Wilson D9 Forged Irons: A Worthy Follow Up?

Wilson D9 Forged Irons – Key Takeaways

• Update to the 2020 MGS Most Wanted Player’s Distance iron
• Updated looks, AI-generated thin forged face, lower CG
• $1,099.99 steel, $1,149.99 graphite
• Available April 4

Before we dig too deeply into the new Wilson D9 Forged irons, I need to say something. I know at MyGolfSpy our aim is to be both dispassionate and #datacratic. We’ve repeatedly said, and the data repeatedly proves, that looks and feel matter neither a jot nor a tittle when it comes to performance. Many folks don’t like hearing that but it’s the simple truth.

So, with all that plainly stated, I need to get this off my chest or my fingers simply won’t cooperate in writing the rest of this Wilson D9 Forged story:

Sweet leapin’ Moses! These are some sexy irons!

There. I feel better now.

Visually, the new Wilson D9 Forged irons are more than worthy successors to MyGolfSpy’s 2020 Most Wanted Player’s Distance iron, the D7 Forged. Obviously, Wilson has made cosmetic changes but as we’ll see it’s the tech updates that should put the D9 Forged on your must-demo list this spring.

Wilson D9 Forged Irons: Following A Tough Act

The player’s distance iron category is aimed squarely at two types of golfers. First is the emerging, improving player who’s growing out of their game-improvement irons. They still crave distance but may not have the game for forged cavity-backs just yet. Second is the better player whose prime playing days are getting smaller in the rearview mirror. They’re ready for a little more help but “shovels” are simply out of the question.

“That player has an expectation of what a golf club is supposed to look like sitting behind the ball,” says Wilson Golf Club Innovation Manager Jon Pergande. “They just want a little more distance and a little more forgiveness than blades and cavity-backs can provide.”

Two years ago, the Wilson D7 Forged surprised the field by being named our Most Wanted Player’s Distance iron. It finished first overall in Strokes Gained, had the best performing short irons and our test group loved the feel.

It was not, however, among the most forgiving irons in the test.

“If there was anything people said about the D7 Forged, it’s that the long irons were the most challenging,” says Pergande. “The D9 Forged puts a big emphasis on lowering the center of gravity and getting the maximum responsiveness out of the face.”

Designed From the Top Down

When designing an iron, the common practice is to decide what performance attributes you’re looking for and then design from there. Usually, that starts with the thinnest possible face and the greatest possible face flex. But when designing the D9 Forged for the better, or even emerging, player, Pergande says Wilson took the opposite approach.

“We have a head shape we’re targeting along with a topline width, sole width and overall head size,” he explains. “We’re putting a heavy premium on the aesthetic and then seeing how much performance we can bake into it.”

Aesthetically, even the most cynical observer can say the Wilson D9 Forged checks off damned near all of the boxes. The trend we’re seeing across all categories is less color, simpler lines and a cleaner overall look.

“Sometimes simpler is better,” says Pergande. “Starting with our Staff Model blades, it’s been about finding clean, purposeful, simple lines that work well together. Stylistically, I’d say the D9 Forged irons are closer to our Staff Model CB irons than they are to our D9 game-improvement irons.”

That simpler is better mantra is even extending to Wilson’s most polarizing technology. What, you may ask, has happened to the Power Holes?

Fixing a Hole

Wilson introduced Power Hole technology in 2016 with its C200 distance irons. Power Holes were part of what Wilson called Face FLX technology. They separated the iron’s face from its body to create more face flex which in turn translated into ball speed.

The problem with the C200 and its subsequent iterations was there were an awful lot of power holes, all the way around the clubface.

“Early on, Power Holes were just a brute-force way to design the most forgiving and flexible face possible,” admits Pergande. “We had Power Holes all around the face and one thing we noticed is we wound up with an artificially wider topline than we would have wanted.”

As Wilson moved more into computer-driven AI design, Power Holes became sleeker and fewer.

“With our simulation capabilities, the computer will tell you how wide the Power Holes need to be to get the best responsiveness in the face and where they need to be positioned,” says Pergande. “What we have with the D9 Forged is a very refined, non-symmetrical Power Hole pattern. The heel side is bigger than the toe side to provide maximum response over the face.”

