Nike Nuggets 2.15.10

  • David Duval, who has been a Nike athlete since 2001, shot four rounds in the sixties to finish T-2 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.  It was his best finish since the 2009 US Open where he also finished T-2.  Assisting him to his top finish were his new Nike VR Tour driver, VR blade irons, SQ Dymo fairway wood, VR wedges and Nike ONE Tour D golf ball.
  • Duval feels happy with his performance.  He said, “Any time you’re standing on the last hole with a chance to maybe get in the playoff or win a golf tournament, you have to look at it as a successful, competitive week – period.”
  • There are 9 Nike athletes in the field this week at the Accenture Match Play Championship all using Nike VR irons and Nike ONE golf balls: Stephen Ames, Paul Casey, Stewart CInk, Simon Dyson, Lucas Glover, Francesco Molinari, Anthony Kim, Justin Leonard and Charl Schwartzel.
  • There are 10 days until the SQ Machspeed driver, fairway woods, hybrids and irons hit the market place.  They will become available for consumers on February 25, 2010.

* The content for the post above was provided by Nike Golf.

Nike Golf Athletes: Tour Wrapup 2.14.10

Congratulations to David Duval on his T2 finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Here’s how the rest of the Nike Golf athletes fared at the tour events this past weekend:

PGA Tour: AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
David Duval  T2  -15  271
Jamie Lovemark  MC

Champions Tour: Ace Group Classic
Bob Tway  T17  -2  214
John Cook   T26  E  216
Craig Stadler   T31  +1  217
Lanny Wadkins  T77  +18  234

European Tour: Avantha Masters
Richard Finch  2  -13  275
Oliver Fisher  T8  -10  278

Nike Golf Athletes in the Field 2.11-2.14

Here are the Nike Golf athletes at the tour events this week:

PGA Tour: AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
David Duval
Jamie Lovemark

Champions Tour: Ace Group Classic
John Cook
Craig Stadler
Bob Tway
Lanny Wadkins

European Tour: Avantha Masters
Richard Finch
Oliver Fisher

Sandbox 8 Talks Nike Golf Balls with Rock Ishii

Check out this great interview Rob from Sandbox 8 did with Rock Ishii, Nike Golf’s Product Development Director for Golf Balls, at the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show Outdoor Demo Day. Rob had the opportunity to speak with Rock about the new Nike Crush golf ball, USGA Groove Rules changes and golf ball design, golf ball fitting for consumers, the Nike One Tour line of golf balls, what golf ball Rock plays, and much more!

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Check out the interview with Rock Ishii on Sandbox 8 >>

Check out my review of the Nike Crush Golf Ball >>

Flagstick.com Visits The Oven

The staff of Flagstick.com recently visited Nike Golf’s R&D Facility The Oven, and they’ve put up two great posts about the trip on their Editor’s Desk blog. The first post includes a YouTube video slideshow of photos with great audio from The Oven’s facility host Matt Plumb. Matt takes us behind the scenes at the facility, gives us details about the new short game practice area and explains how Nike Golf athletes interact with the staff to develop and learn about new Nike Golf technology.

In the second post Flagstick’s Editorial Director Scott MacLeod expands on the history of The Oven and gives us a great summary of their tour and more details from their visit, and quotes from staffers at The Oven. Check out both posts for great behind-the-scenes information about The Oven, and kudos go to Scott and the staff at Flagstick.com for these two great posts!

Check out Post #1: “Inside Nike Golf’s R&D Facility >>

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Check out Post #2: “Nike’s Oven — Innovation with Craftsmanship” >>

Welcome To "The Oven" - Photo: Scott MacLeod (Flagstick)

Welcome To "The Oven" - Photo: Scott MacLeod (Flagstick)

Nike Golf Athletes Discuss the New VR STR8-FIT Driver

The VR STR8-FIT driver has been in several Nike Golf athletes’ bags since late last year. In this video from Nike Golf, Nike Golf athletes talk about how the new VR STR8-FIT Driver will help them outdistance their competition in 2010:

Nike Golf Athletes Talk About Nike’s Victory Red Irons

Nike Golf introduced its line of Victory Red irons in 2009. In this video from Nike Golf, Nike Golf athletes along with Nike Golf’s Director of Product Creation Tom Stites discuss the benefits of the Victory Red irons and how they will help them achieve success in the 2010 season:

SQ MachSpeed Irons Available 2.25.10

Nike Golf Introduces its Fastest, Longest Irons Ever – MACHSPEED

SQMACHSPEED_7ironWith a passionate desire to inspire consumers to become better golfers, Nike Golf has introduced the fastest and longest irons the company has ever developed to date – the Nike SQ MACHSPEED irons.

