Equipment

Wilson introduces new family of Staff irons — with an interesting addition

Published

5 months ago

Jan 27, 2026

Wilson Golf has unveiled its 2026 Staff Model iron family, featuring the Staff Model Blade, the redefined Staff Model CB, and the all-new Staff Model XB.

Crafted from forged 8620 carbon steel, the new Staff Model irons have been designed to provide workability and instant feedback at impact.

The precision-milled face and scoreline pattern bid to ensure longer ball-to-face contact to provide golfers with more consistent spin and increased stopping power, whilst the Fluid Feel Technology redistributes mass towards the centre of the face. Additionally, the centre of gravity is precisely located in design to elevate the overall performance.

“Wilson has a long history of great performing irons, and we’ve taken part of that heritage and combined it with modern craftsmanship to produce what I believe to be the best iron family the brand has ever produced. Adding a Players Performance iron in the XB to the Staff Model family allows more people to fit into the range. When you sit the irons side-by-side, you’ll notice the consistent design across all models, whilst each model has individual nuances to differentiate between each iron.” – Ben Hanser, CAD Engineer at Wilson Golf

Staff Model XB

The all-new players performance iron features a forged hollow-body construction that enhances face flexion in design for increased ball speed, while also delivering higher MOI and precise centre of gravity placement. With minimal offset and a thin top line, the XB aims to provide modern power without compromising its sharp, tour-inspired appearance at address.

The clubhead’s hollow body is filled with urethane in design to dampen vibrations and create a crisp, clean sound at impact, while maintaining a seamless look across both the back and toe. Also, a unique design allows the vent port to be hidden beneath the shield medallion, providing a clean look.

Central to the development process were advanced simulations and topology optimisation. Using computer-based simulation, Wilson engineers analysed both the body and the face to produce a hollow-body player’s iron that delivers a triple threat of excellent feel, sound, and performance.

The optimised body construction enhances sound and feel by strategically placing internal mass to fine-tune acoustics, dampen vibrations, and maximise energy transfer. The resulting structure incorporates engineered rib supports, a parabolic mass pad, and precisely located tungsten weighting to achieve an ideal CG while maximising MOI in a slim profile.

The optimised face on the XB is engineered to maximise performance across the entire hitting area. Per Wilson, the simulations emphasised consistency of ball speed, spin rate, and launch angle over a variety of strike locations, as well as helping to raise the performance of centre strikes and mishits alike, minimising dispersion from shot to shot.

“We ran thousands of simulations at multiple different impact locations to prioritise ball speed, spin consistency and an ideal launch angle. The resulting variable face design combined with the precise internal geometry, built from topology optimisation, drive the overall performance and premium impact experience of the Staff Model XB.” -Ben Hanser, CAD Engineer at Wilson Golf

Price: $1,399.99 (seven-piece steel set), $199.99 (per iron)

Staff Model Blade

Crafted for the world’s most precise ball strikers, the timeless Staff Model Blade design stands as the flagship iron in the Wilson lineup and remains a trusted favorite among the brand’s global Tour professionals.

The 2026 model introduces refined, contemporary shaping engineered for exceptional control. A variable hosel length enables more accurate mass distribution and ensures seamless visual alignment with the CB and XB models.

The blade length has been shortened and offset reduced, in design to deliver a more compact profile and minimise the area beyond the scoreline – resulting in a distinctly modern, tour-inspired aesthetic.

Price: $1,399.99 (seven-piece steel set), $199.99 (per iron)

Staff Model CB

Featuring a modern cavity-back construction that bids to deliver an ideal balance of forgiveness and feel, the Staff Model CB has been shaped to closely mirror the Staff Model Blade, reflecting extensive input from Tour professionals.

Building on the previous generation, the Wilson R&D team refined the head by shortening it and softening its edges to better align with the Staff Model Blade’s premium profile.

Delivering a traditional, tour-refined profile, the new Staff Model CB hosel length also matches the Blade for visual consistency, complemented by an improved hosel-to-face transition for a cleaner, more seamless look.

Reduced offset and a straighter, narrower sole is designed to promote improved turf interaction and greater control through impact. The design also features a slightly longer blade length and a thinner topline, offering a blend of subtle forgiveness and classic, confidence-inspiring aesthetics.

Price: $1,399.99 (seven-piece steel set), $199.99 (per iron)

Equipment

Then and now: Comparing Rory McIlroy’s current setup to his record-breaking 2019 Canadian Open victory

Published

2 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Alistair Cameron

In Rory McIlroy’s first appearance at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, he crushed the record books to earn his 16th PGA Tour title in dominating fashion, winning by seven shots over Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson.

McIlroy’s score of 22-under-par 258 is the lowest 72-hole score to date at the Canadian Open, and his closing 61 is also the best final-round score in the history of one of golf’s oldest tournaments. Finally, with his win in 2019, McIlroy became only the sixth player to win the career Triple Crown, adding to his victories at the U.S. Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014, joining Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods in a coveted list.

