Equipment

Nike’s Vapor Fly will hit stores on Jan. 29

Published

8 years ago

Dec 10, 2015

Nike has announced that its new Vapor Fly line of clubs — two drivers, a fairway wood, a hybrid and two sets of irons — will be available starting Jan. 29.

A third Vapor Fly driver, Nike’s Vapor Flex 440, will be available starting March 4.

Rumors about Nike’s 2016 golf club line have been circulating for months, along with photos of the new gear. Finally, we have the official details on the clubs. Learn more each of Nike’s new releases below, and visit Nike’s website for all the details.

Drivers

Photo from Nike Golf

Official Name: Nike Vapor Fly
Head size: 460 cubic centimeters
What you need to know: Nike’s most-forgiving driver. Spins more than the Vapor Pro. Played by Paul Casey.

SP16_Oven_Vapor_Fly_Pro_Driver_001_hd_1600

Photo from Nike Golf

Official Name: Nike Vapor Fly Pro
Head size: 460 cubic centimeters (pear shape)
What you need to know: Nike’s mid-forgiving, mid-spinning driver. Used by Rory McIlroy.

Photo from Nike Golf

Official Name: Nike Vapor Flex 440
Head size: 440 cubic centimeters
What you need to know: Nike’s adjustable CG driver (forward and back positions) is designed to be its lowest-spinning model. More than 60 percent of the club head is made from carbon fiber-reinforced RZN, according to Nike. That should help make it more playable than last year’s model, which was light on forgiveness.

See what GolfWRX members are saying about Nike’s new launch here.

Fairway Wood

Photo from Nike Golf

Official Name: Nike Vapor Fly Fairway Wood
Adjustability: Five models. New adjustable hosel allows for independent standard or upright lie angle settings. Adjustable lofts range from 12-22 degrees.
What you need to know: A lower CG from a lighter crown should create a higher launch angle and and less spin than previous Nike fairway woods. A “HyperFlight Face” is designed to be thinner around its perimeter for more ball speed across the face.

Hybrid

Photo from Nike Golf

Official Name: Nike Vapor Fly Hybrid
Not adjustable
What you need to know: This one is designed to be a “true iron replacement” with a “tour shape,” according to Nike.

Irons

SP16_Oven_Vapor_Fly_Pro_Iron_001_hd_1600

Photo from Nike Golf

Official Name: Nike Vapor Fly Pro
Set makeup: RZN cavity long irons (2-5), RZN pocket mid irons (6-8) and RZN cavity short irons (9,PW,AW)
What you need to know: Nike says these irons launch higher and farther than traditional game-improvement irons, which may indicate that these clubs are larger and more forgiving than the Vapor Pro Combo irons that they seem to replace.

Photo from Nike Golf

Official Name: Nike Vapor Fly irons
Set makeup: RZN cavity long irons (4-7), RZN Pocket mid irons (8-PW) and RZN cavity short irons (AW, SW)
What you need to know: These will be higher launching, more forgiving and longer-flying than the Vapor Fly Pro irons. They’re a more “oversized” iron.

See what GolfWRX members are saying about Nike’s new launch here.

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13 Comments

nikeguy75

Jan 26, 2016 at 9:49 pm

I like the colors. Why be like everyone else. I played Nike since they first came on the scene. they have gotten better every year. I am looking forward to the new Nike vapor pro fly series.

Reply Report comment
duffer888

Dec 16, 2015 at 11:51 am

yay, more mid-year heavily discounted gear!

Reply Report comment
Steve

Dec 14, 2015 at 8:52 am

Would anyone out of high school play these. The colors limit the market

Reply Report comment
Tom D.

Dec 11, 2015 at 3:13 pm

Just one question: Did they have to wait 1 cycle, until Cobra had moved past their FLY designation, before Nike could use it?

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Mark

Dec 11, 2015 at 3:00 pm

Nike make quality woods, irons and wedges but need to sack their “stylists” and hire people who realise most good players want simple, efficient looking clubs and not something that appeals to a 12 year old who think Kanye is cool.

Reply Report comment
- AJ
  
  Jan 3, 2016 at 6:50 pm
  
  Who’s Kanye?
  
  Reply Report comment
David

Dec 11, 2015 at 7:07 am

Hmmmm those drivers look pretty interesting not sure on the irons until I see the rest of them
I’m sure all the pros on here will upset with whatever lofts are on the club.

Reply Report comment
mo

Dec 10, 2015 at 10:03 pm

I don’t do pastel colored golf clubs.

Reply Report comment
AJ

Dec 10, 2015 at 9:36 pm

Going from woods to metals now to rzn carbons? For people who want to be literal, i dont know what else to call the flex that is less than 40% metal. LOL

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Christestrogen

Dec 10, 2015 at 5:13 pm

I hit a flex because it has the deadest sound I’ve hit on a driver since the prov1 era began…
The flex is not, IMHO, forgiving on anything outside the center of the face…but I’m willing to sacrifice toe bunts for the sound…
The CGI tech is VERY cool and makes an absolute difference in ball height….
If the sound is the same as 2014s flex then I will happily buy the new one….especially if it is more forgiving and less spinny on off-center hits.

-Christosterone

Reply Report comment
- some guy
  
  Dec 30, 2015 at 6:41 pm
  
  The 2016 has an even flatter sound than the 2015 model, it sounds like an old 975J. The flight is awesome, very low spinning and much more forgiving than last years.
  
  Reply Report comment
James

Dec 10, 2015 at 3:12 pm

I would be interested in trying the Flex. The original flex was great once you managed to get it set up correctly. I have a ‘2dot’ Covert 2.0 Tour and its gonna be tough to find something that could knock it out of my bag.

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Royal Tenenbaum

Dec 10, 2015 at 2:40 pm

Can’t wait to get fitted for the Fly Pro. I live in Fort Worth and have been out to the Oven a few times for testing. Never got to do anything with “new” stuff; mostly just logging swings and putts for their R&D team. But it was still awesome to get in there and see the bays and equipment.

Have to find a way to get fit for a full bag out there…would be incredible!

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

17 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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