Compared to its predecessor, the D9 Forged Power Holes are longer, thinner and fewer. And, most notably, they stop with the 7-iron. The 8-iron through gap wedge have no Power Holes.

“We’re focusing on the clubs that matter the most for distance,” says Pergande. “We do need to win the battle in the simulator so we still need to bake as much distance in there as we can. We stop at the 8-iron because the premium there is distance control and accuracy as opposed to pure distance.”

Lowering the CG, Improving the Feel

As mentioned, one of Wilson’s key goals for D9 Forged was to lower the CG. Not only will that boost forgiveness but it will also increase launch angle and peak height while creating a steeper descent angle—an important and underrated metric when it comes to holding a green.

“The higher you hit it, the steeper it comes down,” says Pergande. “The other part is spin rate so you just try to find a good balance.”

Thinner, sleeker Power Holes are a major contributor to lowering the CG. If you compare sole profiles of the D7 Forged and the D9 Forged, it’s obvious the smaller Power Holes take up less real estate in the sole, meaning there’s more mass in the sole. Pergande says overall there’s less urethane in the D9 Forged cavity and that’s also been replaced by mass, which lowers the CG even more.

“We do still have urethane in there, in contact with the back of the face,” he explains. “All you need is a little bit. It allows for the face to flex and it reduces vibration to improve feel.”

Unlike other multi-piece “forged” irons, the part of the D9 Forged that actually hits the ball—the face—is the part that’s forged. Technically, it’s 8620 carbon steel that’s cast into its rough shape and then drop-forged into its final shape. Purists may say that’s not real forging but it’s the way Wilson has been making its forged irons for years.

You won’t find any tungsten in the D9 Forged. There’s simply no room for both tungsten weighting and the structure needed to hold the tungsten.

“In order to put tungsten into this club we would have actually had to raise the center of gravity to create a structure,” says Pergande.

Technology Versus Spec-ology

The Wilson D9 Forged loft structure is pretty much in line with others in the player’s distance category. The 7-iron comes in at 30.5 degrees, the same as the Callaway APEX 21 and TaylorMade P790, and up to 1.5 degrees weaker than the COBRA King Forged Tec and Mizuno JPX 921 Hot Metal Pro.

“I’ve lived through a bunch of irons designs over the years,” says Pergande. “I remember the first arms race back in the middle ’90s. Clubs were getting long and it became a loft game. Back then we were fitting off of 27- or 28-degree 5-irons. Today those same clubs are now 7-irons.”

But the thing about these new 7-irons is there’s enough technology—in terms of face flexing and low CG—to make them fly like you’d want a 7-iron to fly, not like a 5-iron.

“We can give you a bunch of distance with loft but it comes down to being playable,” Pergande says. “We’ve seen clubs that have gone pure spec-ology and fail because, if you’re hitting a 7-iron and it doesn’t meet your expectations of launch angle or descent angle, it’s never going to work.”

Wilson D9 Forged Irons: Specs, Price and Availability

The new Wilson D9 Forged irons will be available in both left- and right-handed models in a standard seven-piece set (5-iron through gap wedge). Optional 3- and 4-irons are available for both lefties and righties through Wilson’s custom department.

Wilson is making an interesting choice with the Dynamic Gold 95 and 105 VSS as the stock steel shaft. According to True Temper, is the lightest and most flexible Dynamic Gold shaft. VSS stands for Vibration Softening System which is an insert that reduces up to 71 percent of unwanted shaft vibration. The 95-gram option is regular flex while the 105-gram option is stiff.

Pergande also says Wilson will also be making D9 Forged available with the new KBS Tour Lite shaft. According to the KBS website, the Tour Lite is also a higher-trajectory, higher-spinning lightweight version of the popular KBS Tour, in 95-, 100- and 105-gram options.

“With the success the golf industry is having, there’s a capacity restraint on steel shafts,” says Pergande. “It’s hard for suppliers to ramp up new capacity. The first ones you’ll see are the DG’s, then you’ll see the KBS.”

The 75-gram Recoil Dart will be the stock graphite shaft and the Wilson-branded Lamkin Crossline is the stock grip. Upcharge and no-upcharge options will be available through Wilson’s custom department.

The Wilson Forged D9 irons will retail for $1,049.99 in stock steel and $1,149.99 in stock graphite. They’ll be available starting April 4.

For more information, visit Wilson.com.