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Nike Golf’s VR Forged Wedges Feature More Grinds and Increased Precision

-Utilizing Nike’s Tour proven X3X grooves, the VR Forged Wedges bring three distinct sole grinds to personalize the wedge game: Standard, Dual Wide and Dual Narrow-

Nike Golf is capitalizing on the success of its VR Pro forged wedges with the introduction of the highly crafted Nike VR Forged wedges.

Available now at retail, the Nike VR Forged wedge family is made with a fine forged craftsmanship to deliver enhanced shot-making consistency, tour-level feel, and long-life groove performance. The wedges are crafted of a soft 1025 carbon steel and finished in premium satin chrome.

Built from the needs of Nike Golf Tour athletes, the VR Forged wedge features three distinct sole grinds to ensure ideal set-up from sand, fringe, fairway or deep rough for different players. The three sole grinds are Standard Grind, Dual Narrow Grind and Dual Wide Grind.

The VR Forged wedge with a standard grind is the most versatile profile for all conditions. This sole grind, which was inspired by the desires of Tiger Woods, ensures the correct address position without the need to open the face. This wedge is for the athlete that likes a multiple wedge system in their bag where loft is the primary difference.

Featuring a dual narrow grind, the VR Forged wedge has a narrow sole width with higher bounce and extreme heel relief. The wedge sits low to the ball whether the face is square or open. The dual narrow grind was influenced by Nike athlete Paul Casey, who likes to create more shots with fewer wedges.

Through research in conjunction with Nike Golf’s European Tour staff, who often face very wet conditions and heavy morning dew, Nike created the VR Forged wedge with a Dual Wide Grind. With the help of Nike athlete Francesco Molinari, club experts found that the Dual Wide Grind has all the benefits of a wider sole with a low bounce.  The easiest of the three grinds from any location around the green. This wedge is designed to get the ball up high in the air with ease. This grind allows the athlete to be accurate from the bunker but still deadly from the narrow lies. The Dual Wide Grind is an excellent second or third wedge option.

The VR Forged wedge features Nike’s high-frequency X3X grooves with a precision laser crosshatch pattern that is applied to the land area between the grooves.  This pattern adds three times the surface texture versus conventionally finished faces, creating more spin in all conditions.  With Nike’s X3X grooves, there are more grooves that are closer together and deeper on the clubface, which provides more control and consistency in all conditions off of the clubface, while conforming to the USGA and R&A rules.

VR Forged Standard Grind

Available:  Now

Finish Options: Tour Satin and Black Oxide

Loft/Bounce Options: 48/10; 50/10; 52/10; 54/12; 56/14; 58/10; 60/10 (Available in RH)

52/10; 56/14; 60/10 (Available in LH) Tour Satin only

MAP: $129.99

VR Forged Dual Wide Grind

Available:  Now

Finish Options: Tour Satin and Black Oxide

Loft/Bounce Options: 56/8; 60/6 (Available in RH)

MAP: $129.99

VR Forged Dual Narrow Grind

Available:  Now

Finish Options: Tour Satin and Black Oxide

Loft/Bounce Options: 56/16; 58/14; 60/13 (Available in RH)

MAP: $129.99

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

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To preface this review, I’m not a great golfer by any means.  I’m a 14-handicap, I hit 50% of my fairways and I’m not playing in any tournaments with any hopes of winning. I love the game, I love my clubs and I don’t necessarily care how long I hit the ball. I care about making solid, consistent shots that give me opportunities to score.

My last two drivers were the Nike VR Tour drive and I played last season with the Nike VR_S. I’ve enjoyed both of these drivers, especially the VR_S. This driver just seems to bomb and I hit more fairways with it.

This isn’t your typical in-depth technical review, as it serves more as a comparison to the other drivers.

The switch to a VR_S Covert Tour seemed somewhat daunting. I mean, I’m just a regular dude who likes to golf, so why am I bagging Rory McIlroy’s driver?

Let’s find out, as I make some comparisons to the 2012 Nike VR_S Driver and 2013 VR_S Covert Performance driver.

Look/Size
Plain and simple, this is the sexiest golf club I have ever laid my eyes on. I believe the Covert Performance leaves something to be desired, but the Covert Tour reminds me of a Porsche. This thing is sleek, sexy, and built for speed.

Here were my first looks at this beautiful baby:

The volume of these driver heads is something to note. My colleague, Alan, said that the VR_S covert looks like a 3 wood. The original VR_S was a 460cc driver. The VR_S Covert Performance is 460cc. The VR_S Covert Tour is 430cc.

Take a look at the pics below for comparisons. The first pic shows the VR_S vs. the Covert Tour. The second pic shows the Covert Tour (left) vs the Covert Performance (right).

Sound
I’m not a big sound guy. I think the VR_S sounds great when you hit it pure, but admittedly, the VR_S  Covert Tour even sounds better than the VR_S Covert Performance. It’s a different sound and maybe that’s a good thing.

By The Numbers
I wanted to get a fair comparison of this VR_S Covert to my original VR_S. I even threw in some results from the VR_S Covert Performance. Here was my process for comparing these drivers:

These numbers speak for themselves, in my mind.

I couldn’t have doctored these numbered if I tried.

That’s it. This review is basically over. These drives were pure, sounded great and felt like butter, baby.

Higher clubhead speed, higher ball speed, less spin, more distance. That’s about as definitive as you can get.

–

Buy the VR_S Covert Tour Driver at GlobalGolf.com >>

Read Nike Golf’s press release about the VR_S Covert Driver >>

Visit the VR_S Covert microsite on nikegolf.com >>

Hear what the Nike Athletes think of the new VR_S Covert Driver >>

Watch the “No Cup is Safe” Driver TV Spot with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy >>

Editor’s note: The product reviewed above was supplied by Global Golf to the reviewer/author free of charge for reviewing purposes only. The opinions expressed in the review are strictly those of the reviewer/author.

