Equipment

Nike’s Chief Club Designer Tom Stites retires

Published

13 years ago

Jul 26, 2013

GolfWRX

Nike Golf’s Chief Club Designer, Tom Stites, has retired from his current role but will remain with the company as a consultant, according to Golfweek.

The story, by Golfweek Associate Editor Jim Achenbach, says that Stites will no longer be involved in the day-to-day operations of the company. He will, however, maintain an office at the company’s research and development facility, “The Oven,” where he will continue to work on the company’s future products.

Click here to read about GolfWRX’s trip to The Oven in May 2013 and see exclusive photos from the R&D facility.

Stites has been the driving force behind the design of several of Nike Golf’s most successful products, including the company’s Slingshot irons and this year’s line of VR_S Covert drivers. He has been with Nike since 2001, when the company jump started its entry into the golf equipment industry by purchasing Stites’ Fort Worth-based company, Impact Golf Technologies.

According to the story, Nike anticipated Stites’ retirement, and hired Nate Radcliffe to serve as the company’s director of engineering in December 2012. Radcliffe had spent the previous 11 years working for Cleveland Golf. Mario Lafortune, the director of the Nike Sport Research Laboratory for the past 15 years, will also help fill Stites’ void. He will move from his office at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., to The Oven in Fort Worth, Texas.

Equipment

Neal Shipley, AKA, the “Big Fridge’s,” custom stamping

Published

1 min ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ben A

Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.

That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.

On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.

“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”

On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”

“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.

Check out Shipley’s full what’s in the bag and the rest of his wedge stampings here on “Inside the Ropes” from Colonial.

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: L.A.B. Purple DF3 with Masters cover

Published

7 hours ago

Jun 1, 2026

Will Schube

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who 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, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.

From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules