Nike VR Pro Combo Irons - Forum Testing Review

I agree with Canadan, I am not quite sure what you mean here.

As in the quality of hits are still as good as day one. As in there is no difference in forgiveness now that your swings are getting used the clubs. You still have good quality sweet spot hits.
 
As in the quality of hits are still as good as day one. As in there is no difference in forgiveness now that your swings are getting used the clubs. You still have good quality sweet spot hits.

I would argue that has actually increased. Obviously expectations are higher and there's a lot more riding on each swing because of it, but I think I'm hitting them better today than I did when I first got them.
 
Just wanted to say that you testers are doing a fantastic job! I came in here to check out your work since I'll be testing irons starting next week. I will definitely be stealing ideas from you guys.
 
As in the quality of hits are still as good as day one. As in there is no difference in forgiveness now that your swings are getting used the clubs. You still have good quality sweet spot hits.

Again, I agree with Canadan here. I am hitting the ball better today than I did when I first got them. I am hitting the sweet spot more coonsistently, but still have the occaisional mishits each round. The clubs are still in fantastic condition and you'd think they were new when hitting them. When hit in the middle of the face, these clubs feel amazing, and are some of the best feeling clubs on the market IMO.

Other than a few marks on the faces and a little club chatter, they look practically new too. I will be posting some wear pics in the next few days.
 
Just wanted to say that you testers are doing a fantastic job! I came in here to check out your work since I'll be testing irons starting next week. I will definitely be stealing ideas from you guys.

Thanks KB, I know you'll do a great job testing as well.
 
Again, I agree with Canadan here. I am hitting the ball better today than I did when I first got them. I am hitting the sweet spot more coonsistently, but still have the occaisional mishits each round. The clubs are still in fantastic condition and you'd think they were new when hitting them. When hit in the middle of the face, these clubs feel amazing, and are some of the best feeling clubs on the market IMO.

Other than a few marks on the faces and a little club chatter, they look practically new too. I will be posting some wear pics in the next few days.

Extremely well said Jeff and I agree with everything except the chatter which I do not have due to iron covers. :D

Definitely hitting them better than when I first got them...had a few swing/stance/alignment changes but it is just starting to come around REAL nicely for me. I will have another write up first thing in the morning and also playing again tomorrow afternoon!!


Tappin' from my iPad!
 
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has taken the time to pop in and leave feedback recently, your comments and feedback really mean a whole lot (and I think I can speak for all the testers, official and the amazing unofficial testers too!)

There have been some amazing updates in the last couple of days alone that I'll be catching up with, trying to answer, and trying to come up with something new for this week that I can complete in the midst of a storm! :D
 
Changing it up a bit.. Sorry about the sniffing and nasaly voice.. Been fighting a cold this week.



Had to pick this out as I really enjoyed this video. Awesome work Dan, I agree with a lot of what was said in here and you really got your points across well.

I think I'm starting to notice that my reviews focus on a few points again and again. This testing has been more than an opportunity to try out some new gear, I've learned a lot about the characteristics of certain irons, the make up of a set and not least, I've learned quite a bit about my iron game.

The points I seem to keep coming back to -

Pocket cavities - The different feel, do they truly fit the set, are they as consistent and forgiving as we might expect?
Split cavities - hits off the heel. Are they too upright or do I hit them differently, since this doesn't seem to be happening with the others?
PW - The 1/2 or 3/4 shot. The 'hot' face, with the ball almost jumping off. Is this a feel issue?
 
As in the quality of hits are still as good as day one. As in there is no difference in forgiveness now that your swings are getting used the clubs. You still have good quality sweet spot hits.

I was, for the first time in my golfing life, actually struggling with ball striking at the start of this season. Just as the VR Pro Combos arrived, I was starting to get it in line.

I'd say I'm still adjusting to these irons in terms of ball striking with the splits and the pocket cavities. I'm happy with how I'm getting there though. The blades to me feel a lot 'hotter' off the face than my previous set, Wilson fg59. Numbers indicate that I'm not hitting them much further, if at all. This isn't a slight on the Nikes though, just a different feel to a different club. I've actually been more confident in hitting these straight at the stick, or even over it.
 
these irons still have me intrigued. i might pick up a used set next year when they are a little cheaper. all the reviews are awesome and love the videos. next time i test ill make sure to make some videos like everyone else did. nike has stepped it up in a world full of amazing iron sets. and great reviews like these might be what it takes to push people to buy the nikes over someone else!
 
