Nike Golf unveils new Vapor iron series

In typically spectacular style, Nike Golf launched its new series of irons to a global media audience near New York City at an event featuring the Nike athletes that helped shape the design.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy joined golf aficionado Jimmy Fallon at the special event to unveil the Vapor series, which comprises the Vapor Pro, Vapor Pro Combo, and Vapor Speed models. Watch Nike’s video with Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Jimmy Fallon to see the irons in action.

The Vapor name is synonymous with Nike’s most premium innovations across a host of sports, including baseball and global football. The Vapor irons blend the craftsmanship of Nike’s master club builder, Mike Taylor; the engineering expertise of The Oven; and the imagination of Nike designers. The result is a family of irons featuring a Nike innovation called Modern Muscle. 

Modern Muscle is a modified muscle-back design that moves the iron’s centre of gravity to the centre of the clubface, crafted to yield more forgiveness with enhanced feel. The innovation has already contributed to a major championship victory when Rory McIlroy put a prototype Vapor Pro Combo 2-iron (MM Proto) in the bag and went on to win the 2014 Open Championship.

While Rory was the first to win with Modern Muscle in the bag, the innovation itself started with insights from Tiger Woods. “Our engineers and designers at The Oven have been working with Tiger for quite some time to evolve this innovation and bring it to the golf athlete,” said Rob Arluna, Nike Golf’s Global Golf Club Business Director. “We started with the traditional blade and asked what could be done to enhance its performance and modernize the design while maintaining a traditional, pure look at address. Thanks to Tiger’s inspiration, coupled with Rory’s added insights, we made the Vapor Pro blades feel and perform better with a technology advantage over the traditional blade. We then extended that innovation and design to Vapor Pro Combo and Vapor Speed.”

“Years back when we tested the parts with adjusted weighting, I immediately noticed a more balanced feel and more consistent performance,” said Woods. “Working with the club team to bring this concept to life was a great experience.”

“We were inspired by the fact that traditional blades all look the same and challenged ourselves to rally around a big idea taken from Tiger’s insights,” said Nike Golf Design Director, Andrew Oldknow. “Our goal was to create a visual look on the exterior of the club that defines what’s happening on the inside. Shifting weight away from the heel of the club for a more precise centre of gravity is what defines Modern Muscle, and that is distinctly visible across the three iron designs.”

With a contemporary take on the classic blade profile, the Vapor Pro is Nike Golf’s most precise iron to date. The Vapor Pro Combo has the clean lines and workability of a blade with the power of a distance iron – resulting in the ultimate blend of precision and power while the Vapor Speed delivers pure power for the golfer that wants maximum distance and forgiveness through the set.

The Vapor irons will be available from January 31, 2015. Prices and spec TBC.