Equipment

Nike RZN Tour and RZN Speed golf balls

Published

8 years ago

Jan 7, 2016

Since the birth of the modern golf ball, there have been hundreds of thousands of different arrangements, styles, numbers, patterns and geometries of dimples. They’re a golf ball’s fingerprint, and that fingerprint plays a role in exactly how a golf ball will fly toward its intended target.

Figure 1

One look at Nike’s new RZN Tour golf balls and you’ll notice something odd; each of its dimples has dimples — 344 standard-sized dimples, and 13,558 smaller “micro-dimples.” Nike claims that the microdimples, which look like shallow pin pokes, reduce drag to improve aerodynamics. According to Nike, the micro-dimples are placed strategically around the ball, and improve lift and drag properties, especially at the end of the ball’s flight.

With the new line, Nike has also re-engineered its familiar RZN cores and the inner layers of its golf balls.

Nike’s two new RZN Tour golf balls (RZN Black, RZN Platinum) have four-piece constructions and urethane covers, and their new RZN 4.0 cores have been made 10 percent larger than previous models. Using more of the lightweight, RZN material in the design helped the company redistributed weight to the outer layers of the golf balls, increasing moment of inertia (MOI). With more MOI, the balls will fly straighter for the duration of their flight, reducing the effect of wind, according to Nike.

Figure 2

A graphic from Nike shows the microdimples (left) and how the RZN 4.0 core behaves at impact.

The new RZN 4.0 core is also said to make the ball softer, without sacrificing distance.

“The ball feels much softer, yet I’ve maintained my ball speed and even picked up a few yards overall,” Rory McIlroy said. “It’s easily the best combination of distance and feel I’ve ever played.”

The inner cores (pictured in blue in Figure 2) uses deep grooves and X’s on its surface to provide 26 percent more surface area contact than its predecessors for more efficient energy transfer from club to ball. The Speedlock Mantle (the yellow layer in Figure 1) also has similar “Speedlock” technology, which reduces slippage with outer layer of the golf ball and adds approximately 150 rpm of spin on approach shots, according to Rock Ishii, Nike Golf’s Senior Director of Innovation for Golf Balls.

The RZN Tour golf balls are for golfers looking for the ultimate in distance, feel and control. The RZN Black, which new Nike athlete Tony Finau will play, offers lower spin with a golfer’s longer clubs for more distance, according to Nike. The RZN Platinum offers slightly more spin and is “designed to Rory McIlroy’s exact specifications,” according to Nike.

For the golfer looking for a softer feel at a reduced price, Nike also has new RZN Speed golf balls.

RZN Speed (Red and White)

Nike’s RZN Speed golf balls have a three-piece construction, and are for golfers who desire a soft golf ball, or a lower price-point model. The balls have an even softer RZN core, according to Nike, and the same Speedlock X technology used in the RZN Tour balls to maximize energy transfer.

The RZN Red ball offers more distance, while the RZN White ball concentrates on a softer feel. Both the RZN Tour and RZN Speed golf balls will be available at NikeGolf.com on January 22, and at select retailers on January 29.

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Whats in the Bag

Richy Werenski WITB 2024 (May)

Published

25 mins ago

May 2, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Richy Werenski what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Houston Open.

Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 60 TX

3-wood: Titleist TSR2 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 8 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Richy Werenski’s clubs in the forums.

Hybrid: Titleist TSR3 (19 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White Hybrid 90 TX

Irons: Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 105 S

Check out more in-hand photos of Richy Werenski’s clubs in the forums.

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46-10F, 50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (54-M, 58-L @60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Onyx (46-50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Onyx (54-60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype

Check out more in-hand photos of Richy Werenski’s clubs in the forums.

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash

Grips: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Richy Werenski’s clubs in the forums.

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Equipment

Adam Scott testing green “Masters Use Only” putter + 6 interesting equipment photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Published

48 mins ago

May 2, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson event at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, which, for your geographical reference, is about 25 minutes from Dallas.

In early-week equipment news, we saw some interesting putter testing from Adam Scott, a Maxfli golf ball signing on the PGA Tour, a 16-year-old’s WITB, a PGA Tour player using another PGA Tour player’s backup putter, and Jordan Spieth weighed in on why he recently switched out just his 7-iron (and then made a hole-in-one with it).

