Nike VR Pro Combo Irons - Forum Testing Review

[Canadan]

It's been crazy in Ohio over the last week. Rain, rain, rain, rain, and more rain. Not to mention the sun is going down earlier and earlier each night, making my weeknight golfing exceptional difficult.

That said, I got out for a scramble today with my wife and a few friends. Was absolutely punishing the ball with my VR Pro Combo's today, sometimes to the point where I was hitting them TOO far. I was by far the most consistent striker in our group, and most of the actual iron shots we played ended up being mine.

- Also cool, was that I used my blades two separate times to get over and around trees. I was hitting last as the "a" player in the group, and both times we were around 150-160 out and none of the other three balls were inside 100 yards of the green. With the VR Pro blades, I was able to elevate the shot over the tree with a slight draw, bringing it into the green clean.

- The course was quite soft, but MOST of my shots hitting the green literally plugged in their divot.

- This was my first time playing a course with essentially hard pan on the teebox areas. I was really expecting it to be an issue on the par 3's but the clubs cut through the turf really well and had just as much action and quality flight characteristics that I've grown accustomed to on softer tee boxes with lower cut grass

- Obviously not relevant to club striking, but I got complimented on them twice, and I love that. 100 golf bags at the course and people think enough of mine to compliment their looks.

- There was a 156 yard par 3 that I hit a 9 iron on, but it was probably 200 feet below the teebox. It was awesome. I hit a pretty high ball so I fired it up there and it seemed to float in the air forever, before falling like a rock in the center of the green. Solid execution, but just a TON of fun to watch.

- I had a 172 yard (uphill) shot on a par 3 that I was told by people taking bets on the hole that it played 190, so I pulled out my 5 iron. Ended up being perfectly on line of the hole... Buuuut about 15 yards OVER the green. Was very disappointing because off the club I thought I'd hit a gem.

- A downhill lie had me about 175 into the green.. Brutal lie.. In the rough.. All my teammates flubbed their shots.. I pulled out my trusty 6 in an attempt to keep it low and land it near the hole.. Well, it landed about 3 feet right of the hole, but real hot, and it was one of the few hard greens on the course. Ended up flying long. Fortunately it was a par 5 so we got up and down for bird.

I really don't think I had a bad shot with these irons today. Lots of solid wedge shots and I was definitely bombing the ball. Really happy with what I have been seeing in these, especially after not being able to get onto the course in almost a week.

 

[Chunkylover77]

Just got back from the range. I'll probably have my writeup in tomorrow though. Big struggles early due to turf conditions but at the end I was dumping balls into 2 separate piles with my PW. Walked away feeling very good.

 

[TRyan]

Nice writeup Candan. Glad you hit them well. Is the distance issues something you have been struggling with a lot or was it just one of those days?

 

[JConn]

Great write up Jeff! I like your thinking. These irons are workable, and I've got some video from today displaying that, but, if you can hit them straight, then why the heck not? I'd be a happier golfer hitting everything straight.

I find myself doing the same things. I over think shots and try to be cute. Then when I just grab the club and aim at the flag, I hit a good straight shot. Great writeup

Thanks guys. Paulo, my thoughts exactly. Great videos. With the Pocket cavity, I don't really hear a difference in the video, but I definitely hear a difference in person. CL, as I said above, my head gets in the way of my game quite a bit. It costs me a lot of strokes sometimes.

 

[JConn]

Test Date: 09/24/2011
Testing Club: Nike VR Pro Combo irons with KBS Tour Stiff shafts
Testing Purpose: Nine holes played
Course: Rope Rider Golf Course at Suncadia Resort
My Club: I am using the testing clubs but my prior set was TM Tour Preferred
Ball Used: TM Penta
Environment: Central Washington - Warm with a slight breeze.

First things first, I went out yesterday afternoon with the intentions to shoot a couple videos for Damaikis. He was curious as to the sound difference between well struck shots and mishits, with the three different types of clubs. This got me curious as well, as I hadn't really thought of it. It started off well, as I was playing alone with no one behind me, but unfortunately a few holes in some folks caught up to me and I didn't want to slow them down so I only got a few videos. I haven't forgotten buddy, I will shoot them ASAP.

