The Wilson DXi Driver Review:  Worth a Try if Your Accuracy Needs Improvement

Could the Wilson DXi driver help you keep your ball in the short stuff more often when you're hitting from the tee box? And, is it good enough to get more golfers to consider Wilson Staff equipment whenever they're in the market for some new clubs?

A brief review of the DXI's technical features follows below. Keep reading, and you'll also find a synopsis of my personal impressions of the driver, based on hitting it on the range and then playing a couple of rounds.

Just about any skillful player could pick up any one of today's modern drivers and use it to hit some pretty good drives. The real trick, for most golfers, is finding a driver that helps them even though they may not be the most accomplished of players. So, is the Wilson DXi driver capable of helping average golfers get off the tee better?

Here's some information about the club that might help you decide whether you want to consider it for your next driver purchase.

According to Wilson, it has designed the DXi driver for players of all skill levels. Its "trajectory control" design - two very dense, tungsten rubber sole inserts and an internal weight pad - is intended to reduce driver spin and promote greater distance by moving the head's center of gravity progressively more rearward in progressively more lofted versions of the club. I only tried the club in one loft, so I wasn't able to determine how shifting the position of the sole weighting this way affected ball flight and spin. The club also uses a five zone, variable face thickness design in order to create a large sweet spot and improve results on off-center hits.

The Wilson DXi driver comes in four lofts: 8-, 9-, 10.5- and 12-degree. The two lower lofts are intended to provide the lower, more penetrating ball flight preferred by most low handicap golfers. Most higher-handicap players should probably choose either the 10.5- or 12-degree version, both of which are intended to promote higher trajectories.

I tested a driver with the 10.5-degree loft, fitted with a regular flex Aldila VooDoo SVS6 shaft. The shaft is also available in stiff and light flexes.

The black crown and subtle alignment aid of the Wilson DXi driver gives it a pretty conventional appearance. Basically, the head is big, clean-looking, and traditionally-shaped. Compared to some of today's deep-faced drivers, its face is fairly shallow, but it does have a broad heel-to-toe hitting area. All in all, I liked the appearance of the Wilson DXi driver at address.

I liked hitting it, too. It wasn't the longest driver I've ever hit, but its distance was respectable. I'd rate its length as a solid average.

It was a different story with ball flight, accuracy and forgiveness. The club came through admirably in all three of those categories, ranking well above average.

When I struck the ball crisply, the sound and feel were solid without being harsh or overly "metallic." Drives hit on the sweet spot almost always held right on my target line, although I did see a few that had my normal little draw. I did notice one thing I didn't much care for about my ball flight with the Wilson DXi driver: I wasn't able to work the ball much. For low handicap players this characteristic in a driver can be a disadvantage. But, for average Joes and Janes, the club's tendency to always fly straight is a tremendous advantage.

The sweet spot of the Wilson DXi driver is large, so I didn't have many mishits. When I did miss the sweet spot, the club seemed exceptionally forgiving on heel and toe hits. This driver can keep the ball in play.

The Bottom Line: All in all, the Wilson DXi driver is a solid performer for players of any skill level and swing speed. Once you identify the right combination of loft and shaft flex for your swing speed and swing type, this driver's weighting system, spin reduction and other features can help you launch the ball on a better, more accurate trajectory. Its distance isn't the best, but too many golfers forget that length off the tee isn't the end-all, be-all in the game. Accuracy is every bit as important as length, and accuracy is one of this driver's strong points.

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