Nike's sweep at Masters a major step forward

Trevor Immelman won the Masters this year, but the biggest winner at the tournament might have been Nike Golf.

When Immelman won the first major of the season, he headed a 1-2-3 finish for the Swoosh that included runner-up Tiger Woods and third-place finisher Stewart Cink.

Nike CCi irons

For a company that has been in the golf equipment business less than a decade, and -- despite its size and acumen in other sports -- is still building a reputation as providing performance products for skilled golfers, the sweep was most impressive. Overall, seven Nike tour players finished in the top 41, also including Paul Casey (T11), Justin Leonard (T20), Stephen Ames (T25) and K.J. Choi (41).

"That really opened my eyes up," responded an amateur golfer at a local range when questioned about the performance. "I really had thought of (Nike) as just a 'recreational' golf company, except for Tiger, but you've got to put them up there with all the best equipment names now."

Nike's strategy from the beginning has been to win over better players, then expand. With long-term goals, the company has taken its time and not rushed into every golf category all at once, although it could have. Going back, it stunningly entered the clubmaking business in 2002 with a forged driver and forged irons, types of clubs geared for a small, skilled segment of the golf market.

"Our idea was to make clubs first for the best players in the world, hopefully win over the 'key influencers' and slowly expand our products for all levels of play," said Tom Stites, Nike's director of product club creation.

Stites was one of several veteran craftsmen hired by the company to produce legitimate equipment. Another was Rock Ishii, the company's chief ball designer and the main man in convincing Tiger Woods to play a Nike ball.

At the Masters, Immelman's Nike bag consisted of the new Nike Sumo 5000 driver (10.5 degrees loft), CCi Cast irons (4-PW), three SV wedges (50, 54, 60 degrees), an SQ Sumo 17-degree fairway wood and 21-degree SQ Sumo hybrid. He played the new Nike One Platinum ball, along with wearing Nike footwear, apparel and Dri-FIT Tour glove.

Like several Nike players, including Woods, Immelman opted for a Titleist by Scotty Cameron putter.

In selecting drivers, Nike players seem split. Cink, along with Ames and Lucas Glover, plays an SQ Sumo2, which was introduced in 2007 and is still available. Paul Azinger, Chad Campbell and Casey carry the SQ Sumo driver. Tour players opting for the new Sumo 5000 in addition to Immelman include Choi and Leonard, plus Grace Park and Suzann Petterson. None of the players is reportedly using the new SQ Sumo 5900, a square-shaped driver with enhanced forgiveness and a high MOI rating (moment of inertia, which translates to forgiveness on off-center hits).

Woods, by the way, uses a custom-made SQ Tour 460 driver not generally available.

"The performance by Nike Golf athletes at the Masters is a testament to the depth of talent that we have on our tour staff," said Kel Devlin, the company's global sports marketing director. "In the last three years, the results of a long-term plan have become evident as we've seen many of our athletes emerge as champions. ... This is another validation that Nike Golf products perform at the highest level, success that translates to the average golfer because our products perform in such a way that golfers will find the game easier and more enjoyable."

Here's a closer, selected look at Nike's premium performance equipment.

Drivers

The SQ Sumo 5000 features a 460cc titanium head in a more traditional, rounded shape with a deep face profile. It has Nike's PowerBow design, which strategically positions weight to optimize the center of gravity and it's particularly noticeable with a curved yellow strip across the sole.

With lofts ranging from 8.5 to 16 degrees, it's interesting that Immelman chose a 10.5-degree club, demonstrating that even tour players are increasing driver lofts to match modern golf ball technology.

Mitsubishi's Diamana model is the standard graphite shaft on the new Nike drivers, increasing in weight as the flex stiffens for better players. For example, on the SQ Sumo 5000, the shaft is 55 grams for the W flex, 65 grams for R and S flexes, and 73 grams for the X flex. Custom shafts available include Aldila, Fujikura, UST, Graffaloy and Graphie Design.

In test sessions among skilled players assembled by CBSSports.com, the Sumo 5000 driver won a consensus rating of "very satisfactory." The club was labeled "straight," "workable" and "long." Some testers thought the sound was "loud."

Suggested retail price for the SQ Sumo 5000 is a mid-tier $359.

Among the other tour drivers Nike players use, the SQ Sumo is an all-titanium head while the SQ Sumo2 is a multimaterial construction with beta titanium face, titanium body and graphite crown. Both are 460cc.

Suggested retail prices are $395 for the SQ Sumo and $479 for the SQ Sumo2.

Irons

Although Woods still plays with Nike's Forged Blades, many pros on the tour staff are using the company's CCi irons, which come in both Cast and Forged versions and were introduced last year.

Immelman, again very interestingly, played the CCi Cast models in winning the Masters, demonstrating that players at the highest levels can play well with cast clubs. Cink, on the other hand, played the Forged version.

The Cast models have heads made from 431 stainless steel, which, Nike points out, is 25 percent softer than the more commonly used 17-4 stainless in cast clubs. The Cast irons also have a thicker topline, more offset and a wider sole than Forged. Two polymer-filled sole ports are meant to dampen vibration and enhance feel, while a high-density tungsten weight plug helps lower the center of gravity.

The CCi Forged irons have heads made with 1025 soft carbon steel, plus a thin topline, minimal offset and a high-density tungsten weight plug to lower the center of gravity.

Suggested retail prices are $799 per eight-piece set for the CCi Cast irons with steel shafts and $899 with graphite. The CCi Forged irons come with True Temper steel shafts and are listed at $999 per set.

Balls

Nike reformulated its One ball lineup for 2008, producing two models: Platinum and Black. Along with Immelman, Woods used the Platinum model in the Masters. Cink played the Black.

The One Platinum is a four-piece construction with a high-velocity, progressive density core, Power Transfer Technology inner layer, polymer mantle layer and soft, seamless urethane cover. The ball has a newly designed 378-dimple pattern.

The One Black ball is three-piece construction with a core designed for reduced spin and a high-coverage 336-dimple urethane cover engineered for a more penetrating flight.

Suggested retail price for either ball is $54 per dozen.

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