Nike VR_S Covert Driver Review
06 Feb 2013
by Benjamin Larsen of AmateurGolf.com
see also: Equipment Reviews
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A lot can be said about the image change Nike
golf has undergone in recent
months.
While player staff additions like World No. 1
Rory McIlroy and up-and-comers like
Kyle Stanley and Nick Watney do
plenty for the company's street-cred, it's the
impressive 2013 product offering
will be what really strikes a chord
among avid golfers.
And the VR_S Covert driver is Nike's marquee
offering this season.
There are plenty of avid golfers uninterested in
what Nike has to offer in terms of
golf clubs. While that may have
been true with past releases, the tour-level
performance of the Covert series is
enough to warrant its hype early in
2013. And, after all, it's good enough for
Rory...But still, let's take a deeper look
at the club Nike is billing as it's 'most
innovative club' ever made.
With design of the Covert driver, Nike followed
many of the same trends being
used by other major club
manufacturers. The Sunday red crown, sharp-
looking 'swoosh' and alignment aid
are all a sign of the times in golf. The
easy adjustability and customization processes
are also similar to those provided
by new drivers from TaylorMade,
Titleist and Callaway --- just to name a few.
But the key to the Nike VR_S Covert is that it's
the first 'cavity back' driver.
The correct term for the Covert's cavity back
is high-speed cavity back, which is
a technology used primarily in irons
but becoming common in fairways and hybrids,
too. The overall advantage to the
cavity is more focused energy being
sent to the ball, which of course leads to more
distance and improved control.
The science behind the cavity allows for
weight to be distributed to the heel and
the toe, which increases forgiveness
and the all-important Moment of Inertia (MOI).
Nike was smart to 'hide' the cavity in its new
driver. At address, the cavity isn't
noticable as it's hidden underneath.
Finally, aerodynamically, the club was designed
to eliminate drag or wind-
resistance surrounding the cavity. In my
testing, I didn't even notice the cavity.
The Nike VR_S Covert features two other
proprietary technologies.
In addition to the cavity back, Nike's new
driver includes an improved FlexLoft
adjustability and NexCOR face
technology.
Nike drivers and fairways have featured the
brand's NexCOR technology since last
year's release of the VR_S drivers
and the Covert is no different. NexCOR is said
to deliver faster ball speeds from a
wider area on the face. NexCOR
faces vary in thickness and house the club's
sweet spot to where most golfers
make impact.
Nike's FlexLoft adjustability allows for an
impressive 15 different options in the
VR_S Covert. Like other manufacturers,
Nike has made the adjustability an easy
process. The Covert features Nike's
patented 'Dual Axis' adjustability, which
gives golfers lofts between 8.5 and 12.5
degrees. The dual axis technology also
allows golfers to adjust face angle
either independently or along with the loft.
The Covert comes in two versions: the VR_S
Covert ($299) and the VR_S Covert
Tour ($399). The Tour version
features a head that's a bit smaller --- 430-cc
--- and less spin (300-500 RPM
for elite players) on launch when
compared to the less-expensive performance
model. Stock shafts include the
Mitsbushi Rayon Kuro Kage Black 50 and
for the Tour model, the Kuro Kage Silver 60.
Have you hit the Nike VR_S Covert? Are you
planning to? Leave your thoughts
in the comments below.