Curated Golf Expert Ryan Hernandez got his hands on the Wilson Dynapower Carbon Driver to test this spring. Check out how it performed, but consider the fact that each and every golfer is different; if you have any questions about the Dynapower Driver or need recommendations on which club would be best for you, reach out to a Golf Expert here on Curated.

Before we get started, it's worth noting that Curated Experts are not sponsored by any brands. All of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does Wilson claim about this club? If you are a golf fan or a golf historian, Dynapower was a very old school Wilson design that they have brought back to reinvigorate the brand. Wilson over the last several years has not had the reputation of Callaway, TaylorMade, or Titleist, but they’re really trying to make their way back into the market share, and Dynapower may just do that. These clubs are claimed to be just as good as top manufacturers with the tech that goes into them from AI designs to adjustability, just like you would find in maybe a top end brand.

This is a carbon instead of aluminum driver, so it’s lighter by about 44%. Callaway is going to a carbon chassis, TaylorMade has a carbon crown and a carbon face. Carbon is kind of the future of drivers.

Wilson claims that these are going to be able to hang with the big boys. The Callaways, the TaylorMades, the Titleists, those kinds of brands, through design, AI specifically, using AI like some of the bigger brands and incorporating kind of the carbon and the different MOI (moment of inertia), launch, adjustability characteristics that you see in modern day drivers.

Overall Impressions

What are the specs of the club you are testing? This carbon driver is a nine degree, 6-X Ventus Blue shaft and the stock Wilson Lampkin grip. This is the non-VeloCore model.

What is your overall impression of the club? First impression is phenomenal feel off the face, great distance, great stability and feel throughout the swing. I am very impressed with what WIlson is doing with Dynapower. This is right up my alley of the type of drivers I like.

They lower the center of gravity, push it forward, so it’s a neutral bias, low spin model of the two driver models. That’s what I play and aim for. Right now, in the bag I have the Triple Diamond Callaway Paradym. I played the TaylorMade Stealth Plus before, so those are the kind of drivers that I gravitate towards.

With this Dynapower driver, I love the feel off the face. What I like is that little kind of like sticky feeling or where it feels like the ball is holding on the face a little bit and then it explodes and that happens with this carbon driver. I don't really want to pull the ball. I don't really want to draw the ball on my drives. I like to hit a neutral to power fade and that is what I was able to hit with this driver. So it performed exactly how I would want a driver to perform for me. Very happy with it.

So that was my first impression of it. And we'll talk more about the titanium in another piece, but the titanium is definitely a higher launch draw model and I definitely saw the draw coming.

What new technology is built into the club? In terms of new technology, these are going to blow the D9, last year’s model, out of the water in my opinion. Biggest things are that they're taking the carbon, molded it into the crown here. So they've taken weight out and positioned it in better places to get more optimal performance. They're going to push the weight down low to the front, lower spin for those players who are looking for a lower spin, lower launching option. 12 gram weight in the back. Inertia is very, very good. This club feels great and is stable on the back swing through the downswing and beyond.

AI face, so they’ve input data into a computer to output the best, minute measurements to get variable face thickness, so thick, thin, whatever is needed, all in the right places to get the most forgiving, biggest sweet spot they can without giving up ball speed, distance, and those kinds of things.

Review

How is it for workability? Workability is fantastic. The adjustability is there for you, but you can also work this driver left and right. I can hit a draw with it, but what I really love is that it's not draw biased, so it allows me to hit that neutral to power fade if I want it, which is my natural ball shape with the driver anyway. So I really like that.

How is its launch? Overall, I was very impressed with the launch. I love the lower piercing ball flight. I love the control of this. Launch is a bit lower on this model, a little bit more piercing, You are going to get a little bit more roll out, not so much height, so maybe a little bit less carry distance than the titanium driver. But I really love the lower ball flight, because I felt like it was really jumping out of the face and kind of launching really well.

How is it in terms of ball speed? Ball speed I wouldn't even say it's a concern, but I think it's a little down from what I've tested with, say, the Triple Diamond or the Stealth 2 Plus or even the TSR. It was a little down, but it's still a monster there. It’s still going to compete, it’s still going to be within that 3 to 5 miles per hour, so you’re not really losing anything, though I think you'll find, if you do test all of them side by side, that it will be on the lower end of the other brands. But again, golf clubs are different for everybody, so you may hit this and get a faster ball speed. The face is there, the technology is there to be with the big boys, so I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.

How is it for spin? The spin was awesome from what I could gather from the data. I have you. I want to sit right around that 24, 25 hundred number that really gets me there to get the carry and the spin that I want out of it. I had no issues with that.

What do you find unique about its appearance? I don't find a ton unique about its appearance, but what I do find interesting is that it has kind of like that Kevlar or check pattern in here, that kind of woven look to it, very reminiscent of the SIM 2 from TaylorMade both on the bottom here and the top here as well.

How would you describe the sound of this club and feel at impact? Unbelievable feeling off the face. Gave me perhaps one of the best drives I’ve ever had on a hole at my local course, which says a lot. Sound and feel are basically the same thing. We say a club feels good when we like the sound. I'm not a huge fan of a lot of tinnyness, and so I feel like the carbon had more of a muted face to it. This gives a satisfying feel at impact, as if the ball is sticking to the face momentarily before being released. It doesn't have the loud, metallic "ping" that some drivers have. So I really like that kind of absorption, that stickiness, and then kind of a jump off there.

Is the club adjustable? The driver is adjustable. It's got a six-way adjustable hosel. Wilson touts it as its most adjustable driver ever, which I believe is true. But you can fill in there with the loft if you want to do that.

Are there any drawbacks to this club? I think the big drawback you're going to see is if you want to customize it, there are not as many premium shaft options or grip options that you would see in maybe one of the bigger brands. So you're kind of stuck with some maybe not so premium shafts. There are some options, but not a full slate as you'd see normally.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this club to? I would recommend this to any mid to low handicapper who really wants a low spin option. Again, I would very much compare it to the Srixon Mk II ZX5 low spin, one of the more forgiving, low spin heads that I think are out there, which I really, really love. I also recommend this to somebody who's looking to save a little bit of money. Drivers are coming in at $550, $600. This comes in at $499.

Who should avoid this club, and what type of club would be a better option for that player? High handicappers are probably not going to find this as appealing. People who struggle to hit the ball in the air are not going to find this that appealing. However, I have been fitting a lot of more senior golfers, high handicappers, newer golfers into similar golf clubs. This, the Srixon ZX5 LS, the Callaway Triple Diamond, because it is so forgiving and does give some of those characteristics that we're looking for. It’s a good idea to get fit; it depends on your spin numbers, your launch numbers, all of those kinds of things. So I'm very hesitant to say avoid it, but I think generally it's going to fit more of that mid to low handicap, low spin type player.

Golf clubs work differently for different types of golfers. If you are wondering whether the Dynapower Carbon Driver is the right club for you, chat with Ryan or any other Golfing Experts here on Curated, and they’ll put together free, personalized club recommendations on the best driver for your needs.