Nike Golf Adds Two More Young Athletes to its Roster

Nike Golf Adds Two More Young Athletes to its Roster Bringing to Four the Number of New Signings in Three Months

Nike Golf has added two more exciting young rising stars to its talented roster in Europe with the multi-year contract signings of 20-year-old Matt Haines and 19-year-old Tommy Fleetwood.

These Nike Golf athlete additions come on the heels of two other signings of young collegiate stars who have chosen to represent Nike Golf – Canadian Matt Hill, who competed at North Carolina State, and Dustin Garza, who played at Wichita State.  In just three months, Nike Golf has added four new young athletes to its roster.

Haines and Fleetwood, who were teammates on the 2009 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team, both hail from England.  Haines is from Chatham in Southeast England and Fleetwood comes from Lancashire in Northwest England.  Both players will be head-to-toe Nike athletes playing with Nike Golf equipment, balls, apparel and footwear.

Haines enjoyed an illustrious amateur career having won eight major events including the 2008 Lytham Trophy and the 2010 Spanish Amateur Championship, which propelled him to fourth in the World Amateur Rankings.  After turning professional in May of this year, Haines quickly made his mark on the Challenge Tour.  Already, he’s ranked ninth on the money and has four top 10 finishes in nine starts.

”I am excited about starting my professional career with a brand as big as Nike Golf,” said Haines.  “I know that the team there will work with me to give me the very best equipment and support to help me make the transition from amateur to professional successful. I’m impressed by the knowledge and the passion that goes into how they develop products.”

Haines will be playing with the new Nike VR driver, Nike VR fairway woods, Nike VR split cavity irons, Nike Method putter, Nike ONE Tour ball, Nike Golf footwear and apparel, Nike glove and Nike staff bag.

Fleetwood won the English Amateur Championship last month as well as secured runner-up finishes in both the New South Wales Amateur and the Spanish Amateur, which was won by Haines.

Fleetwood already has had some very respectable performances on the pro circuit.  In July, he finished second on the Challenge Tour’s English Challenge and he also won a qualifying event to earn him a place in the elite field for the French Open in Paris.

“I’m happy as can be with everything and I can’t wait to get cracking,” said Fleetwood. “Nike has been a big part of my success as an amateur and knowing that I have the best equipment in my bag going into my professional career is a great head start.”

Fleetwood’s Nike arsenal will include the Nike VR driver, Nike fairway woods and the Nike VR split cavity irons.  He will be playing with Nike’s ONE Tour ball and he will wear Nike Golf apparel and footwear.  He also will wear a Nike glove and hat and will use a Nike staff bag.

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


Fantasy Four Recap: Wyndham Championship

I couldn’t be happier about G’Lover and Leonard picking up Top 10′s this week, but still some congratulations goes to Arjun Atwal who proves that sleepers are everywhere. Golfers can find their rhythm at any point, so it’s hard to really predict winners, as seen by our own fantasy four events. However, collectively, we’ve picked 6 out of the 18 winners during the Fantasy Four season…which isn’t too bad. This is the end of month 4, but the contest is far from over. There are 4 events left for double points! It’s sort of like a FedEx Cup Fantasy Four Bonus Round. Can you tell I’m excited? Let’s just get into the stats for the (low scoring) Wyndham Championship.

  • Number of Entries: 10 (once again, missing Bryan and Mick)
  • Number of Golfers Selected: 20  (awesome!)
  • Most Popular Pick: Carl Pettersson– picked 5 times
  • Number of Missed Cuts/WD’s: 8– Moore, Pettersson, Couples, Stenson, Cejka, Stadler, Duval, Kim
  • Number of Top 10’s: 3  – Justin Leonard (T3), Lucas Glover (7), Brandt Snedeker (T8)
  • Number of Top 10-Top 25’s: 4 – Jacobsen (T12),  Kevin Na + RSJ + Leishman (T18)
  • Top Nike Golfer: Justin Leonard (T3)
  • People That Selected the Winner: 0 (Arjun Atwal)
  • Average Points: 5.4 (2nd lowest scoring week ever)

Ryan Moore, Jason Dufner and Carl Pettersson really let everyone down. Popular sleeper pick, Freddy Couples, failed to make the cut, also. Courtney took a couple of Nike boys and pulled out the win!

