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Strong lofts and low spin give the Wilson Staff D9 irons tons of distance. Easy to launch with ample forgiveness. Premium look at a modest price.
Introduction
Wilson Staff captured our attention last month with the stellar looking and performing Staff Model CB irons [full review HERE]. Seeing the new D9 irons for the first time I thought to myself, “Looks like they’ve done it again.” But displaying the esteemed W/S shield doesn’t ensure the D9 irons are worthy of sharing the 2021 spotlight. The true test lies in performance.
Check out the Wilson D9 Forged Irons HERE
Looks
The Wilson Staff designers did a marvelous job at creating a premium look for the D9 irons. Although the cavity is deep, layering of materials and variation of elements give it a lot of eye appeal. The matte finish on the face and topline let my eyes focus on the golf ball without distraction.
With three Power Holes on each iron (excluding the sand wedge which has none), the set has a much more uniform and appealing and look in the bag than the D7 irons. At address, the trailing edge of the sole is visible with the 5 iron, and gradually disappears from view moving down to the 8 iron. The D9 irons have a reasonable amount of offset for clubs that straddle the fence between game improvement and SGI.
Sound & Feel
Across the set, the Wilson Staff D9 irons had a satisfying sound and feel. A bit on the loud side, the sound was a low pitch, crisp, ‘crack.’ Although the sound stayed fairly consistent with varying strike locations, the feedback in my hands was precise albeit subtle. But don’t go declaring a mishit to your playing partners – the D9 irons are remarkably forgiving.
Performance
My current nemesis is the thin shot, and the D9 irons provided a miracle cure, sending those bottom groove strikes skyward. Initially I attributed the results to the face flex imparted by the urethane filled Power Holes, but reading up on the D9 irons, clearly that credit is shared with the “lowest-ever center of gravity” that the Wilson Staff designers were able to create. Swing after swing, the D9 irons made launching the ball easy.
Working my way through the bag on the range, two common observations emerged – the D9 irons are long and consistent. Unsurprisingly, when I looked at the lofts of the D9 irons they were super strong. A good example is the 27° D9 7 iron, which is only half a degree from my gamer 6 iron.
Testing on a launch monitor confirmed my field observation about consistency. Balls speeds, launch angles, spin, and distances were incredibly consistent – something that will help golfers of all abilities. Results also highlighted another factor in the distance boost – lower spin. The lowest-ever CG mentioned above was great for launching the ball, but the low spin affected trajectory height on the 5, 6 and 7 irons. On the plus side, for golfers craving distance, the low spin provided additional run out. From 8 iron down to wedge, ball flight was towering with good stopping power.
Conclusion
Utilizing the power of computers to analyze hundreds of head shapes and Power Hole layouts, Wilson Staff designers were able to achieve an Intelligent Design for the D9 irons. But make no mistake, the D in D9 stands for distance. Add a generous sweet spot, ample forgiveness, and easy launching into the mix and the Wilson Staff D9 irons are a great choice for the mid to high handicap golfer. The modest price makes the D9 irons attractive to new golfers as well as those who know Wilson Staff clubs are perennial values.
Visit Wilson Golf HERE
Wilson Staff D9 Irons Price & Specs
Matt Meeker
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That 7 iron is 3 degrees stronger than my 6 iron. At what point does a manufacturer admit they are jacking lofts to boost egos of short hitters? When you get older, you loose distance. I don’t understand why stamping a 7 on a 5 iron helps. Deep down, you know you didn’t really hit a 7 iron to that par 3 that’s 170 yards, no matter what the stamp on your club says.
Except it is a 7 iron, it says so on the club, irrespective of the loft, because you still have a 5 & 4 in the bag too.
For me as an older golfer the most overlooked part of the #on the club is that for whatever reason I hit the 8 iron length club better than the 7 . If I can hit a club that is pitching wedge length as far as my old 8 that’s a win for me. I think the people who have an ego issue are the ones who need to know what club I hit.
