Nike Dymo - first impressions

[LyleG]

On a whim, and thanks to a blowout price of $99, I bought a brand new Nike Dymo driver a week or so back. It comes with the stock Nike shaft (which apparently has the UST axiv core tech - yeah right), is 45.75 inches long and has 9.5* of loft. Its a lefty club and not the adjustable version.

Opening up the box I had no idea what to expect as I had never seen one of these in person before. They say its very important to make a good first impression, Nike obviously missed this memo. Where to begin....

The head. The head has an odd shape. Almost round, almost square, definitely wide and deep. The toe is very pointed and really looks odd. The hosel is huge and fat and looks really out of place. The paint job is atrocious. Its a matte finish that could pass for auto primer and the whole 2 tone scheme looks like ass. The sole looks ok, but from address this thing is butt ugly. It has a fairly narrow face and looks to sit about 1-1.5* closed (I am too lazy to even measure it).

The shaft. The shaft is some wide body design made by UST and apparently has axiv core tech in it. I am guessing it has a fibre or two at the most. The shaft is a pretty ugly 2 tone black and yellow with a hideous, gigantic SQ on it that is a big eyesore from address. The waggle test seems to indicate the shaft will play somewhat true to flex (take that how you will).

The grip. What can be said about the grip. This is without a doubt the worst grip I have ever held. I could melt army men into a pail and pour it over a shaft and make a better feeling grip. I am not even sure how they could make a worse grip than this thing. It is nothing more than some shitty cheap rubber that is slick as hell even when new. I couldn't even begin to imagine this thing if even saw rain, let alone came into contact with it.

I have yet to hit this beast but have to believe it will perform better than it looks. I really cant see it being worse based on how tremendously awful it is appearance wise.

Will report back after I hit it.

So I took this beast out and played a round with it this evening. I hit driver on ever hole with the exceptions of the par three's. The temp was about 65* and the wind about 10 mph.

First thing I noticed was that the club didnt feel long even though it was 45.75 inches. It was very easy to control and felt really good from a balance standpoint. I was no more difficult to hit than my gamer which is an inch and half shorter.

SOUND - Not nearly as bad as I expected. Not great, but above average for the current crop of drivers out there. Far better than the recent cobra or Callaway offerings.

FEEL - Feel is very subjective. With that in mind this thing felt really good. Again a big surprise. It had a nice solid "thwack" feel to it at impact, and I found I could really tell where I had hit the ball on the face. The shaft felt solid, yet seemed easy to load without being whippy.

PERFORMANCE - When I bought this club on ebay I knew nothing about it. All I knew was it was dirt cheap and new so I bought it. Like a good ho, I did all my research after hitting the buy it now option button. When searching various golf forums I found the general consensus to be that 1, its ugly as hell, and 2, it may be the sleeper club of the year. Well after hitting it today I have to agree with both points. The club flat out performs. It hits the ball very high, about 20-30 feet higher than my gamer. It never once ballooned however and even into the wind I got roll whcih really surprised me. Its defiately a high launch, low spin head design, and it seems to work well. I found it very forging as well. I never hit nay duds with it at all. I hit 10-14 fairways with all my misses being playable. The thing that was most surprising to me was how freaking long this thing was. The ball just hung in the air forever. This was the first time I truly hit high launching, low spinning bombs with one of these big headed beasts. I plan on gaming this again tomorrow to see if I can duplicate the results. So far though I am very impressed, and considering I went into this with the lowest of expectations I couldnt be happier.

To sum it, the dymo is the chubby, not so pretty girl in the corner. You get introduced to her and think no way in hell. But you stay and chat, and her personality wins you over and before long you're nailing her. Thats the dymo imo. Its a little hard to stomach but it just puts out so good you cant walk away.

[eclark53520]

Originally Posted by LyleG

I could melt army men into a pail and pour it over a shaft and make a better feeling grip.

This made me LOL....im easily amused though...

