistent with them, I have to concentrate on my swing and make it repeatable so I can see the shots that I want. With the V2s, I feel that I have to be more in control of my swing as well as my game. This is the biggest difference I have seen so far. With my current set, I can sometimes have that “grip and rip” mentality, and get away with it, which is not the case with the V2s. The V2s are a great set, I feel that to get consistent results, not only do I have to focus on my physical game, but my mental game as well.

 

[TRyan]

war.eagle, nice review man. Glad to see your finding that smooth tempo that is a must it seems for these irons

 

[Damaikis]

Once again, more epic reviews from the epic testers of these irons. Way to go Hawk and WE! And once again, thanks for showing the numbers from Golftec Howzat!

 

[Hawk]

Great thoughts, war.eagle.

I'm excited to get back out and hit these irons again. I'm finally taking a bit of a break after a very busy week of testing. Will be hitting the course on Sunday and possibly the range on Saturday.

 

[JRod]

This is something I may have to get done. The distance loss is kind of grinding away at me, and even thought I tell myself not too, I am trying to swing harder and faster to make up for lost distance, when I know that is not going to result in a well hit shot. I have to keep telling myself to take an extra club, slow it down and make solid contact.

It's crazy how our minds work. I was the complete opposite. I was hitting the clubs I used at TMC about 1.5 clubs further than my gamers and it was really messing with me and actually had the lofts bent weaker. Still hit them much further and it was really weird to me.

 

[War Eagle]

Great thoughts, war.eagle.

I'm excited to get back out and hit these irons again. I'm finally taking a bit of a break after a very busy week of testing. Will be hitting the course on Sunday and possibly the range on Saturday.

A well deserved break, Hawk. I know you've been grinding out the reviews lately, great work.

It's crazy how our minds work. I was the complete opposite. I was hitting the clubs I used at TMC about 1.5 clubs further than my gamers and it was really messing with me and actually had the lofts bent weaker. Still hit them much further and it was really weird to me.

It is crazy, the lofts of these are exactly one club less than my current set. I could get the V2s bent, but since they were made in mind with a traditional loft set, I am wanting to keep them that way. I just have to listen to myself when I tell myself to club up.

 

[TC]

It's crazy how our minds work. I was the complete opposite. I was hitting the clubs I used at TMC about 1.5 clubs further than my gamers and it was really messing with me and actually had the lofts bent weaker. Still hit them much further and it was really weird to me.

But it's not like you struggle for distance. You are a rare exception to the rule man.

War, there's no rule that says you can't get your lofts bent or whatever else altered.

 

[Hawk]

I am going to make a thread about this.

 

[Hawk]

I don't think I've avoided talking about the distance loss I've seen at all during this process. It's the nature of the beast coming from a set of irons like I was playing. I've considered getting the lofts bent stronger in the hopes that I can get a little of that back, but I felt that I had some questions about the process that didn't belong in a review thread.

 

[Kmac]

Nice write up War. I have to be honest if I was seeing that much loss in distance I might consider having them bent. If it was only a half club then maybe not but when its a club or more Im considering it. Another thing is how does that loss of distance affect my bag make up? Does it create odd gaps?

 

[War Eagle]

Nice write up War. I have to be honest if I was seeing that much loss in distance I might consider having them bent. If it was only a half club then maybe not but when its a club or more Im considering it. Another thing is how does that loss of distance affect my bag make up? Does it create odd gaps?

I have not seen any odd gaps, but I am hitting the 4 and 5 irons more than I normally do. Usually, the longest iron I need is a 6 (185 yards) or a 5 (195-200 yards), anything longer than that I will go to my hybrid. With the V2s, I am playing the longer irons more than I normally do with my current set.

I think I will be heading to my golf shop this afternoon to look at getting the lofts bent. I think doing this will give me a much better feel on how these irons mesh with my game.

 

[JRod]

But it's not like you struggle for distance. You are a rare exception to the rule man.

War, there's no rule that says you can't get your lofts bent or whatever else altered.

I agree 100% Its all about being comfortable with what you have in the bag.

