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The New Look of Speed: Wilson D300 drivers, woods, hybrids and irons

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7 years ago

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Wilson’s new line of D300 products certainly don’t suffer from a lack of visible technology. The super game-improvement clubs use slots around the perimeter of the irons, as well as “Micro Vortex Generators” on the crowns of the metal woods to improve performance.

The D300 drivers ($349.99), fairway woods ($219.99), hybrids ($199.99) and irons ($799 steel, $899 graphite) will be in stores starting on January 23. Learn more about what they can mean for your game below.

D300 Driver

D300_DRIVER_ADJUSTABILITY_01

The goal for most golfers purchasing a new driver is to hit the golf ball farther, and to do that more speed needs to be created. That’s Wilson’s goal with its new D300 driver; to create more speed.

To accomplish its goal, Wilson added steps across the crown — the company calls them “Micro Vortex Generators” — to reduce the effect of drag on the club head. That means as the golf club travels through space, especially during the downswing as the club nears impact, airflow remains closer to the crown making the D300 drivers more aerodynamic. The result is more swing speed than their predecessors, Wilson’s D200 drivers, all other things being equal. Wilson says golfers can expect about 1-2 mph more club head speed from the new drivers.

D300_DRIVER_ADDRESS

The D300 also incorporates the company’s “Right Light technology,” which uses weight saving tactics to make it “one of the lightest and fastest adjustable drivers on the market,” according to Wilson. The driver also has an interchangeable sole weight to allow golfers to dial in swing weight. The drivers are built for retain with a 2-gram weight, but 10- and 12-gram weights are available through custom.

“Innovation is at the core of all we do and elevating distance is something we take seriously,” said Michael Vrska, Global innovation Director of Wilson Golf. “Micro Vortex Generators and Right Light are technologies that players can see and feel, but most importantly, the speed and distance benefits will be obvious from the first swing.”

The drivers also have Wilson’s “Fast Fit” technology, an adjustable hosel that will help golfers dial in loft and lie angle. The drivers can be adjusted between three loft settings — 1-degree strong, standard and 1-degree weak — and each setting can be paired with a neutral or draw setting lie angle setting.

Wilson’s D300 will come stock with Golf Pride Tour 25 grips, a 44-gram Matrix Speed Rulz A Type shaft (A, R and S flexes) in 9, 10.5 and 13-degree heads (10.5 only for lefties).

D300 Fairway Woods

D300_FAIRWAY_HERO

Like the D300 driver, the fairway woods also have Micro Vortex Generators on their crowns for less drag, and use Right Light technology — making the heads lighter, and thus, faster for most players — to produce more swing speed and ultimately more ball speed.

The faces of the fairway woods are made with Carpenter Custom 455 maraging steel inserts that the company says will maximize distance due to their thin design, producing a hot face with high CT (“characteristic time,” a measurement of energy transfer).

D300_FAIRWAY_TOE

Wilson’s D300 fairway woods come stock with Golf Pride Tour 25 grips, a 49-gram Matrix Speed Rulz A Type shaft (A, R, and S flexes), in 15-degree, 18-degree and 21-degree heads (15- and 18-degrees for lefties).

D300 Hybrid

D300_HYBRID_HERO

The D300 hybrids have a “progressive” head design, which gives lower-lofted heads a larger head profile that makes them more forgiving on the longer shots that they’re designed to hit. The hybrids become smaller and more iron-like throughout their wide range of lofts (17, 19, 22, 25, 28 and 31 for righties; 19, 22 and 25 for lefties).

D300_HYBRID_ADDRESS

They also use Wilson’s Micro Vortex Generators on their crown, as well as the same Carpenter Custom 455 maraging steel face inserts used in the D300 fairway woods to boost their ball speeds on shots contacted across the face. They come stock with Golf Pride Tour 25 grips and a 54-gram Matrix Speed Rulz A Type shaft, and are available individually for $199.99 each.

D300 Irons

D300_IRON_2CLUB

Last January Wilson released its C200, which debuted a radical new technology. It was called “FLX Face,” and used used multiple “power holes” that were situated around the perimeter of the iron face to increase face flexion and provide golfers more distance and forgiveness.

With the D300 irons FLX Face returns, and its power holes are now bigger. According to Wilson, the new design frees 76 percent of the face from the body, paving the way for more face flexibility and ultimately more ball speed for the golfer. The improvement will be beneficial on center strikes, but most noticeably on off-center hits, Wilson says.

D300_IRON_ADDRESS

As with their predecessors, the power holes are filled with TE031 Urethane to help the face recover faster at impact, creating more speed, better sound and better durability. The heads themselves are cast from 17-4 stainless steel.

