Nike VR Pro Combo Irons - Forum Testing Review

Paulo, do you think that where you live and the type of conditions you face and the type of courses you play on (from a design standpoint) have a lot to do with playing those lower chip shots?
 
Paulo, do you think that where you live and the type of conditions you face and the type of courses you play on (from a design standpoint) have a lot to do with playing those lower chip shots?

Good question, or questions actually.

For me, it's probably more down to the conditions I face than the type of course I play. Most of my golf is played on a tree-lined parkland course, so the design itself doesn't call for a wide variety of shots around the greens. There are the usual awkward spots and run-ups to the green where a bit of imagination is required, but you'll get that anywhere in the world.

I play in rather varied conditions though. Currently I'm sitting in the office, looking out on a sunny day, about 74 degrees, just a little breeze. 3 or 4 days ago, it was about 40-odd degrees, gusts up to 75mph and driving rain! The main factor on my home course is the wind. It really can affect things even on the short chips. There are a couple of greens where I sometimes have to adjust line on my putts for the wind.

Overall, I guess I come from the school of thinking that a rolling ball is easier to predict than a ball in the air. I'm not averse to playing the high shots too, I enjoy those. I just like having the shot in my bag where I can bump a ball on to the putting surface and be as sure as I can be about how it'll react. The Nike VR Pro Combos seem to be giving me that option. (like how I repped that?) :D
 
Thanks paulo. I agree with you about keeping the ball on the ground more, and I heard that wind on your video, I'd want to keep it out of it as well.
 
Thanks paulo. I agree with you about keeping the ball on the ground more, and I heard that wind on your video, I'd want to keep it out of it as well.

That was the calmest day we'd had for about 2 weeks! hehe.
 
Good question, or questions actually.

For me, it's probably more down to the conditions I face than the type of course I play. Most of my golf is played on a tree-lined parkland course, so the design itself doesn't call for a wide variety of shots around the greens. There are the usual awkward spots and run-ups to the green where a bit of imagination is required, but you'll get that anywhere in the world.

I play in rather varied conditions though. Currently I'm sitting in the office, looking out on a sunny day, about 74 degrees, just a little breeze. 3 or 4 days ago, it was about 40-odd degrees, gusts up to 75mph and driving rain! The main factor on my home course is the wind. It really can affect things even on the short chips. There are a couple of greens where I sometimes have to adjust line on my putts for the wind.

Overall, I guess I come from the school of thinking that a rolling ball is easier to predict than a ball in the air. I'm not averse to playing the high shots too, I enjoy those. I just like having the shot in my bag where I can bump a ball on to the putting surface and be as sure as I can be about how it'll react. The Nike VR Pro Combos seem to be giving me that option. (like how I repped that?) :D

We think alike Paulo. I think it's easier to chip it and let it the green take it to where it's going to be than to plop it up in the air and let it come down where it's needed.
 
I absolutely hate PX steel. It is the worst feeling shaft I've ever hit. The graphite feels nothing like it. Far better in every way.

It's interesting how much I've heard this about PX steel, yet those who don't feel this way seem to absolutely love it.

For me, I've yet to find a PX number that suits me better than the Dynamic Gold x100's.. I've certainly tried, and I'll agree that they can get pretty harsh on mis-hits but they do feel decent when well struck.
 
Any of my fellow testers been using the blades round about the green? As I say in the video, I can hit any of the blades around the fringe, or out of the rough around the green and get a pleasingly predictable flight/reaction from them.

You've been bringing it Paulo, great work dude.

For me, I almost never use something other than a wedge around the green. I definitely see the logic around it, I just much prefer to play the short game with wedges.

I can imagine the success rate is pretty solid based on the workability of the blades, as related to my knock down shots or layups with them. It doesn't surprise me at all that you are finding solid consistency with them!
 
We think alike Paulo. I think it's easier to chip it and let it the green take it to where it's going to be than to plop it up in the air and let it come down where it's needed.

Yeah, I know I can judge how the ball will roll over a green predictably, so it takes the variable of wind out of it for a start, and hitting an exact spot with a high shot is usually quite a bit more difficult!

You've been bringing it Paulo, great work dude.

