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Nike VR Pro Combo Irons - Forum Testing Review

SuperStroke
Great update Jeff! Thanks for the video, I really enjoyed that. Seems like you got a lot more success than me. Think I may be getting ahead of the ball and using my hands a little too much with the pocket cavities. Nice to know it can be done though, and it looks like they are a bit more versatile than I give them credit for.
 
JC, sounds like a tough day out there. Still sounds like the VR's performed pretty good for you. Better luck out there next time!
 
Thanks guys, yes it was a tough day out there. Score wasn't awful but nothing great. I agree, these irons performed well, even when I wasn't striking the ball great. I think this confirms that these clubs do have some forgiveness built into them.
 
So I had a few range sessions this week. After my personal best round last weekend I kind of expected to be hitting the ball well and that just was not happening. I pretty much struggled with every club in the bag. Just a few points about the set

Pocket Cavs—When my swing is off I expect these to be the irons that struggle. Well the funny thing is that I hit these great. Since moving the ball back in my stance I’ve been hitting these consistently well. My miss is a push right and I had a few of those. I caught a few on the toe as well and those will just flounder up in the air and then drop about 10-20 yards short. My main strike is slightly heelward and those do not get punished for me at all. I practiced regular shots, draws, cuts, knockdowns, stingers… Hit them all pretty well. High towering shots are what I’ve come to expect with these irons and that is what I consistently get. Feel is again blah but I will live with it for the forgiveness that the PC’s give you.
Favorite shot—Been trying to develop a low draw with the 3I to use off the tee. I have had a little trouble with the draw part of that. So I finally moved the ball back a hair and moved a little further away from the ball. There is no green where the ball will land but there is a 200 yard marker. Well the one ball that I felt I hit just right drew nicely and bounced once and hit the board. Unfortunately my next shot was
Worst shot—Horrific shank shot that would have killed some ankles if anyone were around

Split Cavs—My struggles were mainly with these clubs. I just couldn’t seem to find a groove with them. I was hitting a ton of weak fades and push rights. I hit the knockdowns well with these but when it came time to just hit the ball straight I just couldn’t do it. Straight push rights and high towering fades that were 20 yards off line due to starting them right as well. I am struggling trying to draw the ball right now and while I don’t want to make excuses I do want to get the lie checked on my irons. I hit the ball consistently in toward the heel so I think I need to flatten them a bit. Maybe that could have something to do with not being able to play my usual draw?

Favorite shot: None stood out. I hit a couple of good shots but none that really come to mind
Worst shot: Most of them. It was just ugly with the Splits this week

Blades—The blades continue to shine for me. I just take nice easy swings and the blades continue to conjour up some magic. Even on bad days most of my shots with the blades are good. These heads feel just a teeny bit heavier but I don’t think they are. But I do know that I definitely have a better feel for where the club head is during my swing with the blades. Taking something off with these irons is very easy and the results are fantastic. Again I would say that typical ball marks are in toward the heel with no punishment. Surprisingly I am seeing a little forgiveness out on the toe with these as well. You lose distance but the outcome is acceptable. The sole cuts through the turf pretty effortlessly and my divots are huge! Still loving these irons
Favorite shot—Hit a knockdown 8I at the 120 flag that skipped on the green once and settled right at the base of the flag. This shot never left the pin
Worst shot—Another shank. These are a miss of mine. Happens when I try to correct my inside takeaway. I will swing to the outside but at the same time my arms separate from my body which will cause the mishit.
 
Great writeups! I finally caught up and you guys are doing a phenomenal job
 
Might be owning these soon :)

tapatalk addict....
 
Test Date: 10/7/2011
Testing Club: Nike VR Pro Combo irons with PX steel shaft 5.0 flex
Testing Purpose: 27 holes played
My Club: I am using the testing clubs but my prior set was the Cobra S9's
Ball Used: Srixon AD-333
Environment: Texas - 85 degrees & cloudy w/south winds at 20-25 MPH

Hello THP! I went out Friday and walked 27. I will spare you the hole by hole recount as I know that can be a challenge to read at times (especially if covering 27 holes), but rather give you a synopsis of my experience with the Split Cavities and the Blades. My focus on the day was ball striking; I have found that the more I "go after" a shot the worse the result is. I am much better off focusing on a smooth tempo and letting the club deliver the results even if that means taking a longer club than normal to cover the distance. I think that the main reason for this is the leading edge of these clubs. When I go after a shot I tend to get steep and since the leading edge on these is not as rounded off as a GI iron the result will be a very fat shot for me if coming in too steep and making turf contact behind the ball.

