BIG DEMO REPORT: TourStage, WilsonStaff, Callaway, TM

[FairwayFred]

WILSON-STAFF:

PD5 Driver:

This is the new Composite-Titanium Wilson Staff driver. It is 400cc and comes with a normal .350 tip Grafalloy shaft. This driver was the surprise of the day for me. The shape is great, traditional pear shape with a nice moderatly deep face. Looks better at address than 95% of drivers out there. The only thing that prevents the shape from being perfect is that the top of the crown is pretty flat I would prefer it to have a little more contour. They say that they flat top and bottom makes the energy transfer better. Every one that I looked at set up square. The head is black and you can just make out a little bit of the carbon at the back part of the crown. Performance wise this thing is a monster too. I hit it about 5-10 yards longer than all of the other drivers I hit and most of it is extra carry. That being the case my ballflight was nice and boring. Feel is excellent, it is loud enough so that you know you have hit it good but not so loud that it is annoying. Close to the Titleist 983 series in sound and feel but a little different. All in all this is an excellent driver that should do pretty well when it hits the market in about 30 days.

PDI Progressive Forged Irons:

A blast from the past from Wilson. Their new players iron is a forged combo set wearing the same Wilson Staff Progressive badge as its older sibling. The long irons have maximum perimeter weighting, the short irons are true blades and the mid irons are in between. The clubs look exactly the same as the old Progressives in the bag. I dont think they changed the look of the club at all. The one big difference is that Wilson has sold their Hoffman forging plant so these heads now come from China. Performance wise these will hold their own with any of the US made Forged CBs or combo sets. Feel is very good. If you like the somewhat blocky shape of Wilson irons than you will love the way these look. All in all a very solid iron and a great way for Wilson Staff to get back to the market place.

Fairway Wood:

This is a Composite-Steel Fairway wood to go with the PD5 driver. It also has a normal .350 tip shaft. I was not as impressed with the FW as I was the driver. The shape is not as good, it is alot more round. Size and face depth are good though. Performance is average, I was not blown away by these FWs but I could play them if I was forced to.

Hybrid:

This new Hybrid is very ugly. It is VERY long from heel to toe and very short from front to back. Reminds me of the Kasco K2K a little bit. I did not get a chance to hit this club.

CALLAWAY GOLF-

HeavenWood Utility:

This is Callaways first try at a hybrid or utility club. It looks exactly like the new BB2004 woods except it is much shorter from front to back. It even has the same soleplate design. The hosel is set like a wood so there is no offset. Performance wise these things are very good. The feel is typical Callaway as is the results. Very forgiving no matter where on the face you hit the ball. If you are looking for a hybrid with no offset that sets up like a wood this is a good one to take a look at.

White Steel 2 Ball:

This putter is a big improvement over the original IMO. First off the 303SS/White Hot insert provides the kind of crisp feedback that I like in a putter. The original White Hot insert is much too soft for me. This putter feels great. It is also great for alignment thanks to the 2 ball system and the new color scheme on top. The center of the putter is a lighter grey than the rest of the putter which gives you a nice thick line to go with the 2 balls for alignment. This putter is also about 20 grams heavier than the normal 2 ball putter which is also a big improvement. Anyone that likes the 2 ball but doesnt like the insert needs to try this club out.

TAYLOR MADE-

Forged TP CBs:

These irons do look better in person that in the pics. The horizontal blinds in the cavity dont look as gaudy as in the pics but are still pretty gaudy. Fortunetly it cant be seen at address. The look at address is good, very simular to the TM300s but with a little more of a square toe. Feel is simular to the TM300s nice and solid. It did seem to me that these clubs had a rather high COG as I was getting a lower ballflight than I normally do especially in the long irons. All in all a very nice Forged CB although I liked the Wilson Staff Progressives better in every way except shape.

