The Wilson Player Fit Premium package set promises to provide “everything a golfer needs to get out on the course and flying down the fairway”. However, at around double the price of some of the other best package sets I have tested recently, I was keen to see if the extra money was worth it…
To put it into context, less than £700 for a full set of clubs and a bag is still an extremely low price point when you consider that many major OEM’s drivers alone will set you back a similar amount with a custom shaft, but in my experience, the £300 - £500 bracket is where many package sets sit so I was keen to know what the difference was here.
After some extensive testing, the answer is quite simple. Nothing revolutionary, Wilson has just gone down a slightly more premium route in construction throughout the entire set. From making the driver titanium as opposed to steel, adding an exceptional-looking blade-style wedge, to providing purchasers with a milled putter, everything is just a notch above your more “standard” package sets. But what do you get in your set? Well, the set is comprised of a driver, 3 wood, 4 and 5 hybrids, 6-iron to sand wedge, and a putter. All of these sit in a stand bag with ample storage and a handy double strap.
From an aesthetic standpoint, Wilson has done a quite brilliant job here. The overall package looks great, with a very premium-looking and feeling bag, understated but well-put-together headcovers for the woods, and strong shelf appeal from the back of the irons and wedges. I would genuinely struggle to pick this out as a package set. Staying with the visuals for a moment, in the address position, Wilson has nailed this set throughout the bag. All of the woods have a nicely rounded shape with ample mass to provide confidence and the contrasting face-to-crown color change really shows off the loft and makes you feel that getting the ball airborne is a simple task.
Similarly, with the irons, they sit very square and frame the ball beautifully. Plenty of real estate again inspires confidence and the overall design is sophisticated. Too often for me, even in the best clubs for beginners, the aesthetic can be a bit over the top and patronizing, but not so here. A standout for me is the beautifully crafted sand wedge. Wilson has provided a fabulous-looking blade-style sand wedge, which whilst it might not be as forgiving as some, provides some really nice feel and feedback at strike which will help sharpen short games quicker. The simple branding and high gloss chrome finish are a triumph and I would argue that even some of the best wedges could take note in terms of how to create a sophisticated, classic-looking wedge.
Fortunately, the performance very much matched the impressive visuals here. Starting at the top, the driver felt very solid at strike, and despite being a little soft in the shaft for me personally, performed admirably. Very easy to launch and extremely playable on mishits, I was impressed. The sound was a little louder than some of the best drivers but was far from offensive.
It was a similar story with the 3 wood and hybrids. Extremely easy to get airborne and with a pleasingly solid feel, this area of the bag is well covered by a multitude of loft options.
The irons felt excellent at impact and produced some strong distance numbers from my FullSwing KIT launch monitor, once again achieving good peak heights with ease.
Something Wilson has done exceptionally well here is focusing a little more on the finesse side of the game with a brilliant wedge and putter combination. As I have already mentioned, the wedge looks stunning, but it also performs. Some of the package set sand wedges I have used in the past have felt clumsy and cumbersome, but this one is a pleasure to use. Soft feeling, with excellent turf interaction, I feel that this will help expedite the process of developing a strong short game.
While the putter isn’t necessarily to my tastes visually, it is an excellent performer. The milled face feels very premium at strike and the high MOI mallet head allows you to get away with off-center contacts nicely.
One point I must note unfortunately is that a number of the clubs in my set had fairly poorly installed grips. While the quality of these grips was fantastic, at least three of them were probably 20 degrees off square, which for a beginner golfer trying to learn a neutral grip could be a real problem. It seems pedantic to mention, but I do think it needs looking at and is an extremely avoidable mistake and an easy fix.
On the whole, I was massively impressed with the Wilson Player Fit Premium Package Set. Wilson has more than justified the price tag with the quality on offer here and filled a gap in the market that I hadn’t really noticed existed.
