A Quick Look at Nike Ignite Golf Clubs

Back a few years ago, Nike Ignite golf clubs were released to the public with a tremendous amount of fanfare. The fact that they were being played by Tiger Woods meant they were immediately surrounded by intense media hype. But that was then, and this is now.

And now, these clubs are several years old. They’re not even being made anymore. Are they still good enough to be in your bag, or has technology passed them by? You can find them online pretty inexpensively, but would they be a good buy?

Here are my thoughts on a few Nike Ignite golf clubs: a driver, fairway wood and “combo set” consisting of irons and a hybrid. I’ll begin with the cannon in the group: the Nike Ignite driver.

The Driver

There are two versions of the Ignite driver - a square 410cc model and one with a 460cc traditional pear-shaped head. I’ve never been fond of drivers with unusual heads, so I tested the conventional version of these Nike Ignite golf clubs. I chose the 10.5-degree loft, but it’s also available as an 8.5, 9.5 or 13.0.

I discovered it’s a pretty decent driver. It sets up to the ball with a slightly closed face to help prevent slices and promote a draw. I already draw the ball, but I can see where the closed face could help golfers with a tendency to slice. The face is made with a strong, lightweight titanium alloy which Nike calls “NexTi,” and its “Around the Crown” design (the club face is wrapped over the top of the head) is intended to expand the sweet spot. The combination of these two technologies is meant to promote distance, enhance forgiveness on off-center hits, and provide a high degree of control for accuracy and workability.

It’s a successful combination. I hit the ball long, high and fairly straight, and I think golfers of any skill level could have success with this driver. High-handicappers will appreciate the Nike Ignite driver’s high ball flight, distance and forgiveness, while more accomplished players will benefit from its control and workability. The stock Fujikura graphite shaft (a good choice, by the way) is available in extra-stiff, stiff, regular, senior and ladies flexes, so this club could be played by virtually anyone.

So far, so good with my testing of Nike Ignite golf clubs. Next up are the fairway woods.

The Ignite T-60 Fairway Woods

Due to a 60-gram tungsten sole weight, these Nike Ignite golf clubs have a deep, low center of gravity that helps players achieve the high trajectory they want. I tried the 3-wood with the stock Fujikura graphite shaft (in regular flex) and typically enjoyed a medium-high ball flight on my shots. The face was a little deeper than I’m used to, but the club felt balanced throughout my swings and it seemed easy to square the face at impact – a crucial factor for hitting accurate shots. It wasn’t as long or as forgiving as some of the more recent woods I’ve hit, but both these aspects were certainly respectable. Accuracy, however, was definitely one of the strong points of these Nike Ignite golf clubs. Overall, the 3-wood gets high marks.

The Irons

This set of Nike Ignite golf clubs consists of 7 traditional irons (4 through PW) and a 3-hybrid. The deeply undercut cavities of the irons lower their center of gravity to promote higher trajectories and enhance club head stability for greater accuracy. They also feature wide soles to improve turf interaction and help prevent “chunking” the ball when it’s hit fat. The hybrid in the set uses a low, deep center of gravity and perimeter weighting to promote better shots even when the ball is struck poorly.

I tested a set fitted with graphite shafts (regular flex) and the one thing I didn’t like was the distinct offset of the heads. My natural draw meant I was in for a day of pulling and hooking my irons because of the offset. Yes, the offset could help someone who slices frequently, but for those of you who don’t, be warned. The 3-hybrid was easy to hit high, but it has an offset too. All the clubs seemed to have a large sweet spot and their distance was quite good. They’re not very workable because of their large sweet spot, but they are very forgiving. This is a pretty common tradeoff, and only players with lower handicaps will miss being able to work the ball – it won’t affect mid- to high-handicappers at all. As a result, though, these Nike Ignite golf clubs are probably best for beginning to average players.

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