GolfWRX First Looks of the Nike Sumo Squared!

[rj7807]

It look horrible, and looks are important contrary to some people belief. You can't hit something your not comfortable looking down at. I highly doubt any tour pro will switch to it as it will be much like the hibore in that you wont be able to turn the ball over with it. If it makes the below average golfer into something they are not the it will sells tonnes though.

[rybo]

OK......I like it!! Interesting use of the two colors. The dark area has the shape of a standard driver and the silver area is not as square as I thought it would be.

 

Look forward to hitting one!

[MGB]

I'm sure there'll be a Sumo Tour version down the road that might look more palatable to most.

 

My main gripe with Nike is the absolutely wimpy stock shafts that we get here in Asia. We put the stock SQ and SQ Tour with their stock shafts on our workbench, the R flex came out at 207 (that's a L flex) and the stiff 230. Who did they think would be using their clubs?

 

Nike makes good heads, but the shafts we get here are next to useless.

[TuffKukae]

Everyone seems to forget that once a new nike driver comes out people say it ugly or hideous,

well nothing will ever top the hi-bore that is the stupidest driver on the market. this new stick is odd

but will grow on to you. the only question is when will the greatest golfer switch to it....tour championship or the target world tourney. it doesnt matter what the man uses he could use a knock off ladies flex driver and still win.

 

nah sorry.. nothing like a nikefan to get it wrong... The SUMO tops the Hi-bore in the unattractive catagory....Funny I dont remember many people saying the Ignite was ugly..why, because it was not. The tour sq is not even that bad...the whole SQ line could lose the yellow, but that's all about market visibility (easy to spot)

 

Now I say Tiger never uses the SUMO...not in it's current form anyways.

[tina]

if it works people will buy it.... isnt that how ping started. i remember when the Ti ISI came out.. its huge>> volklswagen on a stick... etc.. i'll never play anything that big... and to think that was only 323 cc...

[Gxgolfer]

if it works people will buy it.... isnt that how ping started. i remember when the Ti ISI came out.. its huge>> volklswagen on a stick... etc.. i'll never play anything that big... and to think that was only 323 cc...

 

Exactly, a High bore cross with a Tec

[jkloster]

Volkswagen on a stick?? Try Charter Bus.....

 

Besides Wal-mart must have gotten a special deal....I swear I saw this in sporting goods....

 

But hey I still know a guy who plays a Power Pod...the golf consumer is crazy....somebody will buy one.

http://www.golferdude.com/products/3215/power-ti-pod.php

[jjbubba72]

Hmmm...looks like the Fusion and SQ Max hooked up at a bar one night and nine month's later we are left with this odd looking thing....seriously, looks odd but I will reserve judgement until I get the chance to demo it.

[bert-b]

Sorry, this doesn't do anything for me.....

 

I don't think Taylor Made and Titleist are too worried about losing marketshare after seeing this.....

 

Thanks,

Bert-B

[nunee]

That looks A LOT like the Slingshot hybrids.

 

This club HAS to work. You cannot release a club like this if it does not perform.

[TigerFrank]

this looks like the SQ2 not the very square one everyone is talking about. Cool to see a pic though.

[bjackson]

ew...but I bet it goes very far and very straight. can't wait to hit it.

[xxio]

The very very first thread about this (where NikeProto left this site seems to be spot on). Next time can we have members refrain from bashing others who offer advance info.

 

Can we ask the guy who called Nikeproto a troll to make a public apology? I enjoyed interacting with that guy despite his hush hush/secret spy attitude.

[Gxgolfer]

Pics have been leaked out so, they are on the front page now.

[DemolitionMan]

Now that MOI is on the clear and the cream producing one of the ugliest drivers ever, I wonder just how can an OEM prove that MOI really makes a difference to a weekend hacker?

 

Think about it, I would be interesting in a forgiving driver if I miss the sweet spot but I still square up the face. I am all for a driver that helps with off-center hits. But most hacks are struggling to square the face. They got all kinds of swings that either produce an open face at impact or a closed face. What does increased MOI do for that.

 

I would like to Iron Byron re-tooled with a nice over the top move producing a big slice. Now let's do a driver test.

 

I see this driver adding 20 yards for a lot of golfers....20 yards more right or 20 yards further into the trees.

[TW1973]

I can see this being Nike's C4... A miserable failure. There is no excitement in my retail store about the SQ so I don't see this making things any better.

[thisisrybo]

I doubt very seriously that Nike will ever put out something as bad as the C4. I think it's a little early to make a prediction like that considering basically no one has tried it.

