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Wilson Staff FG Tour F5 Driver - THP Review

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Wilson Staff FG Tour F5 Driver - THP Review

ArmyGolf said:
Yeah the R15 is really really low spin, but I'm playing it at 15*. I want the F5 to work so bad and look forward to giving it a whirl as soon as I locate one in the new year.
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If it's any help, I play a 12.* Bio Cell driver and at #staffproto I played around with the F5 10.5 driver for about 20 minutes and was launching my drives higher than the Bio Cell.

When I played my round with Vrska he played the F5 and mentioned that it was a higher launching better player driver. He was launching some high bombs.

Edit:
I loved this driver so much and the 3 wood that I'm going to purchase them in the new year. I'm going to take the driver for a lesson with the Flightscope to get my ideal setup with the weights and loft.

I love the fact that I can step into this equipment and grow my game with these clubs. I'm really excited for next year.
 
Probably a long shot here but is it lower than the I25?
 
Scrap Iron said:
Probably a long shot here but is it lower than the I25?
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Im the wrong guy to ask because I literally hated the i25 driver. Pretty much everything about it. I might still have one though and can see if I can test them side by side.
 
JB said:
Im the wrong guy to ask because I literally hated the i25 driver. Pretty much everything about it. I might still have one though and can see if I can test them side by side.
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If you could that would be fantastic. I love my i25 but never hurts to look around. Really excited about this one from w/s.
 
JB said:
Out on the range with this one today and man is this thing low spin. Had 7 guys test it on FlightScope and I dont think a single person cleared 2400 RPMs.
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Bet I could! Lol

Good thoughts so far!
 
I was able to hit the F5 a couple times today. I gotta say, I'm impressed. Not because it's W/S, but because of how good of a fit this is for me. High launching with low spin is right up my alley. My first swing with the F5 was probably my best drive of the day (not necessarily the longest but for sure the straightest and had some good length to it).

Couple takeaways:
- the sound is definitely loud. Not terrible, but after being such a big fan of the sound of the D200 I was throw off a bit at first but was able to get used to it
- The stock W/S grip is a solid offering. May not be a big deal to some, but personally I hate getting a new club and then instantly having to replace the grip.
- I'm a fan of the glossy head
- Similar to the D200, I didn't find the toe miss to be a killer miss. Still got a good amount of carry and was able to keep the ball in play.

All in all, I really enjoyed the F5. It's a very fun driver to hit and when hit on the screws it's very impressive
 
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  • #34
I've spent quite a bit of time with the FG Tour F5 driver and have really enjoyed my time with it. The first thing that is noticed is the sound, and frankly it's hard not to. While many of the drivers on the market are going with a higher pitched and more audible sound, Wilson has generated that same high level sound in a lower pitched "thwock" that really creates a reaction from playing partners. I don't know that the sound changes all that much around the head, but I do think it gets a bit sharper on the button.

Launch wise, I think it'll suit a solid group of golfers in the "need low to mid spin heads" golfers. With the ability to adjust between 9.5 degrees and 12.5 degrees (based on the 10.5 degree head) there is a wide range of launch potential that I experienced very visibly through my testing. I do believe that dropping to 9.5 produces a mild fade bias, and that increasing to 12.5 will encourage more of a draw shape, but not wildly. Far more noticeable is the change in launch overall, which I believe can span 5+ degrees from each side of the spectrum. I think they picked a nice stock shaft to accommodate the head as well.

There is plenty of workability present on the F5. It is not the wildly forgiving offering that some may be pursuing, but based on the 'tour' name, I don't think anyone should be anticipating that. I can still hit well out on the toe with my in-to-out path and find the fairway, which I think it quite important in a gamer. Obviously that will vary for the individual, but I can confidently say that my results were better in a few scenarios than I deserved.

Some other quick notes:

- The alignment aid on the crown is a nice visual. Not gaudy, but sizable thanks to the hollowed out appearance.
- Quick change adapter is really easy to operate.
- Really limited head wear after a handful of rounds and range sessions. This driver will look good for a while
 
Second that sound...I looked at Mike and said...what driver is that?!??
Other than that quality looking club.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Looking forward to the full review. Any updates?
 
