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Nike VR Pro Combo Irons - Forum Testing Review

SuperStroke
mcook77 said:
My HC has not actually changed much but my average score has been high 80's/low 90's where they were previously low 80's. As I said, this is all short game related for me. I had a GW in my old set that I was great with within 100 yards. For the most part, I have struggled on the 1/2 shots with the PW and my aftermarket wedges did not work for me but I did not really practice them enough either while testing irons. I really do expect to see high 70's/low to mid 80's now with some confidence in my short game. Feels totally different now....starting tomorrow. Also dropping the 3i for tomorrow's round in favor of the 3h should help.


Tappin' from my iPad!
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Yeah I have seen how you've been searching for some wedges. I am pretty lucky in that I love taking 1/2 and 3/4 swings and so the PW has been fantastic for me. I think once the changes happen your scores will drop
 
Jeff Conner said:
Good job man.

My scores have fluctuated (this is nothing new), but have been quite a bit lower this year due to a huge increase in practice time. My handicap has dropped just over 6 points, from 13.4 to 7.3 (and I think it will be dropping a little again next week). So, overall my scores have gone down but part of this is definitely due to a large increase in practice.
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Wow! God I wish I could get my handicap back down to those levels. Great job dude. You know I think I have been pretty consistent in terms of range time so I don't think I can just say that I've gotten better due to more practice. These irons kind of make you want to put the work in though. I'm always a little nervous when I haven't hit a ball for more than 3-4 days.
 
Chunkylover77 said:
Yeah I have seen how you've been searching for some wedges. I am pretty lucky in that I love taking 1/2 and 3/4 swings and so the PW has been fantastic for me. I think once the changes happen your scores will drop
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I like the shot in certain scenarios but I often found the ball flight of a 1/2 swing was just too low for my liking. I prefer to carry it to the hole and felt like the ball flight required me to land it well short of the flag to stop and that was not always an option.


Tappin' from my iPad!
 
mcook77 said:
I actually sold the set and it allowed me to buy 1 of the new VR pro wedges....ironic, huh?

It was also kind of my way of "showing Nike some love" by purchasing the wedges to go with the set.

All good, has been a great process and I have learned many things about my game/swing in general that I had never previously paid that much attention to.


Tappin' from my iPad!
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Ha ha, that is a little ironic. I too showed Nike some love, just not as much as you. I bought two new Nike VR hats that I ALWAYS wear, two new Nike polos, and a couple dozen Nike 20XI balls. I agree that this testing has helped me see my game in another way, and has really helped me improve. I can't thank THP and Nike enough for this opportunity.
 
Jeff Conner said:
Ha ha, that is a little ironic. I too showed Nike some love, just not as much as you. I bought two new Nike VR hats that I ALWAYS wear, two new Nike polos, and a couple dozen Nike 20XI balls. I agree that this testing has helped me see my game in another way, and has really helped me improve. I can't thank THP and Nike enough for this opportunity.
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Hahaha look at us all being Nike Homers. I got the 2 wedges and a hat which I love.
 
Chunkylover77 said:
How has everyones scores been since moving to the Pro Combos? Are you guys seeing lower scores? Higher scores? For me my handicap has gone down 2 points since I started gaming the VR Pro Combos. That is kind of hard to ignore
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I am playing the best golf of my life with the Pro Combos, but I keep thinking I could be doing even better with GI irons. I got the PC's almost right after I got back to playing and I know my game has improved a lot, so I don't know if I can attribute the scores to the clubs or the fact that I am just getting better the more I play.
 
VR Pro Combo irons -- True Temper Dynamic Gold x100 shafts -- standard grips

So, I'm a bit bummed, and here is the root of my unhappiness..
Spoiler
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My poor greens have been ravaged by aeration!! Alas, however, the golf must be enjoyed!!

I had a bit of a rough day on the course, but not on the card, just on the ball striking. I'll go through my iron shots and then give a bit of a recap. It's going to seem a bit repetitive, but I used the PW a LOT today on the 9 holes I played. I will also point out that it was under 60 degrees, which I always find gives my club feedback a different story, both in the cold weather and my cold hands.. Today was certainly no different.

