Wilson Staff Blades - First Impressions

[shot-savior]

Bought my first set of Staff blades in 1977.  Played 3 versions of Staff for the next 20 years.  Then went to Titleist for another 20 plus years, with the 680 in play for the last 15 years. 

 

I looked at the CB's hard, but went with the MB's because...well, you know.  

 

This is the best looking club I've ever owned.

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by shot-savior

[rxk9fan]

On 3/23/2021 at 3:47 PM, brentenmanns said:

Picked up the Wilson Staff CBs on a whim on BST and they unseated my ZX7s in the bag. Thinking about picking the blades up too while I still can for a Wilson head-to-head matchup. Seems logical to me..

Curious in what you liked better about the Wilson vs ZX7?  I am totally disgusted with Srixon customer service and looking for alternatives.  Currently playing Z945's with ZX7's on order.  

[brentenmanns]

3 hours ago, rxk9fan said:

Curious in what you liked better about the Wilson vs ZX7?  I am totally disgusted with Srixon customer service and looking for alternatives.  Currently playing Z945's with ZX7's on order.  

I “felt” the ball more with the Wilsons.  The ZX7s are definitely smooth and forgiving but I almost felt too disconnected from the strike, if that makes any sense.  Kind of like I was swinging and making contact on autopilot.  Probably a personal preference thing, I guess I just like more of a harder strike in my irons.  

 

And I hear you on Srixon customer support. You can demo their drivers and woods for a minimal processing fee as long as you return them within X days. They sent the clubs with no email notification and no return label, all of which they say will accompany them.  To top it off, the order shows “still processing” on their system. I call about returning them and they say (1) oh it shows shipped on our end, (2) you can’t return without a RMA number, (3) it should’ve been emailed but here it is, and (4) good thing you called or we’d charge the full amount of the clubs for keeping over the demo time.  Yikes lol

 

 

[ColoradoMike]

On 3/22/2021 at 10:08 AM, shot-savior said:

It's correct to say that the Staff blades are not a true full bore through design.  Wilson has partially bored the bottom 3/4" of the hosel.  The shaft seats on the outer ridge of the "inner" bore.

 

Wilson has removed weight from the hosel; the plug is there to fill the void.

 

But, there are no issues in changing shafts.

 

 

Would you or anyone here by chance know the hosel depth of the CB's? The spec sheet doesn't have this info and I'm getting ready to re-shaft mine. I'm looking at a set of pulls from the 760's and there's a 1/4 difference in measurement. 

 

Thanks

[shot-savior]

ColoradoMike.  

 

On the MB's the hosel depth (shaft insertion depth) is 1-1/2".  I would venture to guess the depth on the CB's is the same (seems logical), but I don't know for sure.

[Joe40]

Is the W/S shield at the toe a stuck in badge or part of the forging?

[boggyman]

2 hours ago, Joe40 said:

Is the W/S shield at the toe a stuck in badge or part of the forging?

Part of forging. 

[Joe40]

4 minutes ago, boggyman said:

Part of forging. 

 Cheers

[mookio]

Man. These things are stunning

[boggyman]

37 minutes ago, mookio said:

Man. These things are stunning

Yessir they are indeed! 

[MTgolfer]

Yes they are

[Last Chance]

Pop's passed away 2 years ago (old age) and i inherited his clubs. I never played Golf but it was the old man's religion, and he was devout, so started hittin the range 3 days a week. His clubs were terrible fit, too short, too flexy, and wrong type so this March I started shopping.

 

Tried lots of improvement clubs like my old man's but couldn't hit any of them; they all feel like little tennis rackets, no center mass, can't feel them. Oddly, the only thing I can swing w/ confidence are MB's. Problem was all my research and the fitters I talked to all basically were saying the same thing - if you, a beginner, buys blades you'll hate yourself, hate golf, and quit within 6 months. The ones I liked most were the ping blueprints, but they were a bit too pricy a commitment for a novice to feel confident about buying. When I saw the wilsons were forged from the same steel at a better price I was sold. Problem was I live in Singapore, there were no wilsons blades I could test out within a 1,000 miles. I pulled the trigger anyway...

