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Wilson Golf continues to refine its various club and ball lines -- and introduce new products based on advanced technology -- as the 2008 season gets into full swing across the country.
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| Wilson FYbrids series |
Those new clubs, and others, slip into a Wilson golf catalog that is segmented into several parts: Wilson Staff for top-of-the-line products and Prostaff, Deep Red, Ultra and Harmonized for mid-tier distribution. On the women's side, Luxe and Hope LX are the primary model names.
The company also boasts a wide selection of Wilson accessories, such as performance gloves, bags and headwear.
"We've just (finished) the past two years as the best in Wilson Sporting Goods history," said Chris Considine, president of the company that includes tennis and team sports. "This is an authentic company, at 90-plus years, with premium positions in many sports."
With Wilson Staff as its high-performance signature, the golf division has been looking to rebuild its tour presence too, along with reaching regular golfers. Padraig Harrington, Jesper Parnevik and D.J. Trahan are among notable Wilson pros.
Always well-recognized for its wedges, that Wilson Staff lineup comes in two models: the Fw6 line forged from soft carbon steel with a chrome finish; and Tw7 tour-driven performance wedges with stainless steel heads and a gunmetal finish. In test sessions among a variety of golfers assembled by CBSSports.com, both types of wedges were rated "very satisfactory."
Wilson has also segmented its irons into three models designed to cater to a spectrum of playing characteristics: Di7, for distance and the greatest game improvement; Ci7, for control and a cross between forgiveness and tour-driven attributes; and Pi7, for performance and the more advanced player.
"These are all designs that look good and play well, targeted at golfers with varying abilities," said Bob Thurman, Wilson Golf global director of research and development."
Here's a selected look at the latest from Wilson Golf:
FYbrids
"The key to the FYbrid system is that each club was individually engineered with unique loft and length combinations to deliver consistent distance gaps throughout the family," said Thurman.
There are six clubs in the Wilson's FYbrid lineup, labeled 3w, 5w, FY, 3h, 4h and 5h. The lofts are 15, 18, 19.5, 21, 24 and 27 degrees.
The "w" clubs are more fairway wood-like. The "h" clubs are more hybrid-like. The FY club is the bridge between.
"We conducted extensive consumer testing with countless combinations of loft and length," said Thurman. "We found that the vast majority of players hit their best shots from a fairway lie with a prototype featuring 19.5 degrees of loft and 41 inches of length. (That's the) FY club; not a fairway wood, not a hybrid, but a FYbrid."
As replacement clubs, the "h" named FYbrids are designed as 1 to 1 replacements for counterpart irons. For example: 3h for a 3-iron, 4h for 4, 5h for 5.
The proprietary sole design, consistent throughout the FYbrid line, features heel, toe and central relief areas to accommodate all lies. There's a rail-like attribute to minimize bouncing into the ball at impact.
As a group, our testers rated the FYbrid lineup "good" to "very good," and "should consider" for golfers looking to purchase new fairway or hybrid clubs. The FY club, itself, was rated "very satisfactory."
Outfitted with UST graphite shafts, suggested retail price for the FYbrid clubs is $199.99 each.
Spine driver
The Wilson Staff Spine driver is more of an acquired taste. It is loaded with technology and advanced geometric engineering, touting a high moment of inertia, or MOI, which is a factor that relates to stability on off-center hits.
"Every golfer is looking for power and added distance off the tee, and the new Spine delivers," said Tim Clarke, Wilson Golf general manager.
With an effective head displacement of 460cc, the Spine is so-named for the ridge-like line running front to back on the crown. The shape comes from two scooped-out sections of the crown that allowed engineers to move weight lower and to the perimeter for a higher launch angle with low spin, and for greater forgiveness. At certain angles, the driver appears almost square-like, but with curved side walls.
Our testers praised the spine-like alignment aid depicted on the crown, the ease of setup and swing, and a solid feel at impact. The consensus rating was "satisfactory." As with other drivers in the advanced geometric realm, most testers noted a loud "pop" at impact.
"After a while, you don't notice the sound because of the exceptional performance," asserted Tom Gruger, Wilson Golf's global marketing director.
The driver is outfitted with a 46-inch UST V2 graphite shaft in a choice of flexes, along with a Golf Pride grip. Suggested retail price is $399.99.
Tour ball
Wilson Staff's Tx4 Pro ball is all new. It features a four-piece multilayer construction designed for tour-caliber performance.
The large inner rubber core is infused with nano-tech particles to enhance a consistent energy release. A performance mantel layer is designed to help generate higher iron spin rates. A thin urethane cover provides a soft feel, spin and control capability.
List price is $37.99 per dozen.
Click Here to view new Wilson Golf club and ball specs