MEMBER REVIEWS: Wilson Staff Model Golf Balls! See What They Are Saying!

[RobYakes]

Got 18 in on Saturday with the Wilson Staff. The ball in all ways is just as good as any other premium, tour-level offerings on the market. From an observational standpoint, the Wilson Staff did everything I expect from a tour level ball. Driver distance was equal to TP5X and slightly better than ProV1, green-side spin and approach shots held and checked. What surprised me was:

The Wilson Staff's urethane cover holds up significantly better than TP5/TP5X (this is my biggest negative with TM balls), and even slightly better than ProV1/ProV1X.On the greens, the Wilson Staff sight line may be the best on the market.The feel of the Wilson Staff both on the greens and off of irons is more along the lines of ProV1/TP5, but I would argue it is even less "clicky" than both but without it feeling significantly any softer. Hard to explain but a good feeling even from someone that prefers the harder "click" of ProV1X or TP5X.Here's some data I averaged off of 7-iron and 50* wedge. All of these are the averages of 3-5 shots with each ball, and removed any extreme outliers. Data was from a SkyTrak indoors. My only questionable data point is the Clubhead speed listed in the Wilson Staff data for 50* (seems a bit low, but could be accurate), and the Roll is always a machine guess.

Overall, I think that Wilson Staff has a great product that may be superior to a good amount of the current premium category balls for certain golfers. I'm interested to see if others have the same observations about how well the Staff balls hold up to normal wear and tear during a round. I can't explain it objectively, but the Staff ball "feels" like there's a better energy transfer than the ProV1/X and has better durability (and sight line) than TP5/X.

Last thoughts: I think Wilson may have a tough time getting converts to their ball at the current price point ($44.99 per dozen, personalization included / or $49.99 stock). While they are cheaper than Titleist's ProV1/X offerings ($52 without personalization), and basically match TM's TP5/X price ($44.99 stock, subscribe for free personalization), I think the ball would garner a few more looks at the current Bridgestone Tour B series and Srixon Z-Star series price point of $39.99 per dozen. I know there's a million inputs that affect an item's price point but to me the quality of the Wilson Staff ball will lead people to stay with it long term if Wilson lowered the price in an attempt to gain golf ball market share. I for one primarily play Titleist ProV1/X or TM TP5/TP5X but I only ever stock up on balls when I can find a deal and almost never pay more than $30-$35/dozen brand new (I'm also not a fan of recycled or used balls and will never buy them). If I wasn't chosen to test the Wilson Staff, I would have never given the ball a thought as I've never played Wilson products before and I'm much more inclined to pay $25/dozen for balls than $50/dozen. That being said, if I can find a deal on WIlson Staff balls down the road, they will definitely be in the mix for me.

 

[Nels55]

Same ball has now survived 54 holes. It seems to be holding up very well:

[Mr. Grumpy]

ProV 1 feel/performance and 54 holes! This ball is a beast and you are on a great golf streak!

[asumnerdawg]

I agree with most everything you said. Simple truth is Wilson has a product (from my small sample of testing) that stands up with anything on the market. Problem is the brand may not have the luster anymore to garner the price point it deserves. I’m not big on the subscription deal but I LIKE the ball. Not sure many golfers will give it a fair shake though. Really really good product that I think is priced very fair if given the chance, but agree a lower price point may bring more prospects that otherwise would overlook the ball. They need to really market this ball and get some pros gaming it (GW).

[asumnerdawg]

And just to reiterate the ongoing theme, durability is OFF THE CHARTS.

[Nels55]

Well, this starting to get surreal I think... Another 18 today and 72 holes total. I tried to lose it couple of times this morning including skulling one out of the fairway trap on 18 that should have gone in the pond but it hit the lip hard which slowed it down and kept it dry. I am starting to believe that I can't lose this ball. LOL I think I will retire it for now though possibly if I keep playing it I will never need to buy another golf ball!

[disco111]

Wilson has a big problem with this ball and that being - price. It seems to be a great ball from all reports, but vs Pro V at the same or nearly the same price, it will die on the shelves.

[RobYakes]

I get the idea that Wilson needs to price it in the range of other tour quality balls in order to make sure the consumer understands the level of the product, but I can’t imagine that the base of golfers who like or trust the Wilson brand is large enough for the ball to make a dent in the larger market. It reminds me of the current Mizuno ball offerings in that the product may be good or superior (this is merely an example, I’ve never played Mizuno balls) to tour balls that have a large market share, but how many golfers who have never played Wilson products will be willing to drop $50 on a dozen to try? Caveat being I imagine Mizuno balls have a larger market in Asia.

I can’t help but point out the original K-Sigs again as a reference to a quality ball where the price might have led consumers to question the quality but it didn’t stop avid golfers from trying it and realizing that K-Sig was a diamond at that price point. I’d argue that’s what the Wilson Staff ball could be at the $30-$35/dozen price but maybe Wilson has run the numbers and additional market penetration at that price is insignificant. Just my $0.02.

