Nike ‘Unleashes’ 2014 Range

    At its ‘Innovation Summit’ in November, Nike Golf launched new lines in clubs, balls, footwear and apparel, promising to ‘unleash the athlete in every golfer’

    If there is one thing Nike really knows, it’s how to stage a launch, and the American sports giant pulled out all the stops with a wide-ranging launch of 2014 product that took place between its Oregon HQ and TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas at the end of November.

    Rory McIlroy was there, along with Paul Casey and PGA Tour golfers Kyle Stanley and Kevin Chappell, Nike’s putting guru Dave Stockton and Nike Golf’s lead engineers, in a summit entitled ‘Innovation Unleashed’, with proceedings led by Cindy Davis, president of Nike Golf.

    Innovation Summit 6 2

    Headlining from the product perspective was the Covert 2.0 driver, which advances from last year’s original cavity-back Covert by introducing Fly-Brace technology into the club’s internal cavity, which acts as additional support between the clubhead’s crown and sole, to stiffen the clubhead, which Nike promises will enable more energy to be released through the clubface, meaning greater shot distance.

    Nike also introduced Speedlock RZN Core technology in golf balls; new Lunar footwear technology and ‘Mobility Enhanced’ technologies in apparel.

    “For us, innovation and design are at the epicentre of everything we do,” said Cindy Davis, President of Nike Golf, in a bold mission statement. “We obsess every detail. Is it fast enough? Is it light enough? Does it feel right? Sound right? Does it meet the eye? Does it move with the body? We challenge everything. We think something nobody else thinks. We build something nobody else builds. We improve something that no one else thinks needs improving. If it’s good enough, then we must make it better.”