For me, I almost never use something other than a wedge around the green. I definitely see the logic around it, I just much prefer to play the short game with wedges.

I can imagine the success rate is pretty solid based on the workability of the blades, as related to my knock down shots or layups with them. It doesn't surprise me at all that you are finding solid consistency with them!

Thanks Dan, appreciate it man!

I think it mostly just depends on what you're used to playing, and the shots you're comfortable with. A lot of the short game is about confidence and consistent striking, so as much as I like to play a certain shot in a situation, there's no way of saying it's the right shot, just the right one for me if the result is good! I'll need to try a few flops with the PW just to see what happens!
 
Good question, or questions actually.

For me, it's probably more down to the conditions I face than the type of course I play. Most of my golf is played on a tree-lined parkland course, so the design itself doesn't call for a wide variety of shots around the greens. There are the usual awkward spots and run-ups to the green where a bit of imagination is required, but you'll get that anywhere in the world.

I play in rather varied conditions though. Currently I'm sitting in the office, looking out on a sunny day, about 74 degrees, just a little breeze. 3 or 4 days ago, it was about 40-odd degrees, gusts up to 75mph and driving rain! The main factor on my home course is the wind. It really can affect things even on the short chips. There are a couple of greens where I sometimes have to adjust line on my putts for the wind.

Overall, I guess I come from the school of thinking that a rolling ball is easier to predict than a ball in the air. I'm not averse to playing the high shots too, I enjoy those. I just like having the shot in my bag where I can bump a ball on to the putting surface and be as sure as I can be about how it'll react. The Nike VR Pro Combos seem to be giving me that option. (like how I repped that?) :D

Good to know you can lower ball flight like that at will - good point about predictability too about rolling vs. shots up in the air.
 
It's interesting how much I've heard this about PX steel, yet those who don't feel this way seem to absolutely love it.

For me, I've yet to find a PX number that suits me better than the Dynamic Gold x100's.. I've certainly tried, and I'll agree that they can get pretty harsh on mis-hits but they do feel decent when well struck.

I've noticed that as well. Either you despise them or they are the best you've ever hit.
 
Test Date: 09/28/2011
Testing Club: Nike VR Pro Combo irons with PX steel shaft 5.0 flex
Testing Purpose: Short game practice
My Club: I am using the testing clubs but my prior set was the Cobra S9's
Ball Used: Range balls in average condition
Environment: Texas - 92 degrees & sunny

Hey THP - all this talk about short game and wedges around the green, etc made me want to spend some more time looking at this aspect of the clubs. Spent about 45 minutes at a local course tonight performing some chipping routines with the 8,9, & PW from the set.

Very early on in the testing, I spoke to how "hot" the PW face felt to me and how much of a lower trajectory I was experiencing with it. I setup today approximately 6 yards from the edge of the green and chipping to a flag that was another 10-11 yards onto the green. My goal was to basically carry it onto the green and then let it release to the hole. The green was sloping away from me which aided in the release part as I did not have any chips that checked up really fast.

All had a very predictable reaction to the chips which is something that I need and like when using the shot on the course. The flight of the ball on the chips reacted fairly equally when moving from club to club.

The 8 iron when chipping that 6 yards of carry never got higher than a foot off the ground. When landing, you could see it hop as the spin reacted and then it would release towards the hole and run out very well due to the low trajectory.

The 9 iron got about 6 inches higher than the 8 iron and then the PW got about 6 inches higher than the 9 iron resulting in the PW getting approximately 2 feet off the ground on a 6 yard carry. With only getting that high off of the ground it still ran out quite well.

In total honesty, I did not see a real big difference in the rollout of the 3 clubs once they landed on the green and started the rollout. Maybe a difference of 6-7 feet max from the shortest to the longest.

I am curious if any other testers are also seeing such a low flight on the chip shots with the PW? It does not bother me by any means but it is not a shot I can pull off with the PW if I had to carry 5 yards to the green and then stop within 10-15 feet. I believe I would have to use a GW or SW to have a chance of pulling that off. I did play around with the PW and open it up some to more of a flop shot but I would try it on the course if I had higher lofted wedges that could pull of the shot easier.

