Nike Engage Toe Sweep Wedge

Read that Nike has given up their golf division. I have only once used a Nike golf club and it was in the form of a rescue club red in colour. It was like a hybrid with a big head. Nike clubs are rather quirky in shapes, designs and colours. Tiger Woods and Rory Mcilroy were sponsored by Nike.

I used certain brands not just in golf for different reasons. Some that you like are too unreasonably expensive and so you find another. Others simply because you like it but surely because it works for you. However, I do not believe that one brand has all the answers and that we should always dare to experiment, explore, try and discover. There is no substitute for that. 

Not all golfers are long hitters but most golfers can hit their shots long enough as it is easier to go for a full blooded maximum swing with full power. You often see golfers putting the ball on or around the green within two to three shots from hundreds of metres away but from less than a 100m, fluffed their lines and incurred more shots from such a short distance than the longer shots. Whatever any other clubs you have that claim to to go further, it is only a matter of a few yards more at best. Putting the ball GIR (green in regulation) is the best of course but the scoring distance from within a 100m is all about the short game.

So I came across an interesting wedge by Nike called the Nike Engage Toe Sweep Wedge. Quite a mouthful isn't it? This second generation toe sweep wedge has a narrow heel and wide toe as you can see below. It is created this way so as to allow the club to be laid open at address and also to stay open during impact. Lots of golfers who struggle with wedges should consider this. It is also almost like automatic out of bunkers too when you look at its profile. 

It is not you regular looking wedge. You are either a fan or you are not. It is a muscular head heavy design and produces a very high but natural flight and you can see that it has a radically contoured sole. They have two other models - the Square and Dual sole.

This club was designed with feedback from two great players on Nike's equipment then - Tiger Woods and Rory Mcilroy. Tour players prefer raw finish and the patina it produces. So Nike decided to put it from Tour to retail. This is by far the most interesting wedge I have ever seen other than the Alien wedge that some folks used in the past for bunker shots. The Toe Sweep is good for a variety of lies be it from the rough, tight lies or bunker. In other words, versatility.  

These grinds are extreme. It will take a true Nike fan to love it. It was made by Master Craftsman Mike Taylor. Rory loved it because the ball gets up easily and lands softer (note: he may not be playing the same version).

The face is created to encourage golfers to have a slightly open face during set up and impact. Wedge play is the key to reducing your golf score tremendously and together with putting are the difference between scratch players and the rest. When you are hitting your wedges right, it is like throwing darts! Many of us are more often than not playing under or over with wedges, decelerating your swing when the pin is front and over swinging when it is pin high. Now that is not trusting your wedges to do the job.

I have some wonderful experience with this wedge from green-side roughs, bunkers, over bunkers and from 50m. However, shots from this wedge goes up really high and you must have the confidence to go for it, having faith in it with a full shot without adding or subtracting speed and strength. 

I comes with the True Temper Dynamic Gold steel shaft which I feel is very heavy and could be more than 125g.

It does not only look rustic but it gets rusty very quickly due to its raw finish. I suspect that not everyone will agree with such unfinished, rusty appearance but this head heavy toe sweep design with extremely wide sole near the toe and a very narrow sole at the heel would be best for shots from the roughs and bunkers.

As you can see here, the rust sets in quickly just after a few rounds. Give me a Coke to soak in. No matter how far one could hit you can't get a lot of distance increases through new clubs or faster swings. So it is all about the short game. Landing a couple of feet nearer certainly helps. 

Golf as in life, play as it lies.