[Rockford35]

Is it a fake?

Or maybe it's just Nike up to it's old tricks. Every driver they've ever released has been gawd awful based on asthetics, in my opinion. Just hideous garbage.

R35

[VtDivot]

yup - ugly as hell...

long as hell too... I'm curious to see whether or not you find it hot like I did

[BigJim13]

I haven't like the look of one single Nike driver since the Ignite series was released.

[LyleG]

Not a fake. Its a lefty, and I have never seen a lefty fake. Besides making a lefty fake of a club that doesnt sell? Even the Chinese know better than that LOL. (serial number checked out at registration as well)

[Rockford35]

My "fake" comment was more tonque in cheek than anything.

Reshaft it and go swing it. I've heard (as VT commented on) that the face is hot, just ugly as all getup.

R35

[xamilo]

This is the funniest review I have heard in my entire life hehehehehe

Tha Army Men thing is just hillairous

[VtDivot]

Originally Posted by xamilo

This is the funniest review I have heard in my entire life hehehehehe

Tha Army Men thing is just hillairous

I prefer my army men with a little cord sprinkled in

[halifax_golfer]

Yep, very funny review. Got me interested to see how you like the driver after you've hit it, and re-gripped with army men.

[LyleG]

So I took the beast out for a test run, hit driver on every hole with the exception of the par 3's. I have to say she dances far better than she looks. To say I was surprised would be putting it mildly.

First off, the club didnt feel long, even at 45.75 inches. Not sure if its the fatness of the shaft or what it is. This beast is 1.5 inches longer than my gamer and yet felt just as easy to control.

Sound. The club didnt sound anywhere near as bad as I expected. Dont get me wrong, she doesnt have that nice persimmon "thwack" or anything, buts its not even close to being obnoxious, like the Cobra's or the Callaway's are.

Feel. Feel is rather subjective, so with that in mind the damn thing felt good. Really nice feedback and a good solid feel when you hit it flush. Nothing to complain about here.

Performance. When I bought this driver I knew squat about it. I had never heard a single thing either good or bad about it. I also had never seen one. I just saw $99 bucks and new, and that was good enough for me. So once I bought it I starting looking it up on various golf forums. The general consensus was that this thing is the sleeper hit of the year. Super forgiving and long as hell. Well I have heard this about every new club for the last 10 years so I really didnt give it much thought. After hitting it today I have to agree with the consensus. This club is a damn solid stick and then some. The ball flight was much higher than my gamer. I would guess 20-25 feet higher, heck maybe even more. Nothing ballooned however and everything still hit the ground with some roll. Even into the wind the thing carried forever.Its defiately a high launch, low spin head design, and it seems to work well. I found it very forging as well. I never hit any duds with it at all. I hit 10-14 fairways with all my misses being playable. The thing that was most surprising to me was how freaking long this thing was. The ball just hung in the air forever. This was the first time I truly hit high launching, low spinning bombs with one of these big headed beasts. I plan on gaming this again tomorrow to see if I can duplicate the results. So far though I am very impressed, and considering I went into this with the lowest of expectations I couldnt be happier.

To sum it, the dymo is the chubby, not so pretty girl in the corner. You get introduced to her and think no way in hell. But you stay and chat, and her personality wins you over and before long you're nailing her. Thats the dymo imo. Its a little hard to stomach but it just puts out so good you cant walk away.

[warbirdlover]

Interesting. I know sssmokin hits his Sumo's nice. And the shaft is okay?

[LyleG]

Originally Posted by warbirdlover

Interesting. I know sssmokin hits his Sumo's nice. And the shaft is okay?

The shaft felt excellent. The best stock shaft I have seen in a long time.

[Wi-Golfer]

Hang on folks, the ride is about to get bumpy!

[LyleG]

One thing is certain. If I end up gaming this thing it will be the first time ever I will be embarrassed for anyone to see the driver I am playing LOL. Yes its that ugly.