Wilson

2008-07-09

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By Steve Pike
Wilson Golf is experiencing a renaissance of sorts with its Staff brand and is promising more. Look for the company, which has experienced sales success this year with its Pi7 and Ci7 iron lines along with the Zip golf ball and Spine driver, to formally launch its much-anticipated Fg 59 forged irons in the coming weeks. D.J. Trahan won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic with the irons earlier this season on the PGA Tour and set off a storm of speculation about the irons.
 
The Fg 59 irons are basically designed off the heritage of the Wilson Staff irons,’’ said Wilson Golf General Manager Tim Clarke. “It’s sort of a modern day shape of and size of an Fg 17. DJ has been playing with them for a little over 12 months now.’’
 
For the uninitiated, the Fg 17 Staff Tour Blade, with its semi-square toe design, was one of the more popular irons in the early 1980s when Wilson Golf was a major player on the PGA Tour. These days the Fg 17 is considered in many circles to be a classic and is highly collectible.
 
The ‘59’ in the 59, by the way, stands for the number of major championships won by Wilson irons through the years. Wilson Golf goes for No. 60 when Padraig Harrington defends his British Open title at Royal Birkdale. The Irishman still plays with the Pi5 irons and Wilson Dd6 driver he used to win the Claret Jug at Carnoustie but might break out a new Wilson driver this time around.
 
Clarke wouldn’t go into detail about the new driver, but did say that Harrington “has fallen in love’’ with it and has picked up about four miles per our in clubhead speed versus the Dd6.
 
“He’s all about swing speed and golf ball initial velocity,’’ Clarke said.