Nike Golf's Ignite Driver Named World's Longest

Nike Golf's Ignite Driver Named World's Longest
Press Release

Nike Golf's Tour Staff prepares for Shinnecock Hills on the eve of the 2004 U.S. Open, Nike Golf's new Ignite driver has already claimed another massive victory. But this win was different from the dozen the Ignite's already achieved on Tour; it did not come at the hands of one of Nike Golf's Tour Staff. In fact, it was the world's most consistent golfer gripping the shafts of the market's leading drivers to determine which had the greatest distance - a golfer, incidentally, that just happens to be a robot.

This month's edition of Golf World International (UK) confirmed what Nike Golf has been saying all along, that the Ignite really is the "World's Longest Driver" and the longest driver currently available on the market. A total of 20 of the industry's newest and best-selling drivers went head to head in an independent test to ascertain which would achieve the greatest distance off the tee. The test was held at Golf Laboratories Inc. in California, a third-party test facility that was contracted by Golf World International to conduct unbiased testing. Swinging the clubs was a state-of-the-art robot, which can be minutely programmed to ensure that all the results are entirely accurate.

The robot was programmed to imitate the swing of an average player, using a swing speed of 90 mph, with all the clubs bearing the same specifications to ensure absolute accuracy across the board. A total of 18 swings were tested with each driver, producing six hits from the centre of the clubface, six from the toe and six from the heel to measure the forgiveness of the club. The ball was teed at exactly the same height for every hit with each of the clubs. What the test went on to prove is that the Nike Ignite can outstrip all of its contenders when it comes to lighting up the fairways (measuring 251 yards under the test conditions).

"The Ignite was the clear winner in our robot test," said Golf World International editor Carly Cummins. "It out-performed the other drivers because it hit the ball on a high, penetrating flight and ran out when it landed. It achieved this because it had the best combination of a high launch angle (12.6°), low spin (2,599 rpm) and high ball velocity from impact (133mph/246kph)." The Nike Ignite is available now at golf shops and golf specialty stores around the world in a variety of set-ups. The suggested retail for the Ignite in the U.S. is $469.