Connect with us

Equipment

Nike signs Japan Golf Tour star Shunsuke Sonoda

Published

on

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.

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Nick Boyd is an 18-year-old journalism student at Carleton University in Ottawa, with hopes of one day becoming a sports reporter.

8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. AME

    Feb 18, 2014 at 9:35 pm

    He is two year older at the same high school as Ryo Ishikawa.

  2. 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!

  3. 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!

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Whats in the Bag

Kris Kim WITB 2024 (May)

Published

on

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (2, 4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-11TW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Equipment

Welcome to the family: TaylorMade launches PUDI and PDHY utility irons

Published

on

TaylorMade is continuing its UDI/DHY series with the successor to the Stealth UDI and DHY utility irons: PUDI and PDHY (which the company styles as P·UDI and P·DHY). TaylorMade is folding the designs in with its P Series of irons.

TaylorMade outlined the process of developing its new utilities this way. The company started with the data on utility iron usage. Not surprisingly, better players — i.e. those who generate more clubhead speed and strike the ball more precisely — were found to gravitate toward the UDI model. DHY usage, however, covered a wider swath than the company might have expected with six-to-18 handicappers found to be bagging the club.

TaylorMade also found that the majority of golfers playing UDI or DHY utilities were playing P Series irons at the top of their iron configurations.

Can you see where this is going?

Matt Bovee, Director of Product Creation, Iron and Wedge at TaylorMade: “As we look to the future, beyond the tech and the design language, we are excited about repositioning our utility irons into the P·Series family. P·UDI is an easy pair for players that currently play P·Series product and P·DHY is an extremely forgiving option for players of all skill levels. It is a natural fit to give these players the performance in this category that they are looking for.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

TaylorMade PUDI

TaylorMade PUDI technology cutaway (via TaylorMade)

Crafted with tour player input, TaylorMade sought to develop a confidence-inspiring utility iron that blends with the rest of the P Series irons. Also of note: Interestingly, the PUDI has a more compact head than the P790.

In comparison to past UDI products, the PUDI has a more traditional iron shape, slimmer toplines, and less offset with a little of the backbar visible at address.

TaylorMade PDHY

TaylorMade PDHY tech cutaway (via TaylorMade).

Larger in profile than the PUDI, the PDHY seeks to position center of gravity (CG) lower in the club for ease of launch. The toe height is larger and the profile is larger at address — roughly five millimeters longer than PUDI — the sole of the club is wider for improved forgiveness.

Club Junkie’s take

Golfers who feel like they are missing something at the top of the bag could find the PUDI or PDHY a great option. The look of the PUDI should fit the most discerning eye with a more compact look, less offset, and a thinner topline. If you want a little more confidence looking down the P-DHY will be slightly larger while still being a good-looking utility iron.

For being small packages both models pack a pretty good punch with fast ball speeds, even off-center. The feel is soft and you get a solid feel of the ball compressing off the face when you strike it well. Your ears are greeted with a nice heavy thud as the ball and club come together. The PDHY will launch a little higher for players who need it while the PUDI offers a more penetrating ball flight. Both utility irons could be the cure for an open spot in the top end of the bag.

PUDI, PDHY, or Rescue?

TaylorMade offers the following notes to assist golfers in filling out their bags:

  • PUDI has mid-CG right behind the center face to create a more penetrating mid-to-low ball flight
  • PDHY has a lower center of gravity to produce an easier-to-launch mid-to-high ball flight.
  • Both PUDI and PDHY are lower-flying than the company’s hybrid/Rescue clubs.
  • PUDI is more forgiving than P790.
  • PDHY is the most forgiving iron in the entire TaylorMade iron family

Pricing, specs, and availability

Price: $249.99

At retail: Now

Stock shafts: UST Mamiya’s Recoil DART (105 X, 90 S and 75 R – only in PDHY)

Stock grip: Golf Pride’s ZGrip (black/grey)

PUDI lofts: 2-17°, 3-20°, 4-22° in both left and right-handed

PDHY lofts: 2-18°, 3-20° and 4-22° in both left and right-handed

Your Reaction?
  • 12
  • LEGIT4
  • WOW3
  • LOL2
  • IDHT1
  • FLOP1
  • OB1
  • SHANK3

Continue Reading

Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

Published

on

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

From the seller: (@wwcl): “Has been gamed as pics show. 33.5 includes original h/c and grip. $575 includes shipping and PP fees.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

Your Reaction?
  • 1
  • LEGIT1
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending