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What’s new? How much does it cost? And how does it perform? Jack Backhouse brings you the low down on Wilson’s D9 fairway woods
The Wilson D9 fairway has the sleek dark looks we all like in a golf club, but how does it perform? Find out in our Wilson D9 fairway woods review below.
The Wilson D9 might look like some of the classically simple fairways we have known and loved in the past, but it is packed with new technology and performs like a modern-day ‘premium’ club.
It features a slightly oversized head with a deep face which makes it a brilliant option for golfers from the tee on narrow holes or when the driver is misbehaving.
The Wilson D9 fairway wood is big, almost like one of those mini-drivers that never really caught on a few years ago. I love the shape and certainly from the tee feel like you are going to really send one out there. The deep face looks great but doesn’t particularly fill me with confidence if the ball is sat in a less-than-perfect lie.
Wilson D9 fairway woods review: NCG verdict
I first hit the D9 fairway wood on the driving range, and I was immediately pleased with the performance of the 3-wood. This club’s results on my Flightscope matched any of the big name ‘premium’ fairway woods, which is great as it is a fraction of the price.
Upon first waggle of the club, I noticed the head feels quite light, almost like a driver. The head sits huge behind the ball, and the face is really deep compared to other fairways on the market at the moment. I think if you hit your fairway woods regularly and sometimes from the rough, you might stand over the Wilson D9 and worry that it might not get in the air and lean to something a bit more shallow.
I however like the deep face as to me it feels strong, and it feels like you are going to produce a low penetrating flight that will remain untouched by the wind. Ideal maybe for someone who hits the fairway wood more from the tee than the fairway.
The numbers this produced I am very happy with. Averaging 150 mph ball speed is very competitive for me and hitting the longest shot 240 yards carry with a fairway wood is awesome! What I really liked is that the average spin is up over 3000 rpm. Often with fairways that go long, they don’t spin enough for me, causing really odd knuckleball flights which are unplayable.
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With this club being designed for all levels of player, a slightly higher spin design means that I benefit with more consistency, and also low-speed players get more carry distance more often, which is essential when looking to score better.
After a session on the range, I took the Wilson D9 fairway wood out onto the course for some real-world testing and I was very pleased with how it went. The tee shots downwind went an absolute mile, and I actually found that despite the face being very deep, it was very easy to get up in the air from the ground.
The only time I wished I had a different club was one tee shot into the wind. The high launch, high spin characteristics made this club unsuitable for a shot into a gale as you lose too much distance unless you know how to execute a perfect stinger (this is not something I am skilled enough to pull off deliberately).
I think Wilson are aware of this issue, as they have released a 13.5-degree version of the fairway wood which is not something many brands do anymore. The 13.5-degree would be perfect for the shots into the wind and for players who use a fairway a lot off the tee
This is a terrific fairway and one I would definitely consider putting in my bag. I just wish that it had some kind of loft adjustability, as it’d be great to fine-tune the flight to suit my tendencies and whatever course I was playing that day.
There’s never a bad time to have a high launch high flight fairway wood in the bag, as generally, it is always better to be further down the hole closer to the green after every shot, and a fairway wood you can hit consistently is going to do that for you. The Wilson D9 fairway wood is great value for money and probably one of the ‘pound for pound’ best performers out there at the moment.
