Wilson Launch Pad Irons Review

Wilson Launch Pad Irons Review

Wilson Launch Pad Irons
Grade: A
Teacher’s Comments: Body and sole design mean you’d have to work really hard to hit a bad shot with these.

Wilson Launch Pad Irons Manufacturer’s Site
On Amazon

When I took the Launch Pad irons out for a playtest for the first time, I showed them to the pro at Washtenaw Golf Club. His first reaction was “my senior players are going to love those.”

He’s not wrong. I think these are a perfect set of clubs for slower swingers, beginners and other players who struggle to get a ball in the air.

Wilson Golf named them “Launch Pad” for a reason.

LaunchPad Irons are essentially a complete set of hybrids. The longer irons are deeper from front to back, while the shorter ones come closer to a super game improvement iron. The bodies are hollow, offering support for the thin faces, as well as better distance and more forgiveness.

The clubs are a bit odd looking to a traditionalist, but Wilson has done quite a bit to soften the look at address. The chrome topline is no thicker than a game improvement iron, while the back end is black. That does a bit of a trick on the eyes. I can focus on the shiny bits and the black just sort of disappears.

The key to the Launch Pad Irons is in the wide sole. This, Wilson says, “floats above the turf,” resulting in a higher launch.

It does indeed. Shots hit off these clubs absolutely soar. Swing easy, swing hard, dig down or sweep, and balls go high.

If you have trouble getting the ball in the air, you need to test a set of Wilson Launch Pad Irons.

The wide soles, combined with an increased bounce angle, also make the club less likely to dig into the ground. You’re quite unlikely to chunk a shot with these.

With more traditional irons, the results of off-center shots can be pretty punishing. The hollow body construction of the Launch Pad irons, on the other hand, are extraordinarily forgiving.

Given the forgiveness from the body and sole, I think that a player would have to work pretty hard to hit a bad shot with the Launch Pad Irons.

Shafts in the Launch Pads are lighter weight to help players generate higher clubhead speed. The Launch Pads also feature mid-sized grips. That works for me because I’ve gone to midsize grips in all of my clubs. I believe it makes a club easier to grip with less tension.

For my game the Wilson Launch Pad irons produce good, but not great distance. In fact, they seem to me to be shorter than my usual gamers (now a set of XXIO X Forged Irons, with graphite shafts). That, I think, is related to the height. I already hit a high ball. The Launch Pads just add to that tendency.

If you are one whose swing produces a lot of mishits, then I am confident you will find that you actually get MORE consistent distance than you currently generate.

Initial concerns about how the Launch Pads — with their thick soles — would perform in the short game were largely unfounded. The work just fine with chips and pitches, although I struggled a bit with them out of thick rough.

All of that said, these are probably not a set for the better — or even the aspirational player. I put myself in the latter category. But for a player who is struggling, who plays infrequently or doesn’t have the time to practice, the Launch Pad irons could be a godsend.

The Wilson Launch Pad Irons Review was first published September 22, 2020 on GolfBlogger.Com