“If you haven’t hit the Wilson FG Tour V2s, or the Original FG Tours, prepare to be astonished!  The Wilson FG Tour V2 is the first absolutely must demo iron of the 2012 equipment season.  There are clubs that exceed expectations, and then there are the Wilson FG Tour V2 irons.  There are almost too many positive quotes to pull….your gonna have to read this one to see just how much our testers liked this set of irons.”

Wilson FG Tour V2 Irons

(Written By: GolfSpy T) I don’t know how it is in the rest of the world, but here in the good ol’ US of A, Wilson is the first name in sporting goods. Many of us quite literally grew up with the brand. Thinking back over the years, I’ve owned footballs, tennis and racquetball rackets, baseball gloves, and even a badminton set; all from Wilson. And although I came later to the game than most, I’d guess that, for many of you, Wilson manufactured the first golf club you ever swung.

While Wilson has unquestionably stayed on top of the football world (sweet NFL contracts make it easy), when it comes to the golf side of things, the Wilson name ain’t exactly what it used to be. The industry has been all but taken over by a handful of golf-exclusive manufacturers. Names like TaylorMade, Titleist, and Callaway dominate the equipment, and more importantly, the marketing scene these days, which can sometimes make it next to impossible for the little guy (even when the little guy is Wilson) to get the attention he deserves.

Of course lack of prominence, should never – even for one single solitary moment – be confused with lack of quality. As you’ll soon see, when it comes to producing high performing irons that offer outstanding feel, well…Wilson continues to do just fine.

Tell Us What You Think!

• When was the last time you played a Wilson club?
• Do you think players cavity backs can perform as well as game improvement clubs for the average golfer?
• When you hear the name Wilson what comes to mind?

We have selected a winner for the Wilson FG Player Pack (FG Balls, Glove, and Cap). Update coming soon.

The Marketing Angle

Not unlike Bridgestone (whose driver we just reviewed) Wilson keeps the marketing relatively simple and straightforward. Here’s what you need to know about the FG Tour V2 Irons:

• Muslceback Feel in a cavity construction – a little bit of 8620 Carbon Steel and some perimeter weighting work together to offer great feel and plenty of forgiveness.
• Specifically Designed for Wilson Tour Staff – thin toplines, “descrete offset”, and a softer leading edge radius are part of the reason why Ricky Barnes, Padraig Harrington, and others bagged the V2’s immediately.

How We Tested

To find out more about how we test our irons: CLICK HERE

Radius-Based Scoring

For more information on our “Radius Based Scoring System”: CLICK HERE

Wilson FG Tour V2 Specifications

Material Composition: 8620 Mild Carbon Steel

For testing purposes our sets consisted of 3-PW with KBS Tour shafts (R,S).  The stock grips are Lamkin Crosslines, which is never  a bad way to go.

PERFORMANCE SCORING

*Our senior tester was unavailable to test the Wilson FG Tour V2 Irons, so we have chosen not to drop the lowest score at each distance.

Short Iron Performance

One more iron review and we’ll be putting the comparative data online for everyone to see, but since we’ve only put two sets of irons through our new testing process, it’s still a bit early to go speculating about how the performance of one iron or another is going to shake out over time.

What I can tell you is that, swinging short irons, our testers missed the target by less than 22.5 feet. From our pool of sample shots, a total of 5 shots (from 3 different golfers) came to rest within 10 feet of the hole.  Overall dispersion was relatively balanced, the biggest misses, however; were to the left.

When separating distance and accuracy, we see that our testers were either long or short (more often short) by an average of 12.72 feet. As you would expect, our higher handicap golfers had a tougher time dialing in the distance, although distance control did not break down exactly along the handicap line.

Our testers missed the center line by an average of 15.42 feet.  Once again, our lower handicap golfers were more accurate and this time around, the results fell exactly inline with handicaps.

While overall these numbers will likely prove to be slightly above average, not surprisingly, our testers were a bit less precise than they were with the game improvement irons we tested last time around.

Short Iron Performance Score: 90.09

Middle Iron Performance

Right about here is where the results get interesting.  After hitting their short irons, the majority of our testers found themselves falling in love with the Wilson FG Tour V2 irons, and they started to hit them better too.

