2020 Official Member Review: Wilson D7 Forged Irons

[JohnSmalls]

Guys you nailed these reviews.  Looks like the D7 forged meet up to their lofty MGS expectations!

[revkev]

Guys you nailed these reviews.  Looks like the D7 forged meet up to their lofty MGS expectations!

Thanks! It was a pleasure. It will be a pleasure to play with them again on Saturday


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[Thin2win]

So... It doesn't really count and the official test is over, but I did have to walk down the range today... 

I don't think this qualifies for our tattoo pact. 

 

All that said, PW from 132y 3rd swing of the day was pure and online the whole time, one hop and in. Closest I've come to and HIO. 

[Rickp]

So... It doesn't really count and the official test is over, but I did have to walk down the range today... 

I don't think this qualifies for our tattoo pack. 
 
All that said, PW from 132y 3rd swing of the day was pure and online the whole time, one hop and in. Closest I've come to and HIO. 

That’s about as close as you can get.....
I know guys who would count it.


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[JohnSmalls]

24 minutes ago, Thin2win said:

So... It doesn't really count and the official test is over, but I did have to walk down the range today... 

I don't think this qualifies for our tattoo pack. 

 

All that said, PW from 132y 3rd swing of the day was pure and online the whole time, one hop and in. Closest I've come to and HIO. 

This qualifies for a temporary tattoo.  Nice practice ace!

[revkev]

I don’t know what’s more amazing - your shot or the fact that this old geezer was hitting his PW to and past a flag at 122 on the range yesterday. :)


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[revkev]

Just a quick check in here to say these irons are staying in the bag. I played 9 yesterday and shot 37. Hit them great, they felt great, even the missed greens were solid strikes with the ball ending up hole high. It was windy and I had little trouble controlling my approach shots


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[revkev]

Just a quick check in here to say these irons are staying in the bag. I played 9 yesterday and shot 37. Hit them great, they felt great, even the missed greens were solid strikes with the ball ending up hole high. It was windy and I had little trouble controlling my approach shots

Also I hit my drive through the fairway on 9 a sharp dogleg left - SuperSpeed strikes as I hadn’t played this course in several years and that used to be my line ... at any rate I had 97 yards with waste high under tree limbs as my only pathway home.

I was facing a shot that I’ve had huge issues with while gaming GI irons - The offset makes it difficult for me to manage low punch shots. Yesterday though I picked the largest window available. That gave me access to the front right portion of the green, the proper “miss” spot if I weren’t on as it would leave an easy uphill chip. Pulled 7 iron and punched it right up the line stopping in the fringe just short of the right side of the green 35 feet away, rolled it up to 2 feet and tapped in for par, easy as pie.


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[MattF]

On 10/20/2020 at 12:00 PM, MattF said:

@revkev@MaxEntropy@JohnSmalls I'm booked in with Windmill Training Centre November 7th for a club evaluation. Watch this space.

Update. The D7's are staying in the bag. Can't argue with the numbers and the heavier shaft is actually helping. I definitely need some lessons, so that's on the cards for this winter. But, we tweaked a couple of things with my setup and I was striking the ball quite well. We did find out that I need to go at least 1° flatter with the irons. It could be 2° but we'll try 1 first.

Here's a screenshot of the average for both the D7 and Tour B JGR.

 

 

[GregGarner]

Update from me - went back to the i210s for a few rounds and started really grooving a good swing. Switched back over to the D7s and was just crushing them. Played Fri-Sat at a course with very soft greens so I didn't have to worry about roll-out and shot 71-74. The irons were just electric and I was pin-seeking with 10 birdies between the two rounds. Today was back to my home course with *very* firm greens and had some big bounces but still hit some great shots. Doubled 18 to shoot 76 If I can get used to the reduced spin control on approaches (or play courses with more receptive greens) I can see these sticking around or at the very least in a backfield-by-committee situation.