[Kuk]

That looks worst than the SQ

[thehealer]

 

Oh dear, Nike has made the Golf equivalent of the Ford Edsel. That is truly hideous. Six months and it will be in the discount bin at K-Mart etc.

[Ducky]

Well thats... different. Can't wait to try it out.

 

[vdo222]

that's really fugly. i wonder what went through the mind of the genius that came up with this design.

[dac]

it's just not working for me either. i appreciate the pics, though! nike is really taking a step with this driver...whether it's forward or backward remains to be seen.

[teak]

I would like to Iron Byron re-tooled with a nice over the top move producing a big slice. Now let's do a driver test.

Yeah I've always thought magazines should compare at different swing speeds, off-centre hits and non-square clubface to help see evaluate forgiveness in modern equipment. Manufactuer's make so much about it in marketing, yet no-one really tests for it. Hell, you could even do it for golf balls too, see if the claims about reducing sidespin and being straighter truely stand up.

[dannypharvey]

that Sumo looks like a toastie maker. why do Nike bother...

[keyser]

There are plenty of robot tests out there, and many of them do hook and slice sings and heel and toe hits. But most are only a swing speed of 90 mph. I still haven´t found a robot test tha nike didn´t do quite good in.

 

I wonder if they still use the face wraparound in the sumo, so there are no weld lines on the face. Wouldn´t surprise me if they don´t... nike talk a lot of crap, I have an interview with Tom Stites saying that carbon crowns aren´t worth it, minimal amount of gain because of the extra weight that goes into the glueing etc. He also claimed that using shape to alter CG was better than using weights, and I can´t see how that is. The reason the SQ has such a small face is because they filled up the cc quota with the deep profile... weights could have been better. And also with this square design.. it looks radical because of the shape, but it´s just the same thing that Cobra are doing with the splitted weights in the back. I think Nike make a solid product, but they´re talk is even better then their walk. Having a wickedly shaped head with stuff like "powerbow" and "max bla bla" is much more catchy than a smaller head with weight pads inside.

 

I´m sure this driver will have a very high MOI, but I hope they also have a large face... so the high COR area is large to. Making a huge "sweetspot" required both a high MOI and a large high COR area, and also a large area of ideal spin(especially for fast swingers), the square shape takes care of MOI, and the carbon crown and shape gives a low CG for good launch... they just need a large face....

 

how large is the face of this thing... up there with a cobra??? Does it say Beta Titanium face.. or nexti??

 

I think it´s the ugliest driver I´ve seen(the color scheme gets me more than the shape), but I don´t care. What goes long and straight will go in my back.

[Ducky]

After studying the design more closely, I can see what Nike have tried to accomplish. When you focus on the design as a whole, the appearance is distracting. However, if you only focus on the black silhouette and not the grey powerbow it appears as a more traditional shape.

 

Currently, I have the Nike SQ Tour. At first, the appearance with the grey powerbow is overwhelming. However, once you become accustomed to it, you forgot it is even there. Lets hope it is the same story for the Nike SQ Sumo.

[yUmaRouS]

its different. i am interested in the story behind this.

 

i'll be curious what people are saying about it this time next year.

 

I agree, why are everyone saying about how ugly that thing is. Do you think Nike will make a "square" driver just for the sake of it? There must be a VERY good reason for Nike to make a driver look like that. Otherwise what the point? At the end no one really cares about looks........ as long as it hits fairways and get some air underneath it.

 

Great Pics, I'll be gettin my hands on that baby :diablo:

[newportbeach]

DM I loved the fried egg picture

 

If Tiger does put this in play it will give new meaning to the phrase sometimes heard during golf telecasts "Wow Tiger really blocked that one right."

 

You may hate Johnny Miller but he was spot on about one thing - from the November Golf Digest.

 

It has been awhile since we've seen a bizarre piece of equipment hit the marketplace (The Futura putter not withstanding). I remember the Basakwerd putter, which had the shaft attached to the toe of the club. It was a good putter that performed best with a closed-to-open stroke. Several players, including Rod Funseth (left), tried it with some success, but it eventually ran its course. Same thing with the Power Pod driver. It was a darned good anti-slice weapon, though it looked so weird that most players were hesitant to use it. These clubs, if redesigned using newer materials, could come back. Just watch.

 

Hello squaremo :diablo:

[Golfwolf]

Hmmm, not sure what to make of the Sumo. The SQ had a lot of detractors who could not get over its' visual appearance, this one may suffer a similar fate. I own an SQ and actually like its look, this new offering is not appealing to me at this time.

[Big Al]

That driver is friggin cool!!