Editor’s note: This post is sponsored by Global Golf.

This week the tour makes its annual stop at Hogan’s Alley, Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Crowne Plaza Invitational. This is event 4/4 in Month 5 and Event 21 overall. For a refresher on the rules, hit the link — Contest Guidelines and leave your Fantasy Four below (don’t forget your ONE Nike Athlete).

If you have trouble submitting your picks you can email them to me (before the deadline) at bob at ngnation dot com and I’ll post them for you.

Nike Athletes in this week’s field:
Scott Brown
Kevin Chappell
Seung-Yul Noh
Carl Pettersson
Patrick Reed
Charl Schwartzel
Kyle Stanley

Other notables in this week’s field:
Angel Cabrera
John Daly
Jason Dufner
Ricky Fowler
Jim Furyk
Padraig Harrington
Charley Hoffman
Freddie Jacobson
Zach Johnson
Matt Kuchar
Marc Leishman
Hunter Mahan
Jeff Overton
Ryan Palmer
Scott Piercy
John Rollins
Vijay Singh
Henrik Stensen
Kevin Streelman
Boo Weekley
Casey Wittenberg

Check out the full field here for the Crowne Plaza Invitational >>

Alan :: Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Martin Laird, Charl Schwartzel
Bob :: Angel Cabrera, Charley Hoffman, Zach Johnson, Charl Schwartzel
Damian :: Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar, Jeff Overton, Charl Schwartzel

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).

It is also your responsibility to sub your player if they WD before the deadline

There’s a great thread going on at Golfwrx.com about five VERY lucky gentlemen that got selected to get fitted for clubs at Nike Golf’s The Oven. They’re posting pics, answering questions and generally letting us readers know what that kind of experience is like.

For many diehard Nike Golf fans like you and me, a trip like this would be a dream come true, so read in on the action and see what its like here.

Photo credit: Golfwrx.com

With the US Open only a few weeks away, I thought I would get a head start using the online Nike iD customizer to make some designs for the US Open. Send me yours at numsuwan@gmail.com

Head on over to create your own!

Here’s my first attempt, two versions in my high school colors, in both home and away colorways:

Last night I decided to take a cue from fellow NGN readers who have transformed their TW13 shoes into all-white like TW’s prototypes. I’m not sure what inspired me last night, but it could have been the release of the TW14 and the hopes that I will buy a new pair this summer.

I do like my all white TW13s now and think it just has a more streamlined look. What do you think?

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Hey everybody, a couple of important details here: 

1. First off, sorry for the delay in getting this post up, I’m putting up a bare bones post for this week’s F4 so we can all submit our picks. If any of you have trouble submitting your picks today (we’ve been having some site speed/responsiveness issues) go ahead and email them to me at bob at ngnation dot com and I’ll post them for you.

2. Unfortunately we need to rebuild our F4 results database, so there will be a delay in posting the results for The Players Championship, and possibly a few weeks after that. We’ll let you know as soon as those results are posted, thanks in advance for your patience. Bob

In the wake of Tiger’s win at The Players, the PGA Tour heads to Irving, Texas and the HP Byron Nelson Championship. It’s a lean showing by Nike Golf this week, with only four Athletes in the field. However this week’s field features a number of players who have been playing well over the past several weeks (I’ve tried to include them in the notables list below), some of whom are sure to be in the hunt for the win on Sunday afternoon.

This is event 3/4 in Month 5 and Event 20 overall. For a refresher on the rules, hit the link — Contest Guidelines and leave your Fantasy Four below (don’t forget your ONE Nike Athlete).

Nike Athletes in this week’s field:
Stephen Ames
Seung-Yul Noh
Patrick Reed
Charl Schwartzel

Other notables in this week’s field:
Keegan Bradley
Angel Cabrera
John Daly
Jason Day
Jason Dufner
Robert Garrigus
Padraig Harrington
Charley Hoffman
Charles Howell III
Freddie Jacobson
Martin Kaymer
Matt Kuchar
Marc Leishman
Jeff Maggert
George McNeill
Louis Oosthuizen
Jeff Overton
Ryan Palmer
Scott Piercy
John Rollins
Vijay Singh
Jimmy Walker
Boo Weekley
Casey Wittenberg
Gary Woodland

Check out the full field here for the HP Byron Nelson Championship >>

Alan :: Jason Day, Matt Kuchar, Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel
Bob :: Charley Hoffman, Jeff Maggert, Casey Wittenberg, Charl Schwartzel
Damian :: Keegan Bradley, Jason Day, Jeff Overton, Charl Schwartzel

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).

It is also your responsibility to sub your player if they WD before the deadline

A box just arrived from Nike Golf with the new TW’14 shoes that were announced yesterday, and I wanted to share first look pics of them with you here. Notable changes from the TW’13 (as Alan accurately predicted in his previous post here) include:

• A new lacing system that utilizes Flywire
• Improved breathability in the tongue
• Different spikes than the TW13 model
• A swoosh with color accent outline
• A new third colorway (Grey/Black-Vivid Blue-Venom Green, available 8.1.13)
• A Nike iD version that includes extensive color options, two upper material options (waterproof and breathable) and two outsole options (spiked and spikeless with integrated traction/molded rubber)

After a first try-on, I can tell you these shoes are very light, super comfortable and they feel very stable. The flywire system really wraps the shoe around the foot and secures it to the footbed. I’ll share more details with you after I get a chance to test these on the course.

Now if Nike Golf could just send me a box with Tiger’s swing in it…  ;)

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