REVIEW: Wilson Staff D9 Driver

The Surprise Driver of '21

Wilson made a splash with their Driver vs. Driver reality TV show; but unfortunately the actual driver created by amateurs didn’t stand up against the competition. It was cool concept and I loved the format, but between the conforming issues and performance issues, Wilson hasn’t really had a competitive driver on the market for a while. The Wilson Staff D9 Driver doesn’t look like anything special at first glance, but this driver surprised me. Simplicity paired with technology might just be the key to D9namite drives with club. Call me surprised and impressed with the new Wilson Staff D9 Driver. Read more to see why…

The Wilson Staff D9 Driver is all about the face. This really seems to be the area for all companies to take computer models and AI technology and push the limits of what a driver face can do. Wilson calls it “Peak Kinetic Response Face optimizes both forgiveness and ball speed.” Their claim is that they used computer models to divide up the face into multiple “hit” zones and optimize each zone for what happens at impact as different zones require variations on the face thickness to account for off-center hits. All that is to say this face it HOT and Forgiving.

The Wilson Staff D9 Driver doesn’t look fancy, it actually is one of the plainest looking drivers for 2021. It has a single rear weight and a composite crown. There is no adjustable hosel, there are not colored bars, there are not interchangeable or sliding weights, just a sleek sole and clean crown. The 3 layer composite crown does show off some of its fibers. The [K]COMPOSITE CROWN has Kevlar in it which is incredibly lightweight, but amazingly strong which helps for strength and weight distribution. So the weight is low and back for easy launch and plenty of forgiveness.

The Wilson Staff D9 is a bomber on the course. It call it sneaky long because it feels pretty effortless to swing, it has a very pleasant muted thwack and the ball hops off the face nicely. It is when you walk up to find your ball and see it further up than you expected. This happened more than once. There are certainly holes that if you play them enough times you have a “zone” that expect to find your ball in. You sometimes even know the next club you are going to hit, but when you walk it a little further than normal and little a club less than normal you take note. It was surprised by the number of times I cracked 300 yards with this driver. It didn’t necessarily feel like a 300 yard swing, but the ball just kept flying and rolling.

The Wilson Staff D9 Driver certainly came to compete in 2021. Taking a page out of their Chicago neighbors playbook, they are selling the D9 for $350. That is almost $200 less than most new drivers in 2021. When it comes to bang for the buck, you won’t find a better deal in golf right now. This driver came to play with a Mitsubishi Tensei Blue shaft stock which offers a smooth mid launch that really feels stable thru impact. It isn’t the lowest spin, but certainly lower spin than I expected. It is playing 45.625″ long which is kind of the new norm for driver length, but I didn’t find issues with the additional 2/3″ over a stock 45″. I think the D3 swing weight keeps the club very balanced feeling too. The 9.0* face offers solid launch with low spin.

Flightscope Xi Tour Launch Monitor

Wilson Staff D9 Driver
Spin: 2011 rpms
Launch Angle: 14.2*
Dispersion: 6.1 yds
Club Head Speed: 106.2 mph
Ball Speed: 155.3 mph
Total Distance: 290.7 yds
Carry Distance: 267.8 yds

The Wilson Staff D9 Driver is D9namite! It is the surprise driver of 2021. While other companies push all the bells and whistles and higher price points, Wilson created a simple performance driver. It can certainly compete with the “big boys” and the face tech is legit. I am impressed with how easy it swings and creates huge drives. It might not be the 1st driver you think of when you go in for a fitting, but it is entirely possibly you might walk out with a Wilson Staff D9 driver and a couple extra hundreds dollar bills still in your pocket.

Check the price online here

For more information: www.wilson.com/en-us/golf/drivers/staff-d9-driver

Quick Hits:
+Peak Kinetic Response Face
+[K]Composite Crown
+LONG
+Easy to swing
+Simple
+Forgiving
+Nice right off the rack

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