R5 TOUR Driver:

This thing is a rocket launcher. As you all know I am not a big TM fan but I was very impressed with this club. It has 2 movable weights in the back but where they are posistioned I dont see it making that much of a difference. This thing has a nice shape that you could almost call a pear shape. Certainly less round than previous TM drivers. Feel is also VERY solid. It reminded me more of my 975D than the retail r5 or r7. It was not loud at all but had a nice crack sound at impact. Ballflight is also great with thing. I hit just about every ball in the "fairway". Amazingly it was not as long as the Wilson-Staff but an excellent performer in all respects.

TOURSTAGE-

FST+ 3 Wood:

Another very strong effort by TourStage. This thing has everything. The shape is perfectly pear shaped. It reminds me of a smaller version of the J340 or other TourStage drivers. The face is pretty deep, atleast a scoring line deeper than my RC BBD TypeH. Feel is typical TourStage. Very solid and somewhat muted. No loud noise or ting at impact at all. Performance is also very good. It is pretty forgiving for a players club, my heel and toe mis**ts still go pretty well. Center hits are pretty long, almost as long as any 3 wood I have tried (and thats with the stock shaft) My only complaint is that the ballflight is a little higher than I would like. I think I am going to put an Aldila NV95 or 105 in it and see if I can get the ballflight where I want it. Once that is done this club will likely make it into the Varsity bag displacing the Kasco KP99.

[AKFLY]

Thanks for the review.

Are the RAC TP's forged by Miura or China ?

[Guest]

CALLAWAY GOLF-

HeavenWood Utility:

This is Callaways first try at a hybrid or utility club. It looks exactly like the new BB2004 woods except it is much shorter from front to back. It even has the same soleplate design. The hosel is set like a wood so there is no offset. Performance wise these things are very good. The feel is typical Callaway as is the results. Very forgiving no matter where on the face you hit the ball. If you are looking for a hybrid with no offset that sets up like a wood this is a good one to take a look at.

Thanks for the reviews & insight.

Would you say the Heaven Utility feels more like a fairway wood. I had a TM Rescue Mid and could hit it well but I just didn't like the feel.

THANKS IN ADVANCE

[FairwayFred]

Thanks for the review.

Are the RAC TP's forged by Miura or China ?

I was told by the rep that the retail set of TP CBs I was hitting was made in China.

[FairwayFred]

CALLAWAY GOLF-

HeavenWood Utility:

This is Callaways first try at a hybrid or utility club. It looks exactly like the new BB2004 woods except it is much shorter from front to back. It even has the same soleplate design. The hosel is set like a wood so there is no offset. Performance wise these things are very good. The feel is typical Callaway as is the results. Very forgiving no matter where on the face you hit the ball. If you are looking for a hybrid with no offset that sets up like a wood this is a good one to take a look at.

Thanks for the reviews & insight.

Would you say the Heaven Utility feels more like a fairway wood. I had a TM Rescue Mid and could hit it well but I just didn't like the feel.

I would say that the Heaven Wood Utility feels very much like the BB2004 fairway woods. Definetly more of a wood feel than an iron feel.

[primo]

mmmmmmmmmmmmm...... i smell a fire sale...

[teampowers]

That makes me happy abut the Wilson stuff. I was going to get a set of prgressives. I miss the set that I used to have. One of the best sets of irons that I ever had.

[jick]

TAYLOR MADE-

R5 TOUR Driver:

This thing is a rocket launcher. As you all know I am not a big TM fan but I was very impressed with this club. It has 2 movable weights in the back but where they are posistioned I dont see it making that much of a difference. This thing has a nice shape that you could almost call a pear shape. Certainly less round than previous TM drivers. Feel is also VERY solid. It reminded me more of my 975D than the retail r5 or r7. It was not loud at all but had a nice crack sound at impact. Ballflight is also great with thing. I hit just about every ball in the "fairway". Amazingly it was not as long as the Wilson-Staff but an excellent performer in all respects.

