Nike VR_S Woods and Hybrid Editor Review

[3_Jack_Par]

Driver, 3 Wood, and 18* Hybrid

First off, I'd like to say thank you to Nike and GolfWRX for giving me the opportunity to do this club test. Nike was great about providing clubs customized to my specs, and the whole process has been a lot of fun. Over the span of about 6 weeks, I received a VR_S hybrid, driver and 3 wood, all with the same shafts that I currently play in my gamers. The specs of the clubs I received and the specs of my current clubs that were the basis for my comparison testing are below:



Driver

Nike VR_S – 8.5*, Miyazaki C. Kua 59X, 45.75" length, 319g total weight

Cleveland TL310 – 8.5*, Miyazaki C. Kua 59X, 45.25" length, 308g total weight



3 wood

Nike VR_S – 15*, Graphite Design AD-DI 8X, 42.75" length, 345g total weight

Titleist 910 F-d – 15* (set to 14.25*), Graphite Design AD-DI 8X, 43" length, 345g total weight



Hybrid

Nike VR_S – 18*, Aldila VS Proto "By You" 80X, 40.75" length, 366g total weight

Adams Idea Pro (original) – 18*, Aldila VS Proto "By You" 80X, 40.25" length, 367g total weight



As you can see, everything is basically identical to what I currently play, aside from the heads, which is something I wanted to do, to get a true apples to apples comparison.



A little background on me – I'm 35 years old, played for about 25 years, and my current index is 3.1. I generally fluctuate between 1 and 4. My driver SS is around 115, though it's not quite up there yet, as it's early in the season. The biggest issues in my game are putting and the occasional big miss off the tee (usually either a block or a big hook). My testing for this review involved playing about a half dozen rounds (mostly in Texas, though a couple were in Michigan), a couple of range sessions, and one session on "Trackman the Game" at a local shop to get some hard numbers on each club. When I get to those results, I'm not going to include distances, because the day I got these numbers, it was about 45 degrees with a 15-20mph tailwind, so I don't think there's a lot of value there. My testing methodology was to hit 10 shots with each club, switching clubs after 5 balls. With the 3 woods, the first 5 shots were hit off the deck and the next 5 were hit off a tee. I threw out any swings where I totally mishit it (maybe a half-dozen shots in total were thrown out). Numbers provided are averages for each club.



Now, onto the review!



Driver

Look

The VR_S driver has a pretty traditional appearance at address. The shape is rounded, with no sharp edges. There is no alignment aid to speak of on the crown, which is something that I've grown to prefer. The clubface has a couple of different alignment cues with the "NexCor" graphic in the middle of the face, as well as the grooves framing the center, which are very adequate for lining up the center of the face to the ball. The face is also pretty deep, which is a look that I like, and it's one of the primary things I like about the look of the VR_S compared to my TL310. There are some crown graphics which are more for appearances than for alignment. I generally prefer an unadorned crown, but I don't find the graphics to be distracting or ostentatious. The driver also has the Str8 Fit technology that allows it to adjusted to 8 different loft/lie settings, and allows easy shaft switching. My understanding is that previous iterations of this adjustability were controlled by a mechanism on the hosel, and that hosel design was a sore spot for a lot of people as far as appearance goes. The new version is essentially the same idea as what TaylorMade uses, and the hosel on the VR_S looks completely normal.





The headcover is pretty sharp looking, but over the course of a few rounds, I found that it isn't a great design for protecting the head. The driver head slides into the top of the cover, and is secured with a magnetic closure near the bottom of the cover, which is clasped around the shaft. However, there is a pretty large amount of the crown that is still exposed to other items in the bag. I have a couple of alignment sticks that I keep in my bag (they get more use as a hanger to keep track of my putter cover while I'm by the green), and those got into the gap in the driver headcover a few times and scuffed up the crown a bit. To protect the head, I'd recommend a different headcover.




