Nike Golf Items You Won’t Find in Stores

If you haven’t noticed yet, Carl Pettersson was sporting a slightly different visor than the one sold in stores at the RBC Canadian Open last week. Pettersson’s version had a higher crown than the Tour Visor offered in retail. Unfortunately for those interested in getting one, just like the Tour-only apparel with the swooshes that adorm the left chest, the offical word from Nike is that it won’t be made for the public.

In lieu of this news, I’m inspired to write about some of my favorite Nike Golf items that you won’t find in stores. If you are interested in obtaining any of the following items, I wish you good luck – they are hard to find and will be priced accordingly.

Nike Putter Headcover

Sure your Nike putter comes with its own headcover, but some of the Athletes have been using a special tour only headcover for their putters. Among those spotted have been Tiger Woods, Anthony Kim, and Trevor Immelman. The putter headcover I’m referring to is an all-black, leather AM&E headcover with a single white/silver swoosh along the top. They are extremely limited in quantity and are one of the more difficult items to find.

Nike SQ DYMO 380

Another one just for the Athletes, the tour version of the Dymo was 380cc vs. the 460cc retail version. This allowed players like Tiger, AK, and David Duval the ability to shape the ball off the tee. The 380 version also had no top alignment aid and did not come in STR8-Fit. Equipment fanatics were all over the 380, hoping that Nike would release a retail version, at least in limited edition but it never happened. They definitely exist out there, but they are still hard to find.

Nike Method Prototype Putter

Now this may be the hardest to obtain. Method Protos were only made for Athletes in 2009 for tour use . These putters are different than the retail version due to the expermentation of the insert softness as well as the stamping on the bumpers and on the bottom of the putter. Also, some of the Method Protos like Paul Casey’s pictured below featured a red insert instead of the retail black version. Chances of getting one of these are very low.

Nike Custom Footwear

Here’s where things look promsing for Nike Golf fans. If there is any chance of getting limited items, its in footwear. In 2008, Nike released Tiger’s SP-8 shoes specially made for majors to the public:  Tiger’s Shoes from 2008 Majors. But, Nike is also known to make custom footwear for their athletes that never get released to the public, including Anthony Kim and Justin Leonard’s custom shoes from the last year’s President’s Cup. Or Paul Casey’s green Zoom Elites that were never released in the U.S.

In the 2010 season, we’ve seen a number of new shoes that have yet to hit the shelves – here are two takes on the Tour Premium that may get offered to retail in 2011.

Stephen Ames’ White/White/Black version

David Duval’s Black/White/Black version