Will These Dynapower Drivers Make You Rethink Wilson?
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Will These Dynapower Drivers Make You Rethink Wilson?

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Will These Dynapower Drivers Make You Rethink Wilson?

If you want proof that Wilson is getting serious about drivers, you’ll need to count to three.

For the first time in recent memory, Wilson is launching a full, three-member family of drivers today under the DYNAPWR banner. Each driver is distinct, with each designed for a specific player type. If you’re Callaway, Titleist or TaylorMade, that previous sentence would yield a big yawn or maybe even a, “What, only three?”

However, a three-member driver family qualifies as a big deal for Wilson.

Wilson Dynapower drivers

“Everything here is about making our products better and making them more suitable for a broader range of players,” Wilson Golf Club Innovation Manager Jon Pergande tells MyGolfSpy,

Please understand Wilson isn’t breaking any new ground with its new drivers. Virtually every major OEM lineup has a standard, MAX and LS model. For much of its recent past, however, Wilson has been a one-trick pony with drivers, save for the special-edition Driver vs Driver models. With two drivers in 2023 and now with three this year, Wilson might finally be ready for center stage.

Wilson DYNAPWR drivers

Before we get too far into this article, I want to clarify something. Golf is becoming vowel-phobic and as someone who uses a keyboard for a living, typing DYNAPWR leads to typos and strained metacarpals and phalanges. Since we’re grownups here, DYNAPWR will be known as Dynapower, at least in the written word.

My fingers, hands and wrist bones and tendons thank you. (Editor’s Note: So does your editor.)

Back in 2023, Wilson launched two Dynapower drivers: the Carbon and the Titanium. As you can glean from the context, the Carbon featured a carbon fiber crown while the Titanium didn’t. It was all titanium construction. The Carbon was more ball speed/fade-focused while the Titanium was more forgiving and draw-focused.

The new 2025 family is somewhat similar while different enough to matter.

The new Dynapower Carbon is an updated and more forgiving version of the 2023 model which was a solid performer in MyGolfSpy testing. The Max is the higher-MOI descendant of the 2023 Titanium which was a so-so performer in MyGolfSpy testing.

The Dynapower LS is the newbie of the group.

“We made this driver so the better player won’t miss it left,” says Harry Nodwell, Wilson’s Pro Performance Equipment Manager. “It’s slightly fade-biased so that a golfer can whale on it without fear of going too far left.”

Why three drivers?

There’s a two-part answer to that question. First, it’s the way the market is going. Every major OEM has, at a bare minimum, a “standard” model, a forgiving “Max” model and a low-spinning “LS” model. Consider that the driver equivalent of jacks-or-better to open.

What makes three drivers even possible, however, is our good friend artificial intelligence.

Mocking AI as a gimmick is fun but short-sighted. AI not only makes three models possible, it makes three distinctly different models possible.

Wilson Dynapower LS driver

“AI is driven by our R&D guys,” says Nodwell. “It helps us fine-tune ball speeds and sound and it helps us make sure our drivers are in tune with the golfers who are going to be hitting them.”

The thing that makes AI work is its ability to go through tens of thousands of iterations quickly. The trick, however, is to make sure good old-fashioned human intelligence is in charge.

“There’s some art to what we’re doing, how we interpret that data and how to use the machines,” says Pergande. “It’s not that we press a button and AI magically spits out a golf club. Once we pinpoint the performance metrics we want we let the machine give us first crack at a final product.

Wilson Dynapower MAX driver

“We don’t have enough hours in a day to go through 20 or 30 prototypes. AI can get all that done ahead of time so we just have to deal with choices over a small, select number of specific designs that are performing at the highest level.”

Like other OEMs, Wilson then adds human testers to the equation to provide real golfer data. That info goes back into the AI machine to arrive at the final iterations.

Wilson Dynapower drivers: Carbon and Max

One of the things AI has done is eliminate the game-improvement driver category. You could say “Max” or high-MOI drivers can be considered game-improvement but you’d be selling them short.

“It’s amazing the number of skilled players and even Tour players who play high MOI, high-spinning drivers,” says Pergande. “Good players can control flight and if they want extra forgiveness, it gives them the freedom to go after it and swing as hard as they want.”

Wilson Dynapower Carbon drivers

In that respect, both the Dynapower Carbon and Dynapower Max fit the bill. The new Carbon is more forgiving than the old Carbon and the new Max is more forgiving than the old Dynapower Titanium.

