The Golf Channel show with Wilson Staff that features designs for their latest driver project came to a conclusion this evening. Both the Rozwell and Cortex were finalists and going into the second season ending episode, it was anybody’s guess who would be victorious.
This past weekend at the THP Event, Staff Proto, 8 participants from our online forum were able to spend multiple rounds playing with both drivers and came away impressed with each design.
This season of Driver vs Driver was very different from the previous one and most of the feedback that came out spoke about how much more enjoyable it was. It had a better flow and more of what you came to see, drivers being made. The three judges all had various items that they both liked and disliked, but when it came down to it, these two drivers impressed the most.
The Cortex, a slightly deeper face, but traditional shaped driver offered a deep sound that most raved about. A bit lower spinning than its counterpart, golfers saw a penetrating initial launch, with a nice flight and plenty of distance. In fact one remarked it was the longest driver he had tried to date.
Dialing it in was no problem either. While the Rozwell looks to be the more adjustable of the two models, because of the sliding mechanism, the Cortex offers plenty to get any golfer their preferred flight. The longest sliding track Wilson has created to date, the 8 gram weight adjusts spin and launch and worked rather well for the THPers testing this out. Along the perimeter, there are also changeable weights. Drop the 8 gram in the heel to help with slices fade or move it to the toe for a completely neutral setup.
The Rozwell comes in with a slightly shallower overall head that screams forgiveness. One look at it and you want to start playing around with the Z looking track to get the ball flight you desire. Does it work? THP forum members said yes. Changing the weight on the bottom to different settings, absolutely moved the ball flight depending on what you were looking for.
While the adjustable weight on the sole might be the thing that makes you want to try this driver out, the rest of it is what makes it work incredibly well. Modeled after bones, the Trabecular crown does not look gaudy on the surface, but under the hood, there is a lot going on there. Designed for weight savings, as you can see from the picture below, it is incredibly unique.
Not to be overlooked, the Rozwell has what they call Rumble Ridges, which are essentially speed trips to help with aerodynamics and bring more speed.
The THP Forum is the only place on the internet with full feedback and reviews on both drivers.
Wilson Staff Cortex Driver review thread
Wilson Staff Rozwell Driver review thread
The Big Winner
The finale just aired and the the last 15 minutes showed the three judges hitting both drivers and you could see after that segment, that the preference shifted a bit towards Cortex. After a brief commercial break, we got the big announcement (Golf Channel screwed this up by showing the winner in a graphic before it was announced) and when the dust settled, Cortex was named the winner. Read all about the driver from golfers just like you, right here.
Are you happy with how the show ended? Did your favorite make it through? Jump into the THP Forum using the threads above to sound off on the show, each of the drivers or anything else about Wilson Staff’s latest offerings. Want to pick one up right away? Budget Golf has them in stock right now.
Boom! Thought this based on the #StaffProto feedback
Great quick write up.
Cortex seemed to pull ahead at the end. But I love what Wilson did for the Rozwell designer giving him tuition and basically a job offer out of school. What a great company!
I love that THP had the integrity to not allow the winning driver to be announced prior to the shows conclusion. Maybe GC could take a lesson from THP. A great finish for all and Wilson is now probably due some free ads on GC.
Looks great, but price point still too high, sadly.
Nice write up. I had dvred and skipped through the ad so didn’t notice the GC mistake. Hope they do right by Wilson.
I feel as if the Cortex puts Wilson on par with just about every major oem in the driver segment (they were already there in irons imo). Kudos to them for taking the risk to market this driver the way they have with the tv show. Hope it gets them in the conversation for consumers.
Gobble gobble gobble