Test Date: 09/11/2011
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 & Titleist Pro V1 392
Environment: Texas - 93 degrees, sunny, north wind 5-10 MPH

Hey everyone; so I got back out for a round yesterday afternoon. There was a 9/11 scramble playing in the morning so the tees were moved up 30-40 yards on average. The hole distances are from the scorecard but many were playing quite a bit shorter than scorecard. All approach shots into the greens and par 3’s are accurate from my GPS.

Par 70 - 68.3 course rating/115 slope rating

Hole 1: 379 yard par 4
Pull driver a hair to the left trying to cut dog leg. Left with 145 with the pin behind the bunker on the left side. With the ball slightly below my feet just go for the safe play and hit a solid 8 iron to pin high on the right side of the green to 45 feet. Proceed to take a 3 putt bogey.

Hole 2: 383 yard par 4
Slight dog leg right and took driver down left side of FW. Left with 57 yards and hit a 1/2 PW to 28 feet right of the flag. 2 putt par.

Hole 3: 380 yard par 4
Tight little dogleg right that was only playing 330 today. 3W to middle of FW leaving me 112. Should be a perfect PW and I completely chunked it - only went about 70 yards. Hit PW again to 25 feet and 2 putt for bogey.

Hole 4: 477 yard par 5
Dogleg left and I cut the corner perfectly leaving me 178 to the flag. Hit 5i a tad heavy but online. Leaves me 10 yards short of the green and I chip to 13 feet and 2 putt for par.

Hole 5: 132 yard par 3
Flag tucked behind the bunker and I go after it. Beautiful 9 iron that I thought was 10 feet but upon getting up there it was about 22 feet away on the fringe. Standard 2 putt for par.

View from #5 tee box:
IMG_0038.jpg

Shot result:
IMG_0039.jpg


Hole 6: 314 yard par 4
Straight but tight hole - hit perfect 4i off the tee leaving me 104 yards. Go for a choke down PW and barely push it right and land short on the fringe. Chip to 5 feet and make the putt for a par.

Hole 7: 295 yard par 4
This is a short but challenging par 4. Have to carry a creek and try to get to 125 out and then carry another creek to get on the green. Try to hit 4 iron again and catch it just a tad heavy. Clears the first creek but is sitting down in the rough short of the FW. Go after a 6 iron from 165 and only hit the top half of the ball. Never gets higher than 2 feet and go into the creek in front of the green. Drop from 86 yards and hit a choke down PW over the green into some rough. Poor chip to 15 feet and run the double bogey putt past the hole downhill and miss the comeback 6 footer. Quadruple bogey 3 putt.....things were going well to this point.

View from #7 tee box:
IMG_0040.jpg


Hole 8: 114 yard par 3
Short easy hole with water on the left and right side of the green. Hit a decent PW but hits the downslope on the left side of the green and goes into the water. Drop ball and chip to 25 feet and 2 putt for a double bogey.

Hole 9: 349 yard par 4
Straight par 4 and I hit a solid drive leaving me 85 yards to the flag. Choke down PW and I basically blade/thin it and end up just on top of (but not in) a bunker about 3 yards past pin high off the left side of green. Use a 9i for a nifty little chip to 2 feet and an easy par.

Hole 10: 317 yard par 4
This hole runs parallel to 7 with the exact same creeks at the same distances. Hit 4 iron again and just catch it a tad heavy but it gets me to 149 out missing the FW by a yard in light rough. Hit a smooth 7 iron to 17 feet and 2 putt for par.

View from #10 FW:
IMG_0041.jpg

Shot result:
IMG_0042.jpg


Hole 11: 456 yard par 5
Straight par 5 with creek in front of the green. Solid drive down right side but trickles into some trees. Punch out with a 4i to the 150 marker. Big green surrounded by bunkers sloping from back to front. Try and carry an 8 iron to the front edge of the green but grass caught the bottom of the iron on takeaway and threw me off a tad. End up short of the green about 15 yards on an upslope. Hit a really good chip to 12 feet and 2 putt for bogey.

