Nike deservedly has a reputation as one of the greatest sports brands in history. Their commitment to quality and innovation shines through all their products, their golf clubs being no exception.
Nike’s relationship with arguably the greatest ever golfer, Tiger Woods, meant the company went into golf club manufacturing at the highest level since both Tiger and Nike set high bars for themselves. The Vapor Iron set inspired by Woods is the culmination of Nike’s hard work.
The Vapor Irons are super game-improving clubs designed for high handicappers to get more out of their game. Most high handicap golfers have difficulty getting the ball up in the air and struggle to get sufficient distance. Nike uses advanced technology in the Vapor Irons to address these two key areas, making the irons exceptionally forgiving and long.
Will these irons live up to their billing? Can they improve the performance of the average golfer? Are they fit to carry the mantle of super game improving irons? We will answer these questions for you in this in-depth review.
Nike Vapor Irons Overview
The Nike Vapor Irons’ striking design immediately instills confidence over the ball. The enhanced top line, wide sole, and boosted offset cut through the turf effortlessly, creating a high launch angle.
Nike deploys a hollow cavity in the long to mid irons for increased forgiveness and an RZN cavity for extra feel and stability in the short irons. Nike has inserted a state-of-the-art muscle back into the irons, dramatically increasing the sweet spot, producing unprecedented feel and forgiveness. Couple this with strong lofts, and you get a golf club that gives you prodigious length.
The engineering innovation creates a set of irons that can transform the high handicapper’s game. You will be hitting the ball longer and straighter, which means you will be having a lot more fun on the course.
Key Features of the Nike Vapor Irons
Build Quality
Nike’s superb manufacturing means the Vapor Irons are engineered for optimum performance.
The key innovations are:
- RZN augmented construction produces lower and deeper weighting delivering a higher ball flight.
- Flexible Nexor faces with a Flybeam reinforced framework give high, consistent ball speeds over a wider hitting zone.
- A modern muscle back cavity moves the COG to the middle of the face stabilizing the head through impact.
The Technology
Nike has used advanced technology to improve performance throughout the set. Cleverly, the Vapor Irons have less weighting in the long to mid-irons which are extremely forgiving and help get the ball up. Meanwhile, they have more weight in the short irons and wedges for better feel, stability, and control. Together these qualities mean more distance, which is the pot of gold at the end of a long ball rainbow for the high handicap player.
Nike takes improvement irons to the next level by giving you the right type of assistance at the right time. The designers’ concept is simple but effective; the difference lies in how they distribute the RZN inserts and hollow pockets through the set. The hollow construction of the long and mid irons ( 2-7 irons) makes them super forgiving, so the ball gets airborne with a high trajectory. The short irons (8, 9, PW) get the RZN backing for stability and accuracy. The sand wedge has a cavity for a wide variety of full shots and pitches.
Shafts and Grips
The Nike Vapor Irons come with a choice of stock shafts and grips. Stocks are available in steel such as the True Temper ZT 85, and in graphite such as the UST Mamiya Recoil 460. The stock grip for men is the Golf Pride Z-Grip Blue/Volt and the Golf Pride Z-Grip Blue/Volt undersize for women.
Looks
The Nike Vapor Irons have a striking look which makes them stand out in any bag. The irons have an appealing geometric pattern on the back of the head, with the signature yellow Nike swoosh in one panel and the supporting Flybeams visible through two others. An attractive blue outline around the inserts completes the design.
The clubs are a classic game-improvement style – the broad topline, enhanced offset, and wide sole encourage a comfortable and confident address. The faces are solid-looking. A golfer knows right away that these irons will help the shot.
Feel and Sound
The Nike Vapor Irons have a solid feel, making a slightly muffled metallic sound by the RZN cavity. The long iron’s hollow cavity creates a springboard effect off the face producing a high launch similar to a hybrid. The clubs propel the ball off the face like a trampoline, especially when you flush the strike.The short irons feel solid and give a crisp sound through impact with their additional weighting.
The Nike Vapor set is very forgiving, with mis-hits mostly preserving ball speed and distance with off-center contact.
The Vapor Irons have a great feel. They flow through the ball with the soft, sticky feel of compression, especially when you hit the sweet spot. The irons exceed expectations of a game-improving iron and deserve the title ‘super game improvement clubs.’