The new Dynapower Carbon features a lower crown and flatter sole than its predecessor and players will find it more forgiving as well. It’s a 460cc head with swappable front and back weights. The stock setup is a three-gram weight in front and a nine-gram weight in the back for higher launch and spin and added MOI. Swapping the weights will lower launch, spin and MOI but will enhance potential ball speed. As the name suggests, the crown is carbon as well as a portion of the sole to create discretionary weight.

The Dynapower Max is the descendant of the 2023 Titanium model. As the name suggests, the Dynapower Max is the most forgiving of the new Wilson trio. It’s also 460 cc and is longer front-to-back and wider heel-to-toe compared to the 2023 Titanium and has only a single 19-gram weight in the back end. That weight is flippable to fine-tune left-to-right shot shaping.

Wilson Dynapower MAX drivers

Dynapower LS: Wilson beast mode

The Wilson Dynapower LS screams “better player.” At 445 cc, it’s slightly smaller than most of the other LS models released this year. It’s more streamlined than its stablemates with a raised skirt and a slightly more curved crown for better aerodynamics. While it is designed for better ball strikers, Wilson says it matches the 2023 Carbon in terms of forgiveness.

“We worked with our Tour players and advisory staff to find a head shape we were comfortable with,” says Pergande. “It has a slightly taller face than the others. It’s designed for players who are very good ball strikers who want low spin.”

While conventional wisdom suggests high swing speed players benefit most from LS drivers, our testing shows more moderate swing speed players can also enter beast mode with a low-spin driver.

“Sometimes people associate a slower swing speed with someone who isn’t as skilled as a high swing speed player,” Pergande explains. “But depending on what launch conditions and spin rates tell you, even with a slower swing speed if you hit up on the ball you can hit it a long way with the LS.”

Swappable sole weights are standard in LS drivers and the Wilson Dynapower LS is no different. The stock arrangement features a 12-gram weight up front and a six-gram weight in the back for the lowest spin and maximum ball speed. When the weights are swapped, it won’t be quite as low-spinning but launch and forgiveness will go up.

Forgiveness, fitting and ball speed

When OEMs talk about “more ball speed,” they aren’t talking about center strikes. Sure, small center-strike gains are possible as OEMs get closer to CT limits, but real gains are made over the rest of the face. That’s where AI shines, as it flattens the ball speed/forgiveness tradeoff. Wilson’s AI-designed PKR (Peak Kinetic Response) Face is its take on variable-face thickness to optimize ball speed no matter where you hit it.

“We break our face down into a whole bunch of different quadrants,” says Pergande. “We then run thousands of simulations and out comes ball speed performance increases across the face, with an emphasis on the heel and toe.”

While the Max is the most forgiving of the Wilson Dynapower family, it doesn’t reach that mythical 10K MOI number. Pergande says its overall MOI is well over 9,000 but the only way to reach the 10K level would be to make the head heavier which is something Wilson doesn’t want to do.

“We’ve locked in the head weight for each driver,” says Pergande. “The LS, Carbon and Max are all the same head weight. That way the golfer can first find the head that best suits them and then dial in the shaft that works best with the specific head.”

To that end, Wilson is adding a fourth option to the Dynapower lineup: a LITE version of both the Max and the Carbon. It’s a slightly shorter version with a lighter shaft and is replacing the traditional “women’s” model.

“We don’t care about gender,” says Nodwell. “We just care about swing speed and your type of swing. We’re not putting out specific men’s or women’s product, we’re just putting the right product into golfers’ hands and then fitting it from there.”

Wilson’s place in the driver world

None of what you see here is industry-defining but it is new for Wilson. The company has had some nice drivers over the past few decades but nothing needle-moving since John Daly’s Killer Whale. The new Wilson Dynapower drivers won’t give Callaway, Titleist or TaylorMade the heebie-jeebies. They are, however, another step in the right direction.

While the 2023 Titanium was a meh performer for MyGolfSpy, the Carbon was perhaps Wilson’s best-performing driver ever in our testing. It finished third overall for accuracy, eighth for distance and was in the top half of the 37-driver field for forgiveness. Additionally, both 2023 drivers were significantly better-sounding than previous Wilson drivers. That’s been a point of emphasis for the company.