Hole 12: 363 yard par 4
Straight hole for the most part and then dogleg right at the end into the green. I hit driver but get under it a hair and down the right side of the FW leaving me 165 blind to the green with the pin in the back left. Opt to just take a 6 iron and go for the fat part of the green. Hit it just how I wanted to leaving me about 60 feet. Just trying to lag for a 2 putt and come up 8 inches short of rolling it in for a birdie. Easy par.

View from #12 FW - green is behind that tallest tree on the corner:
IMG_0043.jpg

Shot result:
IMG_0045.jpg


Hole 13: 378 yard par 4
90 degree dog leg right and I attack the corner with a perfect driver. Leaves me 107 from the FW and just try to hit an easy PW. Looks good but went too easy and it comes up 5 yards short of the green to a front hole location. Grab the 9i for the chip and completely flub it. Only went like 4 feet. Chip again to 10 feet and 2 putt for double bogey.

Hole 14: 117 yard par 3
Easy straight hole with just bunkers and I hit PW short of the flag to 26 feet. Easy 2 putt par.

Hole 15: 352 yard par 4
Narrow straight par 4 with small creek about 60 yards in front of green. GPS says 278 to the creek and I drilled a 3W that ends up less than 2 yards short of the creek. Low boring ball flight that probably carried 230 and then just ran. Hit a SW from 60 yards to 15 feet and 2 putt par.....if I could only make a putt.

Hole 16: 354 yard par 4
Slight dogleg left par 4 with lots of bunkers and big pond on the right. Was only playing 310 today. Hit driver down the right side of the FW leaving me 55 yards over a bunker to the flag. Hit a decent little PW to 18 feet and 2 putt for par.

Hole 17: 148 yard par 3
Water short of the green and bunkers right. Hit an 8 iron that is tracking the entire way but just not enough club. End up 55 feet short of the flag. Long putt breaking about 2 feet left and it goes IN for birdie!! Finally make a putt.

View from #17 tee box:
IMG_0046.jpg

Shot result - drained long putt for birdie!!
IMG_0047.jpg


Hole 18: 357 yard par 4
Know that I am 2 over at this point for the back 9 and don’t want to mess it up...uh oh. Hole is only playing 310 today just like 16 but very narrow driving hole (like 20-25 yards narrow). Take driver and split the FW but did not hit it that well. Left with 89 yards and opt again for the choke down PW. Catch it too good and fly over the green and into some nasty deep rough. Chip out of it to about 30 feet past the hole and proceed to 3 jack it for a nice finishing double bogey.


As I said, course played very short today and I ended up with a 12 over 82 which included 1 quad, 3 doubles, and a birdie. Eliminate a few big blow up holes and I am scoring well.

Summary of the irons today:

POCKETS: 4 iron was decent off the tee and even the mishits still had me in play.

SPLITS: Few good and one terrible out of the rough that led to a quadruple bogey...user error there though.

BLADES: this is where I saw most of the action due to the course playing so short. Finally starting to get used to chipping with the blades and still have to be careful because they are so hot off of the club face to me. I have spent so much time on full shots at the range that I look forward to having the time to focus on the short game. You could probably tell that I had several shots right at 90 yards and that is where I struggled. Having a hard time not going 100 plus yards even when choking down. For most golfers, there is where the GW comes in but I have been trying to play that shot with the PW instead just to continue to get used to the irons.

I love the full shots with the blades. The PW has a nice high trajectory on full shots but I am seeing on choke down shots in that 50-90 yard range that the trajectory is much lower than I would like. I am not able to carry it anywhere near the pin - must play it as a bump n run shot.

Heading back out this afternoon and the wife is going to ride along for the first time - more updates tonight. Thanks for reading!!
 
So I had a really interesting experience at Golf Galaxy today.. Decided to head over to see what all the R11 rage is about, and took my VR Pro 6 iron in to make comparisons.. I asked for the MB but the guy didn't seem to understand me the 4 times I repeated it and taped up the MC instead.. Whatever..