SPLIT CAVITIES:

I hit these about 7 times on the day either on shots into the green or on layup shots on par 5's. I had a nice consistent day with these shots. I did not have any amazing shots where I dropped the ball to 5 feet but I also did not have any shot into the green was more then 4 yards off in either direction (typically short or long). Broken record alert: my average shots still put me into a position to score. PERFECT example of that is this thinned 5 iron in the video below for the hole of the day thread.



BLADES:

Very similar to my results with the splits except that I was not even missing the greens. I had one horrifically chunked 8 iron but besides that my average result was approximately 25 feet away from the hole on 9 approach shots into the greens with these clubs. I realize that is very general, but it was a ho-hum kind of day result wise and I had a bunch of hit greens 20-30 feet away and 2 putt pars.

I did have a solid short game day and everything put together enabled me to shoot 9's of: 41, 40, and 36 (par was 35, 36, and 35 respectively).

Sorry for the general synopsis review...time to try something different and I have a thought. I have not hit a GI iron since the VERY beginning of this iron testing and I really need to know and figure our how much forgiveness (if any) that I am giving up with these irons. I am not a worker of the ball - I want to hit it straight at the flag and hit greens.....plain and simple. With that said, my step-dad is gaming the 2.0's w/graphite shafts and I want to do an on course comparison with them.

My thought for the comparison is to take out 9 iron and a 6 iron from each set (or corresponding lofted club - need to check that). Alternate hitting 3 balls with each club and then track what the results are. Are toe misses giving me better results with either or? Are heavy or thin shots more penalizing than the other, etc? Is turf interaction better with one than the other for my swing, etc? I think that answering those questions will tell me what I should be playing in the long run given that I consider myself an average striker of the ball. I should have plenty of time to do this on course this next week so can see results from hitting into real greens.

If anyone has any thoughts on a different or better way to approach a little comparison testing then I am all ears. Playing in a charity scramble tomorrow afternoon so will have results from that also posted tomorrow evening!!
 
In 24 hours I will own these hopefully :)

tapatalk addict....
 
Played today in some slightly windy conditions and struggled. The course was a little longer and I had a ton of 3/4 iron shots today. Hit them solidly but off line. I'll do a writeup later as I need to rest my back right now. Today was a perfect day of why I would ever question playing these irons moving forward. When you have to hit a lot of longer irons it gets to you when they don't go where you plan on hitting them. Did hit a 4I shot today that was a beautiful low bullet just like I wanted and amazingly it hopped and stopped on the green within 2 feet of the ball mark.
 
Chunkylover77 said:
Played today in some slightly windy conditions and struggled. The course was a little longer and I had a ton of 3/4 iron shots today. Hit them solidly but off line. I'll do a writeup later as I need to rest my back right now. Today was a perfect day of why I would ever question playing these irons moving forward. When you have to hit a lot of longer irons it gets to you when they don't go where you plan on hitting them. Did hit a 4I shot today that was a beautiful low bullet just like I wanted and amazingly it hopped and stopped on the green within 2 feet of the ball mark.
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Sorry you had a bad day buddy, but I don't understand this statement. So on a day like today, you think about playing something more forgiving?
 
coolbreeze said:
Sorry you had a bad day buddy, but I don't understand this statement. So on a day like today, you think about playing something more forgiving?
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It really wasn't all that bad. Had a good front but just for whatever reason had a funky beginning to the back 9 and just decided to have some fun and hit some trick shots. Just kind of gave up on the round but if I hadn't I would have been mid 80's. The statement is more a comparison as to my previous irons which were more GI. I found the G15 long irons insanely easy to hit especially the 4I. Today I just was a tiny bit off with the long irons and instead of putting I was just ending up in bad spots which cost me more than just a stroke. A good example was a par 3 which I actually have video of my tee shot. 185 into a breeze. Played a 3I back in my stance and hit it well but just pushed it a little bit. It ended up in a spot that was impossible for me to chip from. Hit a great chip that just couldn't stop and ended up off the green. So I ended up with a 5 and I don't think I took a bad swing on my tee shot. Little more forgiveness on that 3I and I think I'm just to the right of the green instead of as far right as I was.
 