So, with that, why not compare his current setup to the clubs he used to break all the records?

Driver

2019: TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees @8), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45 5/8 inches)

McIroy led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2019; he’s doing the same in 2026. Between now and then, McIlroy has switched from the Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 70 TX (a shaft with slightly more feeling in the tip) to the original Fujikura Ventus Black 7X, having just made the change to the heavier version from playing the 60X.

What’s interesting about McIlroy’s 2019 setup is that the weighting on his driver is actually set in the high-draw setting, using the T-Track weighting system, whereas in the Qi4D, he’s currently using a heavily rear-weighted setup. (Two 13-gram weights in the rear and only two 4-gram front weights.)

The TaylorMade M5 driver he played in during his Canadian Open win was the company’s first head that they claimed to design to initially exceed the USGA’s COR limit, and then injected with tuning resin to bring it back in bounds.

Fairway woods

2019: TaylorMade M6 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX; TaylorMade M5 5-wood (19 degrees), Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 90 TX
2026: TaylorMade Qi4D 3-wood (15 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8X; TaylorMade Qi4D 5-wood (18 degrees), Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 9X

The TaylorMade M6 fairway wood that McIlroy was using during the 2019 season is still in the bag of some of the best golfers on Tour in 2026. Just check out Justin Rose’s winning setup from the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. This year, though, McIlroy has still been searching for his top-end-of-the-bag setup, having played both the new Qi4D and the Qi10, which he won the Masters with.

The same shaft swap can be seen in the fairway woods as the driver, along with slightly less loft on the 5-wood.

Irons

2019: TaylorMade P750 (4) Buy here, TaylorMade P730 (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0
2026: TaylorMade P760 (4), TaylorMade Rors Proto (5-9), Shafts: Project X 7.0

The biggest difference between McIlroy’s custom set and the stock P730s is the groove design. While the P730s were constructed with 14 MX-9 grooves on their milled faces, McIlroy’s proto heads instead use the higher-spinning, 16-groove layout of the TW2 grooves. Other big differences between the sets are that McIlroy’s 7- and 8-irons have thinner toplines, are 1 degree stronger in loft, and are 1/4 inch longer than the original P730 builds.

With McIlroy’s 4-iron, the switch from P750 to P760 sees a transition to a two-piece construction with Speed Foam in it, which allows McIlroy to launch the ball slightly higher, with more workability.

Wedges

2019: TaylorMade Milled Grind (48-09SB), TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09SB, 56-09SB, 60-LB09), Shafts: Project X Rifle 6.5
2026: TaylorMade MG5 (46-09SB, 50-09SB, 54-11SB, 60-08LB @61), Shafts: Project X 6.5 (46-54), Project X 6.5 Wedge (60)

Between 2019 and 2026, McIlroy’s focus on his short game has been much more apparent. It was the reason why he switched back to the TP5 golf ball, to help with launch, spin and control with his wedges leading up to his career Grand Slam victory in 2025. The most apparent changes to McIlroy’s wedge setup are his lofts and bounce. He’s slowly delofted his pitching to a sand wedge, but has increased the loft on the lob wedge, bending his current 60-degree to 61. With that, adding more loft to his lob wedge also slightly increases the bounce and leading-edge sit point, so, as a result, he plays a lower-bounce lob wedge compared to 2019. The MG5 wedges are also softer than the first Milled Grind option from 2019. McIlroy also no longer plays the full-face grooves found on the Hi-Toe.

Putter

2019: TaylorMade Spider X
2026: TaylorMade Spider Tour X

Notice anything similar. Yes, the copper finish on Rory McIlroy’s Spider X putter in 2019 is a slightly more reflective finish than the recently released torched PVD finish. McIlroy was using the True Path alignment system, but now uses only a single white sightline.

Ball

2019: 2019 TaylorMade TP5 (#22)
2026: 2025 TaylorMade TP5 (RORS)

As mentioned above, McIlroy had transitioned from the TP5 to TP5x golf ball since his victory in Canada in 2019, but now is black with the same style of golf ball as his victory at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Grips

2019: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
2026: Golf Pride MCC

Interesting, McIlroy actually used Golf Pride’s Tour Velvet Cord grips during his victory in 2019 (it was during a 2+ year switch to the corded TV) as opposed to his usual MCC grips, which he has played for most of his career.

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Titleist Vokey Proto Wedges 54M, 60T

Published

5 hours ago

Jun 11, 2026

Will Schube

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @Putt4Dough is selling some prototype wedges from Vokey Wedgeworks. These include a 54 degree wedge with the M grind and a 60 degree wedge with a T grind.

From the listing:

(1) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 54M with a Tour Issue DGS400 shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet (logo down). Standard length, lie, and loft. BB&F ferrule. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.

(2) Titleist Vokey Proto Wedge 60T with a KBS Tour 130X shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet. Standard length, lie, and loft. Raw wedge in good condition. No initials. Price is $200 shipped. Buy both wedges for $380 shipped.

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules.