Wilson Staff Tour Blade

Anyone have any information on the Wilson Staff Tour Blade irons, circa 1980? :confused:

My local golf shop has a "previously owned" set (3i - PW) on sale for $20. For a 25+ year old set, they look pretty good. Not much wear on the face.

I got to hit a few balls and they felt and sounded good, but I was hitting into a net. For all I know I could be duffing everything.

I took a look at the reviews, and a majority of the reviews were favorable.

Your feedback will be appreciated. :D

Can you really go wrong for $20? I started out playing old wilson tour blades (a hand me down set in college). They were not really ideal for a rookie, but I still remember how sweet a well struck ball felt with those irons. I actually still have one of them I practice with at home. The one I have makes my mp29s look like a GI irons. The lofts were weaker and the shafts were shorter back then also. I would buy that set in a second for $20.

I played Wilson Staff tour blade in 1978, my senior year in HS and I was number one man on the golf team... memories.. :-)

I recall them being butter-soft and feeling superb, with the same Dynamic Gold shafts as we have today..

they weren't made with computers, but they look a lot like modern blades, titleist and mizzie and whatnot. I'd play them again if I could buy a set for $20, you better believe it. Forged blades are forged blades. Tour Blades were top of the craft in their day. Pros played them everywhere.

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Ok so the wilson blade 6i isn't much smaller than mp29 6i, but the topline is thinner. Look at how bulky the other clubs look (spalding 7i, rac os 6i, and mx25 6i).

All,

Thanks for your input.
I swung them again and bought 'em. they sound and feel great. They feel a lot lighter than the modern day blades.

Take it easy.

Took 'em to the driving range today and yesterday. They're AWESOME!

Like most blades, the sweet spot is small. Gives really good feedback on mishits. Rewards you with an awesome feel and sound on solid strikes. I can feel my swing improving everytime I use these irons. With these, my ball flight is a slight draw with a medium-high trajectory. Really nice.

The one thing that is not impressive is the distance. On solid shots I'll be 10 -15 yards shorter than my Titleist 695CB. It's probably the 25+ year old shafts.

You think it's worth reshafting?

I suggest that the difference in distance is the jacked-up lofts of more recent irons. I have a 1965 set of Wilson Staffs and the PW is 50* and the 2 iron is 20*, a common loft for a 3 iron today. My Nike PC 3 iron is 21*. Both yours and my WS irons were produced before manufacturers started strengthening the lofts to give customers the illusion that they were hitting that manufacturers irons further. That famous 2 iron shot by Jack Nicklaus was actually made with a club having the loft of an average modern 3 iron.

----Thanks Golfwifan and Kiwi Player (below) for catching my typo on the degrees of loft for the 2 iron. Now corrected.

30 degrees loft would be closer to a 5 or six iron in todays sets not a 3 iron, 3 irons are around 21 4 iron 24 five iron 27 and six iron 31 or about that anyway for a modern set of irons. The nice thing about weeker lofts is you no longer have a need for a 52degree wedge freeing up a spot in the bag for Dare I say it a hybrid 2 iron?

[QUOTE=Ben D]I suggest that the difference in distance is the jacked-up lofts of more recent irons. I have a 1965 set of Wilson Staffs and the PW is 50* and the 2 iron is 30*, a common loft for a 3 iron today. Both yours and my WS irons were produced before manufacturers started strengthening the lofts to give customers the illusion that they were hitting that manufacturers irons further. That famous 2 iron shot by Jack Nicklaus was actually made with a club having the loft of an average modern 3 iron.[/QUOTE]

30* is a 6 iron.

Most modern 3 irons are 20-22*.

I agree that the loss of distance would be caused by the clubs being a full club or more (i.e. 3-4 degrees) weaker than its modern equivalent.

My Adams wedge is 46*. That's probably three or four degrees stronger than my old Tour Blade wedge. The 5-iron is 26*.

I wouldn't expect to hit my old TBs as far as these, for loft and shaft reasons.

You could always get new shafts and have the lofts adjusted a couple of degrees, but you still won't get them to the loft strength of a lot of today's irons.

But not every set today has strong lofts. If you replace the shafts with modern and properly tuned versions, you should gain something noticeable.

If you strengthgen the loft just be aware you also affect thebounce of the club. for every degree you go it lessens the bounce 1 degree its a 1 to 1 ratio.

I'll use these as my practice set. For $20, it's the best swing trainer.

I'll pick up a present day model in the near future.

[QUOTE=daveperk]My Adams wedge is 46*. That's probably three or four degrees stronger than my old Tour Blade wedge. The 5-iron is 26*.

I wouldn't expect to hit my old TBs as far as these, for loft and shaft reasons.

You could always get new shafts and have the lofts adjusted a couple of degrees, but you still won't get them to the loft strength of a lot of today's irons.

