The story of Nike Golf’s ascension has been well documented. When they originally signed Tiger Woods way back when, they offered next to nothing as far as golf was concerned. Nike slowly introduced footwear, apparel, accessories, and finally they weaned Tiger off of Titleist clubs. After decent success with the Ignite line, Nike had a huge hit with the Sasquatch. They built upon the SQ line with the SUMO, and then the DYMO, and finally the Machspeed series. In the driver and fairway woods categories Nike has been successful and innovative, though sometimes criticized. They were among the first adoptees of square drivers as well as 460cc clubheads and adjustable shaft offerings, but they have been ripped for the sound of some of their drivers, which can best be described as “tinny.”
In the iron category, Nike has been solid, but their huge successes have been few and far between. The original Pro Combo irons (and its several variations) did pretty well, and several pros even kept the long irons in their bags until just recently. They were also successful with the Slingshot irons, which, despite being as far from traditional as possible, packed loads of technology into a high-performing package. The last few years Nike has been heavily marketing their Victory Red line of irons, which were co-designed by none other than Tiger Woods. The Forged TW Blades were good looking, yes, but even Tiger took them out of his bag after half a season (though they have since been granted reentry). Many liked the Forged Split Cavity, which were supposed to offer forgiveness and great feel. Unfortunately, in my opinion, they lacked both of those, and the waffle pattern in the cavity wasn’t particularly easy on the eyes either.
This year, Nike has gone back to basics. They have taken one of their most successful lines of irons, the Forged Pro Combo, and they have simplified them, similar to the original Nike Forged Blades that Tiger and other pros played for years. This has all come together to create a set of irons that not only looks great, but aims to offer great feel, forgiveness, and workability for golfers of a wide range of handicaps.
I’ve spent some time with the new Victory Red Pro Combo irons, so let’s see how they stack up.
Continue reading “Nike Victory Red (VR) Pro Combo Irons Review”
If you’re into golf equipment, forged irons, Tiger Woods, or even perhaps Japanese samurai swords, you’ve probably heard about Katsuhiro Miura (or his golf clubs).
Though Mizuno said goodbye to the MX series this year, they had the new JPX series waiting in the wings to fill the game improvement gap. Of course I jumped at the opportunity to review the new JPX-800 Pro, since this new series would replace that which contained the MX-300s I loved so much.
Sean Foley made a splash in 2010. Though he was known prior to this year as the coach of Sean O’Hair, Justin Rose, and Hunter Mahan (along with lesser knowns Stephen Ames and Parker McLachlin), Foley’s dim star became noticeable at dusk as rumors that Tiger Woods, dumped by his coach Hank Haney, was going to begin working with the 36-year old Canadian. When the arrangement became official around the time of the year’s final major, the Foley star became one of the brightest in the sky.
So, you purchased the latest high street brand golf bag, perfectly matching your brand new $800 irons. Of course you did, after all, you wouldn’t want your clubs getting all damaged in some pencil bag. You purchased the latest driver from whomever, only setting you back another $400 or so, maybe more or you got it with a custom tour shaft that is suited perfectly to Tiger Woods, or your favorite golfer, but probably not you. It even came with a magnetic head cover, “state of the art” they say, and again, you don’t want your latest investment getting damaged do you? I bet you even have a nice travel bag for those two trips a year you make to keep your clubs from getting knocked about on the plane.
A few years ago, I sold a set of Mizuno MP-60s and have been ruing the decision pretty much ever since. At the time, I thought I’d found a better fitting set for my game (plus, newer clubs are always better. Right?). Unfortunately, I haven’t found an iron with that same sweet feel that those MP-60s had. The MP-57s were very close, but the MP-52s and 62s seemed to lack the buttery feel that solid impact delivered with the 60s. Plus, that “Cut Muscle” design employed by Mizuno on the MP-32, -57, -60 and -67 made for some very good looking golf clubs.
We first mentioned the TRUE Linkswear shoes in our 
When you say the name “Mizuno” to the typical golfer, they first think of one thing – forged irons, often a muscleback or blade type material.
When I think of Mizuno Golf the first thing that comes to mind is a forged iron. Mizuno for years has been manufacturing forged irons that are among the very best in the golf industry. I personally played a set of MP-32s that remain one of my very favorite sets to this day. In more recent years they have even successfully gone after the higher handicap player with the MX line of game improvement irons.