[JohnSmalls]

On 11/8/2020 at 6:29 PM, greggarner said:

Update from me - went back to the i210s for a few rounds and started really grooving a good swing. Switched back over to the D7s and was just crushing them. Played Fri-Sat at a course with very soft greens so I didn't have to worry about roll-out and shot 71-74. The irons were just electric and I was pin-seeking with 10 birdies between the two rounds. Today was back to my home course with *very* firm greens and had some big bounces but still hit some great shots. Doubled 18 to shoot 76 If I can get used to the reduced spin control on approaches (or play courses with more receptive greens) I can see these sticking around or at the very least in a backfield-by-committee situation.

Any thoughts to testing a higher spinning ball to make up for the loss in iron spin?

[revkev]

Update from me - went back to the i210s for a few rounds and started really grooving a good swing. Switched back over to the D7s and was just crushing them. Played Fri-Sat at a course with very soft greens so I didn't have to worry about roll-out and shot 71-74. The irons were just electric and I was pin-seeking with 10 birdies between the two rounds. Today was back to my home course with *very* firm greens and had some big bounces but still hit some great shots. Doubled 18 to shoot 76 If I can get used to the reduced spin control on approaches (or play courses with more receptive greens) I can see these sticking around or at the very least in a backfield-by-committee situation.

To piggy back the other question I’m curious as to whether or not you’ve gotten on a trackman or other high end LM to see if there’s an actual difference in spin rate between the two irons.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned through the use of a golf tracking system it’s that what I think I’m seeing and know about my golf game isn’t always right.

I realize that you have much younger eyes than I do but it’s still hard to see what’s happening 175 or 150 yards away. Also roll out can be deceptive as it’s hard to hit enough shots to eliminate the possibility that one 6 iron hit a downhill or firm spot in the green will another one hit into a subtle ridge, damp spot or into the grain section.

I think your probably right about the spin difference but it would be nice to see it quantified to be certain.

As a lower spin player I’m finding no difference in stopping power between these and my former gamers. I’m kicking myself for not making the switch to a players distance iron two years ago as they first hit the market. This style of iron suites my game and I think there’s a reasonable segment of the golfing population like me.


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[Thin2win]

Another update, I'll snap a picture or two tomorrow when I'm out on the course, but the finish on these has held up way better than I expected. With them being such a chrome gloss finish, and having never gamed a chrome gloss finish, I expected it to show wear marks pretty quickly. And these show nothing. My practice range is even a sandy one(are any not?) and I don't wipe the club between shots. But really, they still look like they did when I took them out of the box and that was... 15 rounds and 10 range sessions ago give or take. 

[revkev]

Another update, I'll snap a picture or two tomorrow when I'm out on the course, but the finish on these has held up way better than I expected. With them being such a chrome gloss finish, and having never gamed a chrome gloss finish, I expected it to show wear marks pretty quickly. And these show nothing. My practice range is even a sandy one(are any not?) and I don't wipe the club between shots. But really, they still look like they did when I took them out of the box and that was... 15 rounds and 10 range sessions ago give or take. 

Awesome information - thanks


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[chisag]

7 hours ago, revkev said:

To piggy back the other question I’m curious as to whether or not you’ve gotten on a trackman or other high end LM to see if there’s an actual difference in spin rate between the two irons.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned through the use of a golf tracking system it’s that what I think I’m seeing and know about my golf game isn’t always right.

I realize that you have much younger eyes than I do but it’s still hard to see what’s happening 175 or 150 yards away. Also roll out can be deceptive as it’s hard to hit enough shots to eliminate the possibility that one 6 iron hit a downhill or firm spot in the green will another one hit into a subtle ridge, damp spot or into the grain section.

I think your probably right about the spin difference but it would be nice to see it quantified to be certain.

 

... I hear ya Rev and maybe true in Florida but in other parts of the country it is pretty easy to see. Playing my P790's 2 winters ago in Phoenix it was clear I was not producing enough spin to hold most desert greens that are hard and fast. I played Aguila much mote than others and it was extremely rare to even see a ball mark let alone have to fix one. Switching to P760's the difference was immediate and obvious as I could now hold greens. Not spinning iron shots back a couple feet or even hopping and stopping but hitting and releasing 6 feet or so where the 790's would more often than not roll out a good 15 feet or more. Coming back to Chicago I put the P790's back in play mostly because the lower spin worked well in windy conditions and our greens are heavily watered and usually pretty soft. 790's would hit and stop or back up a foot where the 760's would always back up a few feet so while there was more spin, it was not anywhere near the difference I experienced on hard and fast desert courses. 