** 9 iron from 145 -- Thinned this shot on account of zero practice and very VERY little warm up. The path was great though, and the ball went about 160, landing and rolling through the green. IN reality, the flight was actually pretty decent, just not a great feeling at all, and a disappointing result.
** 6 iron lay-up from about 260 into dead wind -- Ended up sort of blocking this one, but only to the point where it went about 10 feet right of my targeted shot, and didn't draw as I had anticipated. Also, the wind grabbed it a bit, and made the ball float a bit as it increased in height.
** PW from 130ish into wind -- This was actually in the rough and ended up being a really nice shot. I was focusing in on keeping a straight flight and I got that for the most part, although again the strike itself didn't FEEL all that great. Results were solid, with the ball landing about 15 feet short of the hole, good enough for a two putt on the plinko board.
** PW from 140 (with wind helping) -- pretty standard shot, with the lie slightly above my feet. Fairly clean strike but again not feeling as solid as I am used to feeling. Results were a medium arc with a small draw, the ball floating slightly in the wind and landing about 35 feet short of the hole. Miraculously, plinko unscathed and I manage to bury the long putt for birdie!!
** PW from 130, wind from right to left -- Strangely enough, another really poor strike in terms of feedback, but the results were solid. Landed about 15 feet from the pin and I managed the two putt for par. The flight itself was a lot similar to what I had been seeing earlier in the day.
** Finally, a 9 iron from 145 with wind slightly in the face, more left to right though -- CHUNK TOWN!! Was joking with the guys I was playing with, only slightly checked into the shot, and came in way too heavy. Not terribly upset, laughed it off, replaced the giant pelt, and moved on.

Misc Notes:

- The only positive I could take out of my round today was that I managed to sneak out of the day at +3 after the 9 holes. I have a lot of confidence in these clubs when I am swinging them on a regular basis but I had not been on course since Sunday and it really seemed to cost me on tempo and swing optimism throughout the round. With that said, I was really pleased with how well the ball managed to stay on the ideal path even though my striking was less than what I wanted it to be, costing me only a stroke or two by the end of the round.

- I didn't use a golf glove (forgot it) for the first time this year. The grips held up great and there was absolutely no concern about slippage or concerns with the grip moving in my hands during my swing. In fact, the only time I even considered it was when I grabbed the driver.

- I also did not have a wet towel for maybe only the second time this year, and I will attest to those with groove cleaning complaints. I attempted to use the THP spotless swing towel to get the dirt out from the grooves but didn't have a ton of success with it. If I wasn't so generally adamant about carrying a wet towel, this would be something that would really bother me.

- If the weather stays cool for the weekend I may switch to a softer ball in an attempt to retain the feedback I've grown accustomed to over the last couple months with these irons. I've got two rounds (one each day) and I look forward to providing more feedback!!
 
Chunkylover77 said:
How has everyones scores been since moving to the Pro Combos? Are you guys seeing lower scores? Higher scores? For me my handicap has gone down 2 points since I started gaming the VR Pro Combos. That is kind of hard to ignore
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Nice! My scores have been pretty consistently bad this season, and I've been working on my swing, so I use that as an excuse. I can definitely say that my ball striking has become a lot more consistent with the vr pro combos, and this is helping my confidence get back to where it should be. Think I've learned this season that switching irons is a big adjustment for me, no matter how nice the new ones are. Overall, I can feel that I will be playing better with these irons.

Ps nice writeup dan!
 
Test Date: 09/17/2011
Testing Club: Nike VR Pro Combo irons with PX steel shaft 5.0 flex
Testing Purpose: Full round played
My Club: I am using the testing clubs but my prior set was the Cobra S9's
Ball Used: Srixon AD-333 for majority of the round
Environment: Texas - 90 degrees, mostly cloudy, South winds 10-15 MPH

Played 18 yesterday morning and had probably my best ball striking day that I have experienced with these irons. I did not score amazingly well but the ball striking I had leads me to believe that things are really starting to progress nicely. The course was only playing 6,000 yards and it did get rained on the previous night so conditions were wet for the first 9 holes or so. Given the shorter course, I did not have any iron shot lower than a 6 iron.

