Wilson Staff Model Irons: New Blades and CBs

With today’s launch of the two new Wilson Staff Model irons, I would like to, with your permission, pose a question.

Does anyone (clears throat) make a blade sexier than Wilson Staff?

And also with your permission, I’d like to offer a simple yet emphatic answer to my own question:

No.

Make no mistake, there are plenty of other-worldly gorgeous blades out there. And I mean you COBRA, Mizuno and Srixon in particular (and I am rapidly warming to the PING Blueprint). Neither you, I nor maybe even Jordan Spieth, however, should put them in our bags.

But we’d sure look badass rolling up to the first tee.

Right up until we had to hit them.

But all that nonsense aside, Wilson is launching two new extremely sexy Staff Model iron sets today that finally – finally – get the company’s blades and forged cavity-backs on the same page.

Please feel free to linger over the pictures as you read. Lord knows I have, to the point where my wife is starting to ask uncomfortable questions.

Wilson Staff Model Blades and CBs: A Family Affair

The new Wilson Staff Model blades and Staff Model CBs are made to be together through all kinds of weather. They’re meant to be a blended family.

“It’s like they’re brother and sister instead of second cousins,” says Wilson Pro Performance Equipment Manager Harry Nodwell (yes, dear reader, that Harry Nodwell). “If you want more workability in your scoring irons, you go with the blades. And if you need more stability and forgiveness at the other end of the bag, you go CBs.”

Sometimes blended sets go together and sometimes they don’t. Wilson has done a nice job of making the sets look like they belong together with common milling patterns on the back, similar shaping and the new look “naked” Wilson Staff crest in the same spot.

We’ll talk more about that one later.

The Trouble With Blades

Have you ever had one of those days, maybe at a demo day or during a fitting, where you’re just raking the ball? “Lemme try that blade,” you say. The fitter smirks, shrugs and sets you up and you … still rake.

That’s the day you think to yourself, “I could game these.”

Reality eventually sets in. But still, you wonder …

“This is one of the most forgiving blades on the market,” says Nodwell. “We’re moving weight as best we can. We have the Fluid Feel hosel which removes weight from the bottom of the hosel where it does no good. From there, we push it out towards the toe.”

Nearly nine out of every 10 golfers miss their irons on the toe. Well, with blade players the miss is toe-ish, but you get the idea. Since there’s little to no toe mass with blades, a toe-ish miss can lead to a massive hook. There’s just enough extra mass on the Wilson Staff Model blade to help the handsy player keep the face from slamming shut.

“You won’t over-turn the blade at impact,” Nodwell says. “The blade will tend to stay more open and mitigate the left miss. You can even hold the face open and hit some nice butter cuts if you really want to.”

OK, that’s where he lost me.

“It’s a very aspirational product,” he adds. “They look fantastic in your bag. You could play them if you’re consistent enough. They’re very forgiving.”

For a blade, that is.

Wilson Staff Model CBs

You can say what you want about Wilson Staff but its forged cavity-backs have been outstanding for at least the past decade-and-a-half. The 2010 Wilson FG Tour V2 cavity-back is one of the best performing player’s irons MyGolfSpy has ever tested. Its descendant, the FG Tour V6, was our top performer in 2017 testing. So, yeah, Wilson knows what it’s doing here.

There are echoes of both irons plus the 2021 Staff Model CB in this new club. It’s very much a simple forged cavity-back with some additional tungsten toe weighting in the long irons, plus the Fluid Feel hosel. There’s not much technology but, then again, it doesn’t need much.

“You can only do so much,” admits Nodwell. “Padraig Harrington put them in the bag last fall. He’s a hard one to please but he won two of his next four tournaments and finished top three in a third one.”

Where the set shines, however, is in its ability to blend into a combo set with the Wilson Staff Model blades. As mentioned, the Staff Model blades and CBs share enough DNA to pass, maybe not as identical twins, but at least fraternal ones. As we mentioned, the milling patterns and the shaping on both the muscle and in the cavity are consistent.

You will find the CB head to be a touch larger with a slightly thicker topline to accommodate the perimeter weighting. And it will have a touch more offset. Lofts, however, are identical so you won’t mess up club bounce by bending anything weak or strong to keep your gapping straight.

About That Shield

We mentioned this last week in our piece on the new Wilson Staff Model golf balls, but there’s something different about the Wilson Staff shield.

It’s missing the W and the S. The line that separated the two is still there but, other than that, it’s blank.

What gives?

“It’s a very sleek, premium new design,” says Nodwell. “The WS had our heritage and we understand people might not like that kind of change. But we think it’s much more modern, much more premium looking. This is where we’re going. This is going to be the new, historical, major-winning shield.”

As a traditionalist, I was not a fan of the new naked shield when I first saw it last month. But after gazing at it while writing the ball story along with this one I have to say it does grow on you.

And it’s not like Wilson is messing with a generations-old logo. The Wilson Staff shield first showed up in the late ‘50s on Wilson’s Dyna-Powered Staff Model clubs but it was kind of a squat-looking thing with two golf flags in the middle. The W/S shield showed up in 1960 and remained relatively unchanged until getting a font overhaul for Wilson’s 100^th anniversary in 2014.

After staring at it for a few weeks, you do grow to like the new look. It’s the shield, after all. And if you know, you know.

Wilson Staff Model Irons: Specs, Price and Availability

The new Wilson Staff Model irons are forged from 8620 carbon steel. While not a traditional 1020 or 1025 single-billet forging, Wilson does have the process down. The primary iron shape is cast and then drop-forged into its final shape. Wilson says this minimizes waste and still offers the soft forged feel golfers crave.

Both iron sets feature the same stock shaft: the True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid 115. True Temper says it’s a lighter-weight, mid-trajectory version of the classic Dynamic Gold with a stiffer midsection and a slightly softer tip for mid-launch and mid-spin.

The stock grip is the non-corded version of the Golf Pride Z.

The stock seven-piece set for each is 4-iron through pitching wedge. The Staff Model blades have optional 2- and 3-irons available. The Staff Model CBs offer optional 2- and 3-irons as well as a gap wedge. Those irons can be ordered through Wilson’s custom department.

Fitting will be key when choosing a blended set. Wilson’s innovative Wilson Fit AI artificial intelligence fitting system should be arriving at fitters and retailers within the next two weeks.

Each seven-piece set will retail for $1,199.99. No-upcharge and premium shaft and grip upgrades will be available via custom order.

The Wilson Staff Model blades and CBs are available for pre-sale starting today. They’ll hit retail on Jan. 24.

For more information, visit the Wilson Golf website.