Our Review Of The Nike VR_S Covert Driver - Great Golf Deals.com Blog

  

I predict 2013 will be the year of the “Driver” in golf.  As golfers, we are blessed with a lot of choices this year and the golf equipment manufacturers went all out in designing what they hope will be a top-selling driver for 2013.

Now I have to admit that most of the new drivers have only incremental changes from the previous year.  This includes maybe a minor tweak in head design, weight and COG placement, club head color and shaft offerings.  But this year, Nike takes the crown for the most radical changes to their driver line with the new Nike VR_S Covert Driver. 

This year the Nike Covert driver comes in a standard model and a Tour Model.  The Tour model comes with a slightly smaller, deeper face 430cc clubhead (compared to 460cc in the standard version) which produces slightly less spin and a more penetrating ball flight designed to help better players shape their tee shots more easily.  It also comes with an upgraded Mitsubishi Kura Kage shaft better suited for advanced golfers with faster swing speeds.

But the biggest thing that you will notice when you look at the new Covert driver is the there is a large portion of the sole of the club that is missing.  No this is not a manufacturing defect or an accident caused when shipping the driver.  Nike has developed the first cavity-back driver using the same tried and true cavity-back technology that has been used in irons for years.

The question is do the benefits of cavity-back technology translate to a driver and fairway woods or is this just an overhyped marketing gimmick???  I was able to take the new Nike VR_S Covert Tour driver out with me on a recent trip to Phoenix for a long weekend of early Spring Golf and put it to the test.

Looks:

Appearance plays a big part in driver selection these days.  Manufacturers put as much thought in the cosmetic design of the driver as they do with the club technology. When I first saw some advanced photos of Nike VR_S Covert driver I have to admit I laughed.  First, the bright red color of the driver seemed so distracting that I never thought I could own the driver simply because of the color.

Secondly, when looking at the sole of the driver with the huge “hole” on the bottom I just couldn't take this driver seriously just thinking about all the ribbing I would get from the guys in my foursome.  I can hear it now; “Hey what happened to the other part of your driver!”  “Did you know there is a hole in the bottom of your driver?” What’d you do, hit the turf a lose part of your driver??”

When I actually got to see the driver in real life I was surprised on how “normal” it looked.  Yes there was still the “big hole” on the bottom of the club but when looking at the club at a normal address setup position it looks very standard - very much Titleist 913D standard looking.

The deep red color looked nothing like the bright red eyesore that I saw in photos online.  The white Nike Swoosh on the heel of the club was not distracting at all and I didn’t even notice it when addressing the ball.

Overall the looks at a normal address position appear very standard and the Tour Model with its slightly smaller head gave me a sense of confidence that this driver would be forgiving yet controlable enough that I could “work” the ball if needed.

Adjustability:

This is where Nike excels over the other adjustable driver on the market currently.  It is by far the easiest and most adjustable of any current driver.   Nike's "FlexLoft" technology allows the loft and face angle to be adjusted independently. The loft can be adjusted between 8.5 and 12.5 in 1 degree increments and the face angle can be set left (closed), neutral (square), right (open).

The loft does go up and down accordingly and the lofts seemed pretty close to spot on.  The Closed, Open or Neutral face-angle settings also seemed to impact initial ball direction.  It won't cure your slice or a hook, but it does help get the ball get started on the intended path.  The twist of the wrench and a couple slides of the 2 cogs and this driver is ready to go.  I liked that I could raise the loft, yet not raise spin.  The low spin head can now be loft adjusted without major impact on spin, so you can get a higher lofted club with lower spin.  I actually went with the 10.5 setting because I was getting such good spin numbers and adding the extra loft added some yardage.

Feel:
The feel was amazing. The face felt super hot even on mis-hits and you really feel the ball explode off the face at impact with a nice soft feel. The feeling of this driver was like hitting the sweet spot of a forged iron. The "NexCore" face is a variable thickness face that feels great, but most importantly is forgiving.  Even on the smaller sized Tour head, I had great control even with my swing.  I couldn't believe how forgiving the face was – probably due to the cavity-back technology.  I know I didn't hit the center every time, but I certainly found the fairway most of the time.  It would be assumed that the Tour head being smaller and designed for the better player would not be very forgiving, but I found it to be excellent in this category.  I would imagine the standard head would be even more forgiving.  

Sound:

The tour version head sounded solid and low toned. Gone are the days of the Nike SQ Square driver and the aluminum bat sound. I would compare the sound to my Titleist 913D but a little bit quieter and lower.  The non-tour version sounded a tad bit higher toned and less muted, probably a more familiar sound to golfers out there.

