Wedge | Evolving Consumer

Nike Golf Swings With New Wedges for 2014

Golfers know they won’t always hit the green in the most ideal conditions, but Nike Golf will help with the upcoming VR X3X Toe Sweep wedges, which can tackle rough or wet grass, difficult lies and even daunting bunkers. These were designed to be the solution for the toughest conditions golfers might face.

“We built the VR X3X Toe Sweep wedges from the ground up,” says Mike Taylor, Nike Golf Master Modelmaker. “Our Tour athletes have told us that the toe side of the sole is most critical in bunker performance. In a bunker shot, these new wedges are carefully crafted to provide bounce relative to the path of the club head. Around the green, our athletes ask for material to be ground away from the heel to aid open-face versatility – and we’ve done that with this new design.”

The VR X3X features improved groove technology to deliver a more consistent shot in all conditions, while the wider sole area toward the toe can help make it easier to hit out of the bunker. The new wedges will be available in January.

[Press Release: Nike’s VR X3X Toe Sweep Headlines New Wedges for 2014]

Nike Goes to the Forge

Nike Golf has announced that its Nike VR Forged wedge family is now available at retail. This line is fine forged of a soft 1025 carbon steel and finished in premium satin chrome. This delivers shot-making consistency, tour-level feel, and long-life groove performance. The VR Forged wedge features three distinct sole grinds to ensure ideal set-up from sand, fringe, fairway or deep rough for different players. The three sole grinds are Standard Grind, Dual Narrow Grind and Dual Wide Grind.

This wedge features a dual narrow grind, along with a narrow sole width with higher bounce and extreme heel relief. The wedge has been designed to sit low to the ball whether the face is square or open. Wedge details after the jump

Wedge Issue

We’ve seen no shortage of innovative tent designs, and Heimplanet has impressed us with its geodesic inflatable Cave tent, which his ideal for those looking to take the family – or several friends – to the woods. Now the company has created something a little more compact with the inflatable Wedge, a tent made for two! The company says setting it only requires for users to “roll out, inflate, finished.” There is no ripcord, no semi-rigid poles to assemble, no hooks or gussets. Just inflate, stake and shelter is ready – instant campsite.

Heimplanet Official Website

Nike Gets Into the Groove With New Drivers

Nike Golf has announced the upcoming availability of its Nike VR Pro wedge, the lasted innovation to its VR Pro line. The VR Pro wedges are developed out of a precise forging process resulting in a wedge that offers accurate shot-shaping performance.

The maker is also putting a good face forward, as the VR Pro wedge promises to be the most exact wedge face Nike has ever created. Each wedge face features more grooves, resulting in cleaner, more consistent ball flight and spin while still conforming to the new USGA and R&A rules. The promise of more grooves closer together and deeper on the clubface is more control and consistency in all conditions off of the clubface.

To get the “facelift” done, Nike’s team uses a precision laser crosshatch pattern that is applied to the land area between the grooves. This pattern adds three times the surface texture versus conventionally finished faces, creating more spin in all conditions. In addition the wedge gets precision-forging, a technique that eliminates most hand work and ensures consistency and maximum performance throughout the set. As a result each iron face is milled to a perfectly flat surface, and is then carefully die-stamped, pressing grooves to exact specifications for extremely low variance and shot-making consistency.

With this new face forward Nike Golf will be truly in the groove April 1 when the wedge is available in satin chrome or brushed oxide RAW (MSRP: $149.99).

Nike Golf Official Website

Banned on the Course: What’s the Deal With Grooved Clubs?

Would you think about buying a banned item to improve your game? That’s been a question raging all year over certain golf clubs. It didn’t attract as much mainstream media attention when it came up last winter, but there was the little scandal involving a certain high profile golfer.

But the USGA last year banned certain clubs that got their groove on, or rather had too much of a groove. The issue is more complex because certain clubs such as the Cleveland CG14 Wedge was banned, while initially the CG15 Wedges were in the clear. To the untrained eye both wedges have the same laser-milled groves.

In its holiday gift guide round-up Wired magazine noted that the CG15s won’t be sold after this year – so get them while you can, or not. The clubs are, according to the outlet, verboten for amateurs after 2024. So if you plan to keep the same clubs for the next dozen years you might want to reconsider. But in the meantime check the USGA Equipment Overview site to see if your clubs conform to the “rule of golf.”

Of course it is possible the ruling will be overturned too. By 2025 the USGA might be banning anti-gravity balls.

Cleveland CG15 Wedges Official Website