While I was striking the ball well, there was something causing the ball not to fly as far as normal and I never really adapted to it. This happened consistently all day to me and another player in my group where I thought I hit the perfect iron shot and was calling for it to be pin hunting and I came up on the fringe 3-8 yards short of the green. But they were struck well, so I am not complaining - just need to adapt to the conditions better. Instead of explaining each of those shots I would like to provide examples that I experienced yesterday in the forgiveness of these irons. Some of which I was quite surprised with.


Hole number 6 is a 460 yard par 5. I pushed my tee shot right and had to hit a 9 iron over some trees to get back into play in the middle of the fairway. I was then left with 126 yards to the middle of the green with the pin playing front middle. Plain and simple, I bladed the shot. It never got any higher than 20 feet in the air and I was yelling for it to get down and stop expecting that it was going to hit the back of the green and then roll off the back which is the result I experienced in my previous clubs. Nope....here is the result:

You can see my ball mark short right of the flag and then the ball checked up after a big bounce about 13 feet past the pin. GREAT result for a poor shot. This was my only birdie made for the day!
IMG_0048.jpg


Hole number 10 is a 390 yard par 4 and my drive left me in the middle and 142 from the flag. I proceeded to blade an 8 iron and pull it just a tad left. Here is the result from that shot:
IMG_0056.jpg


Just off the green and pin high. This is what I have been talking about throughout the testing when I chunk one a tad or hit it thin, etc I am still left in a position to score. Luckily for me, my short game was a bit better so I saved par in a bunch of situations like this yesterday.

Final stats for my round yesterday:

Score 83 (par 71)
Birdies - 1
Pars - 8
Bogeys - 6
Doubles - 1
Triples - 1

FW: 9/13
GIR: 5/18
Putts: 29

Going into yesterday's round I was still contemplating if these irons were for best for my game. While I still can't say honestly that they are because they do have to be hit quite well, I am seeing enough forgiveness to keep me around or on the greens on average shots and well struck shots are just amazing. If I would have done a better job of adapting to the distance issues, I could have scored better. As I continue to make better contact with these, I am also seeing an increase in distances. These irons can be VERY long when hit well. Since testing started, I am now seeing an additional 10 yards per club if not a bit more than I was initially. I really do feel like I am just getting to know these quite well and everything is slowly improving. More feedback to come soon!!
 
mcook77 said:
Going into yesterday's round I was still contemplating if these irons were for best for my game. While I still can't say honestly that they are because they do have to be hit quite well, I am seeing enough forgiveness to keep me around or on the greens on average shots and well struck shots are just amazing. If I would have done a better job of adapting to the distance issues, I could have scored better. As I continue to make better contact with these, I am also seeing an increase in distances. These irons can be VERY long when hit well. Since testing started, I am now seeing an additional 10 yards per club if not a bit more than I was initially. I really do feel like I am just getting to know these quite well and everything is slowly improving. More feedback to come soon!!
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Pretty interesting Cookie. I know what you mean in terms of there being just enough forgiveness to keep you in check, and it really is that feeling of a pure shot that keeps you coming back for more. The increase in distance you're seeing is what I find interesting though, that's pretty amazing. I thought I was hitting these further initially, and while the stats show me I'm hitting them better, I'm not seeing much more distance with these irons. Higher, more spin, better launch conditions altogether though, so I'm happy with that. Do you think you're seeing more distance because you're hitting them more consistently out of the middle? Is anyone else gaining distance as they get used to these irons?
 