With their middle irons, testers missed the target by an average of 26.13 feet. To put this in context, this reflects an improvement of nearly 4 feet over the previously reviewed game improvement iron. Who said so-called player’s cavity-backs are harder to hit?

When we take a closer look at the test shots to find true birdie opportunities, we find that 11 of the test shots (from 4 different golfers) came to rest within 15 feet of the pin; which includes a shot that found the bottom of the cup from 175 yards!

>> “Awesome clubs! I didn’t feel like I could miss with them” – Dan R.

Once again, distance control was a bit less precise with our testers missing the target distance by an average of 15.3 feet (10.5 feet was the best number, 19.2 feet the worst). As you might expect, a noticeable majority of the misses fell short.

Similarly, our testers missed the center line by an average of 17.88 feet (11.4 most accurate, 23.2 least accurate).

To put all of this in simplest terms; from middle iron distances, our testers were more accurate with the Wilson FG Tour V2s than they were with the previously reviewed game improvement iron.

Middle Iron Performance Score: 90.73

Long Iron Performance

While not always true for every tester, long irons are where we see the greatest performance discrepancy. Guys who have no trouble sticking middle irons close at 150 yards, can struggle mightily once the distance gets closer to 200 yards – and it’s not just a high handicapper’s problem.

With long irons in hand, our testers missed the target by and average of just over 40 feet (a HUGE improvement over our previous results). Considering the distance, I find that the fact that 7 shots (including at least 1 from all 5 of our golfers), came to rest within 20 feet of the hole to be very impressive. When we stretch that out to 30 feet, that number increases to 17 shots. While 30 feet is a long way from tap-in birdie range, it is a makeable distance. Considering all of our testers hit nothing shorter than a 4-iron to get there, it’s more impressive still.

As you’d expect, many more shots landed shorter than longer, and our testers missed the distance by an average of 20.56 feet. Our most dialed in (and again, lowest handicap golfer) missed by an average of 11.7 feet, while our least dialed in golfer missed by 26.5 feet.

Where left to right dispersion is concerned, our testers missed the center line by an average of just under 30 feet. While that’s not dart-throwing at it’s finest, from distances of 180 yards or more, it’s still pretty damn good. Our most accurate tester missed by 21.9 feet, on average, while our least accurate missed by 35.4.

When we break that down to our out of 100 scoring, we see that two of our testers actually posted scores above 90 (though neither was above 91). Our scoring system is tough, and I suspect that we’ll see very, very few long iron scores that match this one.

Long Iron Performance Score: 88.14

Overall Performance

I can’t say I’m the least bit shocked that the Wilson FG Tour V2 irons would perform this well. Having tested out the original FG Tour irons, I already new Wilson had a really nice iron on their hands. What is surprising, and admittedly difficult to explain, is that at middle and long iron distances, the Wilson FG Tour V2 irons, which are geared towards better players, actually outperformed a game improvement iron from one of the most respected names in golf.

Now perhaps these are anomalous results. Perhaps the there was a psychological bump because they really, really, like the irons. It could also be as simple as Wilson producing a high performing iron that is actually every bit as good as Wilson claims. Whatever the reasons, a couple of feet here or there on only a handful of shots, and the FG Tour V2s would have A-level performance. Under our new system, I can assure you, that’s no small feat.

MGS OVERALL PERFORMANCE SCORE: 89.83

The Interactive Data

The charts below show the individual and group averages (black dotted line) for each shot our golfers took during our test of the the Wilson FG Tour V2 Irons. You can click on each of 3 tabs (Wilson FG Tour V2 – Short Irons, Wilson FG Tour V2 – Mid Irons, Wilson FG Tour V2 – Long Irons) you can see where each shot came to rest on our virtual driving range, and the raw data (averages) for each of our testers. Hovering over any point will give you all the details of that particular shot. You can use the filters on the right-hand side to show and hide individual golfer based on handicap and proximity to the pin.

SUBJECTIVE SCORING

Looks

This may sound strange coming from a guy who has multi-colored ferrules and neon grips on his clubs, but the cavity on the FG Tour V2 is still a bit too busy for me (though I must admit, I do like it much more than the original FG Tour).  Of course, I can’t say I dislike what you could almost call an Oakland Raiders themed design (silver and black…it’s that NFL influence), but if were up to me, I’d leave off the badges and go bare metal with black paint fill.

