“Wilson made me feel special and it has been the same every year for over two decades”
Three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington tells us why he’s always had complete faith in the clubs in his bag
HI was more attracted to the fact that they wanted to work with me. The guys on the truck were brilliant at doing whatever needed to be done. It was like having a personal service, they made me feel special. It has been the same every year for 22 years. If I called them up tomorrow with some obscure idea they would work on it and get it done for me. They also tend to build the equipment for the player on tour and then bring it to the amateur, whereas I think some other manufacturers could be accused of designing clubs for the amateur player and then forcing the pros into that equipment.
They’re very good at listening to us and the irons are second to none. They’re beautiful, playable irons and that’s because they want their players to be comfortable with their clubs. The wedges are great too.
It has to be better. That’s another thing with Wilson, I’ve never had to use anything of theirs if it wasn’t the best on the market. I’m not forced into having 14 clubs knowing there are two or three that could be better. There’s nothing worse than a player using a set of clubs they don’t want to be in and Wilson don’t want that, they want you to be happy ultimately. So if you like the irons from two years ago, keep using them. Yes, we test all the new clubs, but they’re certainly not ramming new product down our throats.
I think the FG Tour V4 hybrid iron has been phenomenal. I can hit it high and 235 yards through the air, so it has made a huge difference on long par 3s and par 5s. It’s one of those clubs I assume is out of issue now, but wow do I hang on to it – it’s a beauty of a club. Every time I reach for it, there’s a level of confidence it brings.
I liked the Fat Shaft driver that Paul Lawrie won The Open with in 1999. It was great, but nobody liked it because it was different. I’ve always liked the irons; there’s never been a set of irons I haven’t got on with. I loved the DD6+ driver I won my three Majors with, that was a great club. I’ve given it to Carnoustie to be hung on the wall. The 5-wood is at Royal Birkdale, because of the memorable shot into the 71st hole.
“Ultimately, Wilson want you to be happy. If you like the irons from two years ago, keep using them”
The new Hi-toe wedges are all my