Chunkylover77 said:
It really wasn't all that bad. Had a good front but just for whatever reason had a funky beginning to the back 9 and just decided to have some fun and hit some trick shots. Just kind of gave up on the round but if I hadn't I would have been mid 80's. The statement is more a comparison as to my previous irons which were more GI. I found the G15 long irons insanely easy to hit especially the 4I. Today I just was a tiny bit off with the long irons and instead of putting I was just ending up in bad spots which cost me more than just a stroke. A good example was a par 3 which I actually have video of my tee shot. 185 into a breeze. Played a 3I back in my stance and hit it well but just pushed it a little bit. It ended up in a spot that was impossible for me to chip from. Hit a great chip that just couldn't stop and ended up off the green. So I ended up with a 5 and I don't think I took a bad swing on my tee shot. Little more forgiveness on that 3I and I think I'm just to the right of the green instead of as far right as I was.
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I gotcha buddy. Looking forward to your right up.
 
Test Date: 10/9/11
Testing Club: Nike VR Pro Combos PX Graphite Shaft 5.0
My Club: I play the Pro Combos but prior set was Wilson Staff Di11’s
Ball Used: Callaway Diablo HX Tour
Environment: Decent breeze but gorgeous day

Had a really weird round today. Started with 2 lost balls and just lost the will to play on the back nine. About the 14[SUP]th[/SUP] hole I started asking my playing partners what club and type of shot I should play just to mess around. I took some video of my awfulness. It’s crazy how you can go from shooting a 75 to a 90 in 1 week. My swing was a mess just by looking at the videos. Elbow was out. Crossing over at the top. Even my Pelz swings were awful.

Pocket Cavs—I played from the Blue Tees so I had a ton of long iron shots today. For the most part I hit the ball pretty solidly. I just was missing a little thin or a little fat all day. With GI irons you wonder if the shots would have turned out better. Today was the type of day that makes you wonder if you should be playing GE clubs instead of GI clubs. Just missing by a hair. Toe shots seemed to wander a little more right today. One example is a 185 yard par 3 with the wind in our face. I tried to hit 3I and bring it in right to left. Well I caught it pretty good but just a little off the toe. With my prior clubs this ball was on the green. With these I was 15 yards to the right left with an impossible chip shot. Video below of the tee shot


I did hit some good ones though. A long par 4 that I split the fairway, I had 185 to the green. Hit a nice mid flight 4I that caught the back of the green and stopped within 2 feet of the pitch mark. I am always surprised at the amount of spin I can get with these long irons on low shots. Also had a 180 yard par 3 that I yanked a little left but I hit a solid 4I that was pin high.

Split Cavities—Hit these on the range really well. They had some nets set up out and I hit the 170 yard one with my 5I. Other than that I don’t really remember hitting too many shots with the Splits today. Course played long so my usual mid iron shots actually became long iron shots. Had some nice layup shots on par 5’s though. It is an under rated aspect of golf but one that I’ve practiced quite a bit and my usual iron is the 6I to play to a distance. Today I can remember one shot that I played with a 5I that I just struck so cleanly. Ball got up very high and landed exactly where I had wanted it to. The Splits do feel so nice when hit cleanly.