But not every set today has strong lofts. If you replace the shafts with modern and properly tuned versions, you should gain something noticeable.[/QUOTE]
He bought the whole set for $20, and they have the venerable but still good Dynamic Golds already on them. It would cost him many times the price of the clubs to replace the shafts with something similar to what is already there.
Changing the lofts also changes the bounce angles degree for degree.
He should rejoice in his good fortune and, at most, possibly replace the grips.

I've played my 1965 Wilson Staff irons (2 thru SW) twice in the last four years. Both times I was not scoring well and put them in the bag with a "I can't play any worse attitude". And both times after getting a few pured shots with them, I went back to my more forgiving and more modern clubs with a renewed confidence. I call them my therapy clubs. And those awful shots that were inevitable, I could always blame on the original 1965 grips. The number on the club really makes no difference, other than for negative bragging rights.

Side note: Not only would strengthening the lofts change the bounce but it would also add offset. Not actually bad with these which have narrow soles and very minimal offset.

[QUOTE=dorkman53]He bought the whole set for $20, and they have the venerable but still good Dynamic Golds already on them. It would cost him many times the price of the clubs to replace the shafts with something similar to what is already there.
Changing the lofts also changes the bounce angles degree for degree.
He should rejoice in his good fortune and, at most, possibly replace the grips.[/QUOTE]

Thirty year old DG shafts could have rust specks inside them, and in any case were not computer-controlled in manufacture, which the new ones surely are...

I agree about the $20, but come on Dorkman, we're all hoes here, a cheap purchase price means a license to upgrade! :-)

I propose that anyone who can hit a five iron blade decently would have a hard time saying whether it had six or three degrees of bounce. Some clubs are obvious diggers, like the Srixon forged irons, but the narrower the sole (blades) the less difference bounce makes. Not as much as loft in any case. I went from Pings to Adams Forged, a very different sole with much less bounce, and I swing the same and a well struck shot from the same turf flies the same. I'm more consistent with the new Adams, but its not because of bounce issues.

If I had bought a set of usable Staff Tour Blades from the late 70's or early 80's and paid $20 for them, I'd put Black Golds or PXs in them, some black and yellow GP grips, stick lead tape all over the backs for looks, and flail away. :-)

But that's just me.

So if I decide to adjust loft (stronger by a couple of degrees) and reshaft these irons, will it give me comparable performance to todays modern blades?

bubbha 70

Others have mentioned that this model uses a TT Dynamic Gold shaft. They haven't changed so changing to other shafts with different kickpoints, weight, etc. will take advantage of modern technology. But the DG hasn't changed to my knowledge. My choice for my WS irons would be the DG SL to preserve the trajectory and swingweight.

If you change the loft to 3 degrees stronger, you are actually changing the design quite a bit in bounce and offset. But why do it, just take out your gap wedge and use them as is; meaning use your 2 iron for your 3 iron distance on up to where your Wilson Staff PW will nearly match your current gap wedge. If you check, you will find that most modern pro blade styles (Titleist ZB and ZM, Nike Blades, etc.) match the older club lofts. The only thing you will loose is bragging rights for who hits their irons further...at least going by the numbers on the sole.

[QUOTE=daveperk]Thirty year old DG shafts could have rust specks inside them, and in any case were not computer-controlled in manufacture, which the new ones surely are...

I agree about the $20, but come on Dorkman, we're all hoes here, a cheap purchase price means a license to upgrade! :-)

I propose that anyone who can hit a five iron blade decently would have a hard time saying whether it had six or three degrees of bounce. Some clubs are obvious diggers, like the Srixon forged irons, but the narrower the sole (blades) the less difference bounce makes. Not as much as loft in any case. I went from Pings to Adams Forged, a very different sole with much less bounce, and I swing the same and a well struck shot from the same turf flies the same. I'm more consistent with the new Adams, but its not because of bounce issues.

If I had bought a set of usable Staff Tour Blades from the late 70's or early 80's and paid $20 for them, I'd put Black Golds or PXs in them, some black and yellow GP grips, stick lead tape all over the backs for looks, and flail away. :-)

But that's just me.[/QUOTE]
Hey, I've spent buckets of money on clubs, reshafting, etc. To each his own. But it just seemed to me to be a little bit unusual to spend ~ $250 to reshaft a set of clubs one just bought for $20. If you do your own work, then it's just the cost of the shafts and grips.
My clubmaker charges me $20/club to reshaft and provide an average priced grip on a club. I provide the shafts; he does the work.

[QUOTE=Ben D]bubbha 70

Others have mentioned that this model uses a TT Dynamic Gold shaft. They haven't changed so changing to other shafts with different kickpoints, weight, etc. will take advantage of modern technology. But the DG hasn't changed to my knowledge. My choice for my WS irons would be the DG SL to preserve the trajectory and swingweight.

