Nike Golf is ratcheting up its equipment offerings for women with the VR_S Women's woods and irons. In my opinion, this is a line of clubs that works best for the mid- to low-handicap woman who has an average to fast swing speed; if you're a new player with a slower swing, stay tuned for what's coming from Nike in 2013.
The VR_S driver is adjustable, giving users eight different face-angle settings across a four-degree range. That means you -- or even better, your fitter -- can dial in the face angle and loft that gives you the best results, and if you change your swing, you can re-set your driver to accommodate you. The club's face is designed to help improve ball speed on off-center hits and the ultra-lightweight shaft helps you swing the club faster. ($300; nikegolf.com)
Moving into the VR-S fairway woods ($200 ea.) and hybrids ($160 ea.), the Nike designers utilized the same "NexCOR" face technology as the driver, meant to help add springlike effect. The Nike-specific Fubuki K women's shaft only weighs 48 grams in the fairway wood and 51 in the hybrid -- that translates to increased clubhead speed, which equals distance. The fairway woods come in three lofts and the hybrids in another three (all are higher lofts than the equivalent men's versions). This means you don't need to start your iron set with anything longer than a 7-iron if you don't want to.
Last but not least, the VR_S irons ($700 for eight clubs with graphite shafts) are designed with a face that performs especially well on shots hit low and toward the toe -- which, let's face it, is where most of us average Janes miss the ball. Much of the clubhead's weight is positioned in the "powerbow" behind the face to help you launch the ball higher.
--Stina Sternberg
The VR_S driver is adjustable, giving users eight different face-angle settings across a four-degree range. That means you -- or even better, your fitter -- can dial in the face angle and loft that gives you the best results, and if you change your swing, you can re-set your driver to accommodate you. The club's face is designed to help improve ball speed on off-center hits and the ultra-lightweight shaft helps you swing the club faster. ($300; nikegolf.com)
Moving into the VR-S fairway woods ($200 ea.) and hybrids ($160 ea.), the Nike designers utilized the same "NexCOR" face technology as the driver, meant to help add springlike effect. The Nike-specific Fubuki K women's shaft only weighs 48 grams in the fairway wood and 51 in the hybrid -- that translates to increased clubhead speed, which equals distance. The fairway woods come in three lofts and the hybrids in another three (all are higher lofts than the equivalent men's versions). This means you don't need to start your iron set with anything longer than a 7-iron if you don't want to.
Last but not least, the VR_S irons ($700 for eight clubs with graphite shafts) are designed with a face that performs especially well on shots hit low and toward the toe -- which, let's face it, is where most of us average Janes miss the ball. Much of the clubhead's weight is positioned in the "powerbow" behind the face to help you launch the ball higher.
--Stina Sternberg