Due in stores on February 25, 2010, the SQ MACHSPEED irons represent three key functions: speed, stability and launch.  Speed leads to distance.  Stability leads to forgiveness.  And launch leads to functionality.  The key advantage for golfers with the SQ MACHSPEED irons is that they combine a high launch with increased distance.

“With MACHSPEED, we’ve developed a very fast iron through new and dynamic construction that works,” said Tom Stites, Director of Club Creation for Nike Golf.  “This iron is all about helping golfers increase their ball speed in order to generate distance.  Our patented PowerBow technology allows golfers to launch the ball high and increase distance – a perfect combination to improving your game.”

Speed and Distance

To achieve speed and distance, the two-piece SQ MACHSPEED irons have a higher CT (Characteristic Time) in the wider areas on the face resulting in faster ball speeds and longer distance.  The new game-improvement Nike irons feature a combination of AM 355 alloy and an off-the-face weld construction that creates a thinner, hotter face and a wider sweet zone.  The new SQ MACHSPEED construction offers an extremely hot center area that expands lower on the face where the ball is more likely to be in contact to prevent a decrease in distance.

Stability and Forgiveness

The SQ MACHSPEED irons provide stability and forgiveness because of Nike’s PowerBow technology. Nike’s innovative PowerBow technology was first introduced in its earliest SQ product, the groundbreaking Nike SasQuatch driver in 2006.  The Nike PowerBow creates an extremely deep center of gravity and provides a wider sweet spot.

Launch and Functionality

Completing the three key functions of the Nike SQ MACHSPEED irons is the launch capability.  The SQ MACHSPEED features a deep undercut behind the face, which repositions 50 grams of weight out and back to the PowerBow for high launching shots that travel far and land softly.

Availability – February 25, 2010 at golf shops and specialty stores nationwide

Men’s: 4-PW, AW; Steel:  S,R,A; RH/LH; MSRP: $839.99   MAP: $699.99

Men’s: 4-PW, AW; Graphite:  S,R,A; RH/LH; MSRP: $959.99    MAP: $799.99

Women’s: 5H, 6H, 7-PW, SW; Graphite: W (RH); MSRP: $959.99   MAP: $799.99

Editor’s Note: The post above is from a press release from Nike Golf.

Visit the SQ MachSpeed Irons microsite at nikegolf.com >>

Check out this video in which Justin Leonard discusses the SQ MachSpeed irons >>

Check out this video in which Tom Stites explains the technology behind the SQ MachSpeed irons >>

SQ MachSpeed Mens

SQ MachSpeed Mens

SQ MachSpeed Womens

SQ MachSpeed Womens

Nike Golf Athletes: Tour Wrapup 2.7.10

Here’s how the Nike Golf athletes fared at the tour events this past weekend:

PGA Tour: Northern Trust Open
Stewart Cink  T32  -4  280
Anthony Kim  T52  E  284
Justin Leonard  T61  +2  286
Carl Pettersson  MC
David Duval  MDF
Stephen Ames  WD

Nationwide Tour: Moonah Classic
Paul Gow  MC
Jamie Lovemark  MC
Brendan Todd  MC

European Tour: Dubai Desert Classic
Paul Casey  11  -5   283
Francesco Molinari  27  -2  286
Charl Schwatrzel  38  E  288
Pablo Martin  44  +1  289
Simon Dyson  56  +3  291
Richard Finch  MC
Oliver Fisher  MC
Marc Warren  MC

Nike Nuggets 2.4.10

  • Anthony Kim now has 14 Nike clubs in his bag, he just added Nike’s new Method putter to his arsenal.
  • Suzann Pettersen has also made the switch to Nike’s new Method putter.
  • There are 21 days until the SQ Machspeed driver, irons, fairway woods and hybrids hit the market. They launch February 25, 2010.

* The content for the post above was provided by Nike Golf.