Nike Golf’s Ignite Driver Primed For Takeoff

Nike Golf’s new Ignite Driver hasn’t even hit the streets yet and it’s already the hottest new club on the market. Still three weeks before it debuts in golf shops and specialty stores across the country, the first retail allocations have already bee maxed out and sell through is expected to take less than two weeks in most regions across the country once available to the general public.Mike Kelly, Nike Golf’s Club Category business director, said the pre-sale frenzy surrounding Nike’s latest driver can be attributed to many factors, though none bigger than the success of its most notable professional – Tiger Woods.

“To begin with, Tiger Woods’ adoption of and immediate success with the Ignite at the World Golf Championships’ American Express Championship last fall accelerated the awareness for the new driver,” Kelly said. “We weren’t planning to introduce the Ignite to the industry for another three months, but we weren’t about to tell Tiger he couldn’t have it.”

For his part, Woods credits the Ignite with his return to the upper ranks of the PGA TOUR’s driving distance leaders. Woods, who two weeks ago won the World Match Play Championships using the club, currently ranks second in driving distance at 304.7 yards.

In addition to Tiger, several other PGA TOUR stars have experienced success with the new driver, including Trevor Immelman and Rory Sabbatini, who combined to win the World Golf Championships World Cup last November. All told, 90 percent of Nike’s global Tour Staff are using the club, including LPGA star Grace Park, who will use the club for the first time this week.

The driver, Kelly asserts, can assist amateur golfers the same way it helps the professionals. The club is crafted with the new NexTi material; a layered yet tightly compressed metal that is thinner, lighter and stronger than Beta-Titanium, the current standard for driver face metals.

By combining this thinner, lighter metal with a unique club head design that expands the hitting area, Nike Golf has created a driver that attains and maintains peak distance and forgiveness performance. According to Woods, the driver provides “unequalled control and workability.”

Depending on supply, the Ignite driver will be available in golf shops on April 1, with a Suggested Retail Price of $469. The driver is available in 460cc (right and left) and 410cc (right only) with varying degrees of loft in each model.

For more information on any of Nike’s golf products, visit www.nikegolf.com.