Performance/Playability

Off the tee, my primary concern is avoiding a big hook, because that's a shot that just kills me. I've been very happy with my Cleveland TL310 in this regard, because, despite the light construction, it is very good about keeping the left side out of play. The VR_S driver has a very similar headweight as the TL310 (It's actually a few grams lighter), and with the same shaft, I expected similar results. My first range session with the driver, I experimented with some different settings. In the standard setting, I found myself hitting some pretty big hooks, and the same was true of the upright setting (both left the effective loft at 8.5*. I eventually settled on the "R" setting, which drops the loft to 7.5*. This resulted in a pretty flat trajectory and minimized any movement to the left (aside from some bad swings that no technology can save). The low trajectory also seemed like a good thing for the time that I was going to be spending in Texas (4 rounds). In comparisons to my TL310, the distance seemed like it was comparable, though with a lower trajectory. One round in Michigan prior to my trip seemed to bear this out. I was hitting the ball about the distances I would expect, based on SkyCaddie readings. However, I did find that the miss to the left was more prevalent, so that was a negative. But I hit 6/11 fairways with it, which isn't terrible for me for my first round in a month. My first two rounds in Texas, I drove the ball great, except for one snap hook OB in the second round. I was 8/12 in fairways the first round, and a better than it looks 6/11 on a very tight course the second round. That one hook was the only penalty stroke I incurred during those two rounds, and a couple of the missed fairways were due to the ball going farther than expected into bunkers. After that, my swing kind of fell apart, and my driving accuracy fell off. In total, in 6 rounds played, I hit 56% of fairways, compared with 60% with my TL 310. With the small sample size, and the inclusion of a couple of early season rounds where I didn't have my best stuff, I'd consider this to be a pretty even battle. I hit a few absolute bombs with this driver during this trip – one involved driving it just over the green on a 340 yard par 4 (with a 15 mph tailwind and a rock hard fairway, but hey, I'll take what I can get)

Forgiveness-wise, I found that toe shots went a long way – almost no distance loss. This is an area where the Nike clearly beat my TL310. Though my gamer is forgiving, it's also a slightly smaller head, and that extra volume seems to give a little extra forgiveness on misses. Heel contact, which is my primary miss with the driver is punished a little more, but I've yet to find a driver that gives a great result when you hit it off the heel. Since I returned to Michigan, I've adjusted the driver back to the neutral setting to get a little higher launch, and the launch monitor results are with the driver in that setting.



Launch monitor results

The carry distance was within 3 yards of each other and overall was within 4 yards, with a slight edge to the Cleveland. The monitor showed that there was no significant difference in performance between the two clubs:

Nike: Ball speed – 158.7, Launch – 10.8*, Spin - 2692

Cleveland: Ball speed – 158.8, Launch – 11.1*, Spin - 2665



Feel/Sound

I really like the feel of the VR_S driver. Prior to this, I don't think I had ever hit more than a couple of balls with any Nike woods. The VR_S feels powerful, like the ball is shooting off the face – almost a little feeling like the face is a trampoline. It gives very good feedback – off-center strikes lack that explosive feeling that you get when you hit it on the screws. The sound is pleasant to my ears, as well. My TL310 has a decidedly high-pitched sound, which I don't love, while the Nike has a deeper tone to it. It's a little more hollow sounding than the sound I associate with the VR Tour/Pro drivers (I've played with a few good players who have used those drivers over the past year, so I'm pretty familiar with their sound), and I prefer the VR_S sound.



The Bottom Line

The VR_S driver is a definite contender to be in my the bag this year, but it's most likely going to be with a different shaft, if that's the case. I love the feel of the head, and I think with the right shaft, it could be a monster. I don't think the C.Kua is the best shaft for this head, and I think it would benefit from a higher launch/low spin shaft. I placed an order for a GD AD-DI 6 to try in it, and I will update this review when I've had a chance to try that out. I also ordered the new shaft to play at 45" in the VR_S head, because I think some of the control issues may be related to the extra half inch of shaft length. The VR_S is supposed to be a lower spin head than the TL310, and as I get back the few MPH that I dropped during the winter, I think that will become more important. If you're looking for a driver that's a little under the radar this year, I'd recommend giving the VR_S a shot, but be sure to get fitted for the right shaft. My understanding of the stock Fubuki K shaft is that it won't be a good fit for a lot of the big hitters that populate WRX. Nike has a pretty good selection of custom shafts available, so you should be able to find a winning combination.