Great stuff Cookie and other testers! You guys have been great. I hit these at Golfsmith the other day and was extremely impressed. The blades are great, but I really enjoyed the feel off of the split cavities. What clubs do the testers like the best?
 
the_paulo said:
Pretty interesting Cookie. I know what you mean in terms of there being just enough forgiveness to keep you in check, and it really is that feeling of a pure shot that keeps you coming back for more. The increase in distance you're seeing is what I find interesting though, that's pretty amazing. I thought I was hitting these further initially, and while the stats show me I'm hitting them better, I'm not seeing much more distance with these irons. Higher, more spin, better launch conditions altogether though, so I'm happy with that. Do you think you're seeing more distance because you're hitting them more consistently out of the middle? Is anyone else gaining distance as they get used to these irons?
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Yes, the distance is there when I pure them in the middle and trap them nicely hitting the ball first. Through the first month, everything was off of the toe so I think that is why I was not seeing much distance gains. I need to go back and compare the lofts between my old set and these and give yardage examples and comparisons by loft and not just club as my old set was 1 club stronger on average. I do not know much about shafts and if moving from graphite to PX steel is much of a factor. Old clubs were also about 4 years old also...


Tappin' from my iPad!
 
Damaikis said:
Great stuff Cookie and other testers! You guys have been great. I hit these at Golfsmith the other day and was extremely impressed. The blades are great, but I really enjoyed the feel off of the split cavities. What clubs do the testers like the best?
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Thanks man! Blades are my favorite hands down but splits are great to hit also. Easy to hit and a nice predictable ball flight. Really easy to lower the flight in the splits which I look forward to doing more once the winds pick back up around here.


Tappin' from my iPad!
 
Damaikis said:
Great stuff Cookie and other testers! You guys have been great. I hit these at Golfsmith the other day and was extremely impressed. The blades are great, but I really enjoyed the feel off of the split cavities. What clubs do the testers like the best?
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Thanks! That's a good question for me, because the blades in this set are beautiful, really easy to hit, and feel excellent. But, I'm used to playing blades and I think the novelty of having a split cavity in the set led me to spending a little more time with them, and I must say I was amazed at the feedback you get from them, the range of shots I can play with them, and just how good they felt on most hits. A little bit of forgiveness in there too. So at the moment I agree with you, the splits are probably my favourites right now.

mcook77 said:
Yes, the distance is there when I pure them in the middle and trap them nicely hitting the ball first. Through the first month, everything was off of the toe so I think that is why I was not seeing much distance gains. I need to go back and compare the lofts between my old set and these and give yardage examples and comparisons by loft and not just club as my old set was 1 club stronger on average. I do not know much about shafts and if moving from graphite to PX steel is much of a factor. Old clubs were also about 4 years old also...
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I'd guess that all the factors are combining to see the distance increase, but that's still a great result, and a testament to your game improving as well as the ability of the irons. I was kinda struggling slightly with the ball striking too, up until I made that simple change of ball position and got to trapping it like you mention. I'll have to get back on the Trackman with them and see if I am maybe hitting them a little further now. Interesting.
 
the_paulo said:
Is anyone else gaining distance as they get used to these irons?
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I haven't gained any distance as I have gotten used to them, but as I've mentioned in the past I do hit them farther than my previous (same shafts and similar lofts). There are days, and it could be due to conditions, that I hit the ball up to 5 yards further but these clubs are pretty consistent when talking about distance IMO.
 
Damaikis said:
Great stuff Cookie and other testers! You guys have been great. I hit these at Golfsmith the other day and was extremely impressed. The blades are great, but I really enjoyed the feel off of the split cavities. What clubs do the testers like the best?
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Thanks, and thanks for the question! I have to agree with Cook here, the blades are my favorite as well. The splits feel great as well, but the feeling of a pure shot with the blades is incredible. Also, I seem to be a little more accurate with the blades (as with any shorter irons vs longer irons) which makes me like them the best.
 
the_paulo said:
Is anyone else gaining distance as they get used to these irons?
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My distances are the same as my previous set. The lofts throughout the sets are almost identical. I did go from an x-stiff to a stiff shaft, so the feel is better, but the distances stayed the same.

I just got back in from playing a quick nine and hit the ball really well for about 7 holes and ok for the other two. I shot +4 and it was my wedge play on one hole and my driving on the other, so I can't blame the Pro Combo's at all.