Courtney Z’s Winning Team (16 points) : Justin Leonard (T3), Lucas Glover (7), Fredrik Jacobsen (T12) and Henrik Stenson (MC)

However, Courtney failed to capture the monthly win. NG Nation wins the monthly points race, however, since I’m not eligbile to receive prizes, Meredith Wang wins Month 4. (That’s back to back wins heading into the playoffs).

Hit the link to check out the Wyndham Championship Fantasy Points to see how you fared this week.

That’s it for Month 4 and Meredith still has the lead. However, points are doubled for the next 4 events so there should be plenty of movement!

I’ll be back with a FedEx Cup Preview and also the Fantasy Four Playoff Edition: The Barclays.

Stay tuned and congrats again to Meredith.

Nike Golf Athletes: Tour Wrap-up 8.22

Here’s how the Nike Golf athletes at the tour events this week;

PGA Tour: Wyndham Championship

T3 :: Justin Leonard :: 68 63 66 65 :: 262 :: -18
7 :: Lucas Glover :: 64 65 67 67 :: 263 :: -17
T53 :: Trevor Immelman :: 68 69 66 68 :: 271 :: -2
CUT :: David Duval :: 70 68 :: 138 :: -2
CUT :: Carl Pettersson :: 69 69 :: 138 :: -2
CUT :: Matt Hill :: 69 71 :: 140 :: E
CUT :: Anthony Kim :: 70 72 :: 142 :: +2

*Champions Tour Major: JELD-WEN Tradition

T6 :: John Cook :: 72 68 68 71 :: 279 :: -9
T21 :: Bob Tway :: 70 67 71 75 :: 283 :: -5

*LPGA Tour : Safeway Classic

T4 :: Suzann Pettersen :: 71 68 69 :: 208 :: -8
T37 :: Michelle Wie :: 72 71 73 :: 216 :: E
CUT :: Amanda Blumenherst :: 77 77 :: 154 :: +10

European Tour: Czech Open

T5 :: Simon Dyson :: 70 69 69 72 :: 280 :: -8
T20 :: Richard Finch :: 69 73 71 73 :: 286 :: -2
T29 :: Marc Warren :: 70 71 75 72 :: 288 :: E
T51 :: Pablo Martin :: 75 68 78 72 :: 292 :: +4
T58 :: Oliver Fisher :: 78 68 71 77 :: 294 :: +6
CUT :: James Morrison :: 73 74 :: 147 :: +3
European Challenge Tour: ECCO Tour Championship

CUT :: Matt Haines :: 79 71 :: 150 :: +4

Ladies European TourLadie’s Scottish Open

T23 :: Carly Booth :: 73 77 76 :: 226 :: +10
T27 :: Frances Bondad :: 75 77 78 :: +13

Nationwide Tour: no event this week

*grey = Missed Cut
* bold = Top 10
* bold victory red = Win

2010 Fall/Holiday Apparel is Released

In our original sneak peek post on the new 2010 Fall/Holiday apparel collection, we covered about a quarter of the new tops. But now, the wait is over and Nike Golf has uploaded all the new apparel for the men’s, women’s, TW, and TW Platinum lines. You can view the new collection on the Nike Golf website.

Given my excitement for this collection based on what I’ve seen on TOUR, and the fact that I have my own golf tournament this sunday, I decided to put a little fake scripting together using the men’s apparel line and new 2011 shoe line. Simple rules I made for this - you can wear shorts on practice days, and being a sneakerhead, I had to have a different shoe for each day. Now I don’t have these items (yet), but here’s what my 6 day script would look like.

And another thought before I get to it, wouldn’t it be cool to integrate an online scripting software into Nike Golf’s website? It would have made this a lot easier! Hope you enjoy, now what would your script look like? Click on each thumbnail to enlarge.