Perhaps I am seeing a lower flight than other due to hand position at address and de-lofting the club through impact? Not sure - but like I said not a bad thing but I prefer to use the lowest lofted club possible and get the ball running but I believe that Paulo said he automatically goes for a PW in a similar situation.

Sorry for the rambling and hope it made sense! Playing again on Saturday morning at my new club so will have a full write-up post round.
 
Nice review mcook. These irons in this set are just money with all these shots you tried. Great job.
 
Test Date: 09/28/2011
Testing Club: Nike VR Pro Combo irons with PX steel shaft 5.0 flex
Testing Purpose: Short game practice
My Club: I am using the testing clubs but my prior set was the Cobra S9's
Ball Used: Range balls in average condition
Environment: Texas - 92 degrees & sunny

Hey THP - all this talk about short game and wedges around the green, etc made me want to spend some more time looking at this aspect of the clubs. Spent about 45 minutes at a local course tonight performing some chipping routines with the 8,9, & PW from the set.

Very early on in the testing, I spoke to how "hot" the PW face felt to me and how much of a lower trajectory I was experiencing with it. I setup today approximately 6 yards from the edge of the green and chipping to a flag that was another 10-11 yards onto the green. My goal was to basically carry it onto the green and then let it release to the hole. The green was sloping away from me which aided in the release part as I did not have any chips that checked up really fast.

All had a very predictable reaction to the chips which is something that I need and like when using the shot on the course. The flight of the ball on the chips reacted fairly equally when moving from club to club.

The 8 iron when chipping that 6 yards of carry never got higher than a foot off the ground. When landing, you could see it hop as the spin reacted and then it would release towards the hole and run out very well due to the low trajectory.

The 9 iron got about 6 inches higher than the 8 iron and then the PW got about 6 inches higher than the 9 iron resulting in the PW getting approximately 2 feet off the ground on a 6 yard carry. With only getting that high off of the ground it still ran out quite well.

In total honesty, I did not see a real big difference in the rollout of the 3 clubs once they landed on the green and started the rollout. Maybe a difference of 6-7 feet max from the shortest to the longest.

I am curious if any other testers are also seeing such a low flight on the chip shots with the PW? It does not bother me by any means but it is not a shot I can pull off with the PW if I had to carry 5 yards to the green and then stop within 10-15 feet. I believe I would have to use a GW or SW to have a chance of pulling that off. I did play around with the PW and open it up some to more of a flop shot but I would try it on the course if I had higher lofted wedges that could pull of the shot easier.

Perhaps I am seeing a lower flight than other due to hand position at address and de-lofting the club through impact? Not sure - but like I said not a bad thing but I prefer to use the lowest lofted club possible and get the ball running but I believe that Paulo said he automatically goes for a PW in a similar situation.

Sorry for the rambling and hope it made sense! Playing again on Saturday morning at my new club so will have a full write-up post round.

I'm seeing a very typical chip shot flight Cookie. I'm just seeing more roll out on some shots. Great stuff dude
 
I am curious if any other testers are also seeing such a low flight on the chip shots with the PW? It does not bother me by any means but it is not a shot I can pull off with the PW if I had to carry 5 yards to the green and then stop within 10-15 feet. I believe I would have to use a GW or SW to have a chance of pulling that off. I did play around with the PW and open it up some to more of a flop shot but I would try it on the course if I had higher lofted wedges that could pull of the shot easier.

Perhaps I am seeing a lower flight than other due to hand position at address and de-lofting the club through impact? Not sure - but like I said not a bad thing but I prefer to use the lowest lofted club possible and get the ball running but I believe that Paulo said he automatically goes for a PW in a similar situation.

Nice update Cookie! Made sense to me, but that's no guarantee that it sounds sane. :wink:

I've never really considered the flight on the PW to be low. But, the disclaimer here is that I'm only really used to playing blades and I guess getting the ball up in air isn't really what I've been trying to do, especially around the green. I'd say the flight on these blades around the green is comparable to what I'm used to seeing with the fg59s. Although I'm getting more check with the VR Pro Combos on a simple, unadjusted swing.