Performance of the Nike Vapor Irons
The Vapor Irons produce a lot of speed off the face, especially when you idle the shot – resulting in as much as 30 extra yards of flight. Even the short irons produce an extra 20 yards of carry, making the Nike Vapor Irons amongst the longest in their category.
The Nexor flexible face and Flybeam fortified framework give these irons exceptional speed and stability.
Forgiveness
Nike has triumphed in terms of forgiveness with the Vapor Irons. The smart use of hollow cores through the long and mid irons delivers great forgiveness across the entire face. The average club golfer no longer has to fear hitting a long iron; instead, they will now relish the opportunity to show their playing partners that they, too, can hit a high long ball that lands softly on the green.
With the latest muscle back technology, the shot irons move the center of gravity to the middle of the clubhead, giving stability and control and all the forgiveness of the Nexor flexible material. All club golfers will appreciate the performance of the Vapor wedges.
Playability and Ball Flight
Nike set out to help the average golfer become a better iron player. The Nike Vapor Irons, with their serious playability and with consistency, do just that. The clubs perform reliably through the strike, offering high-piercing ball flights time and time again.
The Vapor long irons are so easy to hit that the high handicapper can choose long irons over hybrids. The irons offer all the forgiveness of a hybrid with superior control. The clubs open up possibilities to the mid and high handicapper; they now can consider hitting a long iron out the rough or getting the ball up fast with a mid-iron to carry the ball over trees to the green instead of laying up short.
Reduced workability is a drawback.These clubs are less maneuverable, but the long, high, straight ball flight is more than adequately compensated. You will be going over trouble instead of working the ball around it.
Read Also: Nike VRS Covert Irons Review
Distance Control
The Nike Vapor Irons are a great choice for players who want longer shots consistently. Precision engineering and smart use of technology make the Vapor Irons very long and reliable.
This consistency means you will know the yardage gap between each iron in the set, which will allow you to choose the right club more frequently.
The average golfer desires distance, control, and accuracy. The Vapor Irons produce all of these qualities. With these irons, you have the potential to lower your scores which, of course, will lower your handicap.
Pros and Cons of the Nike Vapor Irons
PROS
- Produces exceptional distance and forgiveness
- Offers head control and consistency
- The solid head and wide sole instill confidence over the ball
- Great launch angle and high ball flight, especially for low ball hitters with low swing speeds
- A balanced center of gravity creates consistency and control
- Maintains ball speed on off-center strikes excellently
- Consistent distance out of the rough
CONS
- The high hitter will not like the very high launch angle
- The large game improving head is not as forgiving as it looks
- The design will not appeal to all golfers
FAQ’s
Overall Verdict
Nike wanted to build a set of irons to improve the games of mid to high handicappers – they have succeeded brilliantly.
The clubs are a superb example of engineering excellence built with innovation and precision. The irons have an appealing distinct design that goes well with the head’s large head game improvement shape.
The Vapor irons deliver on the three key playability essentials – forgiveness, length, and consistency. These irons are prodigiously long and easy to hit. The clubs deliver a very high launch at impact, which means the ball flies further and lands softer.
High handicappers have always struggled to get long and mid irons. Nike has made long and mid irons as easy to hit as hybrid clubs. The hollow cavity inside the Vapor long and mid irons produces remarkable speed through impact, which helps get the ball in the air. The long irons also have a cavity back supported by a reinforced Flybeam for extra stability and forgiveness.
Nike ingeniously solved the second challenge that mid to high handicap golfers have – accuracy and consistency with the short irons. The Vapor short irons have an RZN pocket which stabilizes the face and adds forgiveness. The result is improved shot-making and accuracy.
Nike has looked at all the problem areas mid to high handicappers have with their games and found solutions for each problem.
Who does not want to hit the ball longer and straighter? Who wouldn’t like to launch a mid-iron high over a tall tree or carry the ball over a water hazard? Who wouldn’t like to smash a wedge out the rough and still land the ball softly on the green? The Nike vapor Irons make all these shots possible.
In summary, we highly recommend the Nike Vapor Irons for any golfer interested in game improvement clubs.