Practice Day 1:

  • Tour Colorblock Cap
  • Mesh Heat Polo
  • Tour Pleated Short
  • Air Rate Shoes

Practice Day 2:

  • Tour Perforated Cap
  • Victory Polo
  • Flat Front Tech Short
  • Tour Premium Shoes

Thursday:

  • Tour Colorblock Hat
  • Plaid Shoulder Polo
  • Plaid Pant
  • Air Zoom Trophy Shoes

Friday:

  • Tour Flex Fit Cap
  • UV Shoulder Stripe Polo
  • Heathered Flat Front Pant
  • Air Anthem Shoes

Saturday:

  • Tour Perforated Cap
  • Alpine Print Polo
  • TW Pinstripe Stretch Dress Pants
  • Lunar Control Shoes

Sunday:

  • Swoosh Perforated Hat
  • TW Platinum Dri-Fit Broken Tiled Polo
  • Tech Pant
  • Tour Premium Shoes

Tiger Woods Officially Commits to The Barclays Next Week

Although not much of a surprise, today Tiger Woods officially committed to playing in The Barclay’s next week at Ridgewood, the first of four events in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Tiger looks to defend his FedEx Cup title from last year, and will need to get off to a fast start to make up his current points deficit — he is currently in 108th place going into this week’s Wyndham Championship, 1,415 points behind current FedEx Cup points leader Ernie Els. A high finish at The Barclays — or especially a win (worth 2,500 points) — would go a long way to helping Tiger make up ground before the points reset at The Tour Championship.

Read the full article at pgatour.com >>

Nike Golf Athletes in the Field: 8.19-8.22

It’s a big week for the NG Staffers as the Champions Tour Major and LPGA event are both being held in Oregon. It would be great to pick up a win with homecourt advantage.

Also, Carly Booth is playing in the Ladies European Tour and looks to make a splash. We also have the PGA Staffers looking to make the FedEx Playoffs! Good luck to all the Nike athletes.

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

PGA Tour: Wyndham Championship

David Duval
Lucas Glover
Matt Hill
Trevor Immelman
Anthony Kim
Justin Leonard
Carl Pettersson

*Champions Tour Major: JELD-WEN Tradition

John Cook
Bob Tway

*LPGA Tour : Safeway Classic

Amanda Blumenherst
Suzann Pettersen
Michelle Wie

European Tour: Czech Open

Simon Dyson
Richard Finch
Oliver Fisher
Pablo Martin
James Morrison
Marc Warren

European Challenge Tour: ECCO Tour Championship

Matt Haines

Ladies European TourLadie’s Scottish Open

Frances Bondad
Carly Booth

Nationwide Tour: no event this week


Paul Casey Answers Fans’ Questions Live on Facebook and Twitter

This afternoon Nike Golf fielded questions for athlete Paul Casey from fans and followers of Nike Golf through their Facebook page and Twitter account. Then from 4 to 5 p.m. PST Paul answered some of these questions live from Nike Golf World Headquarters. The questions included a wide variety of topics that prompted some interesting responses, and I was honored to have three of my questions answered by Paul on Twitter.

Here’s a link to Nike Golf’s Live Q&A with Paul Casey on Facebook >>

Here is the complete feed from this afternoon’s Nike Golf Q&A Session with Paul Casey (includes all questions that were answered by Paul):

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@paul_casey is ready for your questions! Bring on the questions to @nikegolf now!

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@nikegolf does PC still use his original prototype method putter with the red grooves? (I haven’t caught up close TV coverage of it)

@chriswang5 He switched at FIrestrone to the same Method with black grooves, not the original, it wasn’t behaving!

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@nikegolf Paul, what was ur stupids fault u made on a course and still remember? (Dustin J quastion…sorry for him..) #golfmistakes

@Golft_witter “we have got wrong yardages, but it wasn’t my fault, it’s never my fault”

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@nikegolf how many @nikegolf players do you think will be @TheCelticManor for the Ryder Cup this year?

@YGTTommy There is a chance there could be 6…maybe Corey will pick 4 Nike players (TW, AK, LG, SC)

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@nikegolf what is a good drill for practicing back spin with ur wedges. (130 yards and in)

@C13M I practice distance control more than backspin…why would you practice backspin??

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@nikegolf What area of golf do u practice the most?

@JonnyWilsonx “I try to split it evenly btwn short game,long game &putting, but 4 some reason I always spend too much time on the long game”

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@nikegolf will Paul ever have a contest to play a round with him?

@PaulAnderson08 We have had a contest for that in the UK, have yet to do it in the US

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@nikegolf 2 for PC: What has been your most gratifying win as a professional so far? What is the tournament you still want to win the most?

