Written by Derek Murray
Back in 2007, myself and Dave Williams stood on the range at the Open in Carnoustie chatting to amateur golfer Rory and his then girlfriend Holly. As we headed off I said to Dave ” He is pure class, I’ve not seen as good a ball striker from someone as young as him, he is streets ahead”.
Rory went on the win the gold medal as leading amateur that year. Fast forward only 6 years and he is now every bit the World # 1. He is the best thing that we will see in our lifetime of golf, mark my words.
A lot has been said about Rory’s inevitable exodus from Titleist and to be honest, the only two brands that could possibly afford him are Nike or Adidas. Titleist looks to be on a global profit generating exercise, given the recent price increases on their products and I doubt their foreign owners were interested in handing over a vast pot of cash to the lad from Holywood.
I believe that Adidas Taylor Made were in the running at the early stages but I don’t think Nike could afford to miss this chance to bag the current World #1. Especially given the more recent self-demise of their golden boy Mr. Woods. I once asked a senior marketing executive at Nike Golf USA what would happen if, hypothetically, Nike Golf lost the Tiger. He said with a smile, “If we lose Tiger there will be NO Nike Golf, trust me it ain’t happening”.
Nike are so dedicated to their athletes, that they will do whatever is necessary to help their players and that includes the equipment they use. At Nike’s R+D centre called The Oven in Dallas, I saw first-hand design changes to the face and head of their driver to suit the strike characteristics of Tiger. They were literally designing the club head around him. This was also true of the irons they were building for him and his specific golf ball. They pretty much said to him, right you tell us what you want and we will build it.
For this reason, I don’t think Rory will have to worry whether or not his move from one brand to another will raise any issues with performance. I believe some peripheral testing of the Nike equipment has already taken place and with the relatively uncomplicated design of the Titleist driver and irons I would imagine the transition will be very smooth. However, that said I have seen a few players move from one brand to another and the results have been noteworthy for all the wrong reasons. Nike have a very strict head to toe contract with all its staff players and I would imagine with the price tag that’s coming with Rory reported at $250 million, I doubt they will be letting any other brand into the party room. That means that Rory will likely have Nike and Nike only in the bag, on his head, feet and back.
So let’s look at the bag possibilities
Putter
Always a bit of a contentious issue with Rory but I would imagine nothing that team Nike can’t design and build for him. I would foresee a similar design to what he currently uses but I think a move to a more face balanced putter would help enormously and perhaps a bit more of a back cavity with improved alignment and higher MOI would be a big benefit.
Wedges
The Nike wedges are typically a little on the heavy side and also don’t come in many bounce designs but again I think the ability to grind and match in wedge heads that look feel and play just like his current Vokeys will not be a problem. Wedges are easy to hide subtle changes in weight and design as most of the media and public look any the back of the club to see that it looks like the ones in the shops. The truth is it’s the face, material, sole and weight that will be the deciding factors for Rory so ticking the boxes here will be easy without affecting the switchover.
Hybrids:
This one is tricky as Rory doesn’t currently use one, so you might see a transitional Tour Prototype model here or Rory might decide to stick with his long irons. He only carries a 13.5* 3 wood so there is definitely a possibility of gaming one in his future set. Either way as long as there are no shape or ” framing” issues then this club will be easy to make up as its more about the distance control here.
Fairway wood:
This I think could be a bit of an issue for Nike. The Titleist fairway woods are unique in flight, feel and spin and Nike might struggle to make this switch easy for Rory. That said I think a completely redesigned head will be in the cards. From the outside a Nike head just like the one in the shops but inside the guts of the club have been completely re-weighted and shaped to suit the feel, spin and ball flight that Rory needs from this club.
Driver:
Now this is the one club that could potentially upset Rory, as the Titleist driver has not really changed its shape that much in the past 20 years that I have worked on them. It has increased in size a little but the classic teardrop shape has been very much apart of Rory’s career. I am a firm believer in the “frame” of the club or how it look behind the ball and this setup position just before the player pulls the trigger is very important. It wouldn’t surprise me if Nike has been working behind the scenes to remedy this. It also wouldn’t surprise me if Nike has been busy designing their next wave of driver around this inevitable transfer of the game’s biggest player. I know the guys headed up by Tom Stites can make the head spin and launch the ball whateverway the player needs. I also know they can machine the face and head to make it feel and acoustically sound whatever way the player wants. If they use the same shaft, build specifications and make it cosmetically and visually pleasing then it’s done and dusted. So, don’t be surprised if you see Rory bag the new Nike driver straight away without even batting an eyelid.
Clothing:
This is the easy one and don’t be surprised if we see a complete range of clothing and accessories designed and built around the lad from Co. Down. I would bet on seeing the “Rors Range” hit the shops late in 2013/2014 so that Nike can cash in on the rising stock of McIlroy and in an attempt to try and claw back some of their hefty investment.
There has been much speculation at where Rory will settle in terms of his main sponsor and whether this change of equipment is a wise move given his current ranking and successes to date.
What hasn’t been taken into context is the sheer brilliance of this player and his extraordinary talent. No matter what happens and no matter what he ends up playing, one thing is for sure and exactly as the quote goes … Form may be temporary but class is permanent.
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