Equipment

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

Published

7 years ago

Jan 9, 2017

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

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.

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

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).

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

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).

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

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.

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.

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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Related Topics:drivers fairways hybrids irons Wilson

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Andrew Tursky

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

Don

Sep 4, 2017 at 11:43 pm

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

Reply Report comment
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)?

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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.

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- 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
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
S Hitty

Jan 9, 2017 at 12:14 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk170vq2Fws

Reply Report comment
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

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

18 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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