Nike is known to for collaborating with their athletes to provide them with the best possible tools for success in their sport. In golf, Nike has kept this tradition at their research and development facility, The Oven, to work with golf athletes. The latest collaboration between The Oven, Rory McIlroy and other Tour Pros is a putter that blends superior craftsmanship with innovative science to create a confidence-inspiring look while giving the athlete an advantage with superior roll. The result was the Method Prototype 006 putter featuring a tour-inspired shape and Polymetal Groove technology.
Putters are very personal and often hard to switch out of a player’s bag. In some cases an athlete comes to Nike Golf having had success for a period of time using a specific putter. They are used to its looks at address, the offset, the toe hang and other specifications related to that one putter. They may have spent so much time using this putter that changes become difficult for the athlete. So Nike Golf works closely with them to give them a putter that will outperform their previous putter.
When Nike signed Rory McIlroy, this was the case, just as it was the case when they signed Tiger Woods. Players will not switch anything out of their bag unless it’s better. Since Rory McIlroy wanted to stay with a familiar shape, Nike’s job then became to refine and elevate the performance of that shape. Since Rory’s previous putter was quite similar in shape to our pre-existing 006, there was a solid foundation to build on. The 006 is a pretty standard blade that’s existed in various iterations in the bags of quite a few Nike athletes over the years.
Nike inspected every aspect of Rory’s previous putter to identify the key elements that Rory preferred. Finally, Rory had a few specific tweaks he wanted to see in his new putter. After much discussion with the team at The oven of edge breaks, radius blends and other fine details, they landed on the shape that’s currently in Rory’s bag (and incidentally, the new Method B2-01 borrows the exact same shape).
After solving the issue of shape, the team then focused on feel. Rory prefers a soft feel, but wanted to stay with a metal-faced putter. In other words, soft feel, but no insert. Nike Golf achieved this by drastically increasing the depth of the milling pattern on the face. The deeper mill pattern delivers a softer feel while maintaining the consistency Rory demands. It’s also been in the bags of Francesco Molinari, Seung Yul-Noh and other Nike Golf athletes.
In the end, Rory’s Method Prototype 006 story has a convincing outcome. Multiple wins, two major championships in a row, player of the year, PGA and European PGA money titles. But, there’s always better.
The Method Prototype 006 putter will be available in limited quantities (1,000 pieces) on nike.com and select retailers starting April 15, 2015 for $450. Each putter sold will feature a laser-engraved Oven logo and come with a tour-packaged box of RZN black golf balls, a limited-edition head cover and an Oven design schematic book with detailed information about the club.