The irons also have increased heel-toe weighting seen with weight pods on both sides of their soles to increase MOI (moment of inertia), a measure of forgiveness.

D300_IRON_BACK

Wilson’s D300 irons (4-PW and GW) will come stock with the company’s Tour Traction grips and the following two shafts options:

  • Steel ($799): KBS Tour 80 steel (R and S flexes)
  • Graphite ($899): Matrix Speed Rulz A Type (A, R, S flexes)
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He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

10 Comments

10 Comments

  1. Don

    Sep 4, 2017 at 11:43 pm

    I clicked accidentally, didn’t mean to report comment! Sorry!

    Reply Report comment

  2. Andrew S

    Jan 9, 2017 at 5:46 pm

    I love my Wilson D100 Driver, these are likely good. But, $349 for a Wilson driver, seriously (lol)?

    Reply Report comment

  3. Mike Honcho

    Jan 9, 2017 at 3:57 pm

    How has Wilson survived? Like Nike, I’ve never played a single round golf where someone in my group had even one Wilson club in the bag.

    Reply Report comment

    • tlmck1234

      Jan 10, 2017 at 7:14 am

      Wilson’s heyday was in the 80’s and 90’s when they were in just about everybody’s bag, including tour pros. Their 80’s Staff blades were some of the best ever made, and even their department store full sets were a cut above the rest. I learned with cheap Blue Ridge blades and laminated maple woods, went briefly to WS2000(similar to original Ping Eye), and then to Staff blades. In the mid nineties or so, I started building my own mostly.

      Reply Report comment

      • Dave R

        Feb 4, 2017 at 11:56 am

        t; I am late-60s age and a 9-HCP on links layout. I played WS Ci7 irons until last week. Wilson Staff clubs and especially their irons are invariably excellent and built to very high standards. My second last full shot with my Ci7 irons produced a hole-in-one but I have decided to replace them with…. the new Wilson Staff Tour FG V6 irons.

        From long experience with Callaway, Taylormade and other manufacturers of fine products IMO Wilson Staff products ( especially irons ) are well worth a try for any serious golfer. No affiliation of any sort to any company of course.

        Reply Report comment

      • Tommy

        Oct 4, 2018 at 10:38 am

        I also learned with a half set of Wilson Blue Ridges. Wow, did those things suck. I would love to hold one in my hands today just to remember how and why they were so hard to hit well. This was around 1966.

        Reply Report comment

  4. robin

    Jan 9, 2017 at 12:59 pm

    Steve you are so right about it’s a right handed world.
    I’m am left and right player. I hit right handed and puts left.
    I wish I hit left handed because the prices on eBay are great for left handed players…

    Reply Report comment

  6. SV

    Jan 9, 2017 at 8:37 am

    Based on the shafts and the description “making the heads lighter”, I wonder about the feel. Is it like swinging a shaft without a head? Also, as a lefty I really appreciate the lack of choice Wilson has given me (a lot of other manufacturers are the same).

    Reply Report comment

    • Steve S

      Jan 9, 2017 at 12:24 pm

      As a lefty you should know that small guys(yes Wilson is a small guy in golf) can’t afford to tool for LH players since they are such a small part of the golfing community. My son is a left handed hitter in baseball but learned to play golf right handed because of the lack of club options. Unfortunately for all left handers it is a right handed world and you have to live in it….

      On the plus side if you go on ebay and look for left handed clubs they tend to be 20-50% cheaper than right handed versions.

      Reply Report comment

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made

Published

15 hours ago

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Apr 18, 2024

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made.

From the seller: (@DLong72): “Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made. ?: $1150. ?? 100% milled collectors item from the limited releases commemorating when Ping putters won every major in 1988 (88 putters made). This was the model Seve Ballesteros used to win the 1988 Open Championship. Condition is brand new, never gamed, everything is in the original packaging as it came. Putter features the iconic sound slot.

Specs/ Additional Details

-100% Milled, Aluminum/Bronze Alloy (310g)

-Original Anser Design

-PING PP58 Grip

-Putter is built to standard specs.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Equipment

Inside Collin Morikawa’s recent golf ball, driver, 3-wood, and “Proto” iron changes

Published

15 hours ago

on

Apr 18, 2024

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As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.

The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.

On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.

Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.

At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.

“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.

Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.

“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.

“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.” 

In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.

On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.

According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.

“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.” 

See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here. 

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Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage

Published

2 days ago

on

Apr 17, 2024

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Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.

It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.

When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”

“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”

 

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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.

Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:

“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.

“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.

“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.

“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.

“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”

So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.

His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.

See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here

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