Nike VR Pro Combo Irons - Forum Testing Review

Very nice writeup MCook. I'm thinking I might have to grab some iron covers for these bad boys myself.


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good idea, they have saved my irons from allot of bag chatter
 
great write up mcook.....those have to be one of the sexiest irons

what kind of grips do they come stock with?

Thanks! Nike VR Tour Velvet are stock in them.
 
Great job with the first set of pics and the initial write-up, cook! These clubs are just dead sexy and the first review was easy to follow.

Were you able to choose graphite shafts for the testing and, if so, is there a reason why you decided to go with steel instead of your usual graphite?
 
Were you able to choose graphite shafts for the testing and, if so, is there a reason why you decided to go with steel instead of your usual graphite?

Graphite was an option. The day I got selected, I went into GolfTec that afternoon for an iron fitting. I told them the irons I was getting so they knew all of the shaft options. After going through the process, these project X 5.0 shafts were what was recommended. The fitter said that my 6 iron swing speed was averaging 80MPH and that he would not recommend the graphite shafts unless I was low 70's. I have watched some threads on here since and learned more about shafts since then and honestly think my fitting was kinda half a$$ when I hear what some others went through for theirs but that is my fault for not knowing what to expect and what questions to ask.

Since I am just learning about shafts and how things can feel differently I have a hard time judging if a shaft is loading or not, etc. All I can do is read more, talk to others, and practice more to develop a better sense of feel.

Back on the testing subject though - I know my reviews can be better than what I provided earlier and I will be back at the range tomorrow after work and have rounds planned for Friday and Saturday. Definitely plan to pay better attention to some other things tomorrow at the range.
 
I have rounds already planned for this weekend to give these sticks a thorough workout!!!
 
Great work so far mcook! Those clubs look soooo good.
 
Very nice first thoughts on the clubs! Thanks for providing us with tons of pictures to drool over!
Keep it up!
 
Great looking sticks. I am subscribing to this thread for sure...
 
Video update: still trying to load video from earlier today. YouTube has completed 75% twice then died and Photo Bucket got to 13% and stopped. Trying YouTube again now. Video is about 5 minutes long and 375 MB (HD). I will place video in this thread as well as my first post in this for ease of finding as soon as it decides to upload - my apologies for the delay.

RANGE SESSION 1 UPDATE:

Hey everyone, just got back from my 1st range session with the new irons. Overall, I am fairly pleased with how things went - about as I expected with no big surprises. Entire session was hitting straight into a 10-15 MPH south wind.

Initial Impression throughout set:

- These clubs look amazing. They are sleek with what is for me a very minimal topline compared to what I am used to.
- They look so good that they instill confidence and you feel like you are going to hit a good shot.
- The shafts (especially towards the grip) are noticeably thicker in diameter than what I am used to.

I started off hitting about 5-7 PW shots with my old clubs to get a sense of feel, trajectory, and distance. I then moved onto the Nike's. My first thought is "these feel great". Very smooth through impact with similar trajectory to my old PW but they are about 10 yards shorter on average. I expected this going in because of the loft differences (the VR Pro Combo's are about 3 degrees weaker through the set than my Cobra S9's).

I then moved onto the 7 iron and did the same thing, hit old club first and then the Nike. I saw a similar distance loss of approximately 10 yards. The ball climbed very quickly for me - but did not balloon. It just climbed and carried at that height for what seemed like awhile. I am already a high ball hitter so this was not a surprise to me either. After watching the trajectory, I made a concerted attempt to hit more of a punch shot with a 3/4 swing and was able to do that with ease. When I mishit a shot with these split cavity irons, I immediately knew it and could tell by the sound and vibration through my hands. When I would catch a shot "flush", I felt none of that.

I then proceeded to jump down to the 4 iron. I hit my old one first and then the Nike. This is where I really started to notice a different in ball flight and line. Every swing with my old club was either straight down the range or a fade (not to the slice point yet). The Nike was DEAD straight but about 10 yards left of the middle of the range. I did not notice it as much with the higher lofted clubs but did more on the 3 and 4 irons. I got curious about swing weight (which I do not know much about) and balanced each 4 iron in a hand and determined that the balance point on the Nike is about 1 inch - 1 1/2 inches further up the shaft (towards the grip). Does that have something to do with the ball flight/alignment? The ball flight was lower than my Cobra but now low by any means - probably getting up to about 120 feet at max height.