Performance:

On the golf course this driver straight up performed!  It had a very tight feel to it with mid-to-high trajectory and low spin.  This was a good combination for me as I was able to control the ball and hit a lot of fairways.  My drives also seemed to roll out more but that could have been due to the harder fairways in Arizona compared to Michigan. 

Back home on the launch monitor compared to my current Titleist 910D3 driver, I gained about 8 yards, had about 500rpm less spin and picked up a little bit of clubhead speed.  Is this enough of an increase to warrant a switch?  I am not sure yet but any gain in distance these days is something to seriously consider.

Bottom Line:

I highly recommend you give the new Nike VR_S Covert driver a try. This to me is Nike’s best driver to date and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tiger Woods transitioning to one of these in the near future as many of Nike’s Tour staffers have already made the switch.

Overall the Nike Covert driver really surprised me in a good way by its looks, sound and overall performance. Sure the Nike hype and anticipation for this driver was huge but from what I have experienced Nike also delivered.

Bottom line is, Nike has a real winner with their new VR_S Covert driver.  If you can get over its unusual looks you will find a fantastic driver that flat-out performs. 2013 is going to be a great year for Nike Golf.

Pick up the new Nike VR_S Covert or NIke VR_S Covert Tour Driver  at the lowest prices guaranteed at Great Golf Deals.com - Discount Golf Equipment.

The New Nike VR_S Covert Driver - Golf's First Cavity-Back Driver

Nike Golf's latest two announcements give TaylorMade Golf a run for their money in the industry "buzz" category. First, the announcement of the signing of the current #1 ranked golfer in the world, Rory McIlroy, to an estimated $200 equipment contract gives them a notable stable of golfers including the current #1 golfer in the world and Tiger Woods as a platform to promote their products. Next, the recent new driver announcement makes history by for the first time bringing high-speed cavity back technology to a driver that conforms to USGA and R&A Rules.

Cosmetically, Nike's latest product pops in a sea of black drivers with its red topping, just as was the result of the white R11 and subsequent RocketBallz metal woods by TaylorMade. The all-white swoosh is a nice touch, too.

Its three proprietary technology platforms: High Speed Cavity Back; FlexLoft adjustability; and NexCOR face, combine to create unprecedented distance, control and forgiveness.

In addition to dramatically enhancing performance, the VR_S Covert wow-inducing design and engineering also simplifies the consumer’s retail experience, since the FlexLoft adjustability system allows for the driver to easily be changed to any loft and any face angle at any time. This creates 15 different options in one single club to meet the various swing characteristics of golfers.

“With the VR_S Covert we have created a game changing piece of technology that has already begun a growing industry buzz,” said Rob Arluna, Nike Golf’s Global Golf Club Business Director. “It is visually exciting, it feels and sounds amazing and, most importantly, it creates powerful results with a high degree of control. Golfers and our Nike Golf Tour athletes are going to have a lot of fun with this driver.”

The High Speed Cavity Back in the VR_S Covert is a technology used in irons and now brought to drivers, fairways and hybrids for the first time by Nike Golf. This technology leads to more stability at impact, which delivers more energy to the ball, resulting in more distance and control. The Cavity Back is only visible from the sole view but is covered and hidden underneath by the crown to be more visually and pleasing at address - hence the name VR_S Covert. By incorporating this new hidden geometry into the driver, Nike Golf engineers have been able to move the weight of the club to the heel and toe of the golf club, raising Moment of Inertia (MOI) to increase forgiveness and add even more distance to off-center shots.

Nike Golf’s FlexLoft is a simple pull, turn, and push/tighten mechanism that allows for an intuitive adjustment system. The patented Dual Axis adjustment allows golfers to choose their loft and face angle independently of each other by decoupling loft from face angle. This all leads to better ball flight for more distance as well as enhanced workability. This easy to use system gives the golfers 15 different options to suit their game and course conditions.

The NexCOR face technology featured in the VR_S Covert line is designed to deliver faster ball speed and longer shots from a wider area of the face. NexCOR creates more speed at impact by employing a variable face thickness that moves the sweet spot higher from the heel of the club to the center high, where most golfers are likely to make impact.

The VR_S Covert driver will be available in golf stores throughout North America and Europe on February 8, 2013 and in the rest of world starting on February 15, 2013. The driver will be offered in two models, the VR_S Covert Tour and VR_S Covert. The VR_S Covert Tour is 430cc and features a deeper face and a fixed weight screw. The VR_S Covert is 460cc and has a wider breadth. Both models will come with Mitsubishi Rayon’s new Kuro Kage shafts that are produced with higher carbon fiber density for superior control and power.