[3_Jack_Par]

[b][u]Fairway wood[/u][/b]

[i]Look[/i]

The first thing that struck me when I looked down at the VR_S 3 wood was that it looks like a really big head. The footprint of the VR_S looks significantly bigger than my Titleist 910 F-d, but in reality, they're the same volume, but the size is used differently. The VR_S has a shallower face than I'm used to, as well. Obviously, the F-d is a deep-faced 3 wood, so the difference is pretty striking compared to what I've been playing. The fairway woods also have the same crown graphics as the driver. Again, they don't cause any distraction, nor do they provide any alignment help.
[attachment=1127446:CIMG1883.JPG] [attachment=1127460:CIMG1884.JPG]
[attachment=1127478:CIMG1886.JPG] [attachment=1127468:CIMG1885.JPG]

The headcover on the fairways offer much more protection than the driver headcover. It's a standard cover with the long sock to protect the shaft, and it's like the other covers with the black/silver/red color scheme.
[attachment=1127484:CIMG1887.JPG]

[i]Performance/Playability[/i]

First off, the VR_S 3 wood is great off the turf. I would say that it is better from the ground than my F-d. It launches easily, carries a long way, and it's generally a solid performer. My trackman analysis showed that it probably spins a bit too much for me, but I didn't notice any ballooning or anything on the course. It has a bit of a sharp looking leading edge, which seemed to help with turf interaction, especially on the tight fairways I was playing on in Texas. If you primarily use your 3 wood for approach shots, this thing is great.



However, I use my 3 wood a lot more often from the tee than on approach shots. I'm a huge dork who keeps stats from all of my rounds, and since the beginning of 2011, I have used my 3 wood off the tee 145 times, and only 66 times for approaches. As such, performance from the tee box is my overriding concern when choosing a 3 wood. Even though I adjusted the height I was teeing the ball, I really struggled with the shallow face on the VR_S 3 wood. I hit 5 of 8 fairways while using it, but I remember at least two of them were not good shots – one was a bit of a popup that went about 210 yards, and the other ended up in the fairway only because it was a very wide hole with about 40 yards of fairway right of where I was aimed. I like my 3 wood to be a club that I can turn to when the driver isn't going so well and I really need to hit a fairway, and it just didn't inspire that kind of confidence. It may be something that I could adjust to if I kept it in play over time, but the 3 wood was always going to be the toughest spot in the bag for the VR_S to kick out the incumbent.



[b]Launch monitor results[/b]

While the numbers off the tee don't look terribly dissimilar, the big difference is dispersion, which was significantly better on the course, and in my range sessions with my current club.

[i]Turf[/i]

Nike: BS – 150.7, LA – 10.3, Spin – 3905

Titleist: BS – 150.2, LA – 9.8, Spin – 3370

[i]Tee[/i]

Nike: BS – 149.7, LA – 11.8, Spin – 3771

Titleist: BS – 151.2, LA – 10.6, Spin – 3532



[i]Feel/sound[/i]

There isn't really much noteworthy about the feel or sound of the VR_S fairway compared to any other fairways I've hit. It definitely feels solid, and gives average feedback – I could definitely tell whether I hit it solid or not. There isn't anything really unique about the sound – I'd say it sounds less harsh than the RBZ fairway, but that's only based on about 10 balls that I hit with the RBZ at a demo day. Compared to my current fairway, the feel of the VR_S is a little less hollow, with less of a springy feeling. That's neither good nor bad, and is more related to face depth than anything.



[i]The Bottom Line[/i]

The VR_S fairway wood is a nice club, but it's not the right fit for me. If you primarily use your fairway woods from the fairway, or if you're not a mental midget like me and can actually hit a shallow faced fairway wood from a tee, then the VR_S might be for you. Again, I'd recommend trying different shaft options to find the right fit for you. For me, the AD-DI 8 is the perfect fairway shaft, and it performs well in this head, as well. Thanks to Nike for providing this custom option, as I know it is quite an expensive upgrade. I will be working with the WRX staff to find a way to give this club away to someone who will use it. Unfortunately, the face got a little scratched up from a shot off some sandy turf, but it's still in fine shape.

