We’ve seen previews of the new Nike Golf Vapor Fly series of golf clubs over the past couple of months – it’s hard to miss with the new blue colourway that is used for 2016. The driver and some of the other woods have already made it into the bag of Paul Casey, who is playing some fine golf lately, as well as the 2015 Race To Dubai Champion, Rory McIlroy. You can watch Rory with his new Vapor Fly driver in the video below – poetry in motion!
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The new Vapor Fly series is designed to provide an overall higher launch angle and is the culmination of years of work from the teams at The Oven. The Oven, Nike Golf’s research and design facility in Fort Worth, Texas, is the engine that drives Nike Golf equipment innovation. With a combination of authentic handcraftsmanship, sophisticated high-tech virtual design and working with the best in the sport like Rory McIlroy, Nike Golf engineers and designers obsess over every tenth of a millimeter and every degree of launch angle to provide the very best to their athletes.
“As we’ve learned more and more about golf athletes while researching advanced materials and evolving manufacturing technologies, we’ve verified that if we can launch the ball higher, while managing spin, it will ultimately fly farther,” says Nate Radcliffe, Nike Golf Director of Engineering. “We’ve found ways to accomplish that in our entire 2016 line, from the drivers to the long irons. We are using innovative designs that consider mass distribution, tuned compliance and stiffness to help the ball consistently fly high and long.”
Similar to the new Nike Golf Lunar Control 4 golf shoe, Rory McIlroy was instrumental in the design of the Vapor Fly Pro driver. He relies on his driver for ultimate forgiveness and distance.
“I think every golfer looks for forgiveness to make their bad shots better,” says McIlroy. “It’s phenomenal to know that when you have a very forgiving driver like this, even if you don’t quite catch [the ball] off the middle of the face or put a good swing on it, that it still has a chance to go the same distance and be in the fairway as if you hit a good shot. To have that much confidence in a driver standing over a tee shot is great.”
VAPOR FLEX 440 DRIVER
The new Vapor Flex 440 driver is a breakthrough in head construction. More than 60 percent of the club is built from carbon fiber reinforced RZN, a proprietary material that Nike uses in both clubs and golf balls. RZN is an extremely light, yet strong material that allows for even more weight to be repositioned forward and down for adjustability and forgiveness. It is a continuation of the Vapor Flex driver model we saw last year – the new Vapor Flex 440 will be available March 4, 2016.
Here are some of the highlight specifications of the Vapor Flex 440 driver:
– New RZN body construction makes up over 60 percent of the driver to allow for adjustability, with increased stability.
– New HyperFlight face is thinned out around the perimeter to produce extreme ball speed across the entire face for better performance on off-center hits.
– FlexFlight technology features a RZN tube with a high-density weight on one end — flipping the tube allows golfers to further optimize launch conditions by impacting launch angle, spin rate, forgiveness and workability.
– Re-engineered Compression Channel enables springboard effect to amplify performance on mis-hits.
– FlyBeam Reinforced Covert Cavity Back dramatically stiffens the chassis while redistributing weight to the heel and toe for maximum impact efficiency, tuned acoustics and forgiveness.
– FlexLoft 2.0 technology gives the athlete the functionality of five lofts at three face angles for a total of 15 different settings and optimal ball flight, more distance as well as enhanced workability.
VAPOR FLY PRO DRIVER
The Vapor Fly Pro Driver utilizes a familiar 460cc pear shape head to create a strong trajectory with low spin but, on the inside, the club has been finely tuned to help athletes such as Rory McIlroy perform at the highest level. The Vapor Fly Pro will be available on nike.com January 22, 2016 and at select retailers January 29, 2016.
The Vapor Fly Pro driver is the model that is in the bag of Rory McIlroy. He replaces the Vapor Pro driver which he has used beautifully since the 2014 Ryder Cup. The new driver has given him an extra 3mph of ball speed, which could mean a double-digit distance gain – as if Rory doesn’t hit it far enough already!
Here are some of the highlight specifications of the Vapor Fly Pro driver:
– Flightweight Crown features a 30 percent reduction in crown weight versus last year’s model, resulting in a lower center of gravity and higher MOI for higher launch, less spin and more forgiveness.
– New HyperFlight face is thinned out around the perimeter to produce extreme ball speed across the entire face for better performance on off-center hits.
– Re-engineered Compression Channel enables springboard effect to amplify performance on mis-hits.
– FlyBeam Reinforced Covert Cavity Back dramatically stiffens the chassis while redistributing weight to the heel and toe for maximum impact efficiency, tuned acoustics and forgiveness.
– FlexLoft 2.0 technology gives the athlete the functionality of five lofts at three face angles for a total of 15 different settings and optimal flight, more distance as well as enhanced workability.
VAPOR FLY DRIVER
Distinguished by its bold blue crown with iconic Volt color in the Compression Channel, the Vapor Fly Driver has three key technologies that add up to fast ball speed, high trajectory and less spin: Flightweight Crown, HyperFlight Face and Compression Channel. This model will be available on nike.com January 22, 2016 and at select retailers January 29, 2016.