[GregGarner]

9 hours ago, JohnSmalls said:

Any thoughts to testing a higher spinning ball to make up for the loss in iron spin?

Yeah, I've definitely considered this. During the initial test I dropped down from Z-Star XV to regular Z Star and and ProV1x to ProV1 but I didn't seriously try anything spinnier than that. (There were a few other balls in there I would hit for a hole or two before figuring out that they weren't for me.) In this most recent reintroduction, I've been getting a little more success with the TP5, but it's still not quite enough for me, especially on short irons. I could get used to the TP5, but in firm/fast (and/or dew-y) conditions, I wouldn't have a lot of confidence that I could hold a green with more than ~8 iron. Just this morning I had a 7 iron from 164 that left a ball mark 2 feet from the cup but ended up in the second cut behind the green, about 10 yards long.

8 hours ago, revkev said:

 

To piggy back the other question I’m curious as to whether or not you’ve gotten on a trackman or other high end LM to see if there’s an actual difference in spin rate between the two irons.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned through the use of a golf tracking system it’s that what I think I’m seeing and know about my golf game isn’t always right.

I realize that you have much younger eyes than I do but it’s still hard to see what’s happening 175 or 150 yards away. Also roll out can be deceptive as it’s hard to hit enough shots to eliminate the possibility that one 6 iron hit a downhill or firm spot in the green will another one hit into a subtle ridge, damp spot or into the grain section.

I think your probably right about the spin difference but it would be nice to see it quantified to be certain.

Oh, you're absolutely right Rev, and I really do want to get on a LM and see if I can get some real numbers. I'm darn close to buying one of the sub-$500 ones, but those universally seem to be less accurate with spin rates specifically. And I try to stay as fair-minded as I can, but approach after approach is running long (and I'm pretty good at leaving healthy ball marks). And added to this is that my biggest concern about stopping power does extend down to my PW. I'm used PW stopping dead, maybe backing up 3-5 feet and I'm pretty consistently watching the D7 PW hit, bounce forward, and then trickle out. Again, I could get used to it, but at least in comparison to what I prefer, I really like knowing that I'm going to hit-and-hold.

 

All that being said, I do think the D7s will be my gamers through winter. While the data in my test didn't bear out any yardage gains, I am more and more convinced that the weather turning influenced that and I think the D7s are, in fact, 5+ yards longer. Pair this with softer conditions? Yeah, these could be fun.

[GregGarner]

5 hours ago, Thin2win said:

Another update, I'll snap a picture or two tomorrow when I'm out on the course, but the finish on these has held up way better than I expected. With them being such a chrome gloss finish, and having never gamed a chrome gloss finish, I expected it to show wear marks pretty quickly. And these show nothing. My practice range is even a sandy one(are any not?) and I don't wipe the club between shots. But really, they still look like they did when I took them out of the box and that was... 15 rounds and 10 range sessions ago give or take. 

Seconded. I've noticed some very, very slight wear (absolutely nothing more than would be expected) on a couple of the groove areas, but the finish overall is really excellent. These are absolutely a high-quality product meant to last a long time.

[MattF]

I edited my score. Wilson sent me a new 8 iron with the right shaft in it. I'm just waiting on them to send me a return label for the wrong iron to be sent back to them.

[revkev]

@greggarner you won’t get accurate spin rates from the $500 ones - having written that the Rapsodo is really fun and easy to use - my only complaint is that the cell phone component of that set up overheats pretty quickly in the Florida sun.

I hadn’t thought of the durability of these irons until a shot last. I was in the trees and needed to punch out towards the green - had 100 and a window for a hooded 7 iron.

Punched that bad boy through the opening right on the front right portion of the green but hit a root.

My thumb is still a little sore - not a noticeable mark on the sole or club face though




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[Thin2win]

Wear pictures after few months in the bag. Looking pretty clean if you ask me. 

