Wilson Staff Launch Pad 2022 Driver Review
Last updated:
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At a glance
- TG Rating
- Owner Rating
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Pros
– Superb value
– Consistent performance
– Excellent for slow/moderate swing speeds
– Helps straighten a 'sliced' ball flight
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Cons
– The 90s offset driver look won't be for everyone
What we say...
Wilson’s super game improvement Launch Pad driver gets a dramatic revamp for 2022 to help high-handicappers play better golf.
With new and returning golfers flooding into the game, there’s never been a better time for brands to be making the best drivers for game improvement.
Wilson (like Cleveland) stole a march on their competitors when they decided to plow huge resources into taking super game improvement clubs seriously several years ago. As a result, Wilson have been able to produce not only one of the best Wilson drivers but one of the best drivers to help players with a fade.
Pros
- Superb value
- Consistent performance
- Excellent for slow/moderate swing speeds
- Helps straighten a 'sliced' ball flight
Cons
- The 90s offset driver look won't be for everyone
And it’s thanks to the success of Wilson’s previous Launch Pad driver, launched back in 2019, that the big stick has been redesigned for a second generation, along with the fairway wood, hybrid, and irons.
“The original range achieved great success in meeting its main objective to help less skilled golfers get the ball airborne and gain consistency in the strike, but we knew it could be more aesthetically pleasing,” said Jon Pergande, Manager of Golf Club Innovation at Wilson Golf.
“The new Launch Pad range features optimized technology on the irons to keep the club head on the ball and out of the grass, while in the woods it helps players overcome one of the most frustrating problems in golf – the slice – so shots fly straighter and with more accuracy.
“The look of the irons and woods now gives players greater confidence over the ball at address and test performance results are extremely encouraging.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2022 Wilson Launch Pad driver.
Wilson Launch Pad 2022 Driver
RRP: £305 | VIEW UK OFFER | VIEW US OFFER
Lofts: 9° /10.5° / 13° | Women’s: Yes | Stock shafts: Project X | Stock Grips: Wilson Staff Midsize (men’s), Wilson Staff Performance (women’s) | Adjustable hosel: No
The original Launch Pad driver was very successful at straightening out shots thanks to a whole suite of slice busting tech. Now Wilson reckon this new model is even more efficient at keeping slicers out of the right rough.
Wilson studied the impact locations of average golfers and noticed that 68.3% occurred on the toe side of centre on the face. That knowledge allowed Wilson to go after optimising that area of the new Launch Pad driver, making the face 5.2% bigger, with a deeper toe section to increase both confidence and forgiveness.
Wilson used computer modelling tech to optimise zones across the D9 driver face last year and they’ve turned to computing power again to ensure the new Launch Pad outperforms its predecessor.
Wilson say they handed over extra parameters to the computer, including how many zones should be on the face, along with the thickness of the zones, and how each blends with adjoining zones. The move has meant golfers can expect additional ball speeds from across the Launch Pad’s entire PKR face.
With the Launch Pad being aimed at slower swing players (whose lack of speed typically leads to issues with squaring the face at impact) and slicers, Wilson have built in deep heel side weighting to straighten the ball flight, making it one of the best draw drivers available.
The tech is combined with a more upright lie angle, which helps start shots further left. When tested against golfers’ own drivers, Wilson saw the Launch Pad hit shots with a spin axis 8° more left on average, which led to shots finishing 13.5 yards further left than with their own driver.
Wilson’s R&D team are also aware that lots of golfers don’t like seeing a closed clubface at address, even though it’s a feature that would help them hit more fairways. To cleverly disguise the Launch Pad’s closed face there’s extra face bulge (from toe to heel) so golfers get a decent looking driver at address.
All in Wilson say the Launch Pad’s traits mean golfers on the tee swing with more confidence, so they swing faster, hit shots higher, further left and longer down the fairway, which is a recipe lots of club golfer will love.
Watch: Best 2022 Driver video
How the 2022 Wilson Launch Pad Driver performed on test
To some, the new driver will have the appearance of an offset driver from the 1990s. But if the tech works and keeps drives on the mown grass more often, then why not? It won’t win any beauty contests, but that big, friendly pan-shaped head creates the model’s forgiving traits.
We reckon a lot of moderate swing speed players, who have a tendency to swipe shots right, will benefit from this driver’s toolbox of anti-right technologies. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea (draw drivers rarely are), but for those who are willing to put their hands up and say, “Just give me a driver that helps me hit it straight”, this has a lot to offer.
If you’re after the most draw-biased driver of the year on a budget then, as the test data from below reinforces, this is your model.
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Product Information
Wilson Launch Pad 2022 Driver
RRP: £149 | VIEW UK OFFER | VIEW US OFFER
Launched: March 2022
Lofts: 9° /10.5° / 13°
Women's: Yes
Stock shafts: Project X
Stock Grips: Wilson Staff Midsize (men's), Wilson Staff Performance (women's)
Adjustable hosel: No