[tigerfan23]

how did u like the 3 wood and hybrid?

[3_Jack_Par]

[b][u]Hybrid[/u][/b]

[i]Look[/i]

I've been playing with two Adams Idea Pro hybrids for the past several years. These were the original Idea Pro, and are more iron-like than wood-like. The VR_S hybrid definitely tends toward the wood end of the spectrum, appearance-wise. This was actually the first of the three clubs that I received, and it wasn't until the next day when I was looking at it again that I noticed the crown graphics. That gives you an idea of how subtle they are, though they are a bit more visible in sunlight. The hybrid has a small silver-colored section that kind of splits up the part of the crown closest to the face from the back of the club. For some reason, this just makes the club look solid to me. I'm not sure why that is, but it's a look I really like. Set down next to my Idea Pro, the difference in size is pretty striking, but on its own, it looks very nice, especially as a lower-lofted hybrid to bridge the gap between my 3 wood and other hybrid to the irons. The other thing that is very noticeable is how open the VR_S hybrid sits. I believe the specs say that it's 1* open, but it looks like more than that. I found that I need to rotate the face at address to get it looking more square, and to avoid losing it right.

[attachment=1126152:CIMG1877.JPG] [attachment=1126156:CIMG1880.JPG]
[attachment=1126158:CIMG1881.JPG] [attachment=1126162:CIMG1882.JPG]
[attachment=1126150:CIMG1876.JPG]

[i]Performance/Playability[/i]

I know my Idea Pro is a few years old, but holy cow, the VR_S absolutely blows it away! It took me quite a while to convert to hybrids, not because I was a great long iron player, but because it was very difficult for me to find a hybrid that didn't balloon and didn't have a serious tendency to go left. I've still always had to be careful with my Idea Pro to not overdo the release, because hooks can happen if I go overboard. The VR_S changed all that for me. It's by far the most anti-left hybrid I've ever used, and it has a great penetrating trajectory, but it still lands soft. I've found that I can work the ball either way with this club, but it'll only go left if I force it to do so (I'm sure I'll manage to prove that false at some point, but that's what I've seen so far). And compared to my current hybrid, which has the same loft as (though a slightly shorter shaft than) the VR_S, I was seeing almost 9 MPH in additional ball speed, and 15 yards in additional carry. The only area I've struggled with the VR_S hybrid is off the tee, and that will improve with practice. With a hybrid, I'm used to guarding against the left side, but when you do that with this club, the result is a bit of a slice. Getting confident releasing through the ball off the tee will improve those results, I'm sure. After a range session tonight, I can say that's definitely the case. With an aggressive swing, the ballflight is a nice controlled fade.



[b]Launch monitor results[/b]

Nike: BS – 144.6, LA – 11.1, spin 3804

Adams: BS – 135.8, LA – 13.2, spin 4036



[i]Feel/Sound[/i]

Solid, solid, solid. For a hybrid with a head that's as large as this compared to what I'm used, to , I expected a bit of a hollow, fairway wood feel. But, it's nothing like that. The face seems like it's thick metal, but you can still tell whether you hit it solid or not. When you hit one pure with this club, the feeling of power just radiates from the head to your hands. I think I may have even heard angels singing one time when I really killed one… The sound is nice, as well. No tinny sound, and not especially loud -- just a solid thwack when you make contact.