I do not even have a 3 iron in my old set but decided to go ahead and hit 3 iron off the deck which I have not done in a LONG time. Mixed results here - hit the first few fat and then got into a good rhythm and was hitting some very straight (but still left of middle of range) and carrying about 190 or so. One thing I did notice is that on the long irons I was consistently hitting the ball off of the toe but still seeing good results. On the mishits, I felt it here more than any other club in the set. Not only was there a harsh vibration in my hands but the ball got up to about 25 feet in the air and carried about 100 yards.

Overall thoughts after 1st range session:

- Love the responsiveness of the irons. I immediately know where I missed it on the club.
- PW gives a great high launch and I could tell I was putting some spin on that bad boy - I think it will be my favorite club in the bag when all is said and done.
- Mishits throughout the set are immediately felt. While I lost distance on mishits in my long irons, I think that is a trade off where as a mishit in a hybrid for me did not stay straight; it was either right or left. Personally, I would rather be 50-60 yards short on a mishit than flag high and 30 yards right.
- After swinging the Nike's and then going back to the Cobra, one thought popped into my head - now I see where this "shovel" term comes from. That's how big the Cobra's feel after hitting the Nike's. While the width is the same, this is the impression given from the topline and cavity back that can be seen at address.
- Grips are good. Not great, but not terrible. I could see eventually swapping out the stock grips.

Keep in mind that I am coming from graphite shafts so I may feel mishits more than others moving to steel shafts. Hope the above is readable - page full of notes that I was trying to make sense of!

Questions - please ask away!!

Thanks again to THP and Nike Golf for this opportunity - these babies are my gamers and will be for a long time, just have to spend a bunch more quality time together. Below are a few pics from today on the range:

Iron Covers for my new babies:
IMG_0592.jpg


7 iron impact area - hitting it where I wanted to:
IMG_0593.jpg


3 iron impact area - everything off the toe:
IMG_0595.jpg


3 iron at address - just wants to attack the ball!
IMG_0596.jpg

Thanks for the awesome review! Love it.

What were your thoughts on the transitions between pocket, split and the blades? Any noticeable differences in feel and ball flight/distance?
 
Love the start to this review. The comparison photos were a nice touch....I look forward to more. Keep it up guys....
 
Great feedback man! Appreciate your candor with the 3I experience, you'll get that one figured out soon. My main interest is is how the 6I reacts to hits in on the heel and out on the toe.

I'm very excited to follow this thread.

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I didn’t realise these had chrome all the way round, purely aesthetically I prefer the matt finish look of previous incarnations of this iron (original pro combo's and more recent split cavity's.) The head shape looks pretty similar to. All the new tech has gone into the cavity area evidently.

I experienced a similar loss of distance as you did MCook when I swapped out my old R7's. IMO its all down tot he lofts so don’t let it put you off, if your anything like me you will just stop asking what iron other people are hitting off a par 3 so you don’t get comments like 'sure you don’t want to hit off the ladies tee??!!'.

As for accuracy I don’t think you will fault them, it took me 3 months to get used to them mind you moving from a similarly large headed iron.

Out of interest, do you think the head shap eof the 7 iron doesnt quite flow with the rest of the set? Something thats bugged me thats all.
 
Thanks for the awesome review! Love it.

What were your thoughts on the transitions between pocket, split and the blades? Any noticeable differences in feel and ball flight/distance?

I saw natural lower ballflight while moving down through the iron set but overall it was similar to what I am used to seeing. I just jotted this down on my notepad and will pay closer attention tonight so that I can answer this better.

Great feedback man! Appreciate your candor with the 3I experience, you'll get that one figured out soon. My main interest is is how the 6I reacts to hits in on the heel and out on the toe.

I'm very excited to follow this thread.

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tapatalk

Thanks - I will pay extra attention to the 6 iron tonight and see if I can get some feedback on heel and toe hits.

I didn’t realise these had chrome all the way round, purely aesthetically I prefer the matt finish look of previous incarnations of this iron (original pro combo's and more recent split cavity's.) The head shape looks pretty similar to. All the new tech has gone into the cavity area evidently.

I experienced a similar loss of distance as you did MCook when I swapped out my old R7's. IMO its all down tot he lofts so don’t let it put you off, if your anything like me you will just stop asking what iron other people are hitting off a par 3 so you don’t get comments like 'sure you don’t want to hit off the ladies tee??!!'.

As for accuracy I don’t think you will fault them, it took me 3 months to get used to them mind you moving from a similarly large headed iron.

Out of interest, do you think the head shap eof the 7 iron doesnt quite flow with the rest of the set? Something thats bugged me thats all.

