Driven by its hybrids, Nickent Golf's growth in the past couple years has been rapid. Now a well-established brand in just about every club segment, Nickent has climbed into the Top 10 in sales volume among manufacturers. And while hybrids still are a hallmark for Nickent, the company's other clubs have drawn plenty of notice, too.
There have been two big changes at Nickent in the past couple years: the addition to the company of John Hoeflich as senior vice president and designer, and the decision to start marketing clubs through a "Tour staff."
Hoeflich is the designer of some of the best-known clubs of the past 15 years, such as the Tommy Armour 845 irons, Titleist DCI irons and the TaylorMade rac irons.
Until very recently Nickent had eschewed the "Tour staff" route favored by other major manufacturers (you know: the signing of oodles of touring pros to equipment contracts). But Nickent has stepped up its presence on the tours. This year alone Nickent signed 20 players, and now has the third largest "Tour staff" on the Nationwide Tour, along with representation among PGA Tour and LPGA Tour pros as well.
Here's a look at the products Nickent has brought to market so far during 2007:
Nickent Drivers
Nickent has three new driver models to choose from (and two models offer variations within the line) in its 2007 lineup, the 3DX Square - the company's first foray into square geometry - 3DX Tour Square and the "normal" shaped 4DX. The major difference is obviously the shape, the square of the 3DX models vs. the more traditional shape of the 4DX model.
All the driver heads are entirely forged titanium.
- 3DX Square: Nickent's first square driver deals in maximum perimeter weighting by repositioning precious grams to the rear corners of the clubhead. The goal is straighter ball flights, which Nickent reports it has accomplished without sacrificing distance (citing Iron Byron testing). The 3DX Square comes in lofts of 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees.
- 3DX Tour Square: The 3DX Tour Square had a neutral face angle and a black, ion-plated PVD finish. The latter is just cosmetics; the former makes this the version of the 3DX square driver likely to be preferred by better players. That's because the square face angle, slightly more face progression, plus its bulge and roll characteristics combine to produce a lower, more penetrating trajectory. The 3DX Tour Square is also available in lofts of 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees.
- 4DX: Want something a little less, well, square? The Nickent 4DX Driver is a more traditionally shaped driver that incorporates Nickent's XW tungsten polymer inserts, the bright green weight plugs in the rear of the sole that Nickent uses to lower and deepen the center of gravity and increase the MOI.
There are three versions of the 4DX driver available. The D-Spec has a draw bias; the T-spec is geared to better players, golfers with a faster swing speed who prefer a flatter trajectory and more workability. And there's also the 4DX SE, or "special edition," a version of the driver with the eye-catching black ion-plating PVD finish.
Compare prices for Nickent drivers
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