golfrewind.com

Just looking up the latest Wilson Di7 Distance iron on the Wilson website. It was going on about how long they were. It said 'not just a few yards longer, we're talking a whole club'. Oooh, I wonder what amazing new technology they've come up with to do that?' I thought. 'Surely they haven't lowered the lofts even more, surely 44* PW's is silly enough'.

But no, check the specs. 43* pitchng wedges. That is not a pitching wedge, it's an 8.5 iron. I bought Innovex irons mainly because of the sensible lofts. A 48* pitching wedge means I only need to carry a 53 and a 58 to give me good gaps. These people would have you carry five wedges, including the PW. My 9 iron has more loft than their pitching wedge, so it's no surprise that they're a club longer.

The stupid thing is, people will fall for this rubbish. They'll go try them out on a range and say 'wow, these are so much longer, I have to have them, they make me good'. Sad but true.

My dad has Di5's, and they're a nice club. He likes the fact that he's taking the same iron as me for the same distances, playing his PW when I'm playing mine. But I know that in reality I'm a club longer. And I know that I'm better off when we get to a distance that's somewhere in between his 44* PW and his 55* SW. He has an 11* gap between those two clubs. Madness.

Of course, it's not just Wilson, this is an industry wide trend.

I really think it's gone beyond a joke. The reaally annoying thing for me is that the only way to get a set with proper lofts is to buy a players club, but I'm a 22 handicapper, and need some forgiveness. Thank goodness I found Innovex, but even their latest model has delofted to a 46* PW.

I guess we all just have to drop our 4 irons and start carrying A wedges, as well as our gap, sand, and lobs.

I know what you mean, my Taylor Made R7's that I just bought have a 45* PW. I opted to ditch the 3 iron and got the 50*AW. Along with these, I have a 54* and a 60* wedge which gives me a pretty good range, no more than 6* between clubs.

Calm down, this is far from madness.

Who cares if a brand is strengthing lofts. If you don't like it, tough. Just don't buy that line of clubs.

The fact is fooling customers into thinking they are longer is actually giving the player more confidence. This brings more customers to Wilson and helps them maximize profits.

Players who buy these clubs are only out to have fun anyways. Clearly if a weaker, poorer golfer can bomb their PW past your 9 iron, that makes the game abit funner. When you get all angry about it, that also makes the game funner.

I think you just need to play your game, and not bother with what other people are doing.

It is really sad that Wilson, once one of the great names in golf equipment, has fallen to these levels. The whole golf industry for that matter is really based on three things; emotion, ego and marketing. Those are the elements that sell golf equipment. And the sad thing is that every year, at demo days around the country, golfers fall into the hypnotic trance of the equipment manufacturers.

"Let's see, I haven't picked up a golf club for 4 months over the winter, but now I can hit a PW 160 yards? I've got to get some of these. $800? No problem. $90 more for a new 47 degree gap-gap wedge, gotta have that too"

For comparison, my 1965 and 1971 Wilson pitching wedges are 51 degrees!

What is really fun is playing an old, steel shafted, persimmon driver and hitting it past my playing partners' $700 R7's and Nike SQ's. It's amazing what a 30 year old club can do when it is lengthened to 45 inches.

The Wilson Staff Pi5's, and Fi5's have 47º PW's.

It's just the game improvement irons that have the stronger lofts.( Ci6, Di7,)

Di6 has 44º on the PW.

No need to bash Wilson Staff as a whole here. Just the game improvement irons!.

You see this with most companies at this day and age, though. GE irons have juiced lofts.

You're missing my point completely. I don't care if someone elses PW is longer than mine. I couldn't give a stuff if someone else has a 43* PW. The issue is that if all all the game improvement clubs are heading in this direction, I am forced into playing the 'how many wedges can I fit in my bag' game. I'm happy with my Innovex irons for now, but what happens if I want to update? I am not good enough to use some kind of blade set with normal lofts.

My point is that it's getting very hard to find new game improvement clubs with sensible lofts. And it's not like you can just take out the 4 iron, because they haven't changed the lofts up that end. The latest Cobra irons have a 44* PW, but still a 20* 3 iron. There is then only 2.5* between the 3 and the 4. Absurd. So there's too much gap where you need less gap, and not enough where you need more.

It's mindless to say 'just don't buy that set'. That would be the case if this was the only set like this. The problem is it's a trend. They're all doing it. I guess I just have to get better so that I can use players clubs with normal lofts.

It's not just about me either, there must be other people who need game improvement clubs but want sensible lofts. Irons aren't all about distance. If you want more distance from your PW, just take 9 iron!

The 43.1 is on the way. and the 99.5 and the 48 / (pi)r2 and the 2001 a Space Wedgie

But Wait! There's More!! It's the Lazer Tee!! http://www.dwquailgolf.com/training/laser_tee.html

Don't Break a Sweat Worrying about Where Your Ball is Going!

Along with Your 43° Pitching Wedge, You Can Line Up to the Ball With Total Ease!

300 Yard Pitching Wedge Drives ? No-o-o-o Problem!

Let US Play Golf for You! We'll Do The Worrying! You'll Break Par Every Time!




Oh brother..................................

Get free laser tees with the new laser putter. Order now!

Yes, there really is a laser putter.

Distance sells. That's all the average amateur cares about. Doesn't matter where the ball goes or ends up at, just matters that you hit a PW 160 yards so they can say "Did ya see that" to their playing partners.

Saw the ad for the putter on TGC a couple of days ago. Couldn't believe it. They never told you how much it is, just say 'payments as low as....'. Not that I'd want one, though!

yea i think they do it to strengthen your distances they say, it'd throw mine off though.. my forged pw is 48*, i had it bent to that

Of course. I know that. I just think they're taking it too far. It's a shame, because those Di7s look beautiful. But there's no way I'd ever buy a set with those sorts of lofts. There'd be 10 degrees between my PW and my gap wedge!

I think lofts are getting lower and lower as the years go by. I mean, soon we'll see a Ti driver with a 2* loft, and yet be so super, fantastic, high tech, space-age, gotta-have-one-now, that you could reach a long par 5 in one.

My PW is 48*
My Gap Wedge is 52*
But yet my trusty old Titleist SW is 58*

Usually, I'll grab the GW for most shots from close in. I find I can control the ball better with the GW than my PW. ....Go figure.

Butch A.