Rory McIlroy spotted using new Nike driver at Gleneagles
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World No.1 Rory McIlroy has been testing a new Nike driver at Gleneagles – and might even put it in the bag when the Ryder Cup begins on Friday.
Nike is staying tight-lipped about the club, but four new drivers – the Vapor Pro and three versions of the Vapor Speed – did appear on the USGA’s conforming driver list for the first time on Monday.
McIlroy was spotted on the driving range at Gleneagles practicing with the Vapor Pro the same day, and has been using it today in his practice round.
So what do we know about it? Not much, other than it’s a 2015 product which has a black, rather than red, crown with a Volt green Nike ‘swoosh’. The VRS Covert and Covert 2.0’s cavity back technology remains, though, and it also looks to have a “compression channel” behind the face that Nike first used in its VR drivers.
Like the new Vapor line of irons, Tiger Woods seems to have been instrumental in the new club’s design, saying: “I pushed our team to bring back the compression channel because sometimes I like to shape shots by teeing the ball down and hitting it lower on the face. With the compression channel, I’m able to do that and not lose as much ball speed.”