What are the shaft options of the R5 Tour and how does it differ in appearance from the regular R5? How many CC is it? Finally, when does it come out?

Thanks.

Jovi

[Mikey]

Ari...

There seems to be some question about the finish on the Taylor Made CB, TP model.

I have talked to a couple of TM people and each have told me different answers.

Can you tell me if you have heard it will be chrome or satin finished?

I think it would be a great disappointment if they did not have this set made by Miura.

I just placed an order with my local pro for a set. I had some trade dollars due me and I decided to use it towards a set of these in Rifle shafts.

I might change my mind if I find they are not Miura's.

Anything extra you might know or can find out would be appreciated.

Mike

[jonny5]

jick pretty much asked everything I wanted to know. thanks.

[FairwayFred]

TAYLOR MADE-

R5 TOUR Driver:

This thing is a rocket launcher. As you all know I am not a big TM fan but I was very impressed with this club. It has 2 movable weights in the back but where they are posistioned I dont see it making that much of a difference. This thing has a nice shape that you could almost call a pear shape. Certainly less round than previous TM drivers. Feel is also VERY solid. It reminded me more of my 975D than the retail r5 or r7. It was not loud at all but had a nice crack sound at impact. Ballflight is also great with thing. I hit just about every ball in the "fairway". Amazingly it was not as long as the Wilson-Staff but an excellent performer in all respects.

What are the shaft options of the R5 Tour and how does it differ in appearance from the regular R5? How many CC is it? Finally, when does it come out?

Thanks.

Jovi

Jovi,

This was a Tour Issue r5 it is not something that is going to be available to the public anytime real soon (although you never know with TM). The one I hit had a Fujikura 660TR X in it. To me the shape looked more pear shaped than the regular r5 but I was told that it is the same shape and size as the r5. Maybe it was the fact that the face was a little open instead of the 3* closed that the retail one I was looking at had.

[FairwayFred]

Ari...

There seems to be some question about the finish on the Taylor Made CB, TP model.

I have talked to a couple of TM people and each have told me different answers.

Can you tell me if you have heard it will be chrome or satin finished?

I think it would be a great disappointment if they did not have this set made by Miura.

I just placed an order with my local pro for a set. I had some trade dollars due me and I decided to use it towards a set of these in Rifle shafts.

I might change my mind if I find they are not Miura's.

Anything extra you might know or can find out would be appreciated.

Mike

Mike,

They are going to be Polished Chrome finish. There will be no satin sets made as far as I know other than for tour players. The person I talked to was pretty adement that the US release sets will not be made by Miura.

[rgk5]

"The one big difference is that Wilson has sold their Hoffman forging plant"

Thanks for the excellent report. Wislon never owned the Hoffman facility.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Miura isn't doing any U.S company forgings now that N.A has been established, No one in the U.S can have their heads done by miura anymore nor can purchase the raw heads to grind on their own.

TM is going to make a killing off the TP sets from China,

your looking at cost of about 5 bucks probably less in TM's bulk per raw Chinese forged head x 8 = 45.00 + grinding, finishing, labor, assembly and shipping. My best guess would be TM's cost being around or less than 200.00 per set. If made by Miura I am guessing their cost would be almost 500 shafted and assembled.

[Texcrom]

I picked up a set of these on Thursday at an Edwin Watts in Dallas.

Ari is correct on all counts: Chrome finish, better looking than the photo's, and according to the TM product sticker "Head made in China".

I do disagree with him on the COG; I found the irons easier to hit than last years model, and was actually seemed to be hitting the ball higher with these than last years.

And Chris is right; these were $1199 at Watts, so TM is going to make a killing on them.

Despite that, these are very solid irons!

[MGB]

Thanks for the comprehensive report, Ari. I'm particularly pleased that the new Staff line by Wilson lives up to the brand's former reputation. I still have an old Wilson Staff sand wedge in my bag which I find very hard to replace.