@bobdiercksmeier Shell Houston Open was my most gratifying win. Tournament I want to win the most is The Open Championship

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@nikegolf Paul, I’ve been hooking a lot of shots. Suggestions to fix a hook would be appreciated. Thanks!

@philecker I would check all of ur fundamentals:grip, ball position, posture, alignment-usually that solves 90% of things.I hope that helps!

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@nikegolf One more for PC: What is the one piece of Nike Golf equipment that you couldn’t do without?

@bobdiercksmeier One piece of @nikegolf equip I couldn’t do w/o?My Nike ONE Tour, its the one piece of equipment i have to use all the time

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@nikegolf To Paul- how much practice, time and work ect did you put into golf. Like anyone else it is my dream to get on tour.

@Austinsmith65 I lost count of the hours i have put into the game. But most important thing is the belief and the desire to achieve ur goals

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@nikegolf what are going to be the keys to a ryder cup win? How big Of a factor will tiger be if he’s on the us squad?

@JMG204265 Keys2a Ryder Cup win is putting,always the team that holes the putts that wins.TW could b a huge factor but we’ll have 2 wait&see

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@nikegolf Paul – You have 1 last round to play, what course & with who?

@LuxHomeMagPDX Augusta National with My dad….and I guess we would need a member wouldn’t we!?

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@nikegolf PC. Are you going to play any golf during your visit to Oregon?

@mDeBr Unfortunately not…but I am hitting up the employee store!

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@nikegolf question for Paul Casey: Manchester United, or Liverpool?

@callaway17 “Neither! I use to be a Wimbledon fan!” – Paul Casey

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@nikegolf what does @Paul_Casey do with all his old nike gear and shoes? I remember lime green zoom elites from 2 or 3 yrs ago

@pigstuy Good memory on that color/style! I donate my shoes to the Nike Grind (re-use-a-shoe program)

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@nikegolf who is the funniest guy on both tours?

@jordanpecker That’s’ a tough one,…Stephen Ames has the funniest caddie

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Sorry we couldn’t get to all the questions! Thank you to those who participated! Here is a thank you from @paul_casey http://bit.ly/b431BZ

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The live chat with Paul Casey was a lot of fun, hopefully Nike Golf will do this again soon with not only Paul, but with some of their other athletes as well.

Fantasy Four: Wyndham Championship

This tournament could also be called “Glory’s Last Shot.” This is the last chance players have to qualify for the FedEx Cup and get some points. Some big names like Weir and Stenson will be battling this week, so they could be good picks.

One important note this week: While this isn’t a new event, this course has only been played in ’08 and ’09, so maybe skew your history factor towards the past two years.

This is Event 18 of the season and the last event of Month 4 of the NG Nation Fantasy Four and it’s never too late to join. For a refresher on the rules, hit the link — Contest Guidelines and leave your Fantasy Four below.

NIKE GOLF: Four to Watch

Anthony Kim
We’re all hoping for a big comeback this week. AK was close to making the cut this past week. This course demands fairways and I’m not sure if AK can deliver. We all know AK can go low and he’s worth a shot this week.

Carl Pettersson
Should be the favourite this week, as he’s the hottest guy in this event, playing well and won here in ’08. He knows the course and should be a lock this week.

Lucas Glover
G’Lover dissappointed last week, but he has gone low a few times this season and was picking up Top 25′s. I don’t care about the PGA for Lucas because it’s not his style. He should rebound very well here. He also has a bunch of Top 25′s at this event.

David Duval
The other DD is currently 115 in the FEC standings and could lose that if others play well. He needs to play solid and make the cut to ensure he gets through.  He’s also coming off of back-to-back Top 25′s. Watch out, it could be breakout time.

Other Nike golfers in the field: Justin Leonard, Trevor Immelman, Matt Hill

THE FIELD: Four Who are Hot

JJ Henry
Recent starts – 2nd at Turning Stone, T24 at Canadian Open, T26 at Reno-Tahoe
The week off from the PGA should help him and he’s made 5 straight cuts. Also had a T4 here in ’08.