Clubs used :: Nike VR Pro Combo 6 iron (split cavity) -- TaylorMade TP MC 6 iron -- TaylorMade R11 6 iron

What's funny about these indoor monitors is how stupid they are. First off, The shot results varied on really based on where I put the ball on the mat. If I put it out by the tee, it would fade on the monitor. If I put it towards the middle of the mat, it was generally straight but just left of the hole. Frankly, This was an exercise in entertainment as I don't buy these numbers for a second. Also, I hit my 6 iron at MOST, 185... When I absolutely nuke it. On course, I'll hit it whenever I am around 175. In this case, here are my overall results with the three irons (I didn't know and didn't care to ask how to deviate the sets)

88a038cd.jpg


Yeah, that's right.. 195 yard average. Long ball was Probably around 215, which was achieved with the R11. The final shot (results in yellow) was with the Nike VR Pro Combo 6 iron.

Overall Feeback:

The Nike really performed today. Of the 3 irons it had the best looking launch characteristics and found the green the most. Obviously I am more comfortable in hitting it, and I was playing with the proper specs which I do think helped a lot, but the results were very clearly in favour of these irons.

Second came the R11. I thought they were plenty responsive and while they did give a different style of feedback than the Nike's, they were certainly a nice feeling iron. I am going to hold judgement until I can get them onto an open range where stupid simulators don't change the characteristics.

Third place were the TP MCs. Just didn't get a lot of good swings on them today. Not going to say negative things about them, because again i think the sim screwed me up a lot, but I will say they were the only irons of the 3 that I didn't get solid connection with more than 90% of the time.

Feel free to ask questions.. I have a feeling 20* of launch of a 6 iron might be a bit high, no? Do my numbers look weird?
 
Nice review Mcook. thanks for the pics and the play by play
 
Wow great stuff by both CL and Canadan.

So overall for testers, would you say after use that the soft feeling(flush feeling) still is there like the quality of the club is still good/great.

Club is fantastic. One of the nicer clubs I've played in terms of feel.
 
Great update CHunky, that was another great writeup, then I don't think it can get any better and Canadan comes through with a great video update.

A question for Chunky since you are coming from the same GI set I was playing before these. Having now played this GE irons for a while now, do you believe they are helping or hurting your scores, or no difference? Do you find with more feel that your ball striking has improved?

This is something I am struggling to put into words right now CB. I feel like my ball striking has improved quite honestly. I don't have those off the toe hits that I was getting with the Di11's. But I've had some pretty poor shots with these that I think the 11's would have helped with. End of the day I can only look at my scores to make a decision. My handicap has only dropped since I put these in play. 12.4 when I first put the Pro Combos in play and right now I sit at a 10.7. My wedge play has completely shone since playing these irons. I am honestly upset if I am not inside 15 feet with 8-PW right now.

My one switch in this set would be the PC's. They say they made them more forgiving and I'm not seeing that. What I am feeling is a very different feel off of the PC's. So if they were not going to give me the same feel they should have just gone completely game improvement with the 3/4. Thick topline and huge amounts of forgiveness. If they had done that I couldn't find any fault with this set. Right now I sit and ponder hybrids at those 2 slots in the bag.
 
As in the quality of hits are still as good as day one. As in there is no difference in forgiveness now that your swings are getting used the clubs. You still have good quality sweet spot hits.

Looks like I misunderstood your original question. I feel like I'm hitting these clubs better and better. Heck I'm even starting to get quality shots with the PC's.
 
Here is some VERY raw footage from today. The first shot you see actually ended up about 25 feet left of the pin. Sorry for all of the background noise...I need to do a better job of facing the camera while talking. Still fun nonetheless even though I shanked a 3 iron on video.

 
Feel free to ask questions.. I have a feeling 20* of launch of a 6 iron might be a bit high, no? Do my numbers look weird?

PGA tour average is around 14*, LPGA around 17*, so you are on the high side there, although you did say that the simulator was giving different numbers all over the place, so I don't know if I'd take that as gospel.

It's saying you are launching at an average of 18*, and coming down at 42*. To contrast, on my first Trackman session I was launching the 6 iron at 12.8*, and landing at 44.3* with quite a bit more roll out than you're seeing. Obviously I had wind conditions to take into account, but that strikes me as strange given your launch and distance numbers. I don't really know what I'm looking for though!
 
