Nike Pro Cavity best of both worlds

• By Global Golf Post
• Jun 13, 2011 11:46 PM ET

Nike Golf’s latest offering under its VR franchise is called Pro Cavity, and that line is designed to appeal to aspirational golfers who see themselves as “players” but do not feel comfortable using super-game improvement sticks that look big and bulky.

Released shortly after this year’s PGA Merchandise Show, the cast Pro Cavity clubs feature a clean, compact look at address and utilize inserts made of injection-molded polymers and high-density tungsten to dampen vibration and optimize Center of Gravity (CG) location throughout the set for better performance.

Nike technicians employed a new linear CG mapping process to show them how to most precisely and effectively place the CG in each VR Pro Cavity club. Then, they developed an Opti-Mass weighting system that employs those inserts to get the weight in each club lower, deeper and more centralized so the CG is in the ideal position for trajectory and distance.

And those weights are varied throughout the line so that all Pro Cavities – whether long, mid or short – reach the same peak height during flight and produce what company officials describe as “predictable distance.”

“With Pro Cavity, we maintain the traditional look of the tour-level VR Pro Blades and Pro Combo irons as we add forgiveness and enhance distance control and launch,” says Tom Stites, director of product creations at Nike Golf. “The Pro Cavity has a slightly wider sole than the Pro Combo as well as a little bigger profile and a bit more offset.

“The CG is lower, and the moment of inertia quite a bit larger for better forgiveness. In addition, the clubhead is a little longer from heel to toe, and the sweetspot has been moved more to the toe, which is where the higher handicapper hits most of his or her shots."