With so much to report and so little time to waste on the intro, let’s get right into this week’s equipment rundown from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

See all of our photo galleries from the week here

Adam Scott’s new L.A.B. putters

Before we get into a couple of the new prototypes Scott has been testing, above is a photo of the L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max prototype putter that he’s been using, and will likely continue to use this week in Texas.

That being said, following the Masters, Scott was looking to try a couple putters with a slightly lighter weight to help with his feel on fast greens.

One of the new prototypes we spotted on Tuesday was a L.A.B. Golf DF3 “Proto 2.1”, custom-built with Scott’s preferred blue colorway, and an Australia-inspired Kangaroo laser engraving…

We also spotted him with a green-colored “For Masters Use Only” Mezz.1 Max prototype…

While it’s unlikely Scott will make a switch this week, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward, especially on courses with faster greens.

We also got a peek into Scott’s full WITB this week, which consists of a super-mixed set of Srixon irons, including a ZX Utility 3-iron, a ZX-5 MkII 4-iron, ZX-7 MkII mid-irons (5-7) and Z Forged II short irons (8-9).

See Scott’s full WITB from the CJ Cup here

An update on Daniel Berger’s Odyssey Jailbird

Last week in New Orleans, we highlighted Daniel Berger’s Ai-One Jailbird Mini putter because of its unique sightlines.

Well, we have an update.

According to Callaway Tour Manager Joe Toulon, who spoke with GolfWRX.com this week, Berger’s Jailbird Mini is actually from fellow Tour player Tom Kim’s stash. Kim is a prolific putter tester, and the exact putter Berger is currently using was actually originally made for and tested by Kim. The putter didn’t make it into Kim’s starting lineup, however, so he gave the putter back to Odyssey, and it eventually made it’s way onto Berger’s gamer roster.

Jordan Spieth’s new 7-iron

As the story goes, Jordan Spieth changed out his Titleist T100 7-iron on Wednesday before the 2024 Valero Texas Open, and then on Thursday, he used the 7-iron to make a hole-in-one from 199 yards on the 16th hole.

Good timing on that switch, Jordan.

On Tuesday at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson, GoflWRX.com caught up with Spieth to get the full story on why he switched just the 7-iron.

Our full story is over on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, but here’s a snippet of what Spieth had to say:

“I hit my 7-iron a lot, especially on my own. The spin rates, relative to my 6-iron and my 8-iron, were lower, so it was going too far. I was trying to figure out why, if it was something in the makeup of the iron. I got the lies and the lofts checked, and everything was fine. So finally I was like, ‘Can I just get a new one and see if it fixes it?’

“Maybe there was one other time throughout my career where I changed just one iron, so it’s very unusual. I think it’s just because the grooves were worn down from hitting it too much.”

Ben Griffin signs with Maxfli to play the golf ball

At the beginning of the year, LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson signed a deal with Maxfli to play the company’s golf ball, and now, Griffin has officially joined team Maxfli, as well, thus expanding the company’s Tour presence.

GolfWRX.com caught up with Griffin on Wednesday in Texas for a video interview about his new golf ball of choice, and how he marks it…

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A 16-year-old is playing on the PGA Tour this week, using a 2-iron!

Amateur golfer Kris Kim, at just 16 years of age, is making his PGA Tour debut this week after receiving a sponsors exemption into the event. In 2023, Kim won both the R&A Boys’ Amateur Championship and the European Boys’ International Championship.

On Tuesday in Texas, we got a look into Kim’s bag, which revealed that he’s currently playing a TaylorMade P-770 2-iron, and a bag full of TaylorMade clubs.

Check out Kim’s full WITB here

A smart golf ball stamping

I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be a big math guy, because I’m not. However, I do recognize David Nyfjall’s purple ball marking as a square root symbol.

While I don’t know the particular significance of the square root symbol for Nyfjall, I do know you have to be fairly intelligent to even consider using a marking like that. Pretty cool stuff from the Northwestern alum, and 2023 Byron Nelson Award winner.

And, with that, we say goodbye to Texas and TPC Craig Ranch. We’ll see you next week at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte for more insider equipment news and storylines.

For now, don’t forget to check out all of our photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

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Whats in the Bag

Wesley Bryan WITB 2024 (May)

Published

3 hours ago

May 2, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Wesley Bryan what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 50 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 60 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Wesley Bryan’s clubs here.

Hybrid: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus Rescue (19.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Blue 8 X

Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Takomo 101U (4), Takomo 101T (5), Takomo 301 CB (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Check out more in-hand photos of Wesley Bryan’s clubs here.

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 52-08F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (58-A)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400