Tiger Woods underwent microdiscectomy surgery early in 2014 and although he fought very hard to return to competitive golf, he failed to make the cut at the PGA Championship, took himself out of consideration for the Ryder Cup, split with coach Sean Foley and focused his energy into full rehabilitation. He returned to his first competitive event last month at his Hero World Challenge to debut his “new, but old” golf swing, but definitely showed some rust.
This week, he makes his 2015 season debut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open after giving himself the time needed to practice and hone his swing and his short game. Not only is he making his debut, but he is also wearing the new Nike Golf TW15 golf shoe for the first time. Every iteration of the TW line of golf shoes brings something new to the table. In the video above, Tiger and Tobie Hatfield, Nike Senior Director of Athlete Innovation, discuss Flyweave technology and pushing the limits of a golf shoe with the TW15.
Nike loves to collaborate with their athletes to create the best possible products to help them succeed in their sport. Nike Golf and Tiger Woods together are relentless in their focus to push the sport of golf forward. Together, they power modern golf by driving product innovation beyond expectations. In the TW15, Woods’ latest signature golf shoe, the breakthrough Flyweave technology is featured.
With the TW15, Tiger and Tobie have integrated Dynamic Flywire into a Flyweave upper with a Nike Free outsole. The result is a golf shoe that provides the ultimate level of stability, fit and flexibility. Flyweave enables the creation of a one-piece upper that is woven to provide great strength-to-weight support where it is needed most based upon the demands, or movements, of the sport. While strong and supportive, Flyweave is also incredibly lightweight and flexible.
The Nike Free-inspired outsole gets a few updates to offer athletes a golf-specific natural range of motion. Woods provided detailed feedback to help designers create an outsole that is 3mm lower than the TW14 to maximize ground feel and longer contact with the ground.
An updated process for creating the outsole optimizes the flexibility of the shoe, another request from Woods. Combined with four replacement spikes, Hatfield utilized Integrated Traction in the toe area of the shoe to offer more flexibility to help Woods harness the full power of his swing without sacrificing traction. Due to the lightweight Flyweave technology and the golf-specific Nike Free-inspired outsole, designers were able to make the TW15 ten percent lighter than the previous model.
“Nike keeps answering the bell every time I want to push the envelope,” said Woods. “The new Flyweave technology provides even more stability and support for my foot, and when you pair that with the Free-inspired outsole, I noticed I can push off the ground better and finish my swing with power.”
More of Hatfield’s aesthetic design inspiration was based on Woods’ personal love of diving and spearfishing. His first sketch of the shoe featured star-shaped traction, similar to a starfish. “That reminded me of Tiger’s love to spearfish and be underwater,” Hatfield said. “Adding the sea elements allowed another part of Tiger to live in the design of the shoe.” The traction elements in the toe are shaped like octopus beaks, while the rubber in the tip and the heel are inspired by shark scales.
A limited number of the Nike TW15 shoes will be available on nike.com beginning Feb. 2. The Nike TW15 will available in three colorways on March 5 with pre-orders beginning Feb. 12 (MSRP: $250). Colorways include: University Red/Black, Metallic Silver/Black and Black/White
Source: Nike Inc.
