Paul Casey Tweets About Nike's Victory Red Driver

At this time of year, many of the major golf equipment manufacturers hold their annual sales meetings. Numbers are crunched, plans are discussed and new products are often shown for the first time to people outside the R&D department.

Many companies also bring in their tour pros to speak to the troops, hit a few shots, sign autographs and mingle. Paul Casey, a Nike staff player, has been taking it a step further, Tweeting from The Oven, Nike's facility in Ft. Worth, Texas. Here are two from earlier today:

11:29AM At the Oven today. Checking out 2010 product with the sales team.

1:05PM  Pics coming after lunch. Food always comes first.

Casey sent several images of Nike Method putters. At 3:25pm, he Tweeted some shots of the yet-to-be released Nike Victory Red driver.

The orange area behind the face, according to Casey's Tweets, is the Compression Channel. He wrote that it expands the sweet spot of the driver. The driver appears to have STR8-Fit, Nike's adjustable clubhead system that is currently available in the SQ Dymo STR8-Fit driver.

As GOLF.com learns more about this and other yet-to-be released equipment, we'll write about it here.

(Photos by Paul Casey)

Video: This Week in Gear - July 21, 2009

In this eisode of This Week in Gear, learn all about the clubs that Stewart Cink used to win the 2009 British Open, as well as Mark Calcavecchia's new Ping driver, the Ping G15.

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Stewart Cink's 2009 British Open Winning Clubs

Stewart Cink, winner of the 2009 British Open, has been using Nike's CCi Forged irons for several seasons. When I spoke to him earlier this season and asked if he was planning to switch to a newer model, Cink explained that finding time to make changes can be challenging.

"After I won in Hartford [June, 2008], I didn't want to change anything up," he said. Then, after the FedEx Cup playoffs in September, when the Nike Victory Red irons were released, Cink was busy testing new golf balls with Nike's Rock Ishii.

"I ended up using a new ball for about five months. I didn't want to use a new ball, and then change irons or my driver, because if you change everything you don't know what's happening," he said. "Or what's giving you the benefit."

Although Cink is now using Nike Victory Red wedges—he used to play the Nike SV wedges—the most significant equipment change he has made this season happened in Texas at the Crowne Plaza Colonial. As GOLF.com reported, having played a Never Compromise Sub 30 M3 belly putter for more than six seasons, Cink switched to a traditional-length Nike prototype putter.

Featuring a traditional Anser-style look, and heel-toe weighting, the milled face of the putter has a series of red ribs. The ribs are designed to reduce skidding and help get the ball rolling faster.

Cink's Nike prototype has more cosmetic details than the early Nike prototype putters seen on the PGA Tour (like Paul Casey's). There is a waffle pattern on the heel and toe, similar to the pattern on the back of the Nike Victory Red Half-Cavity irons. There is a sight line on the back flange of Cink's putter, and where Casey's putter has red paint-fill, Cink's is trimmed in black. Finally, on the bottom of Cink's putter there is a reference to The Oven, Nike's club building and testing facility in Ft. Worth, Texas.

I've seen five different versions of Nike's prototype putter with similar cosmetics to Cink's. Although nothing has been officially announced by Nike Golf, with this much detailing—and now two major wins by Cink and Lucas Glover—it would be surprising not to see these putters made available fairly soon. 

Here is a list of the clubs Stewart Cink used to win the 2009 British Open at Turnberry:

DRIVER: Nike SQ Sumo² Tour (9.5°) with UST ProForce AxivCore Tour Red 79 shaft
FAIRWAY WOODS:  Nike SQ 2 (15°) with UST ProForce AxivCore Tour Red 79 shaft
IRONS: Nike Pro Combo OS (2, 4), CCi Forged (5-PW) with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts
WEDGES:  Victory Red (52˚, 56˚, 60˚)
PUTTER: Nike prototype
BALL:  Nike One Tour D

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(Top photo: Robert Beck/SI; Putter:Jon Super/AP Photos)

Kenny Perry's Travelers Championship Winning Clubs

During last week's U.S. Open at Bethpage Bloack, Kenny Perry removed his 3-iron and put a 19° prototype TaylorMade Raylor rescue club in its place. According to TaylorMade, Perry used the club successfully out of the rough from 220 yards out on the 10th hole to reach the green and make a birdie. Company reps said that because Perry's angle of attack is shallow, he often has trouble hitting longer clubs from deep rough, but the Raylor's V-shape sole design helped him a lot.

At the TPC River Highlands outside Hartford, where the rough was less severe than at Bethpage Black, Perry put his 3-iron back in the bag, but used a 22° Raylor instead of his 5-wood.

Here is a complete list of the club's Perry used to win his 14th career PGA Tour event:

DRVIER: TaylorMade R9 460 (9.5°) with Fujikura Matore F1 shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: TaylorMade Burner (14.5°) with Fujikura Re AX TP75 shaft
HYBRID: TaylorMade Raylor prototpye (18°) with Fujikura Rombax TP 75 shaft
IRONS: TaylorMade r7 (4-PW) with FST KB Tour shafts
WEDGES: TaylorMade rac (54°, 64°), Cleveland CG14 (60°) with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts
PUTTER: Ping G2i Craz-E
BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

Take a look inside more PGA Tour winners' bags

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(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Phil Mickelson's clubs for 2009 U.S. Open

I had a chance to speak with Callaway Golf club designer Roger Cleveland in the company's massive tour truck this week. Cleveland mentioned that Phil Mickelson is using a new hybrid this week. Still in the prototype phase, the club was designed and conceived with significant input from Mickelson himself.

