Dear Santa,
Remember me? I’m the one that promised you that if I got the Sky Caddy last year, I’d quit throwing my clubs and fix all my divots and ball marks. And for the most part, I stuck to our deal. Surely you can understand me losing my temper last month when I duck-hooked my drive on 18 into the lake. C’mon, Santa, I was even par with one to go! Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t have thrown my driver into the lake, but in my defense, I had no idea that I could hurl it that far. (I guess they aren’t kidding when they say these new drivers are aerodynamic.)
This year, I want the Nike VR Pro Limited Driver (to be released November 2011) . PGA tour players Lucas Glover, Anthony Kim, and Paul Casey have already added this slick beast to their arsenal.
This is one of the most beautiful drivers I’ve seen. For this “players” club, Nike has thrown out the ugly STR8-Fit adjustable hosel and glued the shaft directly to the driver head.
Comparing this to the 2011 model (which I currently play)
Nike kept: the red sole channel that goes around the bottom of the club. It allows the driver to flex on low, bottom mishits so you don’t lose ball speed. And the standard shaft will be the Mitsubishi Rayon ‘ahina offered in 8.5, 9.5, and 10.5-degree lofts
Nike changed: In addition to throwing out the adjustability, they’ve dialed down the clubhead size to 430cc (from 460cc). Better players who don’t need the extra forgiveness will love how this makes the driver more workable. And smaller doesn’t mean shorter distance. The face is hotter than ever. Nike has added a “NexCor” face. This means they’ve varied the thickness across the face – thinner in the middle, thicker on the sides (heel and toe).
The coolest thing to me is the sleek look and color. The smaller pear-shaped driver head painted in dark satin grey is reminiscent of a gorgeous 911 Porsche waiting to be floored.
So what do you say Santa? You know I would never throw this driver in the lake. Although, I can’t really speak for my putter -- it’s been giving me some guff lately.
