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Nike took a credibility hit on the golf equipment scene recently.  In the latest comparison tests by golfs biggest magazines, Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, not one Nike ball made best of the best.  Nike Platimum was the closest scoring as a distant second tier in both comparisons.  This is a big blow to Nike who is doing its best to unseat the current golf ball leader Titleist.  Thankfully they recieved better reviews on the Sumo and Sumo2 driver which ranks highly in both magazines.  Maybe they are catering to Tiger a little two much in terms of what he likes in a golf ball.  The masses are what drives golf equipment sales so build us a ball that works and doesn’t need a gimicky sales pitch to win us over (aka Nike Ignite).  Ahhhh but that is the best thing Nike does, marketing!

2008 will introduce a new form of golf club customization.  TaylorMade, Callaway, Nike, Ping, Nickent and Titleist all announced upcoming clubs in which you will be able to change out shafts as easily as changing the weight configuration on the TaylorMade Quad drivers.  The advantage supposedly is that you will be able to use certain types of shafts depending on the conditions you are playing in or you will be able do demo shafts easily to find the one that is right for you.  The USGA worked closely with these companies to have rules in place which will allow changing shafts during tournaments as long as it is not during a round.  Will this in fact help the average golfer?  In my opinion no due to the tremendous change in technology in clubs already and the average golfer still shooting the same scores as they did back in the 70’s.  That said I still think it will be fun to try.

Choi went wire to wire with a victory in Hawaii this past weekend.  Showing 2007 was no fluke he took down Rory Sabatinni and company by shooting 13 under par.  Many are predicting him as a favorite to win the Masters this year in April.  Nike made a good move in picking him up in sponsorship and if he continues to play well this year will start making the big bucks along side of Tiger.

Callaway has been working for 8 years on making off center hits with your driver as long as those perfectly hit.  They believe they have found a way to do so with the new Hyper X driver.  The difference with this new driver is the back side of the club face has a milled in X design which allows the outer edges of the face to have the same springlike effect.  The result is more consistent trajectories across the entire face of the club.  Pricing comes in at $300 and the only drawback looks to be not having a large selection of high lofted clubs for slower swingers.

Research and study yield golf balls that are designed to make your driver more forgiving.

By Rob Sauerhaft
Managing Editor (Equipment), GOLF Magazine
Published: December 11, 2007

TaylorMade engineers used the firm’s proprietary swing-analysis system to measure 85,000 swings from golfers like you. Their research shows that players, regardless of handicap level, hit 70-plus percent of drives on or above the center of the face. Yet shots struck high on the face produce 1,200 rpm less spin than center hits. Those struck in the middle of the club, toward the toe or heel, have 500 rpm less spin than center hits. The spin reduction adds up to shorter drives because the ball won’t stay in the air quite as long.

Schecter Lee

TaylorMade LDP

Armed with this data, the firm’s ball gurus built new products (TP Red, TP Black, Burner TP and Burner) with LDP (low drag performance) dimples. Each dimple is designed with its own depth and edge angle, to reduce overall drag (the force that pushes against a ball as it travels through the air) without increasing lift (so it won’t balloon). Bottom line: TaylorMade says its balls stay airborne longer on mis-hits, to the tune of six to 18 more yards, than competitors’ balls.

The SUMO2 5900 features a square-shaped head, a deeper face, a convex crown, and redefined body shape to increase ball speed and accuracy. With the MOI at the maximum allowed of 5900, the SUMO2 5900 offers greater forgiveness on off-center hits with a tighter shot dispersion. This result is the straightest, longest and most accurate driver Nike Golf has ever made.

Featuring Nike’s Powerbow weighting, the weight in the SUMO2 5900 is repositioned to the farthest corners of the Nike PowerBow design, optimizing head stability and delivering ultimate accuracy. The SUMO2 5900 has a multi-thickness face, which maximizes faster ball speeds from every point on the face.

The SUMO 5000 is a more traditionally round-shaped driver with a deep-face profile. This gives golfers the freedom to shape the ball or hit it long and straight. The PowerBow design strategically positions weight in the club head to optimize the center of gravity location.

The SQ SUMO2 5900 and the SQ SUMO 5000 are both 460cc, feature SasQuatch/Diamana shafts, and are available in 8.5-, 9.5-, 10.5-, 11.5-, 13- and 16-degree lofts. The SQ SUMO 5000 also is available in a 13-degree offset. The SQ SUMO2 5900 will carry a suggested retail price of $499.99. The SQ SUMO 5000 will carry a suggested retail price of $360.00.

Callaway golf has created a collectors item with a 25th anniversary version of their FTi driver.  Only 2500 will be made and each will be individually numbered.  The main difference from the standard club will be that the crown, sole, shaft, and grip will be silver in color.

Nike continues with its Sumo theme bringing irons to the mix this time.  With weight moved even further to the perimeter to increase the latest buzzword MOI.  They also added dampening material to decrease vibration of the club.  So far I have yet to hear of any professional players using these clubs and I do not expect to.  They are super game improvement irons meaning playability is much harder to achieve. 

Have you ever wondered what golf clubs you should buy and didn’t know where to start?  I have definitely been there for sure.  First you buy a set based on what the club pro tells you, then you buy what the golf shop rep tells you, then you buy the clubs on the latest commercial, some even go to the internet and look on the reviews.  While all these things are great they do not give you an overall perspective on what are the best clubs out there.  I decided to do some research and found a site that you may want to take a look at.  WWW.Rankmark.com is a golf research site I found that actually ranks clubs using tons of different clubs and tons of different users.  They rate everything from drivers to putters and have a backlog of years of different types.  This is helpful when you want to buy used clubs and you want to rate them as well.  Next time you get a chance go take a look at this site and see the wealth of info that will help you buy the right set of clubs for you!

Just a few short years ago Nike was not even a blip on the golf club scene.  Someone over there had a bright idea, sign on with Mr. Golf, Tiger Woods.  Since then they have exploded (along with El Tigre’s paychecks) into the elite club status.  The biggest hit so far has been the SUMO driver with a couple of different variations.  Just check the leaderboards and you can see them popping up as a club of choice with the pros.  K.J. Choi is having his career year, Tiger is going to win player of the year again, life is good at Nike golf.