Workability:
This was the focus of my last range session, but in a backwards way (more detail in my previous post). Thus, I came into the round with the mentality of simply trying to hit the ball straight. I know what you are thinking..."DUH! of course you are supposed to just try to hit it straight!" Well, previous to this, I was trying to work the ball. This round, no working it unless it is absolutely required by a tree or obstacle. All unobstructed shots were hit with the intentions of hitting it straight.

Results:
Unbelievable, honestly. I hit the ball the best I have hit it in the past few weeks. Fantastic ball striking, and most shots were straight as an arrow. I was playing two balls on quite a few of the holes; I had a couple shots that were a hair low on the face, and a couple that had baby draw on them, but overall I was very impressed. The nice part about it was that I didn't have to "think" about my swing, trying to hit a certain shot shape, I just stepped up to the ball and hit it.

Ball striking:
Touched on this above, but ball striking was fantastic in this round. Crisp shots that were right in the middle of the club face. The two shots that were low on the face actually had a little draw on them (5 yards), which I found a little odd because previous shots that were low on the face went straight. Most shots went exactly where I was aiming. The ball was one hop and stopping once again today, which I absolutely love about these clubs.

Turf interaction:
This has always been a strong point with these irons, and this round was no different. These clubs glide through the grass, and I was taking nice compact divots. The higher the loft, the bigger the divot, with the blades taking a divot about the size of a dollar bill. The nice part about trying to hit the ball straight, is the fact that I can check the divot to see if it is online with where I was aiming. I found this very helpful. I only had one issue with alignment this round, and it was easy to tell by the divot.

Overall:
Very impressed with the round. I was seeing the same distances as when I was working the ball, which is nice. I hope I can continue hitting the ball this well; if I do, and if I could putt, I feel like my scores would be down considerably.

Misc. Thoughts/Questions:
**Who would've thunk that trying to hit the ball straight would lead to better shots? :confused2: Ha ha.
**Why in the heck was I trying to work the ball when it wasn't required?
**Second best shot of the day was a 4i from 190 yards that I hit to 10'. This wasn't the second closest shot I hit, per se, but probably the best shot I've hit with the 4i so far. Straight as an arrow, mid ball flight, straight (!), and one hop and stopped!
** Can I continue hitting the ball straight consistently? That is, will this be my normal shot shape?

Other testers - What is your "normal" shot shape? How consistently (what % of shots) do you hit this shot shape?

================================================== ==================================

Now I will post the few videos I shot. I wish I could've shot more, but it is what it is. I will put them in spoilers to keep this post from being a monster.

First video: Par 3 About 135 yards but the trouble is short, so I chose 9i. First shot was hit on the bottom of the face, with a baby draw, that ended up just left of the green. Second shot was better struck and was pin high on the left side of the green.

Spoiler

Second video: 2nd shot on a par 5, 6i. The angle of the video is weird, and makes it look like I pull it, but I swear I hit it straight, and right where I was aiming. The hole goes left, over the left had bunker.

Spoiler

[video=youtube;N6zApL-CFLU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6zApL-CFLU[/video]

Third video: this one's for Chunky. This is a 3/4 PW from about 115. I had already hit a full GW that looked really good. Just wanted to give this shot another try.

Spoiler

Lastly, the results of the 3/4 PW shot. I was impressed to say the least.

Spoiler

[video=youtube;m2W4T24-62Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2W4T24-62Y[/video]

Go figure...I made the putt of the 3/4 PW and missed the birdie putt from wedge shot that was closer. That's golf!

I will be going out on Tuesday again to try to shoot some more videos (and practice of course), so if there are any videos or pics you would like to see, let me know, I am always looking for ideas.

 

[Canadan]

Nice writeup Candan. Glad you hit them well. Is the distance issues something you have been struggling with a lot or was it just one of those days?

I was swinging very strong without much concern as it was a scramble.. I suspect that had a bit to do with it.

That and I think a lot of the distances were very questionable. Not having a GPS drove me nuts.

 

[JConn]

I was swinging very strong without much concern as it was a scramble.. I suspect that had a bit to do with it.

That and I think a lot of the distances were very questionable. Not having a GPS drove me nuts.

I tend to do that in scrambles too. I have gotten used to not having gps, as I have only used one a few times. I would love to get a laser or a hybrid laser gps unit.

