Nike's new gear for '08

NeilTappin

NeilTappin

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I've just got back from a trip to The Belfry where Nike revealed to the press their new line up of clubs for 2008. They are going to hit the market hard next year with a large new range with some interesting technology at work.

The emphasis from Nike is on their square woods (they've even used some of these technological ideas in their new irons). The idea being that they offer greater stability through the hit therefore more distance and accuracy. I'd be interested to hear what everyone thinks about the square revolution. The highlights of Nike's new launch are listed below

New Sumo (the square one) and SasQuatch drivers - in my eyes the square driver was a significant improvement.

New square fairway woods

New square hybrid

SQ Sumo irons with a high Moment of Inertia for greater stability

New slingshot 4D irons

There will also be a new range of putters as well as new balls.

We'll have a gallery posted on this site showing some of the new hardware shortly...

Neil Tappin, GM Instruction Editor
 
It's a different type of sound and definitely better than the last model - if that makes sense. It is still very loud but I think once you've hit 20 or 30 balls at the range you'll get used to it.

I played a few holes with Richard Finch (Nike Tour player) and he was using the new square driver... He was very impressed.

I also know that Nike are going to try hard to get Tiger using it so watch this space
 
I'd be interested to hear what everyone thinks about the square revolution.
Click to expand...
Square revolution -isn't that a contradiction in terms?

Anyway I don't think there's been a revolution at all, at my club the members are as keen as anywhere else to hit it further and use technology to their advantage but I have yet to see one square driver in use. I just don't think people are buying into the idea. They look and sound awful and apparently don't perform any better than a regular driver else all the pro's would be into them.
 
The square drivers all advertise lower dispersion so maybe they aren't such an advantage to the pro's, who should be hitting consistently. Could it be that these are aimed purely at the 'less accurate' market (me!).
I'm still interested in knowing if they work - but at the lower end of the price range (Hippo etc). It will be some time (and I'll be a lot better) before I shell out Sumo money on a single club.
 
Thank you Birdieman, square revolution is indeed a contradiction in terms and I agree that it probably hasn't taken off as Nike and Callaway would have liked.However, I don't think you should dismiss it just yet.

The square heads are a work in progress and if Nike can persuade Tiger to use one then it might well make more of an impact on the mass market.

As an aside, I remember when driver heads first became huge. People at my club scoffed at anyone using one with jibes about frying pans. How things have changed.

All I'm saying is that golf consumers, in this country especially, tend to be sceptical at first. That's why square drivers haven't yet made a huge impact.
 
I think that the whole impact of the square driver has been diluted by the sheer number on the market. It may have been seen as a massive technoligical advance if the only companies producing them were Nike and Callaway, who can be seen to have spent millions on development but when you then find that companies such as Dunlop, Ram, Symax etc manage to produce similar clubs a month or 2 later you have to wonder how much research actually went into this and how different it really is. Certainly the impression of most club golfers is going to be formed on the cheaper end of the market and if they are not producing the goods on the course then I cannot see that many will invest in the more expensive models. I think it is more telling that a number of companies are now looking at the moveable weight technology and I think that this may be the way forward.
 
Golf is no different than any other sport or brand. It's all about money money and more money. 2 Years ago I bought the ping S59 irons and the G2 driver and 3 woood. I have had the for 2 years now and are as good now as they where then. My handicap has came down from 4.5 to 1.9 in 2 years, This is not a sales pitch. What I'm saying here, I have been looking for clubs for years that suit me and finaly I have found the set for me. MY friend has to buy the latest model, It dosen't matter how much it costs or what it looks like if it's out he must have it. Put it this way there are people out there that if Tiger was to stand on his head and hole putts he would do the same. The best way for us mortals to play golf is to grip it and rip it. Use what you have and stop reading into all the sales jargon. Imagine paying £300 for a driver, "Yeah right".

It's a good job we don't play golf for a living, we'd be skinny B******'s
 
Champ, it is well known that Ping are stuggling to better the G2 driver. They have tweaked it, painted it, called it another name but at the end of the day it is the best Ping on the market and a manufacturer IS NEVER going to come out and say.'THIS IS THE BEST DRIVER WE HAVE EVER MADE OR EVER WILL MAKE, GOODNIGHT !'

I would never dream of paying more than £200 for a driver and £300 for irons (been offered Cobra Forged CB new for £280). I DID pay £99 for my putter.

For as long as we have aloof golfers who quite frankly are shite but think they are good because they have all the new gear manufacturers will lure them in every year. I can remember a time when you would get a new set of irons released every COUPLE of years, Ping do it every other quarter.
 
Chaps,

I think you both make good points. Equipment manufacturers in general deliver new clubs to the market time and again that make the old ones seem obsolete. Personally, I remember buying a TaylorMade 300 series driver when it first came out. I loved it but no sooner had I played half a dozen rounds than TM had released the 500 series. I tested that driver and it seemed no different.

Having said all this, I genuinely think that after 3 or 4 years, woods especially can be upgraded. In that time technology would have moved on enough to provide you with something better.

As far as irons and putters go, my own tactic is to find something that works and stick with it
 
Could not agree more. Having seen a Ping rep at a demo day the other week struggling to explain the difference between the G10 and the G5 other than by saying it has been 'tweaked' makes me think that the improvements amount to little more than an orange paint job. More amusing was his trying to explain to one gentleman why the value of his brand new G5 driver had plummetted overnight.
 
The Nike Sumo (the non-square one) is actually a pretty good driver and well worth a try, especially as the prices should come right down with the announcement of a new model.
 
Certainly worth the trip, even if just to see whether you can notice the difference and I could not, especially if you have someone there who paid full whack for a G5 driver 24 hours before the G10 became common knowledge and the prices went down to £129.00.
 
Well there is time, so by then they should have at least a G12 and the G5 will be down below £100. Might get one then!

(ps the trips only 10 minutes - how's that for planning!)
 
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