It did not stand out last night, but let me look at it closer and get back to you on that one. I am assuming you are referring to from the point of address, right?
 
Excellent quick updates mcook! You're definitely setting a standard for the rest of us reviewers to aspire to!

Very honest first thoughts too. I appreciate that. Assume it'll take a while for you to get used to the 3 iron in particular, and get your new distances dialled in. This is an expected side effect of any new set of irons though, especially when you're going to different shafts. Will be interesting to see how your experiences compare with others going to similar shafts to their current ones.
 
Excellent quick updates mcook! You're definitely setting a standard for the rest of us reviewers to aspire to!

Very honest first thoughts too. I appreciate that. Assume it'll take a while for you to get used to the 3 iron in particular, and get your new distances dialled in. This is an expected side effect of any new set of irons though, especially when you're going to different shafts. Will be interesting to see how your experiences compare with others going to similar shafts to their current ones.

Thanks man!! Can't wait for the rest of the testers to receive their irons to see how our feedback compares. Last night was the most enjoyable range session I have had in awhile as I felt I was actually there with a purpose. I woke up this morning and realized that I had been dreaming of some of the things I left out in my review last night so I will summarize those tonight after the range session.

I will have my inaugural round tomorrow morning and another planned for Saturday morning so we will see how everything translates to the course!
 
mcook said:
]It did not stand out last night, but let me look at it closer and get back to you on that one. I am assuming you are referring to from the point of address, right?

Yeh thats right...
 
Well lemme (be officially) the first to say im jealous, ive been eyeing these irons since they came out. I look forward to to more testers hammering on these clubs and giving real world results, love hearing it. Mcook77 thanks so far for your honest review. Love the topline comparison pics, they look thicker in pics than in person, but gorgeous none the less. Enjoy!
 
Thanks man!! Can't wait for the rest of the testers to receive their irons to see how our feedback compares. Last night was the most enjoyable range session I have had in awhile as I felt I was actually there with a purpose. I woke up this morning and realized that I had been dreaming of some of the things I left out in my review last night so I will summarize those tonight after the range session.

I will have my inaugural round tomorrow morning and another planned for Saturday morning so we will see how everything translates to the course!

haha, I know what you mean. I've got a game to play tonight, and I know I'll be hitting each iron shot thinking 'I wonder how I'd hit this with the Pro Combos?' :D

Doing a great job of carrying the review for the guys so far!
 
Well lemme (be officially) the first to say im jealous, ive been eyeing these irons since they came out. I look forward to to more testers hammering on these clubs and giving real world results, love hearing it. Mcook77 thanks so far for your honest review. Love the topline comparison pics, they look thicker in pics than in person, but gorgeous none the less. Enjoy!

I agree - the topline looks substantially smaller in person. It is hard to see how thin it is until you are looking at it in person.

Yeh thats right...

I just pulled out the 6, 7, and 8 and they are pictured below in that order. I can see what you are saying regarding the 7i fitting into the set. Not a terrible transition IMO but it is noticeable especially between the 7 & 8 where it goes from the split cavity to the blade.

DSC_9394.jpg

DSC_9393.jpg
 
I don't plan on pulling more than one club at a time, so that transition won't bother me at all. Also - mmmm shiny! :D
 
Its never bothered me as in i find it a problem, i just thought it stuck out a bit thats all. Good to clarify its not just my eye. They must have kept exactly the same dimensions for this set as the last ones then presumably. Interesting.

Thanks mcool!

I predict that the first time you nail your 8 iron on a par three you'll be in love forever. My favourite club for sure. Really easy to work the ball i found.
 
Excellent job Mc, I am a fan of the thinner top lines and these are some great looking clubs. I like that you already know these are keepers. I am not seeing anything strange in the transition between the 6,7 & 8, the pics look like the 6 iron is slightly hooded and that is about the only thing I see. Great pictures and I am very much looking forward to the videos and future reports. As paulo said, the bar is set, and it is a very high bar for the other testers. Again, good job.
 
When the others testers have them in hand i ask them about the 7i too.

It was the same with the original pro combos i had, i cant pin point what it is exactly. Something about the toe i think.
 
I'll be sure to check that out when mine arrive. Can't really see anything off from the pics, but as you say, it may be different in hand.
 
I can sort of see it in the photo's but thats only because ive been looking at effectivly very similar clubs for 18 months! :) Its so minor i can hardly explain it as you've probably notice. Interesting find out what you all think anyway.


Are yours being shipped from the US paulo?
 
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