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The thought of the new Nike SQ drivers are haunting me in my dreams. I am becoming increasing aware of the potential in this head. USGA responds to the head. Then I read this article after KJ wins using it. From golftoday magazine on the Nike SQ...
Nike Buys into the Game
By the time you read this, you will have heard the drumbeat for the new Nike driver -- code named “Sasquatch” (SQ). It will come with a distinctive yellow swatch on the soleplate, presumably so it shows up better on television. Always competitive, Nike is pricing the SQ at $299. It will be advertised as coming with a Mitsubishi Diamana as its stock shaft. With Diamanas selling north of $300 all summer and Tiger leading a who’s who of PGA Tour players with a Diamanas in their bag, the deal is going to look too good to be true. It might be.
The Nike Diamana shaft is a cheaper version of the high end Diamana. Nike laid a million shaft order on the table and Mitsubishi gave Nike an exclusive on the hot Diamana brand. It was a win-win proposition for both Nike and Mitsubishi. Nike gets to take advantage of the Tiger magic. With Tiger playing Nike and Diamana, why wouldn’t you want to have every club in your line look like Tiger’s club? Mitsubishi gets instant recognition as a supplier to a major OEM and a bulging bank account
It is interesting to speculate how this deal will play out. If it turns out that the Nike Diamana is a good shaft that performs well, both companies could end up winners. The fact that a shaft is inexpensive is, as Chronicles readers know, not a show stopper. Some inexpensive shafts turn out to be very high quality and gain a cult following. I have frequently mentioned Aerotech as one of those companies. But if the Nike Diamanas turn out to be just another cheap proprietary shaft painted up with graphics that make them look better than they play, the outcome could be the opposite. As my grandma used to say, “The proof is in the pudding.”
The Nike Diamana will also be the stock graphite shaft in Nike Slingshot irons. It will replace the proprietary Nike shaft of unknown manufacture in the 2005 Slingshots. Stay tuned.
Late Breaking News: Sasquatch Siting
Two days before press time, we had a chance to see, hit and test the new Nike “SQ” driver. To start, it doesn’t look like any other driver in the market. From the top, the SQ appears larger than the 2005 Ignite. That can’t be. It has a saucer-like appendage extending from the back of the head. The overall impression is larger and flatter than current drivers. The face depth is consequently a little shallower. (The marketing story is the “biggest footprint in the business” to keep up with the Sasquatch theme.) Nike is trying to raise the moment of inertia to help square and stabilize the club face at impact. The center of gravity is moved lower and farther back which should help raise trajectory and could deliver a more boring ball flight. The SQ is an example of new 2006 engineering ideas extending weight distribution concepts.
It’s interesting that in the same week that Nike started showing its new driver around, the USGA declared its intention to limit MOI in new drivers, starting in 2006. Maybe that’s an indication that they had a preview of the SQ and didn’t like what they saw.
We took the SQ apart to test the Nike Diamana shaft on our SST PURE ª equipment. On the LSI (Load Symmetry Index) test, it came out a solid “A”. What that means is that the shaft was unusually consistent and straight. It PUREd out to a .09 vertical deviation -- again very good. Overall, the results were very close to the dozens of “real” Diamanas that we have PUREd over the last several months. From what we could tell, based on testing a single shaft, the Nike Diamana is very high quality for a proprietary shaft. The Ignite was a top seller at the Golf Lab in 2005 at $400-$500 counting the extra cost of replacing the stock Ignite shaft. If Nike delivers the same Nike Diamana shaft with the production version, the SQ is going to be a fabulous bargain at $299.
The SQ head was a surprise. The big news is that the hosel is .335 -- very unusual for consumer model drivers. That makes the SQ the same as “Tour-only” heads. It is sure to be a popular feature as reshafting permits all options. Players that like the feel of .335 shafts will be more inclined to try the SQ. Another interesting finding is that the head weighed 205 grams. Most consumer drivers come with 200 gram heads. That is a good weight if you’re like a D-1 swingweight at 45”. But with more and more players looking for heavier swingweights at shorter lengths, heavier driver heads are required. In our SST Tour Van experience, we found that most PGA Tour players play drivers with head weights in the 204 to 208 gram range.
Nike made several other changes to their product line for 2006. The most important is that they redesigned the popular Slingshots. For 2006, Tom Stites designed a “Tour” head, trimming up the profile from the top, thinning the top line and narrowing the sole. It now looks like a player’s blade from the business end. I’m looking forward to trying a set after a favorable experience with this year’s model that was only dampened by the clunky sole design. I can see playing the Slingshot Tours in 2006. On the game improvement side, there is a second, oversize Slingshot model that is truly a Charles Barkley club. Creating two models is a brilliant response to critical reviews and demonstrates Nike is driven by its powerful and intelligent marketing department.
Nike hybrids are redesigned to pick up on the Slingshot styling. Nike changed the colors on its putters to a more Tour-friendly black. I look forward to testing and playing the new models. 2006 will be Nike’s third year of focusing on the golf industry. Their first year was an embarrassment. The second year was credible. They might have got it right in the third year. Stay tuned.