“R&D runs sound and mass property iterations for three or four weeks at a time and get thousands of designs,” says Pergande. “We can talk about numbers and MOI and other things but, at the end of the day, someone is going to pick this club up and hit it. We want the experience to be the best it can be from sound, feel and what it looks like at address.”

Wilson isn’t the first company you think of when you think of drivers. I’m not sure if it’s even the fifth company you think of. The 2023 Dynapower Carbon, however, outperformed many entries from the bigger brands in our testing (the Titanium, not so much) which leads us to believe the 2025 Carbon should be on anyone’s must-demo list. Time will tell if the Max is an improvement over the Titanium. The LS, if history with other OEMs is any indication, could be a surprise.

As always, we’ll see.

Wilson Dynapower LS driver

Wilson Dynapower drivers: Specs, price and availability

The Wilson Dynapower LS driver comes in three lofts: eight, nine and 10.5 degrees (only the eight-degree is available for lefties). The True Temper Denali Black 60 in S- and X-flex is stock.

The Dynapower Carbon features the Fujikura Ventus Blue TR in R- and S-flex and comes in nine- and 10.5-degree models for lefties and righties. An eight-degree model is right-handed only.

The Dynapower Max comes stock with the UST LIN-Q M40 Red shaft an A-, R- and S-flexes. The nine- and 10.5-degree models are available for lefties and righties while the 12-degree option is right-handed only.

The Carbon and Max will be available in Wilson’s new LITE configuration. The 40-gram UST Helium NCT 4 shaft is standard. All three models feature a redesigned adjustable hosel. Loft can be adjusted in half-degree increments two degrees up or one degree down.

The Lamkin Crossline 360 is the stock grip across the line.

Wilson Dynapower LS driver

The Dynapower LS and Carbon drivers will retail for $549.99 while the Max will sell for $499.99.

The entire line of Wilson Dynapower drivers hits stores on Feb. 12.

For more information, visit the Wilson Golf website.

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John Barba

John Barba

John Barba

John is an aging, yet avid golfer, writer, 6-point-something handicapper living back home in New England after a 22-year exile in Minnesota. He loves telling stories, writing about golf and golf travel, and enjoys classic golf equipment. “The only thing a golfer needs is more daylight.” - BenHogan

John Barba

John Barba

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      Peejer

      1 week ago

      Wilson – please update your logo and hire some marketing people to come up with a better name than DYNAPOWER. That sounds like a Saturday morning kids show from the 70’s. Nothing inspiring or intriguing about that. Image matters…

      Reply

      HikingMike

      6 days ago

      I like the shield, now without the W/S in there. I especially like it on their golf balls. The “Wilson” logo is pretty iconic and long running by now, with reach across a LOT of different sports. So I don’t know about that one… maybe. Dynapower is a historic brand name for them so I’m on the fence about that, but I’d be ok changing that.

      Heads up, the Wilson Golf link at the bottom of the article is broken.

      Reply

      Tim

      1 week ago

      I play Wilson Staff irons and wedges from a few years ago. Not a fan of the empty shield on the new stuff. The bigger question is Wilson Golf’s new website. It is the worst of all the major manufacturers. Almost no specs on the clubs. It’s beyond generic. I’m a gear head and at least would like to know what loft that 7 iron is. You can do a lot better with the marketing Wilson.

      Reply

      Scott

      1 week ago

      Reply

      FakeRichGuy

      1 week ago

      Side note: I’m admittedly not familiar with the Killer Whale, but it seems like some companies could take a page out of that marketing book and have some fun.

      Reply

      Scott

      1 week ago

      I’ve been super excited for these since the images leaked in the fall, but two items have stifled my mood a bit:

      1) 2 of 3 models are fade biased. Most golfers miss right, so why would they make drivers that favor everyone’s miss?

      2) Unless testing (online and anecdotal) lights the golf world on fire, I don’t think that many golfers are going to pull the trigger on a $499-549 driver from Wilson except Wilson Staff fans. Average Joe and Jill will pay $250-300 for a 2 year old Stealth 2. I think the $349-400 pricing of the 2023 model (and this year’s entries from Cleveland and Sub 70) are more likely to get more to pull the trigger and move stock. Otherwise you have another Cortex that is deeply discounted a year later.

