Equipment
Nike signs Japan Golf Tour star Shunsuke Sonoda
Nike Golf announced earlier this week the signing of another young gun to join the likes of Rory Mcilroy, Seung-Yul Noh and Thorbjorn Olesen. The newest pro to don the Nike swoosh is 24-year-old Japanese pro Shunsuke Sonoda. The winner of two Japan PGA titles, Sonoda will make his Nike debut at the Japan Golf Fair in Tokyo on Feb. 17.
Sonoda turned pro in 2009 at the age of 19 and has since collected two titles on the Japanese tour, as well as eight other top-five finishes. Nike’s global director of sports marketing Mark Thaxton described Sonoda as, “an incredibly talented athlete who has a very promising career ahead of him.” Sonoda is currently ranked No. 209 in the Official World Golf Rankings and will look to better this ranking with his new gear.
“I grew up with the Swoosh and I have always known Nike as the brand that leads in innovation,” Sonoda said. “Competing in tournaments this year with Nike Golf gear in my bag will allow me to take my career to the next level.”
Sonoda’s bag will consist of Nike equipment from top to bottom with:
- Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Tour Driver
- Nike VRS Covert 2.0 3 wood
- Nike VRS Covert 2.0 5 wood
- Nike VR Pro Blades (3-PW)
- Nike VR Forged Wedges 52 and 60 degree
- Nike Method 001 Putter
- Ball: Nike RZN Platinum
Away from equipment, Sonoda will don Nike clothing with pieces from the Tour Performance Collection as well as Nike TW 14 shoes.
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Whats in the Bag
Sam Burns WITB 2024 (April)
- Sam Burns’ what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond S (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 TX
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond T (15 degrees @16)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X
Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X
Irons: Callaway Apex TCB ’24 (4-AW)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (4-PW), True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 Tour Issue (AW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F @55), WedgeWorks Proto (60-T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 Tour Issue (56, 60)
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One #7S
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour X
Check out more in-hand photos of Sam Burns’ WITB in the forums.
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Whats in the Bag
Will Zalatoris WITB 2024 (April)
- Will Zalatoris’ what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7 X (44.5 inches)
3-wood: Titleist TSi2 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T350 (3), Titleist T150 (4-PW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Prototype G.O.S.T. 10 ST X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-08F, 54-10S @55, 60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Putter: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
See more photos of Will Zalatoris’ WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
New Level launches new 480-DB irons, blending performance and forgiveness
New Level has been making some really good golf equipment since the company started up in 2018. Offering irons that are more geared towards the better player, precision has been a fundamental philosophy for New Level in creating irons and wedges.
The 480 line of irons has been the flagship of the brand, and the newest member of that team is the 480-DB iron that is now open to pre-orders. A new cavity design is what the whole 480 line is about, and the 480-DB takes advantage of that with added ball speed and a larger sweet spot.
For players who require their irons to offer the best feel, rest assured the DB is a fully forged (from 1020 carbon steel) one-piece golf club. No multi-piece, hollow design with this iron.
While the 480-DB is the next generation of the popular 902-OS, New Level didn’t follow the current trend in golf by chasing distance with the new iron. They actually weakened the lofts on the 480-DB with the spec sheet showing a 33-degree 7-iron and 45-degree pitching wedge. These lofts allow the DB to have less offset while still offering consistent distance off the face.
A traditional design was also at the forefront of the new irons to make sure that golfers with an eye for detail can look down at them with confidence that they will perform under any condition.
A weight low in the back cavity will allow their master club builders to dial in the perfect weight for the golfer, no matter the length or shaft being used. New Level believes that the new 480-DB is one of the most forgiving one-piece forged irons on the market today. A pre-worn leading edge on the sole should get through the turf quickly and with reduced digging for better turf interaction.
You can pre-order the New Level 480-DB right now on the New Level website.
Pricing specs availability
- Irons: 4-PW
- Price: $149/oron
- Availability: Pre-order
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AME
Feb 18, 2014 at 9:35 pm
He is two year older at the same high school as Ryo Ishikawa.
Mike
Feb 18, 2014 at 11:16 am
Congrats to Sonoda. Not sure if he is in The Masters field, but would like to see how he does on golf’s biggest stage. As for Nike, 13 of 14 sticks in my bag are Nike. Since switching from TM I’ve lowered my handicap to single digits. Tired of ignorant fools saying they won’t play Nike. March 14 Golf Digest Results: Covert 2.0 Driver-Silver, Covert Hybrid-Gold, VRS Covert Forged Iron-Gold, VR X3X Wedge-Silver, Mallet and blade Method MOD putters-Gold. Out of five categories three Gold two Silver. Someone can say Titleist has all gold, whatever. Buy it then because at the end of the day it’s not the clubs, it’s the swing that matters. Another reason I play Nike is because Nike continues to be a leader with promoting diversity in sport. Compare the stable of athletes to say Titleist et cetera look no further than Sonoda to emphasize this point. Keep up the good work Nike!
Martin V.
Feb 18, 2014 at 2:31 am
And where is Anthony Kim? Is he back from the medical recovery?
Nick Boyd
Feb 18, 2014 at 1:53 pm
He is expected to come back later this season!
paul
Feb 17, 2014 at 3:06 pm
Definitely own some of their clothes, covert tour was almost enough to convince me. If they had a few different shaft options I might have reconsidered.
Billy
Feb 17, 2014 at 4:02 pm
They have tons of shaft options. They can (Nike) can get any shaft you want. Just ask them.
Peter Fenton
Feb 17, 2014 at 10:42 am
nike taking over the golf world one player at a time
Gurj
Feb 17, 2014 at 2:10 pm
I still wont buy their golf clubs… Shoes and clothing on the other hand.