Nike’s 2015 Leaked Lineup is Seriously Legit

Written By: Tony Covey

Nike Golf has lost contain.

Every last Nike cat is out of it’s proverbial sack, and there’s no stuffing them back in now. Leaks are flowing at such a rate that we’re starting to believe Nike Golf is doing this on purpose.

You’ve seen the Vapor irons. You’ve seen the meaty part of the Vapor driver lineup and by extension you should be able to figure out what the Vapor fairway woods and hybrids look like too. If you can’t, no worries, we’ve got more details on that stuff as well as your first look at the upcoming Method putter lineup and the new Engage wedges.

Click on any of the images to enlarge, and be sure to read to the bottom when I discuss what I believe is the single most important takeaway from this leak.

Let’s get to it.

Nike Engage Wedge

Never has so much fuss been made over an accent color, and so given the inclusion of Nike’s electric volt in the metalwoods and iron lines, its absence from the wedge line is at least moderately interesting. Some of us may have to order some paint.

You can see the full specs in the chart below, so we won’t talk about that too much except to point out an apparent emphasis on customization. Laying out exactly how much the wedges can be bent is a new step for Nike. In fact, from end to end there’s at least the suggestion that Nike is finally committed to a real custom fitting program (more on that in a bit).

Last season’s Toe Sweep grind is joined by new dual sole option, which was apparently inspired by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. The grind suggests an extremely versatile high lofted wedge.

As a guy who’s generally classified as a digger (steep angle of attack with my wedges and irons), I’d like to see a bit more bounce, but with many of these grinds effective bounce differs from measured bounce, so I suppose we’ll have to wait until Nike gives us a little bit of a deeper dive.

Nike is going with a raw finish this time, which in addition to cutting glare, should appeal to the traditionalists who are currently wailing over the inclusion of volt in the rest of the lineup.

 2015 Method Putters

Quite frankly, I’m baffled by the 2015 putter lineup. With the company going full force with this volt thing, it’s particularly odd to me that the putter line retains the previous several generation’s Victory Red scheme.

What the hell, Nike?

Obviously that’s not a big deal (or any deal) where performance and playability are concerned, but given the cohesiveness of the rest of the 2015 lineup, the total lack of inclusion of volt (for better or worse) in the putter lineup is a noteworthy anomaly.

The really cool MOD series continues on and will be joined by the new Method Converge and Method Matter line line. The Converge line is partiucularly interesting because of the inclusion of two Counterflex models.

Counterflex is Nike’s take on counterbalanced. What really stands out is an adjustment screw which allows the golfer to more precisely position the counterweight for presumably maximum benefit.

Once again, I’d like to take a moment to point out an emphasis on custom fitting that we’ve never seen before from Nike.

Nike Vapor Drivers

By now you’ve seen just about everything the driver lineup has to offer, but for the sake of all-inclusiveness, here’s another look at the 3 drivers Nike will offer in 2015.

For more detailed information on Nike’s Vapor Flex Driver featuring Flex Flight Technology, see our previous article.

Nike Vapor Fairway Woods

Nike Vapor Hybrids

Nike Vapor Irons

The one piece of the 2015 lineup that appears to have launched as plans. Most of you have seen this stuff by now, but for those who haven’t, or for those who want more info, here are the full specs.

 

The Most Important Slide in the Catalog

A swing weight chart? Big deal, right? In an of itself it probably is not big deal, but one of the things that stood out to me at the Vapor Launch Event was a passing reference to Nike bringing out a Best In Class fitting solution.

Is this a hint of things to come? I sure as hell hope so.

Let’s put it out there right now. It would be wholly inaccurate for me to say Nike sucks at custom fitting at the consumer level, because that would imply Nike actually made any sort of effort at custom fitting consumers. It really hasn’t. Despite an outstanding selection of upgrade options at its disposal, Nike isn’t simply behind the fitting curve, it’s off it entirely.

That needs to be fixed.

Nike hasn’t provided any details yet, but should the company actually follow through and deliver a real fitting solution, we’ll be sure to bring you the details.

Shafts and Grips

Nike’s previous shaft upgrade policy was basically, if you want it, we can probably do it. For 2015 the company is doing a better job spelling things out. Here are the slides that cover shaft and grip options.

Nike’s 2015 Lineup is Legit

While some would probably argue it’s not saying much, Nike’s 2015 lineup is without question their best full line to date. Apart from a dwindling number of narrow-minded traditionalists who will revolt against volt, there really is something for everyone here.

We’ll have plenty more for you from Nike in the coming weeks and months as we believe the company is poised for a breakthrough year in the golf club market.