Jonathan Byrd
Recent starts – T10 at Turning Stone, T21 at Greenbrier
In those events he shot -13 and -12, picking up rounds of 63, 64 and 65. He’s hot and he also has history. T24 here in ’09, T13 in ’07.

Jason Dufner
Recent starts – T5 at PGA, T33 at Turning Stone
He had the quietest Top 10 last week but he played well and also has a T26 here in ’08. I think he could win.

Richard S. Johnson
Recent starts – T8 at Turning Stone, T21 at Greenbrier, 1st at Scandinavian Masters
By the numbers, he’s actually the hottest guy in the field.

THE FIELD: Four Who Have History

Ryan Moore
Best finishes – 1st in ’09, T6 in ’06
Ernie is a machine. Sure, he choked last week, but you ‘ve gotta show him love. He wasn’t even playing well and he had a T6 last year and the T4 in ‘04 at Whistling Straights helps his case.

Brandt Snedeker
Best finishes – 1st in ’07
It’s a stretch, but Vijay has 7 straight made cuts with 3 Top 25’s. He’s also made the cut at The US and British Opens. Big sleeper.

Kevin Stadler
Best finishes – T2 in ’09, T7 in ’07
Phil was throwing garbage up on Sunday and has consistently choked during his attainable goal of #1. I don’t think he can handle the pressure, but who knows.

Scott McCarron
Best finishes – T17 in ’09, 2nd in ’08
He’s the only man who had Top 25 finishes in ’08 and ’09 on the course, so he has the best history as far as I’m concerned.

Other notables in the field: Henrik Stenson, Fred Couples, Kevin Na, Fredrik Jacobsen, David Toms, Aaron Baddeley, Boo Weekley, Davis Love III, John Daly, Martin Laird


FINAL FOUR
: Jonathan Byrd, Jason Dufner, Anthony Kim and Lucas Glover

Heck, I can’t quit on AK. I would rather take a chance on him this week while it’s normal scoring conditions instead of double points next week. Pettersson should do well, but I don’t think he’ll pick up his 2nd win of the season. I think Weir, Stenson, Immelman, Couples and Daly are all good picks with a lot of upside. These guys have a lot to play for, which is something to consider. I’m taking Glover because I think he wants that Ryder Cup spot..and can make some noise with a win (same for AK).

Check out the full field here >> Wyndham Championship Full Field

Leave your Fantasy Four in a comment below. Remember, you have to pick at least ONE Nike Golfer and have your picks in by Wednesday at Midnight (PST).

Make them count (double points explosion next week),

D.

The Original Nike METHOD Putter Patent Applications

If you’re a fan of the Nike METHOD putter like I am, you’re probably aware of the technical innovations that make this one of the most progressive designs in the premium putter category today. The polymetal groove technology in the METHOD reduces skid and gets the ball rolling off the putter face more quickly and consistently than conventional putters, as proved by many tests at the putting lab at Nike Golf’s The Oven. All I know is the ball hugs the green and tracks to the hole, making distance control easier with this putter than with any other putter I’ve ever used. You can read my review of the METHOD putter here.

I came across a post about the original patent applications for what is now called  the METHOD putter on Golf-Patents.com. The post was authored during this year’s Open Championship, when Tiger’s switch to the METHOD putter put it directly in the media spotlight for the first three days of the tournament. It has details about two of the utility patents for the METHOD, as well as a design patent for the arrangement and orientation of the face grooves. Knowing what I now know about the METHOD, as well as gaming it in my bag this year, it was cool to hear about the technical origins of this groundbreaking putter design. If you’re a golf equipment junkie, a putter addict or a fan of the METHOD (I happen to be all three), check out the original post — you may (as I did) find this to be an interesting read.

Check out the original post at Golf-Patents.com >>

Michelle Wie and Amanda Blumenherst Answer Fans’ Questions Live on Facebook

This morning Nike Golf fielded questions for athletes Michelle Wie and Amanda Blumenherst from fans of Nike Golf on their Facebook page. Then Amanda and Michelle answered some of these questions live from Nike Golf World Headquarters. The questions included a wide variety of topics that prompted some interesting responses, take a look at Amanda’s and Michelle’s answers by clicking on Nike Golf’s responses in the comment feed.

Here’s a link to Nike Golf’s Live Q&A with Amanda and Michelle on Facebook >>