[braincramp52]

I LOVE this ball off the putter! If it was under $40 it would be a no brainer for me. It might still be my ball of choice since I really don't lose many balls. Alignment lines are the best on the market.

[player922000]

Agree with what most are saying. I’m a huge fan of this ball and it’s my favorite at this point, however I don’t play ProV1’s because they’re too expensive and I likely won’t play these at their price point. Sadly I think these balls will only appeal to those who don’t mind dumping money into golf balls and loyal Wilson brand golfers. I don’t see any average joes dropping that kind of money on golf balls that aren’t ProV1’s. If they are dead set on keeping them at the price point maybe they could develop a slightly lower cost ball to try and get some followers. Either that or run a promo price of say $35 for the first month of product release to try and gain some traction.

[braincramp52]

After two more rounds I've come to the conclusion that this is a very good ball. As good as any premium ball made . If I had to play a ball in the $40-$50 dollar range it would be the Wilson Staff. But, it isn't any better ball for me than the Snell MTB-X. I'll be sticking with Snell.

[theedge27]

Okay so after a few rounds..my final thoughts. This ball is durable and long. Feels better than other "X" balls while being just as long. Spin around the green is a hair better than the FG Tour, which I thought was already great. The big feature is better distance off all clubs.

Wilson has a great product. The only problem I can see is getting people to try it.

[RobYakes]

Played another 18 with the Wilson Staff yesterday. Lost the ball on 17 tee (dead pull). Even having drilled a cart path on 4th tee, the ball was in great shape and didn't have to replace. I can't get enough of how this ball feels off the putter face. It's not as click-y as the X versions (TP5X, ProV1X) but still feels better than softer balls as I prefer a hard ball on the greens. Spin and distance are solid and the ball does exactly what I want it to.

[Jimmyray]

I agree with your take on the graphics...STAFF just a bit much. I would bump up the shield bug, reduce the font size on the number, and put STAFF MODEL in the alignment line, as you suggested. You're a low 2nd tier brand, regardless of performance, so might as well be different. My take on the price point..again, we know you want to play with the big boys, but even Tiger's brand has trouble cutting into Titliest/Cally market share. Drop that price point and get them in average players' bags so they can rave about the performance and durability on social media. I would bring them in just under $40 MSRP, run some specials at $34.95 (Q Star-ish) and get some traction.

[Starched]

it is higher compression. the DUO-U and Duo Professional are nice golf balls but very low compression and therefore slow ball speed, so although they spun really nice, they were fairly short off the tee (5 - 10 yards) compared to the Tour balls. I don't know what the compression of these are, but they are more of a "regular" type tour ball so over 90 compression. I loved the Duo for those cold winter days at the executive course. They spin like little demons. But I quit gaming them in regular tournaments in the summer they just kept coming up a little shorter than I wanted. Compression and ball speed is a linear relationship, the manufacturers try and tell you otherwise, but the MyGolfSPy ball test tells you everything you need to know. Soft is slow.......

[Optimus-Par]

Thanks. I need to kill some spin off of the tee, and usually the lower compression balls do that for me. I am okay with sacrificing some distance to drop the driver spin. Still interested in giving these a go, though.

[braincramp52]

I have to say after a few more rounds with this ball I'm impressed. Last night in league I hit my 20 degree Hybrid on a par 3 and the Wilson Staff ball actually backed up dang near 2 feet. The spin this ball creates off wedges saved me a couple strokes too. I shot a smooth 38 with a double on the first hole.

[Nels55]

I did a durability test on one ball hitting 1000+ shots mostly with my five iron. Here is a look at the five iron ball speed data that I managed to save, lol I did accidentally delete more then a few shots and I also did some shots on skills tests and with other clubs that I did not save data for which is why the graph shows 700 instead of 1000:

The last shot that I hit I reached back a little and smacked it pretty good getting 122 mph of ball speed:

I would say that the ball held up quite well and is still playable:

So I guess that this concludes my testing. I can say after playing and testing the Wilson Staff Model ball I like it a lot, it is very playable and quite durable.

 

[braincramp52]

Well, I'm still playing the Staff's I got from WRX and I'm going to make them my ball of choice. I don't go through that many balls in a season where cost is a factor. The spin,durability, and feel of this ball is everything I personally want from a ball. I have never used the line of a ball to line up putts at any time in the past. There's something about the size and the double line that looks so good to my eye. ProV1 and ProV1X players should at least give this ball a try if they like to experiment a little.

[Phireside]

I've been a big proponent of Wilson Staff balls since the 3pc Zip.

[Mr. Grumpy]

I was in GG and bumming around and thought, well crap, I can't leave with nothing, I should buy some balls. Oh the new Wilson Staff! Duo, Duo, Doh! I forgot they only sell online.

 

I did use the store's hand sanitizer tho...

 

PS - They are 10% off right now..

Edit: The 10% off is for customized text or number, and choose a 3 month subscription (what ever that means, I can't find out the info). The non personalized version is sold out..