First Look: Nike VRS Covert 2.0 driver

NIKE GOLF introduced the new VRS Covert 2.0 family of drivers during an event at the company’s World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Bigger, faster and longer than last year’s industry game-changing VRS Covert drivers -- the world’s first to feature conforming High Speed Cavity Back technology -- the new VRS Covert 2.0 drivers deliver more forgiving distance, faster ball speed and simple, intuitive customisation to meet the swing needs of every athlete.

High-Speed Cavity Back technology redistributes weight to the heel and toe allowing for increased distance and more stability across the face of the driver. 

“We re-engineered VRS Covert 2.0 with enhancements to our High Speed Cavity Back technology that allow athletes to experience more forgiving distance than ever before,” says Nate Radcliffe, Nike Golf Director of Engineering.  “The new VRS Covert 2.0 driver features a redesigned cavity with Fly-Brace technology that ties the sole to the crown. By stiffening the rear portion of the club, more energy is transferred to the face at impact. The end result is even greater ball speed and up to six yards of distance gain over last year’s model.”

“It’s similar to an automotive frame design,” Radcliffe adds. “Fly-Brace technology reinforces the rearward portion of the club head to focus impact stress, flexing and subsequent energy transfer to the point of impact.”

Several Nike athletes, including Rory McIlroy, Kevin Chappell and Nick Watney, have put the VRS Covert 2.0 driver into play in 2013.

“We work very closely with our athletes and the new VRS Covert 2.0 drivers deliver on the shape, stability, and speed they have asked for,” Radcliffe says. “The added stability and speed realised by our athletes with VRS Covert 2.0 allows for an aggressive approach off the tee which is essential in the modern game.”

The VRS Covert 2.0 drivers feature two additional proprietary technologies: A larger, re-engineered NexCOR face for increased ball speed and distance, and FlexLoft adjustability, which allows athletes to easily customise loft and face angle positions for 15 drivers in one.

The redesigned NexCOR face incorporates variable face thickness for a faster, hotter face and as a result, more speed at impact. It is 15-percent larger in the VRS Covert 2.0 Tour driver, and seven-percent larger in the VRS Covert 2.0 driver.

Nike Golf’s patented FlexLoft system offers the same, intuitive adjustability system featured in the VRS Covert driver. Athletes can adjust lofts from 8.5 to 12.5 degrees while independently modifying for three different face angle positions tooptimise launch and spin conditions for maximised distance and accuracy.

The second generation of Mitsubishi Rayon’s Kuro Kage shafts are the standard graphite option for both models. In the VRS Covert 2.0 Tour, the Kuro Kage Silver 60 graphite, featuring Titanium Nickel fibre in the tip section, creates more stability and lower spin. The VRS Covert 2.0 utilises the Kuro Kage Black HBP Graphite 50 shaft with a higher balance point, allowing for higher swing speeds without adding shaft length.

Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Tour Driver

Availability: January 31, 2014

Specifications: 8.5-12.5º Kuro Kage Silver TiNi shaft; RH/LH: R, S  

RRP: £350, €429.95, SEK 3995.00, DKK 3499.00, NOK 3695.00, SFr 529.95

Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Driver

Availability: January 31, 2014

Specifications: 8.5-12.5º Kuro Kage Black shaft; RH: A, R, S, W; LH: S, R

RRP: £250, €299.95, SEK 2995.00, DKK 2499.00, NOK 2695.00, SFr 374.95