Wilson/Staff Launch Pad 2 Irons - Will they be an improvement?

[russtopherb]

This morning @GolfSpy Barbajo had a couple of his usual excellent writeups on the main page about the new version of the Wilson LaunchPad line. The driver was part of the Most Wanted testing (and did quite well in forgiveness) and this thread is about the updated irons. Check out the article here!

I've given W/S plenty of grief over the Triad ball and it's marketing so far, but I do want to give credit to W/S here with this release - they definitely improved the looks. When you put the original version up against Cleveland HB Turbos (or Halo XL, which I think is still the best of the hybrid iron bunch) or the Cobra T-Rails, the Launchpad came in a far distant third IMO. So these looking much better, and with an improved sole, is really nice to see. 

Pic from the article:

That's pretty sharp looking. And I'll be honest, as someone closer to 50 than 40, with a back and two knees that make me feel more like 80 some days, and a low-ball hitter as it is, this style of iron is getting more and more interest from me. 

I'd really be interested to see an MGS shootout of the hybrid irons to see which is the best performing and most forgiving.

[Wedgie]

You always suck me into these conversations @russtopherb. I agree, they look a lot better than the first version which I purchased for my son. He has moved on from them but I played a few rounds with them. The feel compared to the Launcher HB irons was horrible but they were dead straight for me. Ultimately I went the one length route and again, the feel of the first version got to me and that usually isn't a thing.

When the new Cleveland's XL Halos came out I purchased them and my scores dropped immediately. I think it was part the clubs and part me being bored with my old set. When we stopped playing at the end of last year my buddy combined my one lengths with the Halos. I go to Florida in two weeks with 8-SW single length (Cobra) and 4-7 the standard Cleveland Halos so we'll see how that goes.

If the LP2s feel better than the originals and I get similar numbers I'd consider the jump but I always felt the Clevelands just performed better overall for me.

In regards to the Triad, marketing aside, I picked up a dozen last week. The ball feels great off all clubs. Playing on my SkyTrak I hit three more fairways, 5 more greens and sank 3 more putts. Okay, not really but I did see the ball speed was about 4 MPH slower than the TF Gamers I had sitting around and a hair slower than the DUO professionals that were ice cold.

Isn't it time you make the move?

[russtopherb]

33 minutes ago, Wedgie said:

You always suck me into these conversations @russtopherb. I agree, they look a lot better than the first version which I purchased for my son. He has moved on from them but I played a few rounds with them. The feel compared to the Launcher HB irons was horrible but they were dead straight for me. Ultimately I went the one length route and again, the feel of the first version got to me and that usually isn't a thing.

When the new Cleveland's XL Halos came out I purchased them and my scores dropped immediately. I think it was part the clubs and part me being bored with my old set. When we stopped playing at the end of last year my buddy combined my one lengths with the Halos. I go to Florida in two weeks with 8-SW single length (Cobra) and 4-7 the standard Cleveland Halos so we'll see how that goes.

If the LP2s feel better than the originals and I get similar numbers I'd consider the jump but I always felt the Clevelands just performed better overall for me.

In regards to the Triad, marketing aside, I picked up a dozen last week. The ball feels great off all clubs. Playing on my SkyTrak I hit three more fairways, 5 more greens and sank 3 more putts. Okay, not really but I did see the ball speed was about 4 MPH slower than the TF Gamers I had sitting around and a hair slower than the DUO professionals that were ice cold.

Isn't it time you make the move?

I still think the Clevelands will have the edge with their sole design BUT I think the LP2s have a solid chance against them based on what I've seen so far. I do think in this segment, distance and dispersion will be king.

Hey, I just got my son his Cleveland CBX irons so now it's Dad's time for some new clubs in the bag...

[Wedgie]

2 hours ago, russtopherb said:

I still think the Clevelands will have the edge with their sole design BUT I think the LP2s have a solid chance against them based on what I've seen so far. I do think in this segment, distance and dispersion will be king.

Hey, I just got my son his Cleveland CBX irons so now it's Dad's time for some new clubs in the bag...

Yeah dad, it’s time to pull the trigger. Might be worth looking at the Cleveland Turbo irons. I think there was a price drop with the new model coming out. To me not much of a difference between the two. Or, take your kid out of college and go big!

[NC Golfer]

14 hours ago, russtopherb said:

I still think the Clevelands will have the edge with their sole design BUT I think the LP2s have a solid chance against them based on what I've seen so far. I do think in this segment, distance and dispersion will be king.

Hey, I just got my son his Cleveland CBX irons so now it's Dad's time for some new clubs in the bag...

Don't overlook the HB Turbos. I like them as good as the halos, maybe better. There's probably some new and old sets out there at a good price. 

[russtopherb]

There are already a couple of in-depth reviews on YouTube, one of them being outside on turf. Seeing how the clubs interacted with grass, and the divots they took along with the flight they were described as having (the ball that is, not the divots!) has me really intrigued.

