CHICAGO, November 17, 2020 – Designed directly with Wilson Advisory Staff members and with direct feedback from the game’s best players, Wilson Sporting Goods announced their new, revolutionary Staff Model R golf ball. A true Tour-inspired ball, the Staff Model R features a first-of-its-kind raw, unpainted cover to ensure aerodynamic consistency and pure, precise ball flight to the intended target.
The Staff Model R is designed for PGA Tour professionals and low handicap players striving to carve out fairways and attack pins. The Staff Model R ball features a 4-piece maximum-velocity construction that delivers long distance and a thin urethane cover promoting exceptional spin for greenside control. The ball’s key feature is a raw unpainted cover, which provides next level precision, accuracy and reliability.
“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.
“The painting process can frequently result in balls with poor, uneven paint coverage and pooling of paint in these shallow dimples,” said Frank Simonutti, Global Director of Golf Ball Innovation. “This can significantly affect the trajectory and the directional stability of the flight of the ball. By eliminating the paint, we were able to eliminate all of the short comings attributed to the paint process used on all golf balls.“
According to Thurman, under a black light, it is very easy to observe inconsistencies and paint pooling in the dimples. “Our internal testing* shows that tour quality balls on the market can drift offline as much as +/- 25 feet on a 200-yard 5 Iron shot. The Staff Model R ball’s urethane cover has been left completely unpainted, creating a nearly perfect aerodynamic surface that can be relied on to deliver the ball to its intended target,” concluded Thurman.
Although the removal of paint allows for ball flight to the intended target, the lack of paint protection may compromise the physical look of the ball. Given paint on golf balls is primarily for glossy appearance, UV stability and stain resistance, the Staff Model R may eventually stain and discolor during play depending on turf, weather and course conditions.
Finished with a modern Staff Model stamp, the all-new Staff Model R ball joins the award-winning Staff Model ball family, designed by and for the advanced player.
The Staff Model R ball will be available on Wilson.com and select retailers starting November 17th, 2020 for $44.99.
*Results of internal testing performed in Humboldt, TN. Driver test (105 mph) on 7/7/20, 9-iron test (84 mph) on 8/7/20 and 5-iron test (93 mph) on 8/9/20
About Wilson Golf
For 100 years, Wilson Golf has designed, manufactured and distributed premium and recreational golf equipment throughout the world. Since 1914, Wilson Staff irons have won 62 major championships, more than any other iron manufacturer in history. The winning tradition continues today by delivering the highest quality equipment to all golfers to enhance performance on the course and overall enjoyment of the game.
About Wilson
Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods Co., a division of Amer Sports, is the world’s leading manufacturer of sports equipment, apparel and accessories. Through its dedication to creating products that enable athletes at every level to perform at their best, Wilson has earned its place as a leader in sporting goods for over a century.