Even with that, I am still contemplating jumping ship and going for something a little more forgiving. My 10th anniversary is coming up next week and my wife said that if I want to make an appointment at the TMP lab and get fit for a set of R11's I can. I am going to ponder it a little longer, plus I want to wait and see if I am lucky enough to be selected as a tester for them.
 
Tester: Canadan (GHIN 3.8)
Clubs: VR Pro Combo Irons
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold x100
Grips: Standard Nike -- Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Course slope/rating/distance: 71.8 -- 132 -- 6553 yards

Played 27 holes today at my home course. Morning round finished at 75 and afternoon 9 hole finished at even par 36. I was really bombing my drives today, and followed them up with some awesome approach shots and some even better putting. I'll review my shots with the VR Pro Combo's and then share some thoughts.

Front 9:
** PW from 130 - On hardpan - Would blame this openly on the brutal lie but it was a stinger that came out of the lie right and short. Really not a great shot but after how I was hitting this club on the range before the round, I was quite certain it was just a tough break and trying to pick it clean did me no favours.
** PW from 135 - On mini epoch tee - Nice smooth swing launched this shot high in the air and fell about 20 feet long of the hole, but was tracking beautifully all the way. When I stood on the tee considering the shots I could take, this was exactly what I had in mind. Great flight, pulled it back about 2-3 feet after it hit the green.
** 5 iron - layup on par 5 - Just trying to get myself into scoring position (or wedge position), I took a pretty clean swipe at this shot but it ended up drawing a bit more than I expected, but fortunately the hole dogleg's right so there is a ton of fairway to work with at the distance I hit to. I considered it a great shot.
** PW - layup on par 5 - Sitting at 250 I didn't feel like trying to obliterate a 3 wood so I took the PW to about 100 yards. The ball was sitting in a divot so I had to come down pretty hard on the ball to get it crisp. Tons of ground, a big old divot, and the shot tracked to exactly where I needed it to. It was a great success!

Back 9:
** 5 iron from 185 - Slight downhill lie - The pin was in the back of the hole so I knew I could draw it in and let it roll up, but apparently my shot didn't have that in mind. It was dead straight, hanging out to the right of the hole about 20 feet but landing and stopping dead almost pin high.
** 7 iron from 170 - Wind in the face - Again it was one of those shots where I had something in mind, hit the ball, and it did exactly what I wanted it to. Crisp feeling, great flight, slight draw tracking right into the hole, but the wind grabbed up and it came up about 15 feet short of the hole. Not the greatest result, but I was happy.
** 4 iron from 210 - downhill lie in fairway - A pretty awful shot. I had to go after it because 210 is a long way for me to take my 4 iron and I ended up hitting a bit heavy. The ball drew left, and caught the front bunker and came to a stop at the bottom of it. The mishit was really punishing in that the distance probably wasn't even 185 yards, but I'll fault the lie and the ball strike more than anything else.
** 4 iron from 205 - on epoch mini tee - A much better swing, but again a bit of wind to contend with, I put a GREAT swing on the ball and it floated for a while before coming to a stop about 25 feet short of the hole and a bit left. Not disappointed by the shot by any means as it is probably the hardest par 3 on the course. Another note, the ball had zero rollout, with the ball sitting about a half foot behind the divot.

Back 9: (this one may look laughably familiar)
** 5 iron from 185 - slight downhill in fairway - Basically an identical shot from my previous nine. I took this one a bit worse though, and my shot yanked left and short, landing woefully short in the front left bunker. Remarkably different from my shot in the morning round, but the swing was substantially different so I deserved the result.
** 7 iron from 170 - on mini epoch tee - Apparently my lesson was not learned from the previous hole as I yanked this one left with a big old draw as well. Thinking I had to put a bit of extra juice on it, I didn't clear my hips and the ball launched left after started directly on line with the hole. A disappointing shot to say the least.
** 5 iron from 190 - It was revenge time with the 5 iron. Not happy with my results from the previous 5 iron I thought I'd try to attack this shot without drawing the ball.. That said, I hit it DEAD straight even though I had lined it right of the hole, and it really never came back. Maybe about 5 yard short, and bunker right (although the bunker is technically behind the front of the green)
** 4 iron from 210 - on mini epoch tee - This shot was absolutely bombed. Way high in the air, very slight draw about 15 feet left of the hole and just long. When i say this shot was bombed, I mean it. Possibly my best struck VR Pro 4 iron in the entirety of my testing.
** PW from 130 - Wind in face - Thwarted by wind!! This was another beautifully struck shot that was tracking in on the hole in a way where you start to wonder if it'll drop right beside it, but you could definitely see the wind attacking the flight and it landed about 10 yards short of the hole, but dead on line. I'm certainly not upset about it.
** 8 iron from 155 - ball in medium rough - Was hoping to hit this one just a touch long but the ball was above my feet and the lack of a draw really disappointed the result. It hung out right and stopped about 5 feet short of being pin high, and in the rough just off the fringe.