 

[JConn]

Any questions out there for us testers? I want to keep this thread moving!

 

[10YardDraw]

Any questions out there for us testers? I want to keep this thread moving!

do you think you could play the all blade set and still shoot your same score? Does having the other type of irons improve your game that much? Just curious what you guys think

 

[#Cookie]

do you think you could play the all blade set and still shoot your same score? Does having the other type of irons improve your game that much? Just curious what you guys think

Good questions and hard for me to really answer. My reasoning is this:

The blades are my favorite part of the set followed by the splits and then the cavities which I do not get along with at all. Based on that I would prefer a set with all blades but common sense tells me that I would not hit a 5 iron blade as well as an 8 iron blade.

Perhaps the blades are my favorite just because they are short irons and typically easier to hit than longer irons.

I am unable to say for certain based on my experience that the splits have more forgiveness than the blades but logic tells me that they do. Sorry if it seems like I am unable to give a definitive answer but hopefully my attempt at an explanation makes sense.


Tappin' from my iPad!

 

[JConn]

do you think you could play the all blade set and still shoot your same score? Does having the other type of irons improve your game that much? Just curious what you guys think

Thanks for the question 10YD. No, I definitely don't think I could score the same with all blades. I have found a good bit of forgiveness in the split cavities and it is probably more than I am even aware of. I am glad the set is the way it is. As far as the pocket cavities go, I haven't seen the extra forgiveness that I know they're supposed to have. Mishits are very harsh and much more punishing than the other types of clubs. At a Nike demo day, I hit the blade 4 and 6 irons. While they felt nice on good shots, a had a few shots that I was extremely punished for not hitting the middle. I would say I had very little confidence holding a blade 4i, and only slightly more with the 6i.

 

[Chunkylover77]

do you think you could play the all blade set and still shoot your same score? Does having the other type of irons improve your game that much? Just curious what you guys think

Not a chance. Anyone can hit a blade PW-8. It is not difficult. It is about there in every set that people begin to take just a little off every shot to give more accuracy instead of just going for a distance. When I'm 170 out, I'm mainly thinking about the distance at that point. For me it is the Splits that make this set so special. They offer the feel of the blades but just enough forgiveness that being a little off center is not severely punished

 

[Canadan]

do you think you could play the all blade set and still shoot your same score? Does having the other type of irons improve your game that much? Just curious what you guys think

I am pretty confident that I could. I do think the progression is designed logically for a larger audience, but at a 3.8, I think the only thing I'd really have to change going from this set to a full blade would be my aggressive shots. I think the added forgiveness in the splits certainly benefits any game, but it wouldn't be debilitating going to a full blade set at this point I don't think.

And I say that because the bladed irons are so nicely designed by Nike that I am confident I could score well with them, not to mention I was using blades just over a year ago as my go to set of irons, so I don't feel like the transition would be all that difficult.

 

[War Eagle]

Not a chance. Anyone can hit a blade PW-8. It is not difficult. It is about there in every set that people begin to take just a little off every shot to give more accuracy instead of just going for a distance. When I'm 170 out, I'm mainly thinking about the distance at that point. For me it is the Splits that make this set so special. They offer the feel of the blades but just enough forgiveness that being a little off center is not severely punished

This is exactly why the Split set is such a great idea. Playing the W/S V2s, I have often thought about how different it would be if they were similar to how the Pro Combos are set up (but then that would be a completely different set all together).

 

[Hawk]

Solid update, Jeff.

I hear some of you guys say that you couldn't game a full set of the blades and I can understand that completely. Aside from forgiveness aspect, is there any other reason? Do you think you'd struggle to get the ball up in the air with an all blade set up?

 

[TRyan]

Wow! Great update Jeff. I enjoyed it a lot

 

[#Cookie]

Solid update, Jeff.

I hear some of you guys say that you couldn't game a full set of the blades and I can understand that completely. Aside from forgiveness aspect, is there any other reason? Do you think you'd struggle to get the ball up in the air with an all blade set up?

Another great question. I have no issues getting the ball up with the blades in the set currently and want to think that I could still have some success with the 6 & 7 irons but would be interesting to see a side by side test to see just how much forgiveness a 6 split has versus a 6 blade. At times on the course I think I need a GI iron but from a scoring perspective, I am back to where I was with the GI set prior to starting to test these so I think I have adapted quite well to them.