The Vapor Fly driver is also the model that Paul Casey has in the bag – he’s been using it since the PGA TOUR season ending TOUR Championship at East Lake. For Paul, it’s given him “a higher launch, flatter ball flight, and more distance.” Here are some of the highlight specifications of the Vapor Fly driver:
– Flightweight Crown features a 30 percent reduction in crown weight versus last year’s model, resulting in a lower center of gravity and higher MOI for higher launch, less spin and more forgiveness.
– New HyperFlight face is thinned out around the perimeter to produce extreme ball speed across the entire face for better performance on off-center hits.
– Re-engineered Compression Channel enables a springboard effect to amplify performance on mis-hits.
– FlyBeam Reinforced Covert Cavity Back dramatically stiffens the chassis while redistributing weight to the heel and toe for maximum impact efficiency, tuned acoustics and forgiveness.
– FlexLoft 2.0 technology gives the golf athlete the functionality of five lofts at three face angles for a total of 15 different settings and optimal flight, more distance as well as enhanced workability.
VAPOR FLY FAIRWAY WOOD
The Vapor Fly Fairway Wood uses Nike’s tour-authentic chassis with upgraded technology to drive performance. Utilizing the same technology found within the drivers, the club features an extremely thin and light Flightweight Crown to move weight lower for a higher launch angle, with less spin. The Vapor Fly Fairway Wood also features the new HyperFlight face, a re-engineered Compression Channel and the FlyBeam Reinforced Covert Cavity Back.
Five models with an innovative new FlexLoft Fairway hosel allow for lofts from 12 degrees to 22 degrees, at a standard or upright lie angle for a tour-level fit. With this hosel, golfers are able to adjust loft and lie angle independently. It will be available on nike.com January 22, 2016 and at select retailers January 29, 2016.
VAPOR FLY HYBRID
The Vapor Fly Hybrid was completely redesigned for 2016. Working with Nike athletes such as Francesco Molinari, Nike Golf engineers created a hybrid with a refined, tour-driven profile to maximize versatility and shot making. Three grams have been taken off the crown (Flightweight Crown), which leads to a lower centre of gravity and higher-flying shots.
Similar to the drivers and fairway woods, the Vapor Fly Hybrid also features the new HyperFlight face, a re-engineered Compression Channel to improve contact on thin shots and the FlyBeam Reinforced Covert Cavity Back. There is no adjustable hosel though – the Vapor Fly Hybrid will come in lofts of 17°, 20°, 23° and 26°. They will be available on nike.com January 22, 2016 and at select retailers January 29, 2016.
VAPOR FLY PRO IRONS
Engineers from The Oven set out to create a set of irons that launch the ball higher and farther, offering forgiveness with more workability than a traditional game-improvement iron. They achieved their goals with the new Vapor Fly Pro Irons, available on nike.com January 22, 2016 and at select retailers January 29, 2016.
Modern Muscle technology balances the center of gravity in the center of the face to optimize stability, energy transfer and feel for consistent performance and shotmaking. Lightweight RZN material enables more mass to be distributed lower and deeper for a higher ball flight.
The combination of a variable thickness, flexible Nexcor face supported by a stiffened, FlyBeam-reinforced chassis delivers increased ball speed, with less penalizing mishits for longer, more consistent shots across the entire face. Hollow RZN cavity long irons (2, 3, 4, 5) feature a metalwood-style construction with FlyBeam reinforcement for superior distance and forgiveness. RZN pocket mid irons (6, 7, 8) utilize Nike’s proprietary RZN material to redistribute weight to combine stability with refined feel. Lastly, RZN cavity short irons (9, P, A) also feature RZN material in the cavity of the irons to enable shot-making creativity.
Overall, we’re loving the black finish and blue accents of the Vapor Fly Pro irons. The previous generation of Vapor Pro irons were very good as well, so we’re excited for a chance to test these out. In addition to the Vapor Fly Pro irons, Nike Golf also releases the Vapor Fly Irons.
VAPOR FLY IRONS
The Vapor Fly irons feature three unique RZN-enhanced, game-improvement constructions pushing weight lower and toward the perimeter for consistent, high and long-approach shots with tremendous feel. Most of the technology in the Vapor Fly irons carry over from the Vapor Fly Pro irons including Modern Muscle technology, lightweight RZN material and a combination of a variable thickness, flexible Nexcor face supported by a stiffened, Flybeam-reinforced chassis.
Hollow RZN cavity long irons (4, 5, 6, 7) feature a metalwood-style construction with FlyBeam reinforcement for superior distance and forgiveness. RZN pocket mid irons (8, 9, P) utilize Nike’s proprietary RZN material to redistribute weight to combine stability with refined feel. RZN cavity short irons (A, S) also feature RZN material in the cavity of the irons to enable shot-making creativity. There is a slightly thicker top-line on the Vapor Fly irons, but they do not seem overly chunky, with much off the weight tucked away. It also seems to feature a lighter finish compared to the Vapor Fly Pro irons. The Vapor Fly irons will be available on nike.com January 22, 2016 and at select retailers January 29, 2016.
Source: Nike Inc.
