Wilson have made great strides in the last few years when it comes to re-establishing themselves right among the elite in golf equipment manufacturing, particularly with their irons.
One of the keys to this has been thanks to the resurgence of their Staff Model line which is aimed at better players, and this includes two new wedges. I got my hands on the new Staff Model ZM, which Wilson say has been completely designed to offer versatility and performance.
Who Are They Aimed At?
Whilst Wilson are keen to say that the new Staff Model wedges are suited to golfers of varying skill levels, personally I would say that they'd be better suited to the lower handicappers as they have a relatively compact profile, placing more importance on ball striking.
Wilson also offer a HT version of the wedge with a high-toe design and a full face of grooves, which provides a bit more flexibility and a wider sole for slightly more forgiveness.
The Tech
The big change with this year's wedges is Wilson introducing a precision-milled groove pattern, combined with garnet face blasting, for a faster, deeper and longer interaction with the ball to generate more spin.
They are saying that this is the highest-spinning wedge that they have produced in all weather conditions, with particular improvements made to the performance in wet conditions.
The wedges are made from a soft forged carbon steel, and have been designed with a straighter leading edge and slightly higher CG placement compared to the previous Staff Model Wedge, improving ball flight control particularly in the higher lofted wedges.
The CG changes as the loft increases, to promote a more controlled ball flight and more consistent contact. This is visible on the wedge as a flat surface in the 50˚-52˚, with more mass added on the 54˚-56˚ and even more added in the 58˚ and 60˚.
The wedges are available from 50˚ to 60˚, with 46˚ and 48˚ options also offered through custom fit. There are three different bounce choices - low, medium and high - ranging from six to 12 degrees.
Wilson Staff Model ZM Wedge Review
Looks
First things first, I love the new Wilson Staff logo which is now just a shield, and provides a retro touch which looks a bit classier than the previous logo to me.
Wilson say that they have completely redesigned their wedge since the previous Staff Model, but on the face of it, to me it just looks like a better looking version. There's a little bit of milling added to the back of the head which adds a nice premium touch, while the 'ZM Grooves' text is barely visible on the back cavity.
The club sits square down by the ball, with a pretty straight leading edge at address which I actually quite liked. I'm not a huge fan of really rounded wedge shapes, especially for fuller shots, so the shaping of the ZM wedge really appealed to me.
The milling on the face is clearly visible which looks great, and you can really feel the roughness when you run your fingers across it which gives you that extra confidence that it's going to spin.
The wedge is only available in one satin finish, which is a bit of a shame because plenty of other brands would offer some sort of black or raw finish too, although it does still look very smart.
Feel
When I first starting hitting shots I was a little surprised by how firm the feel was with these wedges, even on relatively short shots around the green. Wilson have done a really good job of making their forged irons feel nice and soft in recent years, but you definitely got a good amount of feedback through the hands when you hit this wedge, with a satisfying 'clip' sound at impact.
When it comes to wedges I always think weighting is quite important, as you don't want something that's too heavy or too light, and Wilson seem to have got this just right. It was light enough that you felt there was room for flexibility, and it paired nicely with the Dynamic Gold spinner shaft and Tour Velvet grip.
Despite the slightly firmer feel I could still feel the ball gripping on the face, when hitting shorter chip shots and half swings which was really impressive, as that is an area when you can often get lower spin rates.
On-Course Performance
I tested the Staff Model ZM in 56˚ with 10˚ of bounce, which seemed to provide the right blend of playability on different turf types and allowed for some flexibility with attack angle which is good too.
Wilson have worked on the CG placement on this wedge in order to produce a slightly more penetrating ball flight, and I definitely saw this out on the course.
Even on pitch shots, I was seeing that low spinny shot that you see the Tour pros play to perfection every time, and a couple of shots that were played into wind felt really good as I was able to commit without worrying about the ball spinning up or coming up short.
I usually use a 60˚ lob wedge for bunker shots but I did hit a couple of shots with the Staff Model ZM and was impressed with how easily the club managed to get through the sand - especially considering that this is a wedge which I think is more geared towards better players.
I hit a few fuller wedge shots from just under 100 yards into one green and, whilst I enjoyed the feel and the ball flight, I did think that the compact profile means you'd have to be a relatively confident wedge player if you wanted to use these as they weren't the most forgiving.
I mis-hit a couple of shots and they came up a few yards short of the green, so it's worth bearing in mind that they won't help you out too much if you don't hit it that consistently.
A trend that a lot of OEMs have adopted in recent years is a focus on performance in wet conditions, this year Wilson have joined the party, and I didn't have to wait long for a bit of rain to arrive whilst testing. I still saw that the wedges were spinning nicely even when hitting a wet ball off wet turf, and I felt like I could really commit to my shots throughout with the trust that the ball was going to stop up.
Wilson Staff Model ZM Wedge Verdict
As I mentioned at the start of this review, Wilson golf clubs really seem to have had a resurgence over the last few years and the Staff Model ZM Wedge is yet another example of that.
These wedges have been designed with the help of Wilson staffers such as Padraig Harrington and Kevin Kisner and I think that shows, as this is a premium looking wedge which I can imagine great players would enjoy using.
I loved the slight tweaks to the looks compared to the previous Staff Forged wedge, and the performance was exactly as Wilson suggested with a slightly lower ball flight and plenty of spin in wet conditions.
More colour and bounce options would've been nice to provide a little more versatility to a wider range of golfers, but all in all I think this is an excellent option for golfers with handicaps in the early teens and below.
Would I Use Them?
Absolutely, and at an RRP of £145 per wedge I think they're pretty good value for money too, especially when you compare them with the likes of the Titleist Vokey SM10, TaylorMade MG4 and Ping Glide 4.0 which are all very expensive with similar quality and performance levels, just not maybe the same level of custom fitting options.
Wilson Staff Model ZM Wedge Pros & Cons
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