I did hit some bad shots with the Splits as well. I can remember on the 18[SUP]th[/SUP] that I had 150 in. At this point I was just messing around so instead of just taking a smooth 7I from the rough I tried to hit a rope hook low swinger that did not rope, hook, or swing. Just went low and straight. Video below


I also can remember a 150 yard shot that I wanted to take in right to left. I aimed at a bunker and tried to draw the ball but it just stayed out to the right. I seem to be having issues drawing the ball with these irons. Not sure if it’s user error or possible club issue. Would an upright club make drawing the ball harder? Could a too soft flex shaft make it harder to draw the ball? Video of that shot below
[video=youtube;8M-XyqXecAY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M-XyqXecAY[/video]

Blades—Once again I just loved these irons. Hit most of the shots with the blades very solidly. My stock shot with these irons is a mid flight slight fade and I seem to be able to replicate it a very high percentage of the time. Again I didn’t have a ton of shots with the blades today. One I can remember is 100 yards in and I hit a soft PW and it faded in nicely to 8 feet. Video below


One bad shot that I can remember was on a down slope lie. I have been struggling with these types of shots with the blades for whatever reason. This was a pretty good down hill slope and I guess I didn’t transfer my weight very well. Hit it very fat and the ball barely went further than my divot. Yorkem of course took video of that swing


Just didn’t have it today. Not the worst day but certainly not how I wanted to follow up my 75. These are the days that make you wonder if that extra forgiveness would have come in handy. Normally I would say no because I tend to not have a lot of long irons which is where I need the forgiveness. Today I just needed to hit a lot of long irons. Every par 3 was 180 or longer. The par 4’s were long as were the par 5’s. It was a good test and I would give myself a C-. Still had a fun day with some good friends and I look forward to shooting low next time. Possible SethO round coming up soon!!
 
Great review CL! Like you, I am pondering long term if more forgiveness is needed for those rounds when ball striking is not great. I hope to start answering that question this next week.


Tappin' from my iPad!
 
Good stuff Cl, these irons still intrigue me even as I test the Adams a12OS irons. These things are just sessy and all of you seem to really enjoy hitting them.
 
Sounds like a bit of a rough day, Chunky, but don't let it get you down. You shouldn't have been trying to workability the ball all over the place hehe. The pocket cavities in this set are really interesting to me. It seems like they have some forgiveness, but maybe the expectation is that they'd have a bit more? That could be way off as well.

That was one soft PW. I call that going after it when I do it hehe.
 
Nice write-ups guys.

Seems like the forgiveness pondering isn't really going away. I tend to ponder in the opposite direction, wondering just how much forgiveness I'm actually gaining with these clubs over the previous blades. I'm still enjoying the forgiveness, and when I read about you guys pondering more, I wonder if the forgiveness I think I see is somewhat a mental thing? Perhaps I'm actually expecting these irons to be forgiving and that compounds my confidence?
 
I really like that these clubs are being tested in some different environments. You guys are playing a great selection of shots and seeing varying results with approaches into the greens. Great job, tons of info.
@cookie I think me you and JB need to tee it up, you seem to play fast...lol
@Paulo the wind, is it a factor for you most of the time? You seem to be managing it well.
@captain chuck with the stingers, when you get a chance put some of those on video



Kongfrontation
 
Great videos Chunky and mcook77. Really sweet sounding and looking sticks. Chunky- those low numbers will come back- they always do. I always take steps back after firing a low score for at least 1 round.
 
the_paulo said:
Nice write-ups guys.

Seems like the forgiveness pondering isn't really going away. I tend to ponder in the opposite direction, wondering just how much forgiveness I'm actually gaining with these clubs over the previous blades. I'm still enjoying the forgiveness, and when I read about you guys pondering more, I wonder if the forgiveness I think I see is somewhat a mental thing? Perhaps I'm actually expecting these irons to be forgiving and that compounds my confidence?
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These irons have plenty of forgiveness for a consistent good ball striker Paulo. It is just after a bad round I always have the negative nellies flying around in my head. Quite honestly my swing was so bad yesterday that I should have shot a lot higher. I generally don't have a third of the long iron shots that I did yesterday so it just made it seem like the forgiveness was not there.

Freddie I will get some video up. Lighting has been difficult lately with the fact that I'm not getting out of work until 6PM lately. Maybe I can find a range close to work and go at lunch
 
ghsace said:
Great videos Chunky and mcook77. Really sweet sounding and looking sticks. Chunky- those low numbers will come back- they always do. I always take steps back after firing a low score for at least 1 round.
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I do the same thing. I expect to shoot better next time out
 
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