I'm struggling to get out on the course at the moment, due to the storm which is gracing our area. Playing in driving rain and 70-80mph gusts isn't fun, as much as I enjoy the game! :D

So I thought I'd go old school on the testing thread, take it back to the start and refresh things a bit. Time for some pics.

To set the scene, when I originally applied for this testing opportunity, I was quite upfront about looks being one of my primary motivating factors to which irons I choose to play. Superficial and potentially damaging to my game, I'll admit that, but if it doesn't fit my eye, I just can't bring myself to get used to it.

My previous set of irons were Wilson fg59s. Blades, nothing else. Amazingly difficult to hit, and amazingly pretty to look at. So, looks wise, the Nike VR Pro Combos had a lot to live up to. To that end, I decided to do some more comparison pics. The next few posts will be pic-intensive, but I hope you enjoy. If there are any other pics you'd like to see, just shout.
 
First up, the pocket cavity. I had the most concern about the pocket cavity irons in this set when it comes to looks, as I'm used to the sleek look of a blade 3 iron. That was before they arrived though.

The contenders, 3 irons -
3ironback.jpg


Don't they both look purrrty?

The all-important topline -
3irontop.jpg

3irontopline.jpg


I'll pause here to add my thoughts. The topline on the VR Pro Combos has surprised me. It is thicker, but the biggest tribute I can pay to it is that when I put it down behind the ball, I don't notice it.

The sole -
3ironsole.jpg


The VR Pro Combo is noticeably thicker here, and this should help on those not-so-perfect hits.

The toe angle -
3irontoe.jpg


Surprised to see how little difference there is from this angle.

The hosel -
3ironhosel.jpg


You can see that the Nike VR Pro Combo has slightly more offset, and a thicker sole.

I have pics of the face, but I'll be putting these together for a post at the end of this section.
 
Next, I moved on to the split cavities from the VR Pro Combo set. Before receiving them, I imagined the split cavities would be a little chunkier than the Wilsons, and perhaps show a little more offset, even looking a bit 'out' to my eye. Again, that was a pre-conceived idea that the good people at Nike had obviously considered when crafting this set.

First up, the line-up - 5 irons -
5ironback.jpg


I love the look of these irons, both sets. Was thinking that there would be no comparison, but I find the Nike VR Pro Combos very easy to look at indeed.

That topline -
5irontop.jpg

5irontopline.jpg


'chunkier'? No, not really. There's an ever so slight difference, but you'll only notice it when side-by-side like this. Behind the ball, the split cavities look sleek and compact.

The sole -
5ironsole.jpg


Almost difficult to tell the difference here. The VR Pro Combo is a little thicker towards the heel, which I imagine would help with those not-too-perfect contact shots more. There is a touch more offset on the Nike too, which I fully expected.

The toe -
5irontoe.jpg


Apologies for the poor quality on this one. You can see that there isn't a whole load of difference here, with the Nike being a hair thicker at the top.
 
wow paulo. some great pix and thoughts. surprising the pro combos are almost as compact the the blades, but yet offer way more forgiveness!! yet another iron set thats on my list for 2012
 
Next up in my attempt at thread-hogging, the blades. Now, these were the clubs I imagined I'd feel most comfortable with looks-wise and almost expected the same performance characteristics as my Wilson blades.

The blades, I went for PW this time -
pwback.jpg


I was surprised. I love the look of the Wilsons, but the Nike PW blows it away for me. Love the look of the blades in this set, very understated and classy.

That topline (didn't manage to get a great comparison on this one) -
pwtopline.jpg


You can see that there's really not much between them at all. The Wilson actually looks a little 'bulkier' to me out round the toe.

The sole -
pwsole.jpg


Again sorry for the poor focus. Funnily, this pic makes the Nike look as if it's a little 'sharper' at the toe edge. I don't see that from any other angle.

The toe -
pwtoe.jpg


Again the Wilson maybe looks a little 'bulkier' or more muscular if you like, out the back. The Nike VR Pro Combo PW actually has the look of an aftermarket wedge to me from this angle.
 
Awesome stuff Paulo, very impressive write ups.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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