[HardcoreLooper]

1 hour ago, Thin2win said:

Wear pictures after few months in the bag. Looking pretty clean if you ask me. 

Still very sporty.  Mine haven't seen much action lately, what with the Classic Bag Challenge going on.

 

[GregGarner]

Since my last update I've had a few rounds going back and forth between sets.

D7 scores: 37, 80, 40, 38, 42, 74, 77
i210 scores: 88, 84, 42

To be fair, when I swapped back to the i210s, I was also trying a new putter and my putting was atrocious, so scores alone is not a fair indicator. But I'm ready to swap the Arccos sensors back to the D7s and get more distance data. There were a number of times during these three most recent i210 rounds I was ~150 out and needed either a 7 or even a 6 but during those last two with the D7, 150 would have been a smooth 8 and more than a couple 6-irons were closer to 180 yards. I'm getting more comfortable flighting the D7s higher, which is helping control their low-spin nature.

Definitely going to game the D7s through the winter; more updates coming.

[revkev]

13 minutes ago, greggarner said:

Since my last update I've had a few rounds going back and forth between sets.

D7 scores: 37, 80, 40, 38, 42, 74, 77
i210 scores: 88, 84, 42

To be fair, when I swapped back to the i210s, I was also trying a new putter and my putting was atrocious, so scores alone is not a fair indicator. But I'm ready to swap the Arccos sensors back to the D7s and get more distance data. There were a number of times during these three most recent i210 rounds I was ~150 out and needed either a 7 or even a 6 but during those last two with the D7, 150 would have been a smooth 8 and more than a couple 6-irons were closer to 180 yards. I'm getting more comfortable flighting the D7s higher, which is helping control their low-spin nature.

Definitely going to game the D7s through the winter; more updates coming.

What does winter golf in Durham look like?  

I played with a 22 year old congregant who is a very strong player (plus 1 or 2) last Friday.  We haven't played in a while because of COVID so he hadn't seen my D7's.  He was very impressed by the look and more impressed by how I was flighting them.  I do hit a slight draw but really slight as opposed to draw bordering on hook in the middles irons that I used to game. 

 

What continues to amaze me is how much help there is in these irons.  I was so fearful of less offset - for me these seem more forgiving than the regular D7 (which is a GI to super GI) or the G30's.  Perhaps its because they fit my eye so much better that I'm hitting way more solid shots.  

 

Love them!!!

[chisag]

4 hours ago, revkev said:

What does winter golf in Durham look like?  

I played with a 22 year old congregant who is a very strong player (plus 1 or 2) last Friday.  We haven't played in a while because of COVID so he hadn't seen my D7's.  He was very impressed by the look and more impressed by how I was flighting them.  I do hit a slight draw but really slight as opposed to draw bordering on hook in the middles irons that I used to game. 

What continues to amaze me is how much help there is in these irons.  I was so fearful of less offset - for me these seem more forgiving than the regular D7 (which is a GI to super GI) or the G30's.  Perhaps its because they fit my eye so much better that I'm hitting way more solid shots.  

Love them!!!

 

... Great post. I love that a MGS testing opportunity turned into a perfect fit for both of us, something I think neither of us were expecting! But this is what I have been saying forever. Golf clubs should compliment your strengths and help with your weakness. Need a higher flight, look at more sole weighting. Miss toward the toe or heel, look for heel toe weighting. There are plenty of "standard" features that will usually help a specific player. In your case turning an overdone draw/hook into a very reliable and playable draw. Fitting your eye is always a factor and should always be considered, unless you love the look of MB's but make erratic contact kinda thing. 

... I know so many of us here preach about being fit. I have been fit at Demo Days and other review functions and know very well what works for me and what doesn't. But my recent full bag fitting clearly showed I needed to drop to r-flex in all my clubs and it has resulted in more distance and accuracy. Something I just would not expect hitting my 7 iron 165. My last fitting at Demo Day during the 2018 PGA Show, I wanted to switch to r-flex, at least in my driver but at the time s-flex performed better for me according to the LM and my fitter. Now, a mere 2 years later r-flex is a better fit. I will admit that I do enjoy being a shaft Ho, although admittedly it has cost me $ and I probably have 15 great shafts that are all decent for my swing but not ideal and I usually recover some of the cost but still lose money because it is fun for me, but better than gambling.

