Absolutely. Wilson might not have the brand recognition in the golf ball market that some other companies do but it has devoted significant R&D resources to its golf ball line and has a wide range of products to fit the needs of any player. Wilson has been especially successful in developing golf balls at lower price points to help recreational players on a budget still enjoy high-quality performance benefits from tee to green. That said, Wilson's top-of-the-line Staff Model franchise has consistently delivered premium balls that are played on professional tours across the globe and competitive with the most popular balls in the game. What is Wilson's premium golf ball?

Here at Golf Monthly, our highly experienced team of testers play a lot of golf in different conditions throughout the year. Through our rigorous testing procedures, our collective goal is to test every golf model on the market as soon as it becomes available, putting in the hours in all weathers out on the golf course, the practice ground and the short-game area. Wilson market this ball as having “tour level distance optimised by a low-spinning trajectory off the tee” as well as "maximum greenside spin that delivers unparalleled stopping power". I’ve actually done a head to head comparison of the Wilson Staff Model and the Staff Model R. I drew the same conclusions as the author. Now, the regular staff Model was good enough for me to switch from ProV1’s to the year’s Wilson ball. For me, (3-handicap) it had similar playing characteristics of the slightly older ProV1x models with higher launch and lower spin. I wish My Golf Spy would have included some playing or testing observations on their write-up on that ball in April. It really is a great ball.Durability is certainly an issue though. It turns out that there’s actually a very good reason why golf balls are painted! It has nothing to do with performance and everything to do with protecting the cover and keeping the ball looking as good as new for as long as possible. Generally, lower handicappers are looking for a ball that spins more so they can get more control around the greens. In this case, getting a ball with a urethane cover is really important as it will give you the most spin and control.

If you’re looking for more spin, however, the Staff R appears to be a legitimate option to deliver just that. Another urethane 4-piece ball very much the same as the Staff Model R. The obvious difference is that this ball is painted, albeit with "a finely controlled application process that ensures every urethane ball leaves the factory with a near-flawless finish".Dimples drive the aerodynamics of a golf ball. Paint coats the dimples. Therefore, paint has the potential to impact and even disrupt the aerodynamic performance of the golf ball. V-Cort Advanced Performance - A unique core composition amplifies energy to generate maximum velocity off the clubface, resulting in longer distances. It is important to point out here that this does not impact on performance at all but visually it will be off-putting to some golfers. You don’t expect a brand new shiny golf ball that you’ve only played two holes with to look like one that has been lying in a muddy ditch for six months. The driver spin is just north of average for a Tour ball, but that’s provided me with some extra carry distance and better consistency. Ball speed is also excellent.

Once again, these findings aren’t atypical of what we see for Foremost-made balls. Typically, balls are generally consistent and often above average for some metrics. However, significant outliers are far from uncommon. Compression Consistency With the Wilson Staff Model R, Wilson skips steps 1 and 3 entirely. Seams are polished, the raw balls are stamped, boxed and (Shimmy Shimmy Ya) shipped to retailers. All in all I think this ball is as good as anything else out there and if it performs for me with wedges like it did for me today it will be a serious contender for my 2021 gamer.The best premium golf balls come in alternative versions that spin slightly less for players who prefer a firmer feel or more control off the tee. We recommend you try both kinds of feel from various distances to find your preferred feel. Yeah, if you're making a big deal about how flawed painted golf balls are, you better make sure the painted ones you are selling are done differently to everyone else! The durability chapter of our Wilson Staff Model R story is interesting. To some degree, paint and clear coat exists to protect the ball but neither is essential to the design of a golf ball. Staff Model R is unpainted as the dimple cross-section geometry, and the pattern of dimples on a golf ball are critical aerodynamic elements that affect the flight performance of the ball in terms of trajectory, distance, and directional stability. These dimples are a mere 0.004-0.007 inches deep and super sensitive to the level of paint on the ball,” said Bob Thurman, Vice President, Wilson Labs. I loved it off my driver where I was getting some of my most impressive numbers of good strikes, and a very penetrating low spinning flight