Wilson Staff Utility

Wilson Staff Model Utility 21 Degree Iron

Appearance

It really is a pretty club.

Build Quality

Weak shaft, replace with steel

Price

Lets be real, its under $100

Playability

Loved it. Long and straight!

I went in to this test with high hopes. I have been looking for a utility iron, and this one seemed to fit the bill perfectly. So, I ordered it from Rock Bottom Golf, who seemed to have the best price, (about $90 including shipping).

I received the iron a couple of days later, immediately took it to the SIM, and holy shit, it didn't rattle my arms off.

The first couple of swings weren't great strikes, but it didn't punish me like I thought it would. A few swings later, I was hitting pure shots.

Now, this is sort-of a "driving iron", but I learned quickly not to hit it like a driver. Its still an iron, so hit it like you would your 5 iron. Swing down and through the ball. Once I got a feel for the club, I was very consistent. So much so, that I played a round the following day and replaced my driver with the Wilson. While this club is not a replacement for your driver, it is certainly a club to consider on a tight par 4. It gives you so much control and a healthy helping of distance on pure strikes.

After my round, I went back to the SIM to do some more in-depth testing. Halfway through my session, the shaft started to splinter near the hozel, which was very disappointing. I continued my session for a bit, but it started to feel pretty weak, so I closed the session and packed the club up for return.

Its a shame, I really like this club. My assumption is that this club was damaged or stressed in shipping, or returned by someone who hit a bunch of hozel strikes, and then sold to me. I did hit a couple off of the deck during my round, but picked the ball clean both times. I'll post an update, once I have replaced the shaft and retested. I'd recommend holding off until then!

UPDATE:

I don't think graphite was the best choice for this club shaft. This is a long club, used for long shots, and that means fast club head speeds. I didn't hit any fat shots, or take any large divots. I don't think I had any heel/hosel strikes, but this shaft splintered apart after very little use. I understand that an iron like this can cause some vibration on bad strikes, and the graphite was probably an attempt to soften it up and make it a bit more forgiving, but durability is important too. My recommendation; re-shaft it with a KBS steel - S and grip it and rip it.

I had mine re-shafted with a KBS Stiff - Steel shaft, and fell in love all over again. This club is so versatile and useful. I took it out for another round this weekend, and used it off the Tee on every par 4. (My home course is rather tight) I hit this club 255-260 when hit flush. It isn't the most forgiving club in my bag, but its definitely not the least. I landed every fairway. And it was really nice to step onto the tee box without any fear at all about where my ball was going. Now, it is still not a substitute for driver on the longer par 4s and par 5s. Especially if you drive the ball 300+. But man, I will hit this instead of a 3 wood every time.

Well done Wilson!