Nike Buys into the Game
By the time you read this, you will have heard the drumbeat for the new Nike driver -- code named “Sasquatch” (SQ). It will come with a distinctive yellow swatch on the soleplate, presumably so it shows up better on television. Always competitive, Nike is pricing the SQ at $299. It will be advertised as coming with a Mitsubishi Diamana as its stock shaft. With Diamanas selling north of $300 all summer and Tiger leading a who’s who of PGA Tour players with a Diamanas in their bag, the deal is going to look too good to be true. It might be.
The Nike Diamana shaft is a cheaper version of the high end Diamana. Nike laid a million shaft order on the table and Mitsubishi gave Nike an exclusive on the hot Diamana brand. It was a win-win proposition for both Nike and Mitsubishi. Nike gets to take advantage of the Tiger magic. With Tiger playing Nike and Diamana, why wouldn’t you want to have every club in your line look like Tiger’s club? Mitsubishi gets instant recognition as a supplier to a major OEM and a bulging bank account
It is interesting to speculate how this deal will play out. If it turns out that the Nike Diamana is a good shaft that performs well, both companies could end up winners. The fact that a shaft is inexpensive is, as Chronicles readers know, not a show stopper. Some inexpensive shafts turn out to be very high quality and gain a cult following. I have frequently mentioned Aerotech as one of those companies. But if the Nike Diamanas turn out to be just another cheap proprietary shaft painted up with graphics that make them look better than they play, the outcome could be the opposite. As my grandma used to say, “The proof is in the pudding.”
The Nike Diamana will also be the stock graphite shaft in Nike Slingshot irons. It will replace the proprietary Nike shaft of unknown manufacture in the 2005 Slingshots. Stay tuned.
Late Breaking News: Sasquatch Siting
Two days before press time, we had a chance to see, hit and test the new Nike “SQ” driver. To start, it doesn’t look like any other driver in the market. From the top, the SQ appears larger than the 2005 Ignite. That can’t be. It has a saucer-like appendage extending from the back of the head. The overall impression is larger and flatter than current drivers. The face depth is consequently a little shallower. (The marketing story is the “biggest footprint in the business” to keep up with the Sasquatch theme.) Nike is trying to raise the moment of inertia to help square and stabilize the club face at impact. The center of gravity is moved lower and farther back which should help raise trajectory and could deliver a more boring ball flight. The SQ is an example of new 2006 engineering ideas extending weight distribution concepts.
It’s interesting that in the same week that Nike started showing its new driver around, the USGA declared its intention to limit MOI in new drivers, starting in 2006. Maybe that’s an indication that they had a preview of the SQ and didn’t like what they saw.
We took the SQ apart to test the Nike Diamana shaft on our SST PURE ª equipment. On the LSI (Load Symmetry Index) test, it came out a solid “A”. What that means is that the shaft was unusually consistent and straight. It PUREd out to a .09 vertical deviation -- again very good. Overall, the results were very close to the dozens of “real” Diamanas that we have PUREd over the last several months. From what we could tell, based on testing a single shaft, the Nike Diamana is very high quality for a proprietary shaft. The Ignite was a top seller at the Golf Lab in 2005 at $400-$500 counting the extra cost of replacing the stock Ignite shaft. If Nike delivers the same Nike Diamana shaft with the production version, the SQ is going to be a fabulous bargain at $299.
The SQ head was a surprise. The big news is that the hosel is .335 -- very unusual for consumer model drivers. That makes the SQ the same as “Tour-only” heads. It is sure to be a popular feature as reshafting permits all options. Players that like the feel of .335 shafts will be more inclined to try the SQ. Another interesting finding is that the head weighed 205 grams. Most consumer drivers come with 200 gram heads. That is a good weight if you’re like a D-1 swingweight at 45”. But with more and more players looking for heavier swingweights at shorter lengths, heavier driver heads are required. In our SST Tour Van experience, we found that most PGA Tour players play drivers with head weights in the 204 to 208 gram range.
Nike made several other changes to their product line for 2006. The most important is that they redesigned the popular Slingshots. For 2006, Tom Stites designed a “Tour” head, trimming up the profile from the top, thinning the top line and narrowing the sole. It now looks like a player’s blade from the business end. I’m looking forward to trying a set after a favorable experience with this year’s model that was only dampened by the clunky sole design. I can see playing the Slingshot Tours in 2006. On the game improvement side, there is a second, oversize Slingshot model that is truly a Charles Barkley club. Creating two models is a brilliant response to critical reviews and demonstrates Nike is driven by its powerful and intelligent marketing department.
Nike hybrids are redesigned to pick up on the Slingshot styling. Nike changed the colors on its putters to a more Tour-friendly black. I look forward to testing and playing the new models. 2006 will be Nike’s third year of focusing on the golf industry. Their first year was an embarrassment. The second year was credible. They might have got it right in the third year. Stay tuned.
