We look forward to reviewing many clubs here at The Hackers Paradise but not once in this early 2009 season have we eagerly awaited the arrival of a club to review like this one. As many remember, we were not fond of the drivers that Nike put out in 2008 but this year they rebounded quite well so far with the DYMO and DYMO 2 that we were able to review a few months back. Since writing that review we have basically hounded our contacts at Nike trying to get our greedy little hands on the Str8 Fit.
At the PGA Merchandise Show 2009, The Hackers Paradise was fortunate enough to sit in on a private media showing on this driver and it only made us want it more. While there we got to watch and listen to 2008 Masters winner Trevor Immelman and LPGA great Suzanne Pettersen talk about the new technology and of course we filmed it for all of the readers. You can watch and see exactly how the club works and see just how easy it is to alter the club head settings.
Here are the specs that Nike has provided.
STR8-FIT Shaft Adapter and Hosel System – Eight possible head positions resulting in eight different shot shapes – all in a single driver.
Dynamic Moment of Inertia – All SQ DYMO and SQ DYMO² STR8-FIT drivers are engineered from the ground up with the express purpose of optimizing the launch and spin by loft. Distance is maximized in every loft by varying multiple specifications from lie angle, to MOI and CG placement, to overall head size and face depth.
Square or Round Geometry – Square geometry is about straight and long, great sound, optimal launch by loft, and great looks. A new folded round geometry repositions square mass into a round format for workable distance and control. Two designs for the player that wants to “swing away.â€
UST Proforce AXIV Core Shafts – Engineered into the interior of the shaft, AXIV Core material increases the shaft’s “hoop†strength, and counter-balance effect. Providing a stable environment at impact and making it easier to swing the club head faster.
New 360° Grip Design – Designed to work and feel the same in any direction, the new SQ 360° design features
After the PGA Merchandise Show, Nike was kind enough to send one of the drivers over to take a look at and put to the test for ourselves. Initial thoughts when opening the box were that it looked similar to the DYMO but for some reason the club head seemed to weigh so much more. Before I even took the headcover off the club, I went searching for that extremely cool wrench that we watched them use in the video. I was starting to panic because it was NOT IN THE BOX and what fun would this club be if we could not move the head around? It was no where to be found. I finally decided to take the headcover off and that is when I realized that Nike is a lot smarter than I am. The headcover has a spot on the back of it that holds the wrench so you never have to worry about what pocket of your bag that it is in. This would explain the extra weight of the club head obviously.
Once we figured out where all the pieces to the puzzle were, we quickly scampered out to the driving range. All I had to do was make a few calls on the way and mutter the words Str8 Fit and we had quite a few people ready to test out the new club. We set up at the range with 6 people and after warming up we each took turns hitting the Nike DYMO Str8 Fit in each of the 8 settings that it offers. Every person was able to find a setting that fit their ball flight and not one of us was unhappy with the results. UST Proforce AXIV Core Stiff Shaft felt as though it was happily married to this club head. But the fun stuff came when we were adjusting the club.
THP has tried out quite a few clubs that have interchangeable shafts, so we were not new to the wrenches that go with it. Most are simple wrenches that slip into the bottom of the club head and undo a small screw and then to tighten, you turn until you hear the loud click. Well, leave it to Nike to change that, and we like the changes. Starting with the fact that like we said before, the wrench stays in the headcover until you are ready to use it. Then, as shown, in the video you tighten the hosel of the club until you hear this audible BEEP. The “beep” becomes quite addictive! When you tighten the club and it beeps, you will find yourself making it beep over and over again for no apparent reason. I swear, its true. Everybody that tried out the wrench did the exact same thing.
This driver came at an interesting time for The Hackers Paradise because we were about to conduct a “Driver Shoot Out” with 13 different drivers from the perspective of all different kinds of golfers. From teaching professionals to high handicappers, we tested a bunch out and let everybody know the results in our forum section of the site. You can read about it in depth at the highlighted link above with the players’ thoughts on each club, but I will tell you that the overall winner was the Nike DYMO Str8 Fit. Not surprising to us, however most of the testers were fairly surprised at how much they really liked this club.
The following week we took it out to the public range to collect even more data from golfers willing to try it out. At THP we try to get as much feedback as possible in each review rather than just tell you our thoughts. We were able to get an additional 19 players to try out the Nike DYMO Str8 Fit Driver and not one player that tried it could not find a setting that worked best for them. We did have 2 golfers of the 19 that did not care for the look of the club head but other than those two every single person that tried it out raved about it.
Overall, we think that the Nike DYMO Str8 Fit is one of the best drivers we have hit in 2009. All of the issues we had with the 2008 version were corrected and they have a dynamic golf club on their hands this time. Great shaft/Head combo, Super Hot Face, and Fully Adjustable Club Head make this driver a truly great golf club. If you are in the market for a new driver this year, definitely put the Nike DYMO Str8 Fit on your short list. Street price on these will be about $399.99 which we feel is right in line with where it should be. You can read all about this THP Winner at Nike Golf.
Till Next Time
Josh B.
