AcesAndHoles Unofficial Reviews: Wilson D7 Forged Irons

[AcesAndHoles]

Hi SpyFam, 

 

After a ton of testing and research (thanks to MGS) I purchased a set of Wilson D7 Forged Irons. Here are my impressions and thoughts. Pictures to come. 

 

Stats and Setup: 

Head: Wilson D7 Forged

Shaft: KBS $-Taper 105 XS +1/2"

Grip: MCC +4 Align Mid

Loft/Lie-- Currently standard but I've been considering 1-2* up. 

Driver Swing Speed: 113mph avg.

7i: 194avg on clean shots.

HCP: Started off around a 22 in Spring of 2020, currently around an 18. 

 

My Story (unrelated to the review!): 

I'm about an 18 handicap golfer with strong but inconsistent drives (targeting) and nightmarish putting tendencies. I've been playing golf for about three years but realistically played a total of 10 rounds of golf before 2020. This year golf has become an addiction. Irons are typically a strong suit for me especially from 6i through 60* wedge. My first "real" set of irons were Titleist Ap1 712s. I was under the impression that I should be playing game improvement irons but was repeatedly "fit" for player's distance irons... and voila, here we are with the D7F. My priorities were: forgiveness; consistency; feedback; and to a lesser extent look. My biggest "weaknesses" are an occasional fade to slice, and hitting the ball a bit fat and losing distance. I was torn between the Mavrik Pro and Apex 19 before trying the D7F and Miz 921 F. 

In my quest for new Irons I tried the following (in order of preference): Wilson D7 Forged; Mizuno 921 Forged; Apex 2019; Mavrik Pro; Titleist T200; Taylormade p790; Titleist T100; Mavrik; Sub 70 699;Taylormade T7MC; Taylormade Sim

After a proper fitting the D7F came out top with a blend of dispersion, feel/ feedback, and distance for me. 

 

Look 7.5/10

Holy cow do the D7F look slick. I've taken them out for about 10 rounds now and can say with confidence people notice them and ask what I'm playing if my bag is sitting on a rack. While they certainly are a bit thicker than some of the other Player's Distance Irons I've tried, the styling and chrome finish catch the eye. At address they look clean with a nice top-line and inspire confidence knowing that you're playing a premium iron that's not a chunky-monkey. I never placed a premium on looks until I unboxed this set of irons-- I'm the type of guy that will play with a rusted set if it let's me place the ball where I want consistently. Having said that, Wilson was awesome and hooked me up with a little care package and I now rock a Staff hat every course I play to match the chome in my bag. 

I've heard reports that the chrome can be distracting and reflective but I haven't experienced it so far. The irons generally clean well with a light brushing and some soap and water. My biggest gripe is that these irons ARE susceptible to damage whether from bouncing around, or sand at impact. CLEAN YOUR BALLS (too much?). I was crestfallen when I found my new irons with scratching/pockmarks from debris or sand on them after three rounds. Thank heaven they happen to be in the perfect strike-zone so it looks like I'm a much better golfer than I actually am. It's my only complaint and, unfortunately, a big one. 7.5/10

Feel and Feedback 8.5/10

One of the highlights for me here was the feel and feedback the D7F gave. Early on in my testing I hit the Mavrik irons figuring it had to be the latest and greatest in Callaway tech; spoiler, I smoked them. My avg 7i was 204y which was. frankly absurd. They were everything I could hope for in an iron distance wise... except that I had significant difficulty telling where I was hitting the ball. I'm at a point in my game where I'm very interested in how, and where I'm hitting my ball so that I can make adjustments and improve. I wanted something that would be forgiving on off-center shots but still give me an idea of what I was doing wrong. When I tested the D7F on a Quad, I was able to get direct feedback from my strikes prior to seeing the analysis of the machine. I could tell high, low, heel or toe within reason. I saw similar results with the Mavrik Pro and the Apex, but no chance with the Mavrik. I took the time to hit toe and heel shots with the D7F and could identify each. The upside was that each of them still went 150y + for an atrocious contact point. I literally hit one off the toe-side chrome and got 160y out of it 10y offline. 

Needless to say forged is forged. I have to admit that hitting the Miz 921s was an experience, but the D7F doesn't lag far behind in terms of pure feel. Do the D7F have a pure "forged" buttery soft feel? No. For those familiar with Callaway I'd say that it's a happy medium between the Apex and the Mav Pro. A clean shot will leave you smiling and confident, but it's not the soft "click" most associate with forged.

Honestly, this was exactly what I was looking for in an iron which earns it the high marks. A fitter gave me the T100 and the Taylormade T7MC out of curiosity and I had a taste of "player" irons. They're horrible... terrible... not for me. Can I hit them, hell yeah! Did I enjoy it? Not a chance. Honestly, they were intimidating and unless I hit the pinprick sweet-spot, they felt absolutely terrible. Playing those irons would rocket my strokes just because I wouldn't be enjoying my round, and because I'd be so worried about messing up my shot. While jumping to "player's distance" definitely put a pep in my step, hitting the T7MC was a humbling experience. 