 

[HDTVMAN]

Re Wilson, you have to wonder if top management was fired after the DUD Driver vs Driver. A complete disaster making Wilson a laughing-stock, especially after the first driver was not conforming to USGA/R&A. The second driver was also a DUD. We sold them, got like 24, sold 1, and dumped the rest for $99 (like the first one)...very quickly as the shaft was worth over $200!

[Rex_D]

I play the Tour Edge Hot Launch 3 series from several years ago and find them to be easy and consistent. I'm certainly in their target demographic being a guy that started social golf upon retirement. While my game is now improved and I can step up to game improvement rather than super game improvement,  I'd be interested to see how these stack up with tour edge's current hot launch lineup.

[NC Golfer]

On 2/25/2022 at 6:07 PM, Rex_D said:

I play the Tour Edge Hot Launch 3 series from several years ago and find them to be easy and consistent. I'm certainly in their target demographic being a guy that started social golf upon retirement. While my game is now improved and I can step up to game improvement rather than super game improvement,  I'd be interested to see how these stack up with tour edge's current hot launch lineup.

 

You don't hear much about Tour Edge C and E series irons. Somehow, higher handicap irons don't get much press. 

Edited February 28, 2022 by NC Golfer

[russtopherb]

Agreed on SGI irons not getting much press, perhaps because they don't have the "sexy factor" that some other types of clubs do.

Back on the Launch Pad topic - Looks like I may need to pay a visit to a vendor next week that's right near a shop that carries W/S clubs so I may have to poke my head in to see if they have any demo clubs in since they will be available in a few weeks.

[Kenny B]

16 minutes ago, russtopherb said:

Agreed on SGI irons not getting much press, perhaps because they don't have the "sexy factor" that some other types of clubs do.

Back on the Launch Pad topic - Looks like I may need to pay a visit to a vendor next week that's right near a shop that carries W/S clubs so I may have to poke my head in to see if they have any demo clubs in since they will be available in a few weeks.

These look pretty sexy...   and $459 for 4-PW with KBS shafts.

https://www.si.com/golf/news/price-point-makes-takomo-golf-a-player

 

 

[russtopherb]

Nice looking irons, but not really relevant to the discussion on the LaunchPads.

I get that W/S has lost some cachet in a lot of people's eyes, mine included, but let's try and keep things on topic OK? Thanks!

[lefty110golf]

I game the Wilson D7's 5-GW and have good luck with them. They seem to be between game improvement and SGI.

[russtopherb]

8 minutes ago, lefty110golf said:

I game the Wilson D7's 5-GW and have good luck with them. They seem to be between game improvement and SGI.

I have the D200s now and they are definitely SGI irons, which is fine by me. I definitely want to see if I can put the 7i from my current set up against the LaunchPad2 7i and see if there are differences that are enough to justify thinking about a change (to be fair I also want to demo the Halo XL alongside them). I'd be looking for more height and better dispersion. More distance would be nice but I want to stick more greens.

[russtopherb]

Giving this thread the ol' bumparoo with this Pete Finch video from today. 

 

He honestly could have chilled it with the multiple vomit comments about the looks, because honestly these are much better looking than the 1st gen. However he just could not stop laughing with how forgiving they are and how well he was hitting them. 

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

42 minutes ago, russtopherb said:

Giving this thread the ol' bumparoo with this Pete Finch video from today. 

 

He honestly could have chilled it with the multiple vomit comments about the looks, because honestly these are much better looking than the 1st gen. However he just could not stop laughing with how forgiving they are and how well he was hitting them. 

"...more forgiving than Mary Poppins on kite day." 

[Rex_D]

On 2/28/2022 at 7:23 AM, NC Golfer said:

 

You don't hear much about Tour Edge C and E series irons. Somehow, higher handicap irons don't get much press. 

I think that's a shame because higher handicap and senior golfers are a huge market.

[MNUte]

23 hours ago, Rex_D said:

I think that's a shame because higher handicap and senior golfers are a huge market.

Especially as courses continue upping their prices for rounds. For many people, it's too expensive to play more than a few times a month or to put in a lot of range time. So there's a lot of people who just don't have the reps needed to be great at ball striking or other aspects of their game and could use some extra forgiveness. 

[russtopherb]

22 minutes ago, MNUte said:

Especially as courses continue upping their prices for rounds. For many people, it's too expensive to play more than a few times a month or to put in a lot of range time. So there's a lot of people who just don't have the reps needed to be great at ball striking or other aspects of their game and could use some extra forgiveness. 

My personal opinion is that it's more than just those types of golfers (of which I am one) - there's a lot of people who think their game is a lot better than it is that could benefit from some more forgiveness. I get it - the clubs are honking big and probably ugly to some people who won't play them because of that. Totally understandable. But sometimes you have to trade off. 

[K3ith]

I have purchased a set of these but seem to have a problem. I have a 5 to PW plus GW but only the GW has the white bottom groove. All the rest have what seems like a 'rusty' coloured bottom groove. Have took them back to the retailer who have contacted Wilson UK but they haven't responded 48 hours later.

Anybody else had this problem?