Thoughts:
** After a pretty mediocre ball striking day on Friday, I thought these irons were REALLY in the right groove for me today. Some extremely pured shots that felt amazing, and some really impressive results, I can hardly say there were too many shots I would have preferred to take back and try again.

** The ball flight on well struck shots is a thing of beauty. Baby draws that seem to piece the air, and that feedback that flat out tells you that the ball has just been hit pure is just one of those unexplainable things that make me return to the golf course day after day.

** Missed shots continue to punish short and drawy, but it's hard to fault the club for that. I don't know too many clubs that increase in forgiveness for a poorly swung iron and I am certainly not accustomed to them, so I'll chalk that up as self adjustment needed. Also, the lies on my missed shots were pretty mediocre, so it was a combination of mistakes that lead to the bad shot overall.

** I feel like I can manage my bladed iron distance a bit better than I am used to.. I have noticed that my PW has become a pretty versatile club between 125-140 yards. I think a lot of it is related to the height of my shot, but I'm pretty happy with that flexibility.

** My greens were all aerated but the ball was still stopping clean, and very few of my VR Pro Combo's into the green had forward roll after landing. I don't know if this is common for the other testers, but I am quite certain these clubs aren't reducing spin for me on approach even remotely. Gotta love those X3X grooves!!

Questions are welcomed! I am sure I've got more thoughts and I'll edit them in later as they come to mind.
 
Canadan said:
Tester: Canadan (GHIN 3.8)
Clubs: VR Pro Combo Irons
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold x100
Grips: Standard Nike -- Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Course slope/rating/distance: 71.8 -- 132 -- 6553 yards

Played 27 holes today at my home course. Morning round finished at 75 and afternoon 9 hole finished at even par 36. I was really bombing my drives today, and followed them up with some awesome approach shots and some even better putting. I'll review my shots with the VR Pro Combo's and then share some thoughts.

Front 9:
** PW from 130 - On hardpan - Would blame this openly on the brutal lie but it was a stinger that came out of the lie right and short. Really not a great shot but after how I was hitting this club on the range before the round, I was quite certain it was just a tough break and trying to pick it clean did me no favours.
** PW from 135 - On mini epoch tee - Nice smooth swing launched this shot high in the air and fell about 20 feet long of the hole, but was tracking beautifully all the way. When I stood on the tee considering the shots I could take, this was exactly what I had in mind. Great flight, pulled it back about 2-3 feet after it hit the green.
** 5 iron - layup on par 5 - Just trying to get myself into scoring position (or wedge position), I took a pretty clean swipe at this shot but it ended up drawing a bit more than I expected, but fortunately the hole dogleg's right so there is a ton of fairway to work with at the distance I hit to. I considered it a great shot.
** PW - layup on par 5 - Sitting at 250 I didn't feel like trying to obliterate a 3 wood so I took the PW to about 100 yards. The ball was sitting in a divot so I had to come down pretty hard on the ball to get it crisp. Tons of ground, a big old divot, and the shot tracked to exactly where I needed it to. It was a great success!