Distance 8.5/10

The real question-- are these "player's distance" irons the real deal. Uhhhhhh...YEAH! I've never had an issue with distance. I can hit a pitching wedge 150y on a good day and it's definitely not my priority because I have wicked gapping issues and too many wedges in my bag as a result. I really liked the Mizuno 921F even though I took a hit of about 15-20 yards in distance, but ultimately what led to the D7F was dispersion rate. These irons go far and were wildly consistent for me. I'm very conscious of my skill level and the only reason my fitter suggested I give "player's" irons a shot was because I put 7 balls within a 10y radius of each other at 185y with a 7 iron... with the D7F. Get the ball in the air and the D7F will do the work for you. These clubs offer a true blend of game improvement, and player's distance. They're hot off the face on a clean strike and still very playable if you're catching the ball fat, or thin. I have to admit, even on my worst strokes, I still haven't been able to truly complain. If my "ideal" stroke with a 7i is 185y, a poorly struck shot will still run 150y to 160y and keep me in contention for par. Once I get onto/ around the green, it's a different game. Hello Bogey! 8.5-9/10 because they're not the furthest distance Irons I've hit (hello, mavrik standard) but they most definitely out-stripe anything in the same category.

Consistency

I hesitate to give this section a score because in reality it's user-error when it comes to misses. Indoor testing has been absolutely phenomenal and in line with the forgiveness discussion above; my distance dispersion is very good with consistent shots. I haven't found the face to be "hot" past the nature of the club after the first two weeks with the clubs even if I slam-thin the ball. Similarly, I don't see any drastic slices (or hooks) lately. I know that this is largely user error but I went from playing Dynamic gold S300 shafts in the Ap1 to graphite Golden Bear clubs (1999!) after I sold my clubs (interim) and saw similar mistakes-- I was fighting a lot of bend in the shaft which accentuated what would have normally been a fade or draw and tolerable. It could be that I'm now playing an XS which has tamed the ball-flight but I've noticed that I don't have any wildly deviating shots with the D7F. 

The most consistency I saw with this head was with standard golf-pride tour velvet grips and standard length. Having said that my potential/ideal to hit a better ball is +1/2" and 2* up. I can easily palm a basketball so midsize grips are most comfortable. I think that my current "consistency" issues are largely due to the extension changes and the MCC +4 Align Mid grips. The standard Tour Velvet are about 50g in 60round. My current grips weigh in at a whopping 67g at 60round. I know, I know, all the weight is in the handle and theoretically only alters the paper swingweight of the club, but it's noticeable. I specifically selected a 105g shaft because I like feeling the position and weight of the head through my swing. But between the extension and the grips I have about 20g more weight per club which is noticeable. I've noticed that my most common miss is now about 10-15y offline to the right compared to standard setup which often puts me in the rough instead of on the green. I attribute this to simply not practicing enough since I'm able to correct in after 5-10 balls at the range, but it definitely weighs on my mind. I did extensive shaft testing and the best I can compare it to was using a 127g x-stiff shaft (the dispersion pattern shockingly matches up). Unless I'm consciously adjusting, which is hard on course, I'm a bit off to the right of center.  Oh well... more practice needed. 

Spin-7/10

Again, I hesitate to give a score here since I don't typically worry as much about spin. I have a very high natural launch, to the point where I've stuck balls 1/2 to 3/4 in soft greens. Having said that I noticed spin on the Quad to be a bit less than other irons I've tried. My specific setup is designed to reduce my higher launch to a more medium trajectory and I've noticed balls slipping off the back of a green here and there. I attribute this to the "new" setup and a further adjustment period, but I suspect that the natural "distance" factor is linked to lower spin rate. 
 

Miscellaneous

A few random observations so far: 

- If you're a digger, you're going to have to have the bat-speed to support these irons. They're a little thicker than you'd expect from an iron of this category and it's made more obvious by the inserts on the bottom of the irons. If you catch something fat, the iron will do its job, but you need to give it the tools (swing mph) to power it. 

- Clean, Clean, Clean. Damn, they get dirty quickly. 

- Very easy to bend/modify from the techs I've spoken to

- Price is 10/10. These irons belong with the best of them and could easily sell for a premium; yet, Wilson makes them more affordable so that you can splurge on that new putter, wedges, or driver. 

- Wilson staff was incredible--- I had the opportunity to communicate with the North East Rep and he was happy to answer any questions I had along the way and sent me a gift package with balls, coozie, and a hat for my patronage and switch to Wilson. Very, very cool. 

- Sadly, people see Wilson and think you went "cheap" or "second rate". These irons change the game and I've had several people ask me to hit them for a shot or two. Top notch!

- TEST different shafts and grips on these. I went through about 8 different shafts once I picked a head and I could feel significant differences through the point of contact. Maybe I'm just sensitive (or delusional) but I think these may be combo-sensitive. I haven't seen this as much in golf clubs but have a wealth of experience with tennis racquet testing and certain frames being "string sensitive"; I can see it transferring to the D7F. 

Conclusion

I couldn't be happier with the irons I purchased. I'm even happier that my final setup cost me about $600 less than the irons I was originally contemplating. The D7F are a happy medium between player's distance irons and game improvement irons. They'll give you confidence at address while allowing you to shape shots with forgiveness.