 

[Tmex]

I have not seen any odd gaps, but I am hitting the 4 and 5 irons more than I normally do. Usually, the longest iron I need is a 6 (185 yards) or a 5 (195-200 yards), anything longer than that I will go to my hybrid. With the V2s, I am playing the longer irons more than I normally do with my current set.

I think I will be heading to my golf shop this afternoon to look at getting the lofts bent. I think doing this will give me a much better feel on how these irons mesh with my game.

I'm technically quoting everyone but I think this would really help. I think distance plays a huge role in how comfortable one is with irons even though its not always on the front of our minds.

 

[War Eagle]

I'm technically quoting everyone but I think this would really help. I think distance plays a huge role in how comfortable one is with irons even though its not always on the front of our minds.

The only issue I have is that For what I want, I would basically be bending them a club stronger. For example, I would bend the 8 close to what the 7 is now, 7 close to what the 6 is and so on.

 

[Tmex]

The only issue I have is that For what I want, I would basically be bending them a club stronger. For example, I would bend the 8 close to what the 7 is now, 7 close to what the 6 is and so on.

I know what you mean my friend. I think though, its pretty common nowadays from what I'm seeing.

 

[Tmex]

Yes I was swinging the V2's for the iron fitting. We used the specs for the DF's in the Swing Lab system as the specs on the 6 irons were similar. The Wilson's are just too new to be in the Swing Lab database. Therefore they only time this really comes into play is how the clubs are ranked by the computer as to which iron the system thinks is the best fit for you.

That makes sense. Haha, thanks for the explanation!

 

[Hawk]

I thought that the frequency testing GolfTec did on the KBS shafts for Howzat was interesting. I'm not sure I understand it 100%, but it sounds like they were stiffer than other brands? Is that a normal thing for KBS Tours?

 

[Howzat]

I thought that the frequency testing GolfTec did on the KBS shafts for Howzat was interesting. I'm not sure I understand it 100%, but it sounds like they were stiffer than other brands? Is that a normal thing for KBS Tours?

I only got to test the one club so I am not sure if this is throughout the whole set our just with this iron. The DG S300 in my MP 53's came out right in the middle of the still range but for some reason the KBS came in at X-stiff.

 

[Howzat]

Got a few short videos from my range session today that I will be putting up after I grab a bite to eat. It seems there will be a longer adjustment period than I was expecting with these irons.

 

[War Eagle]

Got a few short videos from my range session today that I will be putting up after I grab a bite to eat. It seems there will be a longer adjustment period than I was expecting with these irons.

Looking forward to your videos Howzat.

What seemed to be the biggest challenge today with the V2s?

 

[Howzat]

Looking forward to your videos Howzat.

What seemed to be the biggest challenge today with the V2s?

Distances were similar to what I have been used to with the MP 53's when struck well but I was punished big time on mishits. The turf interaction is also very different. I will have more detailed thoughts this evening. I know it was only my second time out with these and there will be some adjusting but I was about 10 stokes over my norm today. Putting had a lot to do with it but adjusting to the new irons was more challenging than I was expecting.

 

[Howzat]

Had a quick range session today before 18. Here are a few vids:
[YOUTUBE]qBmw8YqoEus[/YOUTUBE]

Sound at Impact:

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]EfYZ8nxGL0s[/YOUTUBE]

Couple of swings with the 5 iron:

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]WMcGe3xDjN8[/YOUTUBE]

In the process of gathering my thoughts from today's round. More to come...

 

[TC]

gathering thoughts is always a good thing howzat. I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts buddy.

 

[Chunkylover77]

That is a tough question. Right to the point and I like it!

I still do not believe that iron like this will inherently make me a better ball striker. I think the only way to do that is taking lessons or being blessed with the ability to self diagnose a bad swing and know what is needed to fix it.

I do think that an iron like this causes a person to put a critical eye on what they are doing. For example, I never really thought about missing high on the face in the rough with the Redlines as the distance loss wasn't quite as penalizing. Now I know that I need to hit the center of the face (with these irons) or I'm going to be quite short. Does that make me a better ball striker? No. Does it make me want to be a better ball striker? Yes!

I hope that answers your question!

Sorry for bringing up an older post but I've been behind on my forum reading. Hawk do you find yourself concentrating more on trying to hit the ball?