If I need to get that one bounce, check, one little roll kinda shot, I'll tend to get my hands and lower body forward and get steep on to the back of the ball. I've had some good results with this shot. The regular swing, with the ball in the middle of my stance, tends to launch it just a little higher and get a bit more roll out, but still less than I was seeing previously.

A bit of practice with ball position and length/style of swing has paid off for me with these irons around the green. At first, like you, I was a little concerned with the 'hot' feel off the face, but the more I practice, the more I think it is just that - feel. The ball does shoot off the face, but never unpredictably. Once I got used to this feel (and I'm still doing so to a degree), I lost the apprehension and started hitting the little shots with confidence.
 
Interesting observations Cookie. Do you think ball position may have had something to do with the results you were seeing?


^^^^^^ I Tapped That ^^^^^^
 
Glad everyone liked the little write up!

Paulo & Hanks: it most likely is due to a combination of ball position and shaft lean. I use a real open stance around the greens with the ball back in my stance which requires a forward shaft lean. I do this to avoid trying to scoop the ball and getting the flubs.

As Paulo also said, they are very predictable and consistent in just about every aspect I can think of so as long as you know what to expect in terms of flight you are fine.


Tappin' from my iPad!
 
Test Date: 09/28/2011
Testing Club: Nike VR Pro Combo irons with PX steel shaft 5.0 flex
Testing Purpose: Short game practice
My Club: I am using the testing clubs but my prior set was the Cobra S9's
Ball Used: Range balls in average condition
Environment: Texas - 92 degrees & sunny

Hey THP - all this talk about short game and wedges around the green, etc made me want to spend some more time looking at this aspect of the clubs. Spent about 45 minutes at a local course tonight performing some chipping routines with the 8,9, & PW from the set.

Very early on in the testing, I spoke to how "hot" the PW face felt to me and how much of a lower trajectory I was experiencing with it. I setup today approximately 6 yards from the edge of the green and chipping to a flag that was another 10-11 yards onto the green. My goal was to basically carry it onto the green and then let it release to the hole. The green was sloping away from me which aided in the release part as I did not have any chips that checked up really fast.

All had a very predictable reaction to the chips which is something that I need and like when using the shot on the course. The flight of the ball on the chips reacted fairly equally when moving from club to club.

The 8 iron when chipping that 6 yards of carry never got higher than a foot off the ground. When landing, you could see it hop as the spin reacted and then it would release towards the hole and run out very well due to the low trajectory.

The 9 iron got about 6 inches higher than the 8 iron and then the PW got about 6 inches higher than the 9 iron resulting in the PW getting approximately 2 feet off the ground on a 6 yard carry. With only getting that high off of the ground it still ran out quite well.

In total honesty, I did not see a real big difference in the rollout of the 3 clubs once they landed on the green and started the rollout. Maybe a difference of 6-7 feet max from the shortest to the longest.

I am curious if any other testers are also seeing such a low flight on the chip shots with the PW? It does not bother me by any means but it is not a shot I can pull off with the PW if I had to carry 5 yards to the green and then stop within 10-15 feet. I believe I would have to use a GW or SW to have a chance of pulling that off. I did play around with the PW and open it up some to more of a flop shot but I would try it on the course if I had higher lofted wedges that could pull of the shot easier.

Perhaps I am seeing a lower flight than other due to hand position at address and de-lofting the club through impact? Not sure - but like I said not a bad thing but I prefer to use the lowest lofted club possible and get the ball running but I believe that Paulo said he automatically goes for a PW in a similar situation.

Sorry for the rambling and hope it made sense! Playing again on Saturday morning at my new club so will have a full write-up post round.

great writeup!
 
Glad everyone liked the little write up!

Paulo & Hanks: it most likely is due to a combination of ball position and shaft lean. I use a real open stance around the greens with the ball back in my stance which requires a forward shaft lean. I do this to avoid trying to scoop the ball and getting the flubs.

As Paulo also said, they are very predictable and consistent in just about every aspect I can think of so as long as you know what to expect in terms of flight you are fine.


Tappin' from my iPad!

I've recently gone to a pretty big shaft lean myself when chipping. I feel like the PW was popping the ball up perfectly when I did that. My chipping is pretty erratic though so I will get out today and see if I'm still seeing the nice flight that I was seeing the other night
 
For me, ball back and leaning shaft = low chip and ball forward and upright shaft = higher
 
Great write up Michael and I completely agree with the 1-2' height on chips with the blades. I too play the ball back in my stance with forward shaft lean.

