50 Words or Less
The Wilson Staff FG Tour V4 irons are some of the best irons on the market for the better player. Great looks and feel combined with sneaky forgiveness in the long irons.
Introduction
Fans of Wilson Staff have waited a long time for a true successor to the beloved FG Tour V2 irons, and that successor is finally here in the FG Tour V4. As someone who happily gamed the V2 for multiple seasons, I’m definitely in that group. From the time I first saw the FG Tour V4 irons at the Wilson Innovation Center, I was very excited about putting them to the test because they have the refined looks that players want with the performance benefits of a combo set.
Looks
The Wilson Staff FG Tour V4 irons deliver exactly the kind of look that you want from a players iron: thin top lines, thin soles, minimal offset, and a classic look in the cavity.
In comparing the V4 to the V2, the V4 is a more refined club. They are nearly identical in terms of the width of the top line and the size of the blade, but the V4’s more rounded edges make it appear smaller. Similarly, the sole of the V4 is more rounded than the V2, but it’s also noticeably thinner. You can see side-by-side comparisons of the V2 and V4 (V2 is always on the left) in the slideshow at the bottom of the page.
Sound & Feel
The bar that the FG Tour V2 set in terms of feel is quite high, but the FG Tour V4 irons surpass it, if only slightly. Both are extremely soft at impact, especially if you play a tour-caliber ball. They also deliver very precise feedback about how the ball was struck. The V4 gets my vote by being a bit softer and simultaneously feeling a little more crisp. This difference may be related to the V4’s excellent stock shaft, the DG Pro.
Performance
A quick glance at the Wilson Staff FG Tour V4 irons might lead you to believe that they’re just another players iron. A closer look, however, reveals their secret weapon: tungsten weights in the soles of the 4-7 irons. This seemingly small change allows this traditional looking set to perform like a combo set – the long irons launch a little higher and more easily while the scoring irons retain their penetrating ball flight. This change was based on feedback from Wilson Staff’s PGA Tour players like Ricky Barnes who loved the V2 irons but wanted a higher ball flight from the long irons. As I mentioned earlier, the V4 irons also have a great stock shaft – the DG Pro – which enhances the higher launch of the long irons while keeping the short irons from ballooning.
In my testing, I found that the V4 did launch 1-2 degrees higher than the V2 on pure strikes, and also on mishits. I think that the improved flight on mishits is every bit as important because it keeps the thinned long iron from being a score killer.
Beyond that, the V4 irons perform as you would expect: they give you total control over the golf ball with just enough forgiveness to cover up those small mishits. You’ll be able to flight the ball high or low and shape it easily in either direction.
Conclusion
If you want a little bit of forgiveness without making any compromises in terms of looks and feel, the Wilson Staff FG Tour V4 irons are for you. They have the benefits of a combo set with the classic looks and great feel of the most traditional forged blades.
Watch the Video
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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what handicap recommendations for these wilsons
Rodney,
I don’t think handicaps are the best way to pick clubs, but, broadly speaking, 15 or better at least.
-Matt
Good piece… so for a guy who’s playing less forgiving older Wilson Staff forged irons and shoots 79 -89 … usually somewhere in the middle, which do you thing: these or the newer F5s? I hit these V4s last year and really liked them…
Jay,
I haven’t hit the F5 much, but my understanding is that the F5 is more about forgiveness, the V4 has some forgiveness with a more traditional look. All depends on your priorities.
Best,
Matt
The DG Pro shaft that comes with the Wilson V4’s gets many great reviews. Can I have the shafts extended by an inch or 1 .5″ without affecting the performance of the club?
Mark,
Adding 1.5″ without making any adjustments will raise the swing weight considerably and could make the shaft play softer. I would work with a good club builder/fitter to get all that dialed in.
Best,
Matt