[i]The Bottom Line[/i]

I'm in love with this club. It almost instantly earned a place in the bag. I was completely blown away by the launch monitor results, too. I figured there were a few yards to be had by updating my hybrids, but I had no idea a new head could mean 15 yards more carry. It's actually created a little bit of a conundrum at the top end of my bag, because it widens the gap between my 2 hybrid and 4 iron. That spot has been occupied by a 23* Idea Pro hybrid, but I may end up cutting down the 18 degree Idea Pro, which I've always been more comfortable with anyway, to try to bridge that. Or, because I'm so blown away by the VR_S hybrid, there's a pretty fair chance I'll get another one of those – The 24* would probably do the trick -- maybe an inch longer than standard, because I think 6* difference, along with a shorter shaft might create too much of a gap, and the 21* probably wouldn't be enough of a difference. Either way, I highly recommend the VR_S hybrid. This thing is a revelation.

[3_Jack_Par]

[quote name='hittingitlong' timestamp='1334281018' post='4711722']
how did u like the 3 wood and hybrid?
[/quote]

You beat me to getting those reviews up! Decided to break them up to avoid sensory overload. Short answer -- in love with the hybrid, and the 3w isn't a great fit for me, but it's a solid club.

[caller]

Great review!

[3_Jack_Par]

Updated with some better pics of the Driver and hybrid -- stupid me thought the 3 wood was in my trunk, but that turned out to not be the case. Better pictures of that will be forthcoming as soon as I have a chance.

[tigerfan23]

the 18 deg hybrid is sooooooo long!

[3_Jack_Par]

[quote name='hittingitlong' timestamp='1334799073' post='4748614']
the 18 deg hybrid is sooooooo long!
[/quote]

It sure is! I did a little self guided gap analysis on the Trackman last evening, and it's looking like I'm going to be carrying two 18* hybrids (the VR_S and my Idea Pro) for at least the time being. The VR_S hybrid gives me more ability to effectively attack par 5s (instead of choking down on a 3 wood, which isn't my most effective shot), and the 18* Idea Pro fills the gap between the VR_S and my 4 iron more effectively than the 23* hybrid. I do think that I'll be shortening the Idea Pro a little bit, because it's not right in the middle between the VR_S and my 4 iron, but I think if I have an inch taken off of it, that should do it.

[3_Jack_Par]

Better 3 wood pics just added.

I received the AD-DI 6 that I ordered for the driver today, and took it out for a spin at the range this afternoon. I may have found the winning combination I was looking for! It's hard to tell at the range where I was hitting, but it seemed like I picked up some yards with the switch. I was hitting it against my TL310, and the shots with the Nike looked longer. The big change is that the trajectory went from low launch and pretty low spin to a higher launch, also with low spin, which produced a flat ball flight and more carry. It probably helped that I ordered the shaft to play at 45", so I was making more consistent contact. I'll be doing a launch monitor comparison as soon as possible to see it the numbers back up my observations.

Fun fact -- I mentioned that the Str8 Fit system in the VR_S looked like the TaylorMade FCT. Today, I couldn't find the VR_S wrench, but I had a TM wrench in my bag, so I gave that a try, and it worked fine. It's probably not recommended, but I thought that was interesting.

[golfnut-2X]

nice review. how do you find the adjustability with the 3wood. what increments do face / loft change and do they change independently?

[leftypga]

[quote name='golfnut-2X' timestamp='1334888243' post='4755490']
nice review. how do you find the adjustability with the 3wood. what increments do face / loft change and do they change independently?
[/quote]


Only the driver in the VR_S line is adjustable. Fairway woods and hybrids are glued.

[leftypga]

[quote name='3 Jack Par' timestamp='1334883397' post='4754948']
Fun fact -- I mentioned that the Str8 Fit system in the VR_S looked like the TaylorMade FCT. Today, I couldn't find the VR_S wrench, but I had a TM wrench in my bag, so I gave that a try, and it worked fine. It's probably not recommended, but I thought that was interesting.
[/quote]

Funny, I just picked up a Taylormade Rescue 11 and I didn't have a TM wrench anymore so I used the VR_S wrench. Seemed to work just fine.

[3_Jack_Par]

[quote name='leftypga' timestamp='1334889872' post='4755716']
[quote name='golfnut-2X' timestamp='1334888243' post='4755490']
nice review. how do you find the adjustability with the 3wood. what increments do face / loft change and do they change independently?
[/quote]


Only the driver in the VR_S line is adjustable. Fairway woods and hybrids are glued.
[/quote]
That's correct--there's no adjustable option for either the fairways or hybrids. For the driver, I think it's about the right amount of adjustability. 8 settings with a degree of loft either way seems like all you should need. Much more than that, and it just starts to get hard to dial in your optimal setting.