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Shakey said:
Looking forward to the full review. Any updates?
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I put up a pretty full update a few days ago, and will be getting to the full review shortly.

Is there anything in particular I can offer thoughts on for you?
 
emart2173 said:
Nice thoughts Dan. This one is near the top of my want to try for 2016
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A nice little event in April should give us that opportunity :D
 
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emart2173 said:
Dan...how is ball speed retention(forgiveness) on high near toe miss?
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Its pretty solid towards the toe but I'm definitely seeing some drops as you near the top of the face. If you're looking for retention and forgiveness across the face I think the d200 is the better head for you.

This plays like a tour driver and the spin and workability make that profile fairly obvious.
 
Canadan said:
Its pretty solid towards the toe but I'm definitely seeing some drops as you near the top of the face. If you're looking for retention and forgiveness across the face I think the d200 is the better head for you.

This plays like a tour driver and the spin and workability make that profile fairly obvious.
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Thanks. I'm trying not to miss as much on the toe and would expect some drop out there. Like Rib said I get to see what he does for me in 4 months. D200 is a solid driver which may have needed a shaft change for me from what I messed around with
 
Can you add a pic at address either in the thread or for the front page review. I need to hit this but I know nobody around here will carry it. Maybe I'll get lucky at a demo day or just wait and buy blind.
 
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Scrap Iron said:
Can you add a pic at address either in the thread or for the front page review. I need to hit this but I know nobody around here will carry it. Maybe I'll get lucky at a demo day or just wait and buy blind.
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Wish I had seen this a couple hours ago!!! I'll be back out with it this week (probably later in the week) and will get that photo for you Scrap.
 
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My on course testing of the F5 driver is nearly complete, and I am definitely coming away impressed by the design of this club by Wilson Staff.

The sound in comparison to the feedback and results are very interesting. It's got a distinct 'thwock' that is surprisingly lively on the button, and slightly less metallic as you depart from center. It's dialed up to what I normally would expect in a sound of that nature, and it certainly produces a sound unique to itself. Like any other driver, it's a sound that surprises at the beginning, and becomes quite normal over time.

The results I saw were that of mid flight when dialed down, and mid/high to high when dialed to 12+ degrees of loft. Despite launch of probably 16-18 degrees, the distance achieved was quite impressive, and certainly playable. Wind did play a role in total carry distance when I played the F5 at anything above STD, but using myself as a baseline that is more than expected.

To the forgiveness, I think this driver plays an awful lot like what you'd expect from a tour design. There is plenty of room towards the toe for my swing to miss and still get decent distance. I have had quite a few contact locations that were nothing short of ugly, yet retained 80ish percent of the distance I'd come to expect. With my swing, playing a bit of a trap draw, I expect some forgiveness by most drivers in that contact location (creating more or less a sweeping high draw) and i felt like the F5 held true to that expectation.

Workability is a piece of cake. I can move the ball left or right on command, although i found the driver to be most effective when i just let loose with my stock high draw.

I'll be putting my thoughts together shortly for the homepage review, however it you do have any additional questions on the performance of the head I'll be happy to share my thoughts after my round this weekend.
 
Great review, Dan. I love the idea of being able to adjust the settings without having to take off the head. Although this driver may fly under the radar for a lot of people, I hope those looking for a lower spin option give this one a fair shake. Reading back through the thread, seeing the low spin numbers people were getting is pretty amazing.
 
Great review Dan. I like the ease of adjustability without having to remove the head. The high launch and higher spin is interesting and the different flight bias based on high/low loft is a nice aspect. This driver is high on my list if want go hit this year.
 
Great review Dan. I want to check this driver out, if for no other reason than to check out the hosel adjustment. This sounds like a driver that I need to check out.
 
Great review, thoroughly loved hitting this driver at #StaffProto.
 
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