Wilson Launch Pad FY Hybrid Review
Golfers interested in the Wilson Launch Pad range will naturally want equipment that is easy to hit and offers lots of potential for game improvement.
The Wilson Launch Pad FY hybrid fits right in this sweet spot. It’s a blend of fairway wood and hybrid, with a generously sized 19.5° head, that launches it high and helps stop the ball quickly going into greens.
Straddling the fairway wood and hybrid slots in the bag places this club firmly in the fast-growing niche of super hybrids designed for players who struggle with fairway woods but enjoy the versatility and playability of hybrids.
To test it out, we took it to the performance testing studio at Wynyard Club on Teesside using a Foresight Sports GC Quad launch monitor and Titleist ProV1x golf balls. We played a round on Wynyard’s Wellington course and finished off with a range session to see how this club matched up with the best hybrids of 2022.
The first thing you notice about the Wilson LP FY hybrid is how closed it sits. Wilson’s engineers have designed the geometry of the face with a clear draw bias. This is good news for any golfer who slices a lot and wants to straighten up their ball flight. Most mid to high handicap golfers come over the top and hit across the ball, producing a left to right shot shape.
(Image credit: Matthew Moore)
It’s less attractive to golfers who naturally draw the ball, like I do, and throughout the testing I battled to limit my draw turning into a hook. Going back the other way and fading it was almost impossible.
In general, this club delivered on its main selling points. It’s forgiving, easy to hit out of a range of lies; including rough and off tight bare fairways. It flights it very high. It’s built to be light, from the shaft to the high-strength Carpenter Custom Face and that lightness makes you feel you can be aggressive and attack the ball.
At £175 RRP, the Wilson Launch Pad FY hybrid is a considerable saving compared to leading manufacturers.
You get a lot for your money, including a True Temper Project X EvenFlow 75g shaft finished with an attractive grey swirl. The grip is a midsize Wilson branded Tour Velvet equivalent and feels good. The headcover is stylish, would blend well in most bags.
The clubhead is unfussy head with a sleek soleplate and eye-catching graphics that promote its draw bias characteristics. There is no adjustability in either weighting or shaft sleeve but at this budget price point, that’s understandable.
My numbers with this club were a mixed bag on launch monitor testing. Ball speed, launch and peak height were good but spin rate was worryingly high at 5425 rpm and an average carry distance of 202 yards placed the Wilson LP FY a long way behind the hybrid competition.
As with all testing, the experience is subjective and what didn’t click for one tester, might be ideal for another golfer.
Wilson has produced a great value hybrid that will work for a lot of golfers, instilling confidence and making it easier to hit longer shots from a broad range of lies and on-course situations.
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