It’s a known fact that no one, not even the pros, hits every tee shot in the center of the face. When better players miss, they tend to hit the ball low and toward the heel. Necessity is the mother of invention, so last year Nike Golf released the Victory Red driver with a channel that runs along the bottom of the club, just behind the face, that was designed to make those misses more playable.
The next generation of that club has just been released, the Nike Victory Red Pro, and the technology has been taken a step further. Instead of running only behind the face, Nike’s Compression Channel now goes around the entire sole of the club.
According to Nike’s research, the new VR Pro driver has a 2% higher Coefficient of Restitution (COR) across the face than its predecessor, which translates to 4-6 more yards off the tee. At address the club has a classic teardrop shape, but Nike’s STR8-Fit system allows golfers to set the head in 32 different positions ranging from 2° open at address to 2° closed. Nike says the club has up to 45 yards of left-to-right adjustability. The STR8-Fit system also lets players adjust loft and lie angle.
According to Tom Stites, the club’s designer, this is still a club that is primarily going to help players with an inside-to-outside swing path because their misses tend to be in the heel. But he added that the technology can also help players who have an outside-to-inside swing. The Nike VR Pro driver is available in lofts ranging from 8.5° to 11.5°. It will come standard with a Project X graphite shaft, priced at $399. Additional shaft options will be available through custom fitting and special ordering.
