50 Words or Less
The 2024 Wilson Staff Model golf balls have very soft feel and lower spin for more distance. The 2024 Wilson Staff Model X golf ball is higher spinning throughout the bag with a firmer feel. Both golf balls offer strong consistency and durability.
Introduction
Wilson Staff is a name with deep historical roots in golf that’s been successfully brought back to the fore. While the Staff Model Blades [review HERE] get the lion’s share of the spotlight, Wilson has built a strong family behind that name, including the Staff Model golf ball [2020 review HERE]. New for 2024, Wilson has expanded the Staff Model golf ball line up to include the Staff Model X. I tested both for this review.
Feel
I broke my habit and started testing the Wilson Staff Model golf balls with full swing clubs rather than the putter. The Staff Model immediately caught my attention for its soft feel off the wedge. It’s not the super compressed, tennis ball feel of the Wilson DUO [review HERE], but it’s clearly different from most Tour balls. From pitches to full wedge swings, the Staff Model feels almost dull on the face. As I moved into longer clubs, that softness became less noticeable, but it was always there if I was paying attention.
The Wilson Staff Model X golf ball is easily distinguished from its brother, but it’s still on the softer side of the Tour ball spectrum. Wilson states that the X is 10 compression points higher, and that translates to a more “normal” feel for a Tour ball. That said, the X does not have any of the “click” or “tock” associated with the firmest Tour balls.
Moving to the green, the feel gap between the two balls shrank, to my surprise. On medium and long putts, both Wilson Staff Model golf balls produce a very quiet “tock.” This was a more lively sound than I was expecting from the standard Staff Model. There is a small difference in the hands, but both balls are, again, on the softer end of the spectrum. The Staff Model has a little more give, which comes out on longer putts, but the Staff Model X is still very soft and satisfying.
Short Game
I tested both 2024 Wilson Staff Model golf balls against two different Tour-style golf balls with a variety of wedge shots. From short pitches to full wedge swings, the results were very consistent. As Wilson Golf states, the Staff Model X creates more short game spin than the Staff Model. The difference was not dramatic for me – a few hundred RPM on shots with as much as 11,000 RPM.
Comparing the Wilson Staff Model golf balls to other Tour-style balls, their spin was slightly lower across different wedge shots. On full wedge shots, the gap was about 8%. The difference was less on pitches and half shots, closer to 6%. While this may turn off players seeking every last revolution, what I find more important is the consistency. Both Staff Models kept their spin in a tight range, even on imperfect strikes.
Long Game
The biggest advance in the 2024 Wilson Staff Model golf balls is the V-COR. This is a new core material that “magnifies energy” to generate more ball speed. According to Frank Simonutti, Wilson’s Global Director of Golf Ball Innovation (you may remember him from Wilson’s commercials a few years back), “Both Staff Model and Staff Model X yield faster ball speeds than any other urethane golf ball in their respective class” in Wilson’s internal testing. That’s a bold claim I was eager to test.
My long game testing started with a run through the iron set. My findings there mirrored what I saw with the wedges. Both Wilson Staff Model golf balls spun a hair less than other Tour balls with the Staff Model X spinning a bit more than the Staff Model. The slightly lower spin of the Wilsons was offset by a modestly higher launch angle. In the end, there was no significant difference in landing angle or roll, but the Wilson Staff Models traveled a couple yards farther.
Finally, moving to the driver, both Wilson Staff Models stood up to the company’s claims of low spin and high ball speed. As a low spin player, I did not find any difference between the spin of the Staff Model and the Staff Model X. Higher spin players may. In terms of speed, I found both Staff Models to be excellent, though I could not discern a difference between them and other Tour balls. Robot testing may show them to be faster, but for me all the Tour balls I tested were effectively equal.
Conclusion
Wilson Golf’s biggest success in golf balls came with the inimitable DUO, and they’ve clearly brought some of that magic to their Tour line. The Wilson Staff Model golf ball and the Staff Model X have a soft, satisfying feel blended with the performance you expect from a 4-piece urethane-covered ball.
Visit Wilson Golf HERE
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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5 Comments
Hi Matt, I’m curious how you’d compare these to the previous staff model ball. In your review of that ball, you’d said it was in the middle in terms of feel, but it was seen to be a very spinny ball. Would that ball’s feel land in between the new ones? And does the X model tone down the spin or keep it mostly the same as the previous ball?
Thanks!
Jon,
Both models are definitely lower spin, for me, than the original Staff Model. Regarding spin, I’d defer to whatever I wrote in that review. I don’t remember the feel of that ball well enough to confidently compare them.
Best,
Matt
Hi Matt
You compared to the duosoft, but curious how they feel compared to the Triad. That’s my gamer and I’m in love with it. Interested in your thoughts
Thomas,
I haven’t reviewed the Triad, so I can’t offer a comparison.
Best,
Matt
I played the staff model 2024 Friday for the first time (PGA superstore is doing a buy 2 get one deal). I found it to play similarly to prov1s and zStars on full shots and lots of spin around the green. I play yellow balls so I can track them and it’s a nice shade unlike Callaway.