I could game these, but would treat and view them as a 4 iron through PW set, and then add 52° and 56° wedges
I don’t want to be a stick in the mudd, but I usually look at the loft of a gap wedge to see how much they are lying about what’s what. A traditional gap wedge is 52°. I have Mizuno irons and they stamped 49 on it, which is 3° stringer than a traditional Gap wedge. That told me my clubs are really stronger than the clubs I had before. So an eight iron I called a
8 1/2. Not quite a 7, but half way between. So when I see the Gap wedge is 47°, that a degree away from what a pitching wedge use to be. 5° from the traditional Gap wedge. So it’s a pitching wedge. Why not stamp the gap wedge with an 8 and tell people they can hit it 160 yards. The way these manufacturers are manipulating the product is out of hand. 52° to 49°, and now 47° Gap wedges. A gap isn’t a gap wedge anymore. Who wants 9° between a gap wedge and their sand wedge? I’m already carrying two gap wedges to make up for the 7° gap between the gw and the sw. No wonder hybrids are so popular. When your 5 is a 4, and your 4 is a 3, of course you think the hybrids are easier to hit. Heck, we are almost hitting 1 irons again if you have a three iron. No wonder if hey don’t make the long irons in these, nobody but a pro could hit them.
You’re exactly right. They’re delofting clubs to have the average golfer think they’re hiring that club longer than it actually is. Should scratch the number off and put degrees instead.
The D 7s were awesome. I don’t know how they can improve much over them in only 1 remake. I also liked the Recoil shafts but don’t see them offered for the D 9s.
There should be industry wide standards that every iron has its loft on it. Each iron should fall within 2-3 degrees of a set loft. Most golfers don’t understand that that loft jacking began with the invention of the gap wedge: a sand wedge is, by necessity, going to fall around 56*. When manufacturers strengthened lofts they couldn’t do it to the sand wedge so there was a “gap” between the pitching wedge and the sand wedge. I own several sets of vintage Wilson Staff irons. The oldest set that I play is from 1958. I also own their new sets. I play the fg 100 Anniversary I also play their d7 forged. Both great irons. However there are loft differences between sets. My point is the day when you can look at your golfing buddies and go off what club they used for a certain shot is over. It’s a guessing game. The plus side is a lot of golfers are now going through their bag and getting their iron distances dialed in.
I understand all the comments regarding the jacking up of lofts. The point isn’t about ego. I am a senior golfer with a lower swing speed. A 5 iron to the green at 150 yards out with my old club would hit the green and run off. Using the D9 7 iron I can almost get the same distance but with the added height my ball stays on the green. My point is I am enjoying the game more with the new technology and who cares about whether it is a 7 iron or a 5.5 iron?
Thank you Ken. They are made for senior golfer like myself who used to hit 8 irons 160 at one time. I’m playing at 64 on a 2.0 index because I use game improvement irons. I can hit mizuno forged if I want but I don’t want to hit a 6 iron 155 yards, I still want to hit it 170 which I can with game improvement irons. You can get GI irons with more subtle lofts, less offset but longer than blades or players distance irons. It’s not about ego but reality. These young guys will one day realize this. I also don’t play 7200 yard golf courses anymore because it is unrealistic to do so. To be honest, most of these young guys that I can beat on 6600 yard golf course like drums would benefit from GI irons instead of trying to hit blades. Now someone please tell me who had the ego problem.
Good comment. I’m a senior golfer and wondering if these would work for me. What is you swing speed, if you don’t mind to share it.
Good answer for us seniors
Amen Brother!
These other commenters are hopelessly rigid in their views. It’s called “ Game Improvement “. Enjoy!
Matt, you say the F 9’s were great on your thin shots. I,m more of a picker but my irons aren’t wide soled and I have trouble with digging in some times and hitting it fat. How is turf interaction with the F(‘s? Thanks.
As a picker, you should like the performance of the D9s Jim. Turf interaction is good/typical of most irons. We all do the occasional fat shot, but as you stated a wider sole can help some golfers who frequent in them.
– Meeks
It’s the low centre of gravity that important not strong lofts,hitting high into greens means increased stopping power,which we all want.I have stopped hitting as close to the green as poss leaving 30 to 40 yard chips but hitting less 2nd shot leaving a full gap or pitching wedge shot to the green,more stopping and spin control then
I have 2 seven woods .21°&25°. No 4 or 5 iron.
The strength of an iron’s loft doesn’t negate its legitimacy as a good club. The lofts are for slower golf swings who need at least a 4 1/2 to 5 degrees gap in iron heads to have a 10 yard to 15 yard gap with each club. Also these types of clubs tend to hit the club higher so branding the 42 degree at PW is legit. Nothing in rule book says it’s the lofts that determines the name of the club. My early sets listed the PW at 50 degrees or higher. Now a players set is more like 46 or 47. I can guarantee you my 45 PW give better height than my 45 degree 9 iron from the old days.