      Reply

      OpMan

      1 week ago

      How are they fade biased? They’re Neutral, you mean? Because there’s no models with a weight in the heel? Here the weights are in the middle, front to back, with an adjustable hosel. So adjust it! LOL

      Reply

      Scott

      1 week ago

      Read the article, chief. Wilson says it themselves.

      OpMan

      1 week ago

      Oh geez, so it’s 1 degree flat at standard than others LMAO

      FakeRichGuy

      1 week ago

      Agreed on the price. The new Tour Edge drivers are $400, as well. I don’t think the name carries the that clout.

      Reply

      bob

      6 days ago

      I am with you on the Tour Edge making a really good driver for a great price but Wilson is doing something different here. Wilson has made the investment on R&D, tech, materials, etc. and come up with a driver that rivals and will outperform what TaylorMade, PING, Callaway, etc. are making. Those companies are in the $600 to $700 range. Wilson coming in at $549 for this new lineup that is every bit as good merits that price. They are making a move here and if the name and logo will dissuade people from buying then that is not Wilson’s fault. The company is making a big move here and the price is fair, seems totally appropriate for a company that makes excellent clubs to charge these prices. I think the word will spread and people will start to abandon the huge club makers who are just price jacking because people will pay it.

      KOG

      1 week ago

      The 2023 Carbon Driver is what Im gaming and you can get a new one for under $200 new currently online. That’s a great deal. Ill probably wait 2 years and get this one for around the same. These look outstanding as do the headcovers. I agree with the Logo of Wilson comments here (I associate this Font with Tennis, they need a Golf related logo) but I always loved the Wilson Staff badge design. Stick with the Wilson Staff Badge with the simple font and theyre golden.

      Reply

      HikingMike

      6 days ago

      “2023 Carbon Driver is what Im gaming and you can get a new one for under $200 new currently online”
      Awesome. Any other comments on how it plays for you?

      “I agree with the Logo of Wilson comments here (I associate this Font with Tennis, they need a Golf related logo)”
      Same

      “but I always loved the Wilson Staff badge design”
      Same

      Hmmm 🤔 so maybe I’ll have to give these a test and then wait a year or two if they play well. There is a new golf store near me that carries Wilson too, nice!

      KOG

      6 days ago

      The 2023 Carbon is a great driver and Ive never hit straighter shots its the first time I really noticed a significant improvment swapping driver heads. Its neutral so no draw bias and I gained 7 yards avg from my Exotics EXS Pro driver and 12 yards avg from my Ping 425 Max. The EXS pro put up some of the highest balls speed numbers tested here. As long as any current driver when hit well and pretty forgiving but less forgiving than the Ping 425 max I played for a year before going back to the exotics, now WS Carbon. All with same Diamana zf shaft. For $200, its the best deal.

      KOG

      6 days ago

      I like how they branded the WIlson Staff putter line. Just the logo and STAFF in a thin font. Much cleaner

      Chad

      1 week ago

      Well, the Ventus TR runs $350, so there’s that.

      Reply

      Ben

      7 days ago

      So pretty sure that’s the made for. It’s a 50g TR. The LS comes with a Denali which isn’t a more stable than the Tr with Velocore. Second what someone else said in the thread. The website is bad and price point is off. They should have followed the Mizuno and Cobra playbook – offer exceptional value and then slowly increase price. How they’ve handled the irons is the way.

      KOG

      6 days ago

      Probably the same made-for Ventus Tr golfworks sells for $50 that were made for TM just made for wilson. Not Velocore

      JRDuck40

      1 week ago

      Overall with the brand, they ARE on their way back to relevance. The one nit picky thing that bothers the heck out of me is their logo. Yes, it’s their “brand” but something needs to be updated to it IMO.

      Other than that, the drivers look great. Their irons are phenomenal. The one thing that I love that they’re doing is their putter line up. They really have their stuff together as of late. Hope they keep the momentum going. I’ll most likely pickup the new 8808 blade for my bag sometime in 2025. Good stuff!

      Reply

      Eddie

      1 week ago

      Are these Wilson head designs from former employee Harry ?
      You all remember Harry 🤔😤

      Reply

      John Barba

      1 week ago

      Harry is impossible to forget!

      Reply

      Alex

      1 week ago

      Shouldn’t you mention (or add an edit) his former relationship to MGS?

      John Barba

      1 week ago

      We did in the first go-round of articles after Harry first left. He’s been gone three years now, so…no.

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