With my personal preferences accounted for, I also have to admit that I’m in the minority, rather, I am the minority. Our testers absolutely raved about the clean looks of the irons. Not a single testers (other than your’s truly) rated them below a 9…others went higher.

MGS Looks Score: 98.90

Sound & Feel

If you haven’t hit the FG Tour V2s, or the Original FG Tours, prepare to be astonished! Performance, looks, whatever, it’s all very nice, but it is certainly the feel of these irons that most impressed our testers. Those of us who tested the originals had already come to terms with our shock and were more or less expecting the newer model to feel every bit as good. And while they certainly didn’t disappoint, my satisfaction came in watching those testers hitting Wilson’s for the first time, smile in almost disbelief at the exceptional feel.

I could only speculate as to why our testers (and if I’m being honest, myself as well) were initially so surprised by what is absolutely first class feel. Whatever the reason, before we hit our first Wilson FG Tour, we were expecting much less.

There are clubs that exceed expectations, and then there are the Wilson FG Tour V2 irons.

MGS Feel Score: 100.00!

Perceived Forgiveness

I’m going to preempt everything here and just tell you that I think my testers may have been a bit whimsical in their forgiveness scoring. Look, they really, really like the iron, and for the most part, they hit it really well, but when I look at things like absolute distance, and whether a ball flew shorter than it probably should have, or went a bit more right than I would have liked, the numbers suggest that the FG Tour V2 is a reasonably forgiving iron.

Our survey results, however; suggest that the FG Tour is the most forgiving iron we’ve ever tested. And while I don’t happen to agree with that assessment, I do think it’s an extremely forgiving players cavity back. Of course, under our scoring system, we drop the lowest subjective survey rating, which in this case was an 8…from me. Our testers have spoken.

Tester Perceived Forgiveness Score: 100.00!

Likelihood of Purchase

Ahh LOP…the place where otherwise exceptional golf clubs go to get trashed. No matter how a club performs, if our testers simply don’t like it, this is always where the truth comes out. In the case of the Wilson FG Tour V2 irons, the truth is that our testers absolutely love this iron. We’ve already had one tester put them in his bag, while another is threatening to drop is AP2s. Keep this in mind when you look at this LOP score: it’s not simply that our testers like these clubs, many like them better than what’s in their bag today. Another almost perfect score.

Tester Likelihood of Purchase: 99.98

Wow. Just wow. I can’t say we’ll never have a club go over better with our testers, but with only 2 10ths of one percent worth of wiggle room, it seems highly unlikely. While none of this speaks to the actual performance, what I’ve learned over the years is that the buying decision is influenced so much more by the subjective stuff than performance anyway. It’s counter-intuitive, but it is also very much the reality.  All of this suggests that if you take just a few swings with the Wilson FG Tour V2, you may just fall in love with them too.

TOTAL SUBJECTIVE SCORE: 99.66

CONCLUSION

Make what you will of the results. Our testers, guys who have tested irons from nearly every manufacturer in the business today, think the Wilson FG Tour V2 irons are among the very best they’ve ever hit. Quite frankly, I can’t think of a single reason to argue with them. The V2s are a great looking club, the offer the kind of feel I’d only expect to find from companies like Mizuno, and based on our numbers, they flat out perform.

“Just and awesome iron set!” – Nick B.

So here’s the rub. Too many golfers have been brandwashed. If a club, no matter what we say, isn’t produced by one of the 2 or 3 biggest names in the industry, there are those who won’t give it a second look. And while I could launch into a big long diatribe about how those companies got where they are today as much through marketing as they did from their products, I’d likely be wasting my voice.

But for those of you who are more concerned about performance than branding, well, you’ve made it this far, so let me wrap this up by saying that the Wilson FG Tour V2 is the first absolutely must demo iron of the 2012 equipment season. Not only is it one of the highest performing irons we’ve ever tested, when you consider that the FG Tour V2s are priced $200 below the other irons I would personally recommend in this category, well…you’d have to be insane not to give them a look.

MGS TOTAL SCORE: 90.81

We have selected a winner for the Wilson FG Player Pack (FG Balls, Glove, and Cap). Update coming soon.

 

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