... Obviously Tour Pro's are constantly being fit and re-evaluated all the time so ego doesn't enter into the equation. Cost can be a factor for some of course, but it is probably more beneficial than buying any new club that may or may not fit you. Congrats on your D7's Rev! 

[GregGarner]

2 hours ago, revkev said:

What does winter golf in Durham look like? 

What continues to amaze me is how much help there is in these irons.  I was so fearful of less offset - for me these seem more forgiving than the regular D7 (which is a GI to super GI) or the G30's.  Perhaps its because they fit my eye so much better that I'm hitting way more solid shots. 

We get some chilly mornings (which is when I'm most likely to play) and we can get a fair amount of rain. Usually only 1-2 snows/season and they only last a day or two, so it's more about the pros holding me for frost delay and then I don't have enough time to play nine before work. So weather-permitting, it'll be whenever I can get a Saturday round in. But no complaints, at least I can still play some unlike basically all the other D7 testers besides you and I

During testing, I was hitting several of my (D7) shots high-toe or thin and my shots were falling off to the right. These clubs have so much hidden help that I didn't realize just how much help I was getting! After more camera work and some swing check-ups, I've got a better move into impact and am getting a really nice, soft 2-yd draw and they feel better now than at any point during my test, which is actually hard to believe because during testing I thought they felt great. Oh, and after reading everyone else's write-ups, I started doing more testing about stepping on them to squeeze out more yardage (I literally never do that with my i210s and really didn't try it during my own testing). These are ridiculous easy to gear-up and gain a couple extra yards if you need it. -- With my i210s, they just spin more and fly higher, so I always just took more club and swung easy. With the D7s I have more confidence taking a shorter club and juicing 5 more yards.

[fixyurdivot]

On 11/13/2020 at 5:30 PM, Thin2win said:

Wear pictures after few months in the bag. Looking pretty clean if you ask me. 

Good follow-up. Yea, the soles look like new. Seeing how clubs wear is one of those attributes we don't always get enough feedback on.  Still liking the Recoils?  RU finding them easier on the hands, wrists, elbows, and/or shoulders? 

[HardcoreLooper]

13 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

Good follow-up. Yea, the soles look like new. Seeing how clubs wear is one of those attributes we don't always get enough feedback on.  Still liking the Recoils?  RU finding them easier on the hands, wrists, elbows, and/or shoulders? 

I'm not the best one to speak to this, as I've played most of my rounds in November with 30 year old Hogan Grinds, but I have played a couple rounds with the D7s lately, and I am finding that the D7s with Recoils are easier on my joints.

One thing I've found is that it's been really easy to move back to the D7s from other clubs.  And they're so much fun to play with that I always look forward to putting them back in the bag.

I have made one change; I've taken the D7 Gap Wedge out of the bag and added the Cobra F8 50* wedge back to be with it's 54* and 58* brethren.  Having a 50* club that's shaped like a wedge and not a regular iron is a bigger deal for me than I'd thought.  This is probably my last season I'll get out of the F8 wedges, and I'll replace the 50* along with the other two.

[fixyurdivot]

18 hours ago, greggarner said:

There were a number of times during these three most recent i210 rounds I was ~150 out and needed either a 7 or even a 6 but during those last two with the D7, 150 would have been a smooth 8 and more than a couple 6-irons were closer to 180 yards.

Sounds like the "power chamber" is actually more than a cool marketing badge. I suppose next you testers will be saying "what slots on the sole, we don't see any slots" .  Great post final review follow-ups all.  How the marriage works after the honeymoon is valuable information.

[revkev]

What power holes?

They are very noticeable in the bag of course but given that they are on the sole

They aren’t then.

Greg is spot on about these being easy
to stand on. I did that a couple of times Friday - stretched a GW and a PW. In fact back to back holes, same wind direction I hit GW from 112 and 94. Gripped down on the one from 94and hit it hole high 10 feet (didn’t want to stand on the 52 for that as the pin was just over a false front.





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[revkev]

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