Equipment: New Nike Vapor Fly drivers review
By James Savage
You’ve probably seen them out on tour in the hands of Rory McIlroy, Charl Schwartzel and Paul Casey but Nike have now officially announced the launch of the Vapor Fly drivers.
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Both the Vapor Fly and Vapor Fly Pro feature the Volt colouring and Swoosh pattern we saw in last year’s Vapor drivers but there’s now a very striking bold blue crown which really makes it stand out.
MORE FROM NIKE: New Vapor Fly Irons!
There’s also a new Vapor Flex 440 driver is built out of carbon fiber reinforced RZN – an extremely light yet strong material which allows for even more weight to be repositioned forward and down for adjustability and forgiveness.
Both Vapor Fly drivers aim to create a higher launch angle and offer less spin with more forgiveness. Nike say launching the ball high with low spin is the key to more distance.
This is achieved through three key technologies.
In both drivers the crown is 30 percent lighter than last year’s model which has allowed the centre of gravity to be postponed lower in the club. This helps create a more forgiving high launch.
The face is thinner around the perimeter to create faster ball speeds on off-centre hits.
To the eye, the compression channel behind the face looks very to similar to what we saw in the previous Vapor drivers but it has been re-engineered to offer a springboard effect right across the face to improve performance on mis-hits.
Both feature a 460cc head size but the Vapor Fly model is more of a C-shape with a deeper face. The face on the Vapor Fly also has a lighter finish which gives the appearance of presenting a bit more loft at address.
The Vapor Pro is more of a pear-shape which appears more compact to the eye.
Both feature the FlexLoft 2.0 system which offers 15 different loft and face angle settings from 8.5˚ to 12.5˚.
I think every golfer looks for forgiveness to make their bad shots better” – Rory McIlroy McIlroy, who was instrumental in the design of the Nike Vapor Fly Pro driver and led the field in driving distance to claim the Race to Dubai title in November, relies on his driver for ultimate forgiveness and distance.
“I think every golfer looks for forgiveness to make their bad shots better,” he said.
“It’s phenomenal to know that when you have a very forgiving driver like this, even if you don’t quite catch it off the middle of the face or put a good swing on it, that it still has a chance to go the same distance and be in the fairway as if you hit a good shot.
“To have that much confidence in a driver standing over a tee shot is great.”
Utilising the same technology found within the drivers, the Nike Vapor Fly fairway wood features an extremely thin and light crown to move weight lower for a higher launch angle with less spin.
Five models with an innovative new FlexLoft hosel which allows for lofts from 12° to 22° at a standard or upright lie angle for a tour-level fit.
The Vapor Fly hybrid was completely redesigned for 2016.
Working with Nike athletes such as Francesco Molinari, Nike Golf engineers created a hybrid with a refined, tour-driven profile to maximise versatility and shot making.
MORE FROM NIKE: New Vapor Fly Irons!
Details
Vapor Fly Driver
Stock shaft: MRC Tensei CK Blue 50
SRP: £249.99
Available: February 12, 2016
Vapor Fly Pro Driver
Stock shaft: MRC Diamana S+ Blue Board 60, MRC Diamana D+ White Board 60
SRP: £299.99
Available: February 12, 2016
Vapor Flex 440 Driver
Stock shaft: MRC Diamana S+ Limited 60
SRP: £379.99
Available: March 4, 2016
Vapor Fly Fairway Wood
Stock shaft: MRC Tensei CK Blue 65F, MRC Diamana S+ Blue Board 70
SRP: £199.99 (Diamana) £179.99 (Tensei)
Available: February 12, 2016
Vapor Fly Hybrid
Stock shaft: MRC Tensei CK Blue 80H, MRC Diamana S+ Blue Board 80H
SRP: £169.99 (Diamana) £149.99 (Tensai)
Available: February 12, 2016
James Savage
Former equipment editor of NCG. Inconsistent ball-striker and tea-maker.
