Red is innovative; the new Nike Covert Driver features a cavity back and multiple tuning options
Color is “in” these days for drivers – from the white of TaylorMade and Adams to the rainbow of colors of Cobra. Nike Golf is going with red this year in its new Covert and Covert Tour drivers, which measure 460cc and 430cc, respectively.
The company is marketing the driver as one of the most innovative and forgiving drivers in the marketplace with each featuring two tuning sleeves called “‘FLEXLOFT.”
One sleeve allows the golfer to adjust the loft of the club; the second sleeve allows the golfer to independently adjust the club face angle from open, to neutral, to closed. This is a bit different, as typical adjustable drivers allow the golfer to modify the loft of the club up and down. But when that’s done, the face angle of the club also changes. For example, when a golfer adds loft to the club, the face angle changes and closes slightly promoting a draw; the opposite is true when a golfer modifies the loft down the face angle opens slightly which promotes a fade biased ball flight. Nike’s technology removes the face angle variable by allowing the loft and angle to be tuned separately.
The second innovative aspect of the Covert driver is its cavity back, which looks to be a big hole or notch in the back and bottom of the club. Nike Golf said this let its club designers remove weight and re-distribute it to the perimeter of the golf club. It also is supposed to help with the club’s MOI (moment of inertia) and overall forgiveness, supposedly resulting in longer straighter drives.
I hit the 430cc Covert Tour model and was pleased with the overall performance of the club. Okay, I also liked the bright red color.
Tuning the club was easy with the Nike wrench that comes with the club. When I adjusted the loft of the club, the ball flight raised; when I lowered the loft, the ball flight lowered just as the technology was designed.
The independent clubface adjustability is a nice feature as I prefer to hit a golf club with a neutral or open club face. I set the Covert driver to open and the square or “neutral” position appeared to my eye to be closed.
Two things I am very sensitive about are feel and sound, especially with regards to drivers and metal woods. I was disappointed with the overall feel and sound of the Covert driver. For me, it was a bit too loud or tinny, especially on off-center hits. The NEXCOR face felt hard which made it difficult for me to feel the golf ball. It was certainly a departure from the current model (TourStage X-drive, 9.5 degree) driver I have in my bag that has a much softer face and more muted sound.