Back 9:
** 5 iron from 185 - Slight downhill lie - The pin was in the back of the hole so I knew I could draw it in and let it roll up, but apparently my shot didn't have that in mind. It was dead straight, hanging out to the right of the hole about 20 feet but landing and stopping dead almost pin high.
** 7 iron from 170 - Wind in the face - Again it was one of those shots where I had something in mind, hit the ball, and it did exactly what I wanted it to. Crisp feeling, great flight, slight draw tracking right into the hole, but the wind grabbed up and it came up about 15 feet short of the hole. Not the greatest result, but I was happy.
** 4 iron from 210 - downhill lie in fairway - A pretty awful shot. I had to go after it because 210 is a long way for me to take my 4 iron and I ended up hitting a bit heavy. The ball drew left, and caught the front bunker and came to a stop at the bottom of it. The mishit was really punishing in that the distance probably wasn't even 185 yards, but I'll fault the lie and the ball strike more than anything else.
** 4 iron from 205 - on epoch mini tee - A much better swing, but again a bit of wind to contend with, I put a GREAT swing on the ball and it floated for a while before coming to a stop about 25 feet short of the hole and a bit left. Not disappointed by the shot by any means as it is probably the hardest par 3 on the course. Another note, the ball had zero rollout, with the ball sitting about a half foot behind the divot.

Back 9: (this one may look laughably familiar)
** 5 iron from 185 - slight downhill in fairway - Basically an identical shot from my previous nine. I took this one a bit worse though, and my shot yanked left and short, landing woefully short in the front left bunker. Remarkably different from my shot in the morning round, but the swing was substantially different so I deserved the result.
** 7 iron from 170 - on mini epoch tee - Apparently my lesson was not learned from the previous hole as I yanked this one left with a big old draw as well. Thinking I had to put a bit of extra juice on it, I didn't clear my hips and the ball launched left after started directly on line with the hole. A disappointing shot to say the least.
** 5 iron from 190 - It was revenge time with the 5 iron. Not happy with my results from the previous 5 iron I thought I'd try to attack this shot without drawing the ball.. That said, I hit it DEAD straight even though I had lined it right of the hole, and it really never came back. Maybe about 5 yard short, and bunker right (although the bunker is technically behind the front of the green)
** 4 iron from 210 - on mini epoch tee - This shot was absolutely bombed. Way high in the air, very slight draw about 15 feet left of the hole and just long. When i say this shot was bombed, I mean it. Possibly my best struck VR Pro 4 iron in the entirety of my testing.
** PW from 130 - Wind in face - Thwarted by wind!! This was another beautifully struck shot that was tracking in on the hole in a way where you start to wonder if it'll drop right beside it, but you could definitely see the wind attacking the flight and it landed about 10 yards short of the hole, but dead on line. I'm certainly not upset about it.
** 8 iron from 155 - ball in medium rough - Was hoping to hit this one just a touch long but the ball was above my feet and the lack of a draw really disappointed the result. It hung out right and stopped about 5 feet short of being pin high, and in the rough just off the fringe.

Thoughts:

** After a pretty mediocre ball striking day on Friday, I thought these irons were REALLY in the right groove for me today. Some extremely pured shots that felt amazing, and some really impressive results, I can hardly say there were too many shots I would have preferred to take back and try again.

** The ball flight on well struck shots is a thing of beauty. Baby draws that seem to piece the air, and that feedback that flat out tells you that the ball has just been hit pure is just one of those unexplainable things that make me return to the golf course day after day.

** Missed shots continue to punish short and drawy, but it's hard to fault the club for that. I don't know too many clubs that increase in forgiveness for a poorly swung iron and I am certainly not accustomed to them, so I'll chalk that up as self adjustment needed. Also, the lies on my missed shots were pretty mediocre, so it was a combination of mistakes that lead to the bad shot overall.

** I feel like I can manage my bladed iron distance a bit better than I am used to.. I have noticed that my PW has become a pretty versatile club between 125-140 yards. I think a lot of it is related to the height of my shot, but I'm pretty happy with that flexibility.

** My greens were all aerated but the ball was still stopping clean, and very few of my VR Pro Combo's into the green had forward roll after landing. I don't know if this is common for the other testers, but I am quite certain these clubs aren't reducing spin for me on approach even remotely. Gotta love those X3X grooves!!

