Nike Sasquatch Driver

Nike Golf, which first launched its distinctive Sumo drivers early last year, has now given birth to a second generation of the high-tech clubs.

The original SQ Sumo and SQ Sumo2 (as in squared) were among the first to take dramatic advantage of advances in geometric design and equipment rules allowances. The latest models, called SQ Sumo 5000 and SQ Sumo2 5900, are geared to push the scientific envelope even further -- but within USGA limits.


SQ Sumo2 5900 driver "Last year, in a sense, was just part of the process of investigating the (geometric) limits of what could be done with a driver," said Tom Stites, Nike Golf's director of club creation. "Backed by years of research and trial and development, this is a continuing, evolutionary process. All along, the goal is the same: to help golfers hit the ball straighter and farther ... and to make clubs that are more forgiving, especially on off-center hits."

First, some definitions: In Nike parlance, Sumo stands for SU and MO, as in SUper MOment of Intertia. The MOI of a club is a number derived by a mathematical formula designed to measure stability. For golfers, stability relates primarily to forgiveness on off-center hits, but the MOI of a club also plays into characteristics such as trajectory and distance.

Additionally, for Nike, SQ represents SasQuatch, the mythical Bigfoot creature (spelled Sasquatch). Both new drivers, the 5000 and 5900, have large footprints. They are 460cc by volume, which is the USGA limit for clubs.

The two new drivers, along with reengineered Nike One Platinum and One Black multilayer balls, began shipping to pro shops and golf stores just last month. Also new for this season is Nike's Karma ball, a two-piece product designed for golfers with slower swing speeds.

The drivers and the Nike One balls are already enjoying success among the company's tour pros. Stephen Ames won late last season with the new SQ Sumo2 5900 driver and K.J. Choi won at the beginning of this season using the SQ Sumo 5000. Tiger Woods, incidentally, plays with Nike's original SQ Tour driver. The growing Nike tour roster also includes Paul Azinger, Chad Campbell, Stewart Cink, Paul Casey, Trevor Immelman, Justin Leonard, Grace Park, Suzann Pettersen and others.

Adjustable Clubs Score Big

When golf's latest technology was unveiled in January at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, no one knew what to expect.
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Then the crowds started to grow. And grow. It wasn't long before people lined up seven deep to get a glimpse of the new adjustable drivers that soon will hit retail shelves.

Michele Szynal, spokeswoman for Callaway Golf and its I-Mix driver system, said what was originally intended for a limited audience has gained momentum and could lead to drastic changes in the industry.

"I think the I-Mix system has the opportunity to revolutionize the way people play golf and the way people buy equipment," Szynal said. "The I-Mix system just gives regular guys the same opportunities that the big tour guys have to adjust their equipment to conditions of the course. What's not to like?"

Well, the price, for starters. All three brands with the interchangeable head-and-shaft system will put a serious dent in your pocket. The suggested retail price of Callaway's I-Mix runs from $620 to $935. TaylorMade's r7 CGB Max Limited system is $999. Nickent's 4DX Evolver initially has two options with estimated retail prices of $399 and $479.

The prices are steeper than the usual $300 to $500 consumers are used to paying for a driver. But the proposed benefit is that golfers will have the option of changing shafts within seconds based on their swing, the weather or turf conditions. That was the thinking behind the U.S. Golf Association's ruling that allows golfers to change shafts before a round and to tinker with equipment in a fashion similar to the way tour professionals do.

Jason Maloney, Nickent's director of marketing, said the idea of interchangeability befits the changing paradigm of choice that consumers now expect in all parts of their lives.

"Take it outside of golf for a second," Maloney said. "Just from a consumer standpoint and the way everything in the world is kind of becoming all about customization, on-demand, everything in the world is 'have it your way.' And this technology lets you, with your golf equipment, construct that equipment exactly how you need it -- and do it fast. You don't have to drop it off at a shop and come back in two or three days when it's ready."

Here's a look at each system.
Callaway I-Mix

All three systems share the basic concept of using a wrench to attach the head to the shaft in less than a minute. But Callaway uses the most unique wrench, uses the fewest pieces, offers the most head and shaft choices, and is the only system with the same 460cc head that can be found in its traditional versions of the clubs.

The I-Mix comes in the FT-5 traditional driver head and the FT-i square-shaped driver head. There will be 24 heads that offer various lofts and trajectory biases. With more than 70 shaft choices, Callaway says more than 1,600 driver-shaft combinations are possible.

The club has received the most attention so far because Ernie Els used the FT-i version of the I-Mix during a live round last month on the European Tour. Right away, chat rooms at GolfWRX.com and BombSquadGolf.com were ablaze with images and salivating posts.

"This club is really for the status-seeker who wants the best, the latest and the greatest," Szynal said. "It is the Ferrari of golf clubs."
Nickent 4DX Evolver

Nickent is the small fish swimming in a small pool with two big sharks, but the company hopes moderate choice and lower prices will keep its product afloat.

The 4DX Evolver comes in two offerings: one 454cc head, a UST V2 shaft, a UST V2 high-launch shaft and a wrench for $479. There's also a $399 option that features one head and one shaft. The driver is assembled by aligning a dot on the shaft with a dot on the clubhead, inserting the shaft, inserting a screw into the sole of the club and screwing it with a special wrench.

Maloney said Nickent is happy to have the company of Callaway and TaylorMade, which he said legitimize the new technology. But he hopes Nickent's lower price appeals to the curious golfer on a budget.

"With Nickent, there's always kind of a value element to it," Maloney said. "So we believe the driver is as high quality a driver as you'll find out there. But at $479, with interchangeable shafts, we think it's the best value you're going to find with this new technology by far out there."
TaylorMade r7 CGB Max Limited

TaylorMade has the most dramatic product, which it bills as a "tour van in a box." The self-contained system comes in a box that includes a 415cc head (45ccs smaller than the normal CGB Max), three shafts (Matrix Xcon-5, Diamana White 65 and Fuji Rombax 75) that have the same flex but different weights, three movable weights, six additional weights and a wrench. It assembles the same way as the Nickent club.

With three shafts and three movable weight positions, TaylorMade touts the system as nine drivers in one. TaylorMade doesn't offer much shaft variety, but the trade-off is a simplified, user-friendly product.

"So for us, to go with just the three shafts in the box, it's pretty simple," said Sean Toulon, TaylorMade's executive vice president of product innovation and creation. "One hits it high, one hits low, one hits it kind of in between. One wants to go a little bit more left, one wants to go a little bit more right. So it's sort of the ultimate toolbox or toy for a golfer who wants to tinker with his equipment. That's a pretty simple solution to a really complex problem."
Retail reality

"Cautiously optimistic" is the mantra two of the largest golf retailers in Michigan are using to describe their sales forecast for the new systems.

"In terms of what's going to happen at retail, I guess we'll have to adopt the wait-and-see, whether the consumer will embrace it," said Pete Line, vice president and general manager at Carl's Golfland in Bloomfield Hills. "It's too new to tell, and it's such a different avenue that we've never seen before that I don't know if you can predict one way or the other what's going to happen."

Line said he should know quickly how well the clubs sell because April, May and June are the peak sales months for drivers.

Casey Baker, vice president of golf shop operations at Miles of Golf in Ypsilanti, said price will play a big role in determining the success of the clubs.

"I think cost will have a lot to do with what happens," he said, "and I say that because the TaylorMade system is going to be $1,000 and the Callaway is going to be a little bit more expensive than it would be to get the club that's glued together. I think price might dictate which systems are popular and which systems aren't."