If you change the loft to 3 degrees stronger, you are actually changing the design quite a bit in bounce and offset. But why do it, just take out your gap wedge and use them as is; meaning use your 2 iron for your 3 iron distance on up to where your Wilson Staff PW will nearly match your current gap wedge. If you check, you will find that most modern pro blade styles (Titleist ZB and ZM, Nike Blades, etc.) match the older club lofts. The only thing you will loose is bragging rights for who hits their irons further...at least going by the numbers on the sole.[/QUOTE]
Correct me here if I'm wrong, but if they are 30 years old I think they may not be Dynamic Golds, but the earlier premium shaft the Dynamic which was the predecessor to the DG but not sure when the DG came out. The Dynamics were basically the same shaft but they added the 'Gold' when they introduced frequency matching.

[QUOTE=Not a hacker]Correct me here if I'm wrong, but if they are 30 years old I think they may not be Dynamic Golds, but the earlier premium shaft the Dynamic which was the predecessor to the DG but not sure when the DG came out. The Dynamics were basically the same shaft but they added the 'Gold' when they introduced frequency matching.[/QUOTE]

but I don't know when the "Gold" came in. I don't think new DG's would make much of a difference though, unlike switching to TX-90, Dynalite Gold, Rifle, Nippon, etc.; something with a more different kickpoint, weight, or other feature.

[QUOTE=Not a hacker]Correct me here if I'm wrong, but if they are 30 years old I think they may not be Dynamic Golds, but the earlier premium shaft the Dynamic which was the predecessor to the DG but not sure when the DG came out. The Dynamics were basically the same shaft but they added the 'Gold' when they introduced frequency matching.[/QUOTE]

You've electrified some long unused brain cells NOH.. they [B]were[/B] actually Dynamics, not DGs... good call... I remember well the True Temper Dynamic shaft, cuz it was in all the good clubs back in the Stone Age when I was in High School.. as I recall, the Staff Dynapower was the big Wilson iron that came before the Staff Tour Blade, and it had the Dynamic shaft as well.. Dynapower was the one with the plastic insert through the bottom of the hosel, made a red dot on the sole of the club at the heel... supposed to absorb vibration and whatnot.. but I liked the Tour Blades much much better than the old Dynapowers.. back then nobody thought about the shaft at all... just a Dynamic stiff was good enough for every club, even the driver..

I can't help but think that modern manufacturing techniques have done for steel shafts what they did for iron heads, made them more uniform and better quality.. replacing the shafts on those old Tour Blades would probably be a worthy investment..

[QUOTE=daveperk]You've electrified some long unused brain cells NOH.. they [B]were[/B] actually Dynamics, not DGs... good call... I remember well the True Temper Dynamic shaft, cuz it was in all the good clubs back in the Stone Age when I was in High School.. as I recall, the Staff Dynapower was the big Wilson iron that came before the Staff Tour Blade, and it had the Dynamic shaft as well.. Dynapower was the one with the plastic insert through the bottom of the hosel, made a red dot on the sole of the club at the heel... supposed to absorb vibration and whatnot.. but I liked the Tour Blades much much better than the old Dynapowers.. back then nobody thought about the shaft at all... just a Dynamic stiff was good enough for every club, even the driver..

I can't help but think that modern manufacturing techniques have done for steel shafts what they did for iron heads, made them more uniform and better quality.. replacing the shafts on those old Tour Blades would probably be a worthy investment..[/QUOTE]

Good call. Mine are Dyna-Power but they also say Fluid Feel on the back which I thought was the through bored hosel with the red plastic plug. Wilson said it had dampening qualities and I think it was patented.

[QUOTE=Ben D]Good call. Mine are Dyna-Power but they also say Fluid Feel on the back which I thought was the through bored hosel with the red plastic plug. Wilson said it had dampening qualities and I think it was patented.[/QUOTE]

Yep, fluid feel is the name of it. That was a pretty good iron, but I liked the Staff Tour Blade better. It was, you may recall, a modification of the Staff head that came out after the DP. That one had a big fat muscle back, and the Tour Blade had some of the lower muscle ground away, to lower ball flight or some such.

[QUOTE=Ben D]Good call. Mine are Dyna-Power but they also say Fluid Feel on the back which I thought was the through bored hosel with the red plastic plug. Wilson said it had dampening qualities and I think it was patented.[/QUOTE]

Yep, fluid feel is the name of it. That was a pretty good iron, but I liked the Staff Tour Blade better. It was, you may recall, a modification of the Staff head that came out after the DP. That one had a big fat muscle back, and the Tour Blade had some of the lower muscle ground away, to lower ball flight or some such.

I remember the old fluid feel and staff tour blades from my very early childhood when I used to caddie fro a neighbour. He was a chopper and used some even more ancient slazengers ('Gary Player' from memory but not sure), but lots of low markers used the Wilsons. They were probably the top club before Mizunos really started to hit the scene during the 80's.

Just got the matching 2 iron.

I also found an FG-17 1 iron. Looks exactly like the model I have, except for the FG-17 branding. It's being shipped.

Thanks for all your input.

I'm still considering reshafting. I have a couple of friends that will do it for free. Well not really. I'd have to supply the materials and buy either of them lunch or beer or a round of golf ($60). Still better than paying $20 per club at Golfsmith.

The question is which shafts?
With my buddies doing the work for free, I can sorta splurge on on the shafts.