Equipment
Nike VR Forged Pro Combo Irons
It’s the little things that make Nike’s new VR Forged Pro Combo irons better than the previous model.
For one, the set expands Nike’s use of “Pocket Cavity” irons, which have a hollow area to move the center of gravity lower and deeper away from the face. That change helps with the long irons’ ball speed, forgiveness and most importantly it provides a higher launch.
“Our Tour athletes wanted higher ball flight and better gapping in the long irons,” said Tony Dabbs, Nike Golf global product director.”
The previous Pro Combo irons released by Nike in 2012 had the hollow design in the 3, 4 and 5 irons, but the new set expands the construction to the 6 iron, which will help both Nike’s tour players and consumers hit that club a little higher, farther and with more consistency.
Adding a hollow area to irons doesn’t come without its downfalls, however. While many golfers enjoyed the higher, faster ball flight they got from the Pocket Cavity irons, Nike received feedback from tour players and consumers that the feel was not as solid as they would like. That’s why Nike added a special polymer to the hollow area, solidifying the irons’ feel without having to make changes to the irons’ compact profile.
Above: Nike’s new VR Forged Pro Combo 6 iron at address
The set’s short irons (7 iron through pitching wedge) scrap the hollow area for a one-piece cavity-back design, Nike’s “Split Cavity,” which tour players trust for control with their short irons.
Like Nike’s recently released VR Forged wedges, the VR Forged Pro Combo irons have the latest version of Nike’s high-frequency X3X grooves.
The irons will be available at retail on Nov. 1 for $999 and come stock with True Temper’s DG Pro shafts in R300, S300 and X100 flexes.
Equipment
Putters that never made it: Check out some of the best tour builds that didn’t make the cut
Arguably, the best perk of being a professional golfer on the PGA Tour is the ability to request or even just be handed pretty much any club you could think of. It happens more often than you think, usually with putters around the practice green from one event to the next. Come Wednesday, the Tour bags lining the edge of the putting surface become resting places for fallen flatsticks that never made the cut.
So let’s take a look at some of the best we’ve seen out on Tour this year that never made it to the competition. (You may notice none of Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Scotty Cameron putters made this list. There are too many.)
Let’s start with this custom Damascus Milled Odyssey Rossie made for Ryo Hisatsune. Featuring a single line and the short-slant hossel, we’ve seen plenty of Number 7 and jailbird heads featuring the Damascus Milled insert, but this is the first and only one we’ve spotted in a Rossie. Hisatsune primarily putts with an Odyssey Black Series iX #9, but we have seen him recently with a TaylorMade TP Collection SOTO, so there could be potential that the Damascus Milled Rossie could end up in the bag.
Everyone wants to be Cameron Young right now. We’ve had Justin Thomas and Tom Hoge both game the Scotty Cameron 9.5R prototype. Well, for the PGA Championship, Brooks Koepka nearly joined that list after requesting the same style of putter, with the full-length alignment line. But the Scotty Cameron reps took the request a step further and made one specially for Koepka with a Teryllium insert, similar to one in his previous Newport 2 gamers. The reason why this one didn’t go into play, though? Because it was too heavy.
Harry Hall was the third-best putter on Tour last year, so when Bettinardi made him a custom proto, you know it was going to be good. The custom BB28 blade features VDF face milling, a custom-welded single-bend shaft, and the owner’s initials – HH – on the sole of the putter. Hall, who usually games an Odyssey O-Works #7 W, has dabbled with a TaylorMade Spider Tour X already this year. Maybe there’s a chance this Bettinardi might make his bag.
Honestly, this one doesn’t need a description. It’s Kieth Mitchell’s custom Scotty Cameron Napa. One Scotty Cameron face stamp, two Scotty Dogs, two Scotty Cameron 7-Point Crowns and one Circle T. That is all. Oh, except for the Cashmere Cameron headcover.
Finally, and just for fun, how about we pour one out for this TaylorMade Spider Tour X made for Scottie Scheffler in its new torched finish. It’s unlikely we’ll see a putter change anytime soon from the best golfer in the world. In fact, he hit just two putts with it on the Harbour Town practice before going back to his trusty gamer.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (9 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 130 M.S.I. 70 TX
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi35 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 X
7-wood: TaylorMade Qi35 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X
Irons: Grindworks PR-202 (4), Grindworks PR-101A (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Cleveland RTX6 Tour Rack (52-10 Mid), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-08M), SM11 (60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Tour Rat 1.5 Tour Prototype
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
In our forums, our members have been discussing their favorite major winning irons used by Tiger Woods. WRXer ‘golferdude54’ kicks off the thread saying:
“Mizuno MP 14/29. Titleist 681T. Nike Forged Blades. TaylorMade P7TW.
Among these irons that helped Tiger win 15 majors, which is your favorite in terms of looks?”
And our members have been naming their favorites and why in response.
Here are a couple of posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- SwingBlade: “I prefer the early blades he played and the more recent TM TW’s especially because after Tiger had his major behavioral setbacks, part of Nikes support payback was making Tiger play a Nike putter and cease using his beloved uniquely customized Scotty putter.”
- ProjectX: “This (Nike Forged Blades) and there’s not even a close second.”
Entire Thread: “Which of Tiger’s major winning irons are your favorite? – GolfWRXers discuss”
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Patrick Reed WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Titleist GT3 (9 degrees) Buy here. Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 130 M.S.I. 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi35 (15 degrees)...
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
Driver: TaylorMade M6 (9 degrees) Shaft: Aldilda Synergy Blue 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue...