Questions are welcomed! I am sure I've got more thoughts and I'll edit them in later as they come to mind.
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Great Great write up. Great rounds too!!! I love the clean look of these and each time I'm in the store they catch my eye. Love hearing how they are performing for you. Keep up the great work!
 
ghsace said:
Great Great write up. Great rounds too!!! I love the clean look of these and each time I'm in the store they catch my eye. Love hearing how they are performing for you. Keep up the great work!
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I really appreciate that ghsace! Yours and other THPers comments to me and my fellow testers really make updating these threads enjoyable!
 
Just got through reading a few pages of great write ups. This has been a very good group of testers, and every time I'm in a golf store I have to take a peek at these bad boys and am very jealous you guys are hitting these. I really do think Nike has a winner on their hands with this set.
 
Played 18 yesterday. The first few holes were in the POURING rain. Couple that with no warm up and I've set myself up for a bad round. Luckily it stopped raining after the third hole.

I will go over a couple lowlights of the round and then talk about the clubs.

Hole one - Absolutely terrible drive into a hazard, red stakes, have to drop. 140 yards. Hit a 9i lower than normal but it hits the middle of the green and spins back about 5 feet. Leaves me 10 feet for par. 2 putt bogey. Glad I was able to salvage a bogey, these clubs saved me on this hole.

Hole three - Par 3, 149 to the pin, hit 8i. First time I have completely topped the ball in a long long time. When it rains it pours. Triple bogey.

Five over thru three holes, ouch. Pull it together a little on the next 6, but with two three putts and another tee shot OB, I go out in 44. Is it good to shoot your entire handicap on the front nine? Ha ha, that's golf.

Ball striking was great from hole four on, and was very good on the backside. The greens were VERY slow and very wet. I was spinning the ball back so much that it was getting comical. One PW spun back over 30 feet.

Had two more three putts on the back side, and came in 40. 84 total (+12). Not happy with the round. I simply could not adjust to the speed of the greens and I think I had 38 putts.

The course was not very long, just over 6100, so I really didn't use the 3 or 4 irons at all and only hit the 5 iron once.

Split cavities -6,7- These clubs were not used much today. Most approach shots were 150 yards and in. When I did use them, they were excellent. I was hitting a nice high ball and was hitting it pretty straight (with my irons). As mentioned above, I was spinning everything back, these included.

Blades -8,9,PW- These were workhorses today, as they were in my hands on almost every hole. Other than the topped ball mentioned above, I was hitting these very well. Again, hitting it a very high straight ball most of the day. Because it was so wet, my divots were pretty big with the blades, but it didn't slow them down at all. I was surprised that they didn't get caught up in the wet ground at all and was happy with the "turf" interaction.

Grips - This is the first time I have played in the pouring rain with these clubs, luckily it only rained three holes. The grips held up fine. I wore rain gloves for the first three holes, but did not deal with slippage at all. I was worried about this before the round, because I have had other grips become almost unplayable because they get so slick. I was very happy with the stock grips.

As always, any questions or recommendations are always welcomed. Thanks for reading this thread.
 
coolbreeze said:
Just got through reading a few pages of great write ups. This has been a very good group of testers, and every time I'm in a golf store I have to take a peek at these bad boys and am very jealous you guys are hitting these. I really do think Nike has a winner on their hands with this set.
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Thanks CB! I agree that this is a great set of irons and should definitely be considered if someone is in the market for this type of set.

If anyone has any questions or would like to see additional photos, video, or anything tested on the range, etc please do not hesitate to ask. Will be out there practicing 2 of the next 3 nights! Thanks for reading and again many many thanks to THP and Nike Golf for the opportunity!!


Tappin' from my iPad!
 
Damaikis said:
Great stuff Cookie and other testers! You guys have been great. I hit these at Golfsmith the other day and was extremely impressed. The blades are great, but I really enjoyed the feel off of the split cavities. What clubs do the testers like the best?
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I like the blades the most. I just have a ton of confidence that I will stick it close with them
 
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