But, back to the blade question - I think below a 6 iron things could get vastly different in terms of solid ball striking and a loss of distance. As CL has mentioned, when he gets down below a 6 iron or so I believe he is more concerned with distance and less about accuracy. Really about getting around the green with a chance to score. Would a 5 iron blade still get you anywhere around the green on a mishit like a 5 iron split will?

 

[Hawk]

Great answer and it makes complete sense to me. I actually never thought about it that way.

 

[Kmac]

Some really good comments in here. Very nice update Jeff and Cookie, great answer dude.

 

[JConn]

Solid update, Jeff.

I hear some of you guys say that you couldn't game a full set of the blades and I can understand that completely. Aside from forgiveness aspect, is there any other reason? Do you think you'd struggle to get the ball up in the air with an all blade set up?

Thanks Hawk.

I think confidence is a reason for me, I would not feel confident with a blade 4 or 5 iron in my hands, but I guess that would tie into forgiveness as well. I think getting it up in the air could be an issue, but with my limited experience with the VR Pro Blades (4 and 6 irons at a demo day) the issue was hitting the middle of the face consistently. On well struck shots, the ball got up fine and felt great. On mishits, pretty much the exact opposite; low ball flight and punishing in feel, distance, and direction. To me, this takes nothing away from the clubs, they just aren't for me. I could see someone very good gaming them with great success. Actually, the head pro at my work games the VR Pro blades and hits them well, so I know they are nice clubs, just not for me.

As many here have said, would you want to play a full set of blades? I just don't see the advantages. All cons, no pros.

 

[Hawk]

I personally wouldn't, but I do play with somebody that would. I think it's all what you are comfortable with and whether the benefits are worth the negatives for you.

Thanks for another great answer!

 

[JConn]

I personally wouldn't, but I do play with somebody that would. I think it's all what you are comfortable with and whether the benefits are worth the negatives for you.

Thanks for another great answer!

Exactly. I play with a few scratch guys that play blades and play them well. They make it look easy, but I can't help but wonder if even they would benefit from a little forgiveness.

No problem, thanks for the question.

 

[JConn]

Thanks Texas and OEM, I appreciate you're comments.

 

[Hawk]

I'm sure they would a few times a round for sure. Luckily those who want a little forgiveness have that option today. I think that the idea of the combo set is really cool. This has been fun to follow.

 

[the_paulo]

just catching up a little here, apologies!

Solid update, Jeff.

I hear some of you guys say that you couldn't game a full set of the blades and I can understand that completely. Aside from forgiveness aspect, is there any other reason? Do you think you'd struggle to get the ball up in the air with an all blade set up?

I put away a set of blades to game these, and I don't think I'd go back. Don't get me wrong, I can hit the blades well and can get the longer irons up in the air (although I hit them lower than the VR Pro Combos). The thing is, I like to think I'm a pretty consistent ball striker, but that occasional mishit with the blades can really punish you. So, I think the main reason for not going all blades is the forgiveness. The reason I'd have considered going back to the blades in the longer irons would have been to get that lower, penetrating flight for the windier conditions, but I've found with a bit of practice, I'm able to play this shot quite easily with the split cavity and pocket cavity irons in this set.

Another great question. I have no issues getting the ball up with the blades in the set currently and want to think that I could still have some success with the 6 & 7 irons but would be interesting to see a side by side test to see just how much forgiveness a 6 split has versus a 6 blade. At times on the course I think I need a GI iron but from a scoring perspective, I am back to where I was with the GI set prior to starting to test these so I think I have adapted quite well to them.

Would a 5 iron blade still get you anywhere around the green on a mishit like a 5 iron split will?

Some of my stats from the earlier Trackman sessions show how much more accurate I was with the VR Pro Combos over the Wilson fg59s. I was particularly surprised at how accurate I was with the pocket cavities, as I thought I was struggling a little with them. Head to head with the blades, they really outshone them in every dept for my game.

As I said above, the occasional mishit with the blades in the longer irons really did put me in trouble. It would lose a lot of distance. the splits seem quite a bit more forgiving for me.