 

The whole experience is just marvellous from start to finish. It's softer and yet more powerful than the blueprint. I've read people talk about clubs being intuitive, you think/feel it and it happens, these are definitely that. When I look down it's like they command me to take them seriously, to give the moment its proper respect, which really helps me focus. And my god, what a feeling when it all comes together. Teeing up the 3 iron is for me the greatest pleasure, wish i knew more about golf so i could describe it better. It's... beautiful? Magnificent? Pure?

 

Maybe I'm an ignorant noob (true) and maybe all MB's are the same (don't know). All i know is I love these clubs, everything about them, the challenge, the moment of truth, the reward, and the honesty in failure that helps me learn. Put it this way, I'm now looking to buy a second home on a golf course.

 

Wilson Staff Blades: 10/10 Stars

[DallasSteve]

Very poetic, Last Chance.  You are exactly the kind of "new golfer" the sport needs!

[MountainKing]

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but in the blade realm, I think I'd take Wilson over Mizuno any day if I were a blade guy.  I have a set of older FG51's that I've never used, but they just look stunning, and their new offerings are pretty fantastic looking.   

 

I should note - this is like having to decide between a Ferrari and Lamborghini so people don't think I have an issue with Mizuno! 

Edited August 18, 2021 by MountainKing

[RobS]

On 8/18/2021 at 10:06 AM, MountainKing said:

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but in the blade realm, I think I'd take Wilson over Mizuno any day if I were a blade guy.  I have a set of older FG51's that I've never used, but they just look stunning, and their new offerings are pretty fantastic looking.   

 

I should note - this is like having to decide between a Ferrari and Lamborghini so people don't think I have an issue with Mizuno! 

I'm not sure how old you are but your comments should resonate with anyone approaching 50 and beyond.  Wilson has made some of the greatest forged blades and wedges in the history of the game.  I'm a couple decades removed from my blade days but the current Wilson blades look and feel great and would be at the top of my list.

[golfortennis]

Has anyone who has the Staff Model Blades been a previous Nike VR Pro blade user?  I think mine are starting to reach the end of life, and I hit the Wilson in the sim(along with Srixon blade and MP 20).  Wilson won out. 

 

Only difference I am noticing between the two, having felt the blades, is the leading edge of the Wilson looks to be a touch sharper than the Nike.  Has anyone noticed or had trouble with the Wilson digging in?  Just checking as I did not hit off real grass.     

[ancdmd]

Just got a like-new set of these Wilson blades and hit them once on the range so far.  I have a steep angle of attack and did not notice any digging at all.  As a matter of fact, I noticed less chunking than with my other irons, Mizuno JPX EZs from 2016.  I picked up the irons last night from having the shafts extended 3/4", so am anxious to hit em this weekend.

[Mox52]

Man this thread is making me want to pull my Wilson Staff Blades back out and play with them.  I ordered them when they first came out and they are butter soft.  Love the look of them, and I may switch out the shafts and give them another go.   Love the Blades, have the V6 and CB’s as well.  When you first get them, they are amazing.  A real work of art.  

Edited September 17, 2021 by Mox52

[wam78]

These are by far my favorite blades released in a few years.  They are not intimidating to hit and look and feel fantastic.  I had a set of the cb’s earlier in the season and they were very impressive as well.  Kind of miss them, honestly.  Just had the wrong shafts.

[toddba11]

I love these, also have the FG62s, but thinking about going to a game improvement (not getting younger at 58), or more of a  players iron, I will not be selling those though….

[boggyman]

I “want” another set!!!! 

[toddba11]

Just added a custom Wilson Staff Forged 52/8 with a Project X LZ 5.5 to my set of Staff blades today. 
 