I tested the D9 at a store in Canada. Wilson is very seldom part of club fitters cart around here. The 7 iron is really very easy to hit and, with its 27 deg loft (almost a 5 iron) just send my shot around 145 -150 yards. On perfectly strucked shots , I even reached 155. near 160.
However, I also tested a 5 and 6 iron and this is where you should be careful: the 5 is 20 deg with a 38.5 inches shaft, so it’s in fact a 3 iron. The 6 iron at 24 deg is the equivalent of a 4 Iron. Do not asssume that if you hit 150 with a 7 that you will hiot 160 with the 6 and 170 with the 5. They are much harder to hit perfectly. You are better off with a 7 or 9 wood or a hybrid.
I came to the same conclusion with the Titleist T400 : wonderful with a 7 irons at 26deg! The lower 6 iron is 23 deg and more often than not, does not give you more distance. I share Dave Wishon’s opinion: this is marketing and clubmakers sell by designing a super-performant 7 iron. Do not extrapolate your hopes with it though ! Hope is not a strategy.
I have been playing the D9s for about a year.
They are forgiving and long. The low spin can be a problem on firm greens. But I like that I can pull a 9 iron hit it 135 to 140. I 65 and lost a lot of distance which made me swing harder with the older lofts. Kind of an ego thing. I’m a decent 8 hcp now. Used to be better. The 5 iron is hard to hit. Have to be exact. I’m thinking about adding some wieght to the head. I’m pretty happy overall.
Love the gap wedge at about 105. It’s money.
All this loft-whining is just a bunch of self-ego stroking…”back in my day….”. The technology, internal weighting, and advanced materials let you launch these 27-29 degree 7 irons just as high as yesterday’s 33-35* 7 irons, so they hold greens just as well. D9s rock; I’ve demoed them and they are excellent performers at an excellent price. I agree w/ whoever pointed out the critical 7i/6i transition w/ the stronger lofts today; w/ 24* being the loft where mere mortals lose some performance w/ a traditional iron, I’ve gone to a hybrid-style iron at 24* w/ a 6i shaft to bridge my 27.5* 7i and my 23* hybrid (w/ the hybrid having a longer shaft). 7i is 150, the 6i hybrid-style iron Cleveland Launcher XL is 160-165, and the 23* hybrid about 170-175. Gives me a consistent gapping. Customizing that “6i” is a critical piece of making the whole bag work w/ this style of iron.
I have the D9 irons and at age 75 they have help my game a great deal. My 7 iron is back to 150 to 155 yards. Was hitting 5. I hit the ball high so stopping on the green is great. Enjoy the game a lot more.
I am 77 and have an 11 hcp. Over the years I have had trouble hitting traditional irons. I have been using Cleveland super game improvement irons for several years and they have made a huge difference. Yesterday I went to a golf store and hit the new Cleveland Halo model but it showed no improvement over my current Cleveland Turbo’s. The club fitter suggested I try the Wilson D9 irons. He said it’s their biggest seller. After a few swings I was hitting the 7 iron 165-169 yds. vs. 142 with my Turbo. Yes I know it’s 27* vs. 30* but WHO CARES!!! For those people with brusied egos that are upset with “loft jacking” irons get over yourself. I can adjust my irons accordingly. The majority of golfers today are mid to high handicappers. We just want to have fun and play the best we can within our ability. The guy that’s hitting the 52* gap wedge should probably not by trying the D9 irons anyway. Also I doubt the guy that said the D9 7 iron (27*) is 3 degrees stronger than his current 6 iron as they are normally 25-26 *. I will be buying the D9 irons 7-GW and possibly the 6 iron later.
If you are struggling with your current irons, check your ego at the door and try the D 9 irons.
What we have to remember is that the newer irons are designed to launch the ball as high as possible. If they don’t drop the lofts, we’d hit hot air balloons that didn’t go anywhere. Lofts are cranked up to keep distances near normal. As strong as lofts are, how much farther are we hitting it? Probably a little, but not as much as the change in loft.
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Dis strong lofts if you want but what do you say about the Taylormade Stealth iron lofts? They’re strong in the long irons and get more traditional in the short irons.