The utility club, or hybrid, genre of golf clubs has developed mostly with higher handicappers in mind - golfers who have trouble hitting long irons or fairway woods.
Low handicappers don't generally experience the same problems with long irons, but even the best players are turning to hybrids to increase ease of use and workability compared to long irons.
The Nike Pro Combo Utility Irons are hybrids for those players who want or need them, but who prefer the traditional look of long irons.
The Nike Pro Combo Utility Irons have been Tour tested in 2004 by, among others, Stewart Cink, Shingo Katayama and David Duval.
"The new Pro Combo Utility Irons are intended for the better players who are looking for a little versatility in their shot-making," said Mike Kelly Nike Golf's Club Category Business Director. "They are the hybrid club for better players who may prefer the look of a more traditional iron."
The Pro Combo Utility Irons feature a 70-gram tungsten weight in the back of the clubhead, which helps lower and deepen the center of gravity. The insert, Nike Golf says, is the "largest weight insert to have hit the market to date and produces a marked difference in the quality of a player's shot making."
The E2000 lightweight steel used in the club's face saved 25 grams of weight that Nike Golf repositioned to the tungsten plug in the rear of the clubhead.
Nike Pro Combo Utility Irons will be available in golf shops beginning Oct. 1, 2004. They are numbered 2 (18 degrees), 3 (20 degrees) and 4 (22 degrees). The 2 is available in stiff shaft only; the 3 and 4 in either stiff or regular shaft.
The stock shaft is the True Temper Speed Step steel shaft that is 30-percent lighter than traditional steel shafts.
MSRP at time of launch is $189 per club.