I agree with Hawk that this keeps the ball down, which is one reason why I prefer to use my 60* wedge around the green. I'm going to mess with ball position and different clubs today, hopefully I can get a few videos too.
 
Yup, that's pretty much the way I do it too. I've changed my ball position with just about every one of these irons and got different results, not just on the short chips.

ps I love seeing this thread keep bouncing up there, even with all the other exciting stuff going on. :D
 
Thanks guys for the write-up kudos!

For me, ball back and leaning shaft = low chip and ball forward and upright shaft = higher

Makes complete sense but if I try that ball forward and upright shaft I start flubbing them. I can pull it off on the practice area but get a little handsy on the course so lean towards the safer shot.

Looking forward to the short game feedback Chunky & Jeff!! And maybe even a video or three. :D
 
Not a tester rather a proud owner.....stock DG shafts were too much for my paltry swing.....went opposite side of the spectrum with TT GS95......nice but couldn't get length/swingweight balanced.....found a set of rifle 5.0 pullouts and fared pretty well.....A friend had set of px 5.5 with new NDMC midsized grips .....figured they would play slightly better in Florida wind.....It turns out that these shafts in the VR PC's are 3/4 inch over standard! Along with wrong grip size the search continued..........OR HAD IT? I read where px made overlength actually stiffens !!! Cut down each club to my standard length....38" 5 iron and added a secret weapon.......HOMEMADE SENSICORE!!!!

Haven't gotten on course yet but the few balls hit have been BUTTA!!!!
OK.....almost 3 months later and a few things learned: not as strong as I used to be, the px 5.5 is just a shade too stiff for everyday use....clubmaker/friend had set of flighted px 5.0's......much better with the strong,high flight that px provided. He had the clubs perfectly spec'd for me; length,lie and swingweight.....My body doesn't always cooperate with my golf swing so alot of inconsistencies in past few rounds....I even tried a dg hls300 in 6 iron.....px won out.

This thread is about the Nike VR pro combo and you've noticed no discussion about the heads.....love'em!!! just trying to dial in the right shaft.....also by working out more, the body has responded buy allowing more freedom and more distance.These clubs with the right shaft combination for your personal swing can years of joy to any player!!! I'm just sayin...
 
Great stuff Calladidas! Hope you are able to get the shaft issue worked out and enjoy them as much as us testers have.
 
Not a tester rather a proud owner.....stock DG shafts were too much for my paltry swing.....went opposite side of the spectrum with TT GS95......nice but couldn't get length/swingweight balanced.....found a set of rifle 5.0 pullouts and fared pretty well.....A friend had set of px 5.5 with new NDMC midsized grips .....figured they would play slightly better in Florida wind.....It turns out that these shafts in the VR PC's are 3/4 inch over standard! Along with wrong grip size the search continued..........OR HAD IT? I read where px made overlength actually stiffens !!! Cut down each club to my standard length....38" 5 iron and added a secret weapon.......HOMEMADE SENSICORE!!!!

Haven't gotten on course yet but the few balls hit have been BUTTA!!!!
OK.....almost 3 months later and a few things learned: not as strong as I used to be, the px 5.5 is just a shade too stiff for everyday use....clubmaker/friend had set of flighted px 5.0's......much better with the strong,high flight that px provided. He had the clubs perfectly spec'd for me; length,lie and swingweight.....My body doesn't always cooperate with my golf swing so alot of inconsistencies in past few rounds....I even tried a dg hls300 in 6 iron.....px won out.

This thread is about the Nike VR pro combo and you've noticed no discussion about the heads.....love'em!!! just trying to dial in the right shaft.....also by working out more, the body has responded buy allowing more freedom and more distance.These clubs with the right shaft combination for your personal swing can years of joy to any player!!! I'm just sayin...

Thanks for your thoughts man. I think you are right that getting the right shaft is vital and these irons could be in my bag for years. They are that good. Since you like PX I'm surprised you have not tried the PX Graphite.
 
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