[leftypga]

According to the booklet that comes with the driver, loft is adjustable 2 degrees in either direction.

[3_Jack_Par]

[quote name='leftypga' timestamp='1334903555' post='4756554']
According to the booklet that comes with the driver, loft is adjustable 2 degrees in either direction.
[/quote]

I thought the face angle was adjustable 2* in either direction, but I thought the loft was not changed in a 1:1 ratio, but you might be right. I recycled the big manual that came with it (the one that was two pages in just about every language on the planet). I just sent a question to Nike customer service to clarify how the loft is changed in each setting.

[leftypga]

Here you go. I know there were some people inquiring about this chart on another thread. Hopefully this is helpful. Looks like [b]Loft [/b]and [b]Face Angle[/b] can be adjusted[b] 2 degrees[/b] in either direction and [b]LIe Angle[/b] can be adjusted up to [b]4 degrees [/b]flat.

[attachment=1128010:STR8Fit.jpg]

[3_Jack_Par]

[quote name='leftypga' timestamp='1334930431' post='4757508']
Here you go. I know there were some people inquiring about this chart on another thread. Hopefully this is helpful. Looks like [b]Loft [/b]and [b]Face Angle[/b] can be adjusted[b] 2 degrees[/b] in either direction and [b]LIe Angle[/b] can be adjusted up to [b]4 degrees [/b]flat.

[attachment=1128010:STR8Fit.jpg]
[/quote]

Yep, Nike confirmed that, as well. No wonder I was hitting it so low in the R setting -- the thing was 6.5 degrees! I'm surprised I was getting it airborne.

[leftypga]

It's funny, I have mine at 2 degrees open and 7.5 degrees of loft and I'm still hitting it about 1.5 degrees higher than my previous driver according to trackman data.I absolutely love this thing.

[cliche]

where can i get a different shaft for a str8 fit vr_s driver?

[3_Jack_Par]

[quote name='cliche' timestamp='1335905751' post='4826320']
where can i get a different shaft for a str8 fit vr_s driver?
[/quote]

I got mine through Discount Dan's. You can also order them from Nike, and I imagine other retailers.

[andimon1]

Just cut my VR_S driver down an inch and regripped. It feels a bit lighter (in swing weight) and more nimble than at the stock length. I have mine in the 1 degree open flat position. Stock stiff shaft feels decent with this setup. Love this head.

[3_Jack_Par]

Quick update:
I had a rough outing the first round I took out the VR_S driver with the AD-DI 6, but that was mostly related to bad rhythm (caused by a few too many beverages the night before). Since then, I've been getting much better results, and my accuracy has improved a bit over the setup with the C.Kua. Despite the shorter shaft length, it seems like I'm hitting it farther, too, and it looks like I'm hitting it farther than my previous driver, as well. The VR_S is solidly in the bag at this time. I haven't had a chance to get it on the launch monitor yet, but I'm hoping to do that within a few weeks (I have a lot of travel coming up for work between now and mid-June), to see if my observations are backed up by the numbers.

The hybrid is still just about the greatest thing ever. It's extended my effective range for going for par 5s, and it's proven to be a great off the tee when I need to stay short of trouble, now that I've gotten used to putting a committed swing on it, with the confidence that it won't go way left. It's a beautiful thing!

[gregcindyh]

Great review...getting ready to by a new driver. This helped a lot!

[lettucebcereal]

I just hit the VRs driver the other day, and honestly, I'm quite surprised on how well it performed and how good it felt. However, I was not a fan of the fubuki 50-ish gram stock shaft.

[Prut]

Just picked this driver up new for $125 online. What a cannon. I never even considered Nike clubs before just because I like to nonconform, but I read so many great reveiws like this one, I couldn't resist it at that price. It will be in my bag next season for sure.