[TiScape]

On 1/23/2020 at 5:37 AM, TigerInTheWoods said:

Got my custom order in yesterday. I did 4-PW with C Taper limited black in 125g S+ straight in. Unfortunately the only X stiff on the fitting cart was X100 so I had to take a guess and use the MP20 head to test the C Tapers. Hopefully Wilson gets this sorted out as it’s not ideal for those in this bracket of club.

Anyways we are snow covered here but we have a range with heated bays so I was able to test outdoors with a swing caddie for rough yardages. Ball speeds were very consistent and flight was exactly what I’d like to see. The clubs are as soft as my MP20 were with a bit more sizzle off the face. The long irons are very small but quite easy to hit. Only drop off if you put a properly terrible swing on it and nothing will save you then.

I found them very easy to work up and down or draw/fade. I struggle to fade irons but with these it feels like you just think the shot and it happens. Overall fantastic first impression and great build. I’d like to see these in a few more bags as they are criminally underrated. I will update this thread when I head to Florida on the 1st of Feb.

 

Gorgeous 

[Tupperwolf]

Damn... These blades are sexy.

[golfortennis]

Got my set Friday night, took them out today.  Coming from Nike VR Pro Blades.

 

First impressions:  seem quite light.  Had KBS Tour in the Nikes, have the DG 120 in these, so weight is the same there.  Not uncomfortable, just lighter.  Also, the launch angle seems to be much higher.  The ball just jumped up off the face.  Again, not a bad thing, just different.  The one spot of concern, if it should be one, is I struggled to work the ball.  Seemed to want to go straight off the club.  I'm sure that is just a matter of getting used to the clubs.  

 

When I could take dead aim at the flag, it felt like the ball would go nowhere else but the target.  

[Last Chance]

6 weeks, 9,604 miles later, my 2 iron arrived.

Game... On...

 

Edited October 13, 2021 by Last Chance

[Last Chance]

On 8/18/2021 at 9:39 AM, DallasSteve said:

Very poetic, Last Chance.  You are exactly the kind of "new golfer" the sport needs!

Thank you. Hope you still feel that way after accidentally I butcher your local course 😛

[Oh Hi Carl]

I just picked up the CBs on BST.  They are amazing, but I realize it's inevitable that I'll buy at least the short irons in the Staff Model Blades to complement them.  

[COmedic]

Just snagged a set of Wilson Staff Model Blades, 5-PW, with KBS Tour 120 shafts. Cannot state enough how much I love these irons. I have a set of Mizuno Pro 223’s that are on the bench while the affair continues. They are longer than other similar blades I’ve played before, and feel so sweet out of the middle with a lot of forgiveness, especially toe side. I also think they are the best looking blades ever, but that’s just to my eye.

[LowAndLeft32]

On 1/23/2020 at 7:37 AM, Tree Levino said:

Got my custom order in yesterday. I did 4-PW with C Taper limited black in 125g S+ straight in. Unfortunately the only X stiff on the fitting cart was X100 so I had to take a guess and use the MP20 head to test the C Tapers. Hopefully Wilson gets this sorted out as it’s not ideal for those in this bracket of club.

Anyways we are snow covered here but we have a range with heated bays so I was able to test outdoors with a swing caddie for rough yardages. Ball speeds were very consistent and flight was exactly what I’d like to see. The clubs are as soft as my MP20 were with a bit more sizzle off the face. The long irons are very small but quite easy to hit. Only drop off if you put a properly terrible swing on it and nothing will save you then.

I found them very easy to work up and down or draw/fade. I struggle to fade irons but with these it feels like you just think the shot and it happens. Overall fantastic first impression and great build. I’d like to see these in a few more bags as they are criminally underrated. I will update this thread when I head to Florida on the 1st of Feb.

 

TL,

 

are stiff gaming the W/S model blades? Or have you moved on? If moved on what are you playing now. Thanks 

Edited December 29, 2023 by LowAndLeft32