GolfSpy Barbajo

Standard D7 is cast and is a game improvement iron. It's still current in the Wilson catalog. I think you're right about categories merging and morphing - some clubs are obvious SGI or GI irons, but others can branch out into several different categories. As mentioned in the blog post, Wilson saw - for them - a huge jump in custom orders for the standard D7 last year -- which was unprecedented for a GI iron - and the shafts and specs ordered, many as combo sets, were going into the bags of better players.

Wilson said one of the things they wanted to improve over the C300 Forged was feel, and the succeeded, mostly. On-center and close to on center hits felt like a forged iron should - the forged face and the urethane filling in the Power Chamber did the job. Real off-center hits (it's January, I'm rusty!) gave you, uhhhh, the feedback to tell you you missed. The ball still went - there was expected drop off in distance, but as much as a player's cavity back, but more than a real GI iron. I'm a huge fan of the $ Taper Lite shaft and the pairing works well with this iron. The stiff weighs 100 grams - and the lightness compliments the club quite nicely to help generate distance. Recommend giving them a try - if you're in the market for player's distance irons these should definitely be on the must-demo list, along with the TaylorMade P790 and the Mizuno Hot Metal. I'm not sure if the Cleveland UHX irons fit into the Game Improvement or Player's Distance categories, but I'd recommend those too.

The lofts are pretty consistent with pretty much everything else in the Player's Distance category. I smacked it around on a launch monitor prior to writing the piece and compared it the TaylorMade P790 - which is virtually the same loft structure. 7-iron to 7-iron the Wilson was maybe a tad longer, but not enough to matter, and another day the results might have been reversed. I did find a bit tighter dispersion with the D7 Forged, but again, it wasn't a huge margin. What that tells me is it's a very solid contender against one of the top irons in the Player's Distance category. I've kind of gotten over the whole loft thing - the club is in the Player's Distance category - it's a new category that's morphed into a thing over the past few years - and is designed for better players who may want to hit the ball a little farther or, in my case, as far as I did 5 years ago before Father Time began his full frontal assault. I'm not sure strengthening the lofts is all that much of a crime. I was getting 7-iron spin in the 5200 range with a descent angle ranging from 45 to 47 degrees, which tells me it'll stop on the green well enough, with distance reaching a high of 169 and an average of about 165. Again, that's about 20 or so shots on the Golf and Ski Warehouse Trackman, but it is what it is. It's about a club and half longer than the 2001 MacGregor's I've been playing, and maybe a half a club longer than the Hogan PTx irons I also used last year.

Sorta yes and sorta no - Wilson's irons offerings are in a bit of a flux for 2020. Blog post on these should be dropping this morning. Doug Thiel, Wilson's Global Marketing Director, said last summer the feeling was that Wilson had too many iron sets (they had six) and that it was time to streamline and reset the offering. I think between the Launch Pad and now the D7 Forged, along with the Staff Model moniker, we're beginning to see that change starting.

With you there - been following this team since 1968 - saw them play at Fenway, BC, Harvard and the old dump that was Schaeffer-Sullivan-Foxboro Stadium. It's been a hell of a ride, and something tells me it's not over. Consider that in Brady's 18 season's as a starter (2008 doesn't count - thank you Bernard Pollard), they won the last game of the season 6 times - meaning 12 times they didn't. Pats haters can rejoice last night's loss, but over? We'll see...

Probably wasn't clear - for Srixon, et al - sponsoring Crossfield is a branding exercise, much in the same way Driver vs Driver was a branding exercise for Wilson. Can't be measured in direct sales as both are part of overall branding initiatives, not direct sales promotions. Different mechanics and structure to be sure, but the intention of both initiatives is brand building.

Yup - branding is just that: getting the name out there. Same thing with Driver vs. Driver and Wilson. That show was NEVER about the driver - it was a branding exercise to get people looking at and talking about Wilson. From that standpoint, the show was a smashing success. This is very cool for Srixon-Cleveland-XXIO. Gotta admit, the XXIO driver surprised me as I didn't think Crossfield was in the target demographic. That said, the Cleveland driver is really, really good. No idea how it will shake out in Most Wanted, but it's a HUGE improvement over the first HB Launcher. It's definitely in the rotation for next year - we'll see about the XXIO.

Hi folks -- looking for a little help, if you have a moment. Working on a look back article on the Tommy Armour 845s irons for the main blog. Did any of you old timers game those back in the day? Have any fond - or not so fond memories you'd like to share? Feel free to PM me with details if you can. Thanks in advance... JMB

Looks like it sits pretty close to the ground - not all that rounded. It's more of a Tour grind.

Blog post is up ... https://mygolfspy.com/first-look-wilson-staff-model-wedges/ Not sure how much you can say about a wedge hitting off a mat at a heated driving range, but here are some initial impressions: - For me, High Toe is a great partial swing, around the green club - doesn't work for me on full shots. - If you can't hit a flop shot with a High Toe, you can't hit a flop shot - this makes it stupid easy. - The ball gets up fast with a flop - the mat is obviously about a tight of a lie as you can get, and the ball got up so quickly it nipped the edge of the roof overhang and clanged around. Other golfers were not impressed. - The higher CG made the thing spin like crazy. When you can hop 'n stop a range ball on ice, you know there's some spin. - Standard wedge is sweet, simple and versatile enough. I only had a 60-degree to try, but it did the job. Wasn't as easy to open up as the High Toe, but plenty versatile. - For me, an ideal setup might be a 50 and a 54 in standard, and maybe a 60 in High Toe for around the green and the sand. If I play the MacGregors (43-degree PW), would go 48, 52, and then a 56 high toe. - The full face grooves take some getting used to visually - it's a weird sight. You will be seeing more full face groove options in the coming weeks.

Yep - it's in my rotation. Like it very much - the sound takes some getting used to, but it falls in the low-low spin category. It came us as a shocker Best Fit in TrueGolfFit - and promised me 14 more yards. When I tested it at Sub70's HQ outside of Chicago and compared to the LM numbers to my ShotScope stats, son of a gun if it wasn't 14 yards on the freaking button. Anyway, if yards per dollar is your decision making matrix, the Sub70 is hard to beat. The stock Project X shaft works well - they do have options available, I believe.

Hmmmm….you got me thinkin, which is always dangerous.

Tuesday, and Mmmmmmmmmm…...

Have a pair sitting in my office, just waiting for embargo day. All I can say is Mmmmmmmmmmmm…..

Remember the epic comeback at St. Andrews? That was a good time …. Those do look interesting -- safe to say the graphics are more realistic/less cartoonish?