Mickelson has previously used a Callaway FT hybrid in some tournaments.

Cleveland would not go into detail about the club or specific technologies used in its creation, but Mickelson himself told reporters, "This is a special club I actually made, taking the back part of the hybrid out so that I can open it way up and get through that thick rough." (Click on the image for a better look at the club.)

Like all prototype clubs, there is no guarantee Phil's new hybrid will ever make it to the pro shop. Here is a complete list of the clubs he is using at Bethpage:

DRIVER: Callaway FT-9 (7.5°) Tour hosel with Mitsubishi Fubuki 73 X shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD:  Callaway Big Bertha Diablo (15°) with Mitsubishi Fubuki 83 X shaft
HYBRID: Callaway PM prototype (18°) with Mitsubishi Diamana Thump X shaft
IRONS: Callaway X Forged (3-4), Callaway X Proto (5-9) with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts
WEDGES: Callaway X Tour Forged (56°, 60°, 64°) with Rifle Project X 7.0 shafts
PUTTER: Odyssey White Hot XG #9 Blade
BALL: Callaway Tour ix

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(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Lucas Glover's U.S. Open Clubs

Lucas Glover used a Nike prototype putter that is similar to the one used by Paul Casey, Trevor Immelman, Michelle Wie, Justin Leonard and Stewart Cink.

As I wrote previously in this blog, it's a heel-toe weighted Anser-style blade, that features a series of red ribs on the face. The ribs are designed to help to reduce skidding on the greens and get the ball rolling faster.

I've seen five different versions of the Nike prototype putters and each was heel-shafted; I did not see a high-MOI Nike prototype putter with the red ribs in the face.

Here are the clubs that Lucas Glover used to win the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black:

DRIVER: Nike SQ Sumo2 Tour (9.5°) with Matrix Apache Ozik shaft
FAIRWAY WOODS: Nike SQ II (13°, 19°)
IRONS: Nike CCI Forged (3-PW)
WEDGES: Nike SV Tour (52°, 60°)
PUTTER: Nike prototype
BALL: Nike ONE Tour D

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(Photo by Al Tielemans/SI)

TaylorMade Raylor Prototype Hybrid Seen at Bethpage

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Kenny Perry and Fred Funk each tried a new, unreleased prototype hybrid club as they prepared for the U.S. Open at Bethpage.

The TaylorMade Raylor has a weight screw in the low, rear area and a V-shaped leading edge. According to representatives from TaylorMade, the unique sole of the club helps it work through the rough especially well.

Perry practiced using two Raylor hybrid clubs, a 19° and a 22°, each fitted with Fujikura hybrid shafts. Funk was given a 22° Raylor and took it to an unused fairway on Bethpage's Red Course.

TaylorMade reps didn't know if either player would be putting the club into play during the U.S. Open, and like all other prototype pieces of equipment, there's no guarantee that the Raylor will ever be made available to the general public.

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New TaylorMade prototype putter spotted

There are always a few prototype golf clubs being shown to the game's best players at PGA Tour events. Companies want feedback from the pros to learn how they can refine and improve new designs.

Recently I spotted a prototype TaylorMade putter, which looks similar to the recently released Spider Balero putter.

Like the Balero, it has a large white alignment line running from the face to a ball-sized hole in the rear. The putter also features TaylorMade's grooved AGSI face, which is designed to help get the ball rolling more quickly on the green.

However, the prototype, shown at right, lacks the white ring that simulates the hole and the small wings that protrude from the back section, which are found on the Balero.

(Click on the image for a better look at the putter.)

I watched Justin Rose try this putter and heard him ask the TaylorMade rep to send him one, so it's possible this putter could be made available to the public. But like all other prototypes, there is no guarantee that it will wind up on pro shop shelves.

 

Stewart Cink switches to traditional-length Nike Prototype putter

FT. WORTH, Texas -- For several years, Stewart Cink has used on a belly putter and been one of the most consistent putters on the PGA Tour. But this week at Colonial, Cink has switched to a traditional-length Nike prototype putter, which appears to be almost identical to the putter that Paul Casey uses. 

The shape of Cink's putter is a heel-toe weighted Anser-style blade, and the milled face of Nike's prototype putter features a series of red ribs. A Nike employee said those ribs will help to reduce skidding on the greens and get the ball rolling faster.

Although Cink said Wednesday that he has always practiced with traditional length putters at home, this marks the first time in over four years that he's had one in the bag at a tournament.

"It feels really solid and it rolls the ball really nice," he said. "I've been practicing hard so it feels pretty comfortable now."

At Colonial, I saw Nike prototype putters with five different head shapes that featured the red ribs in the face. Each was heel-shafted; I did not see a high-MOI Nike prototype putter with the red ribs in the face.

It is important to note that prototype golf clubs are built for testing purposes and to allow manufacturers to get feedback from players. Companies want to know which features players like and what changes the pros feel should be made.

Not all prototypes become clubs you can eventually buy. However, the prototype putters at Colonial had a lot more cosmetic detail than the putter Casey put into his bag last August at the Barclays Championship. That might suggest Nike is close to completing the development work and may release some new putters fairly soon.

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