Golf Review: Nike Dri-Fit, Sphere Dry and Nike Dri-Fit UV Golf Shirts- 7/2/08

Review: Nike Dri-Fit, Sphere Dry and Nike Dri-Fit UV golf polo shirts. When playing golf and being out in the open environment, you know you have to take care of yourself or you’ll be exposed to the varied conditions of the course. From rain, mud, snow, sun and heat. Since I play in Southern California the main hazards are heat and sun. I’ve picked up a few Nike golf shirts and after starting off with regular polos and sweating through those easily, decide to choose my golf shirts with the moisture-wicking capabilities.

The Nike Dri-Fits play comfortable with some styles feeling like cotton while some are smooth-feeling like nylon or soild blends with the various fabrics and technology used. The Dri-Fits do delete moisture and sweat faster than regular cotton shirts. Where regular polos would be soaked on the chest and lower back for me, at the end of a game with the Nikes the perspiration is either gone or 1/3 as small as the cotton shirts.

The Nikes are prevalent so picking up a new shirt for under $30.00 is easy especially since styles are being introduced seemingly every quarter. I’ve been able to get Dri-Fits for under $20 at some Ross stores. The Dri-Fit UV are suppose to shield your body from harmful UV rays that do happen to get through the garment. I don’t remember seeing how long the UV is suppose to work or what SPF it is, but I haven’t had a burn or anything with the ones I’ve used. The one Sphere Dry shirt I have feels light and reminds me of the thinner Adidas ClimaCool shirts. For the price of the Sphere Drys versus a regular Dri-Fit shirt I don’t know if I noticed anything significant with the little openings cooling me down greatly.

For the good price and wide variety of styles to choose from the Nike Dri-Fit line is a good manufacturer to choose from. The fabrics do dry faster than other “moisture wicking” golf shirts I’ve had and there are just so many styles to choose from based on your mood for game day it’s hard not to like the Dri-Fit selection.

Score: 3.75 out of 5.

Golf Review: Youth Nike Golf Clubs and Stand Bag- 6/23/08

Review: Nike Golf sells a line of off-the-rack golf clubs and equipment for kids. I just went to the Nike.com site and I couldn’t find a set description so they may be tweaking it still, a British site though as some item features.

For the aspiring young golfer, Nike offers sets of equipment based on their height. You can choose between Par Red, Birdie Blue, and Eagle Silver- tagged equipment for little tykes up to tweens. I will be reviewing the Blue color equipment since based on the color range only certain clubs are offered. The taller you are the more clubs to choose from.

The Nike kids driver (blue) looks like the previous 2004 adult Ignite driver, comes with graphite Nike shaft and steel club face. The driver has a nice pop and I’ve seen it pop balls around 125 yards, I do believe that the club should have a larger face since the version here is very shallow. The shaft also is very stiff and I wish Nike offered a more flexible version, why do kids with low swing speeds get stiff flex?

The hybrid club is approx. a 3- iron club and along with the mid iron and pitching wedge come with graphite, regular flex shafts. The hybrid is nicely weighted and offers good distance. The two irons offered in the Blue set are decent, though distance is not as long or forgiving as the prior clubs. An offering of a sand or lob wedge would have been nice to help out kids launch into the air balls from a deep bunker.

The Nike putter is the one color length that did not match up with the user. The steel shaft and half-circle mallet design in the Blue color was very short so the putter length had to be moved up to the Silver color selection, while a bit longer than needed, it at least wasn’t as extreme as the short length of the blue. Putter comes with a soft polymer-like insert. Nice feel, though some grass chips do sometimes get caught in the edges where the insert in the face and body of the club meet.

Last but not least the golf bag, this one was also chosen to be the Silver instead of blue tag since the Silver offered more room. The bag is very light, comes with dual shoulder Izzo strap system and four pockets and four club dividers.

These clubs were previously picked up over a year ago during the yearly golf clearance at Target stores so some items like the bag was purchased for $15 compared to the usual $40-$50. Sports Authority stores also sell this line along with Nike kids golf shoes, golf towels, kids golf balls and gloves. Some of the club appearance have been changed in the current product line, the putter sold now looks more like the adult Ignite line with the triangular shape.

For an off-the-rack kids golf equipment and decent price the Nike line is a fine choice. The selection is nice is that you can buy just a few items (putter and iron) just to see if you kids likes the sport instead of have to plunk down a lot more buying a full array of equipment like the Callaway, Ping, Cobra, or La Jolla packages.

Score: 3.25 out of 5

Golf Review: Nike Dri-Fit Golf Gloves- 6/21/08

Review: I have been using the Nike Dri-Fit golf gloves for the last couple of years on and off. For the price they sell around $10.00. These are synthetic gloves and have held up longer than some other name brand gloves I have used in the past.

I did choose this Nike version since I was looking for black golf gloves and the Nike Dri-Fits were the most readily available at a good low price. They also come in a nice vented hard plastic case which helps keep them in shape instead of throwing them crumpled into the side pockets of your golf bag.

I have regulated this version of the glove to mostly practice and driving range so it’s been going on almost a year for me. The last version I used during play laster about six months before rips appeared. This one I use for practice and sometimes play, the only wear showing up is that the synthetic leather around the thumbs and wrist area are rubbing off and exposing the lycra fabric.

The fit is good for a ML and breathes well without any major discomfort notice. Plus since this is a black colored version, dirt and stains are hard to notice. Major pluses for the glove holder.

Score: 3.5 out of 5