Michael Block WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black VeloCore+ 5 X 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees @14.25) Shaft: Mitsubishi...
Bryson DeChambeau WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Krank Formula Fire Pro (6 degrees) Shaft: Project X Prototype 3-wood: Krank Formula Fire (10 degrees) Shaft: LA Golf BAD...
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Canes4life
Jan 14, 2014 at 8:54 pm
Personally I love these clubs they feel great, don’t judge a club by its cover…
Canes4life
Jan 14, 2014 at 8:56 pm
They are a smooth club, all brands are the same all on the feel you want nike is under rated I don’t care if you disagree or agree hats off to nike and the covert tour is one of the best out there.
Pingback: GolfWRX Tech Talk: Nike VR Forged Pro Combo Irons | NG NATION — Nike Golf Fan Blog
John Rambo
Oct 14, 2013 at 11:39 pm
They took out the blade short irons! I don’t neeed forgiviness in my short irons! They are ugly to boot. Who did they ask when getting feedback for these new irons? 30+ handicaps?
Luke
Oct 6, 2013 at 6:27 am
Was seriously considering these until they dropped the blades from the short irons… Hopefully Nike will be doing custom set makeups so I can put them back in, otherwise its a MP4, 54 & H-4 combo set for me!
Slaz
Oct 10, 2013 at 11:13 pm
Just the Bridgestone J36 Pocket Cavity redone. Nothing new here form Nike!
Ryan
Sep 18, 2013 at 9:36 pm
Why did they ever remove the straight blades from the pro combos? If you’re looking to play these irons, you should be able to hit a blade at least up to an 8 iron. Those are scoring clubs. You should be looking for accuracy not forgiveness in the short irons.
Joe
Sep 16, 2013 at 6:18 pm
These remind me of the Bridgestone irons from a few years back
Eric
Sep 14, 2013 at 12:45 pm
Nice, im just happy because the release will drop the price on the previous model. The older ones look better to my eye.
Jordan
Sep 16, 2013 at 10:24 am
Good luck finding a set.
mr_divots
Sep 13, 2013 at 3:13 pm
I don’t see any blade short irons pictured? Still blades in the 8-PW?
The sound and feel of the pocket is nice to see addressed, but it makes you wonder why they didn’t catch that during the design phase since it was a common complaint. I thought the 7 iron was most out of place in the last set. Just didn’t flow from 8 to 7 to 6 irons. 5 iron should have been pocket in the previous set as well. That said, the VR Pro Combos were one of my favorite sets of the last few years. If they pulled off these improvements, sounds like one solid set.
Jon443
Sep 13, 2013 at 11:29 pm
No blades in this set, hense the term ” pro combo” really doesn’t fit these and why wrxers aren’t very impressed with this set. It’s pocket cavity and split cavity, that’s all folks.
Milton
Sep 13, 2013 at 12:17 pm
I have been a BIG Nike Fan my entire life. I lov-ED Nike, even though they didn’t make a Good Driver (That includes the Covert, The only thing the same w/Tigers Driver and the Driver the public buys is the paint scheme. I bought the VR ProCombos when they first came out. Loved them, Brought me down to a HCP 1.3, however the more I look at Nike it upsets me that there are no real changes to these clubs. I’m not bitter but adding some rubber to the long irons is what you call innovation Nike. I have the CMBs from Adams sitting in my office right not that I’m about to purchase. Nike you use to be my favorite by far. You have Tiger, You got Rory, but now you seem to be using the athletes to sell your product and not the innovation you so claim to bring to the table. It’s hard for me to say this considering I have 3 sets of Nike Irons on my wall because Nike is the only set I’ve ever played. You sat on you name and failed one of your biggest fans!
LMB
Sep 16, 2013 at 8:27 pm
So if you think Nike failed at their minimal changes, do you say the same thing for Titleist? Their irons haven’t changed in the past 6 years, except for the placement of the “Titleist” and “MB” or “CB” logos. They basically got good feedback just like Titleist did and the players said don’t mess with a good thing. Only complaints were the long irons feel and a little bit with the launch. I feel with the “special” polymer and new shafts, these are the final missing pieces of the puzzle. I don’t think Nike cares if you jump ship Benedict Arnold.
t120
Sep 17, 2013 at 12:37 am
LMB, I don’t think I could have said it better myself. This is a serious iron, as was the previous iteration. Buy it or don’t. All brands are in the business of pushing “new” to move units, and be thankful NIKE and TItleist, or PING for that matter aren’t pushing 15% or 50 yards, or 100% faster…They all get feedback, improve where they can and release a product that people want to play from the tour on down.
Take those clubs off your wall and play them.
Brian
Sep 13, 2013 at 11:31 am
Why the text out on the toe? Not something I’d want to look at.
Sort of ruins an otherwise great looking product.
Billy
Sep 14, 2013 at 1:41 am
You can’t see it!
Jordan
Sep 13, 2013 at 9:28 am
That’s a thick top line, no bueno
Lloyd
Sep 13, 2013 at 9:01 am
Nice irons but wots different from the other pro combo irons the design on the front that’s it
Billy
Sep 12, 2013 at 11:13 pm
Hell yeah, getting these.
Jack
Sep 12, 2013 at 10:47 pm
Finally happening (well, instead of random clubs inserted at the 3,4 iron range) that better players are getting more forgiving clubs built into their set. Meaning majority of the better golfers are demanding this (and probably for a couple of years) for Nike to make this decision.