So it should come as no surprise that the swoosh had a commemorative ad ready to roll after the final putt dropped, capitalizing on this historic moment. The video, which Nike tweeted out with the caption “Never stop chasing your crazy dream #justdoit,” will hit you in every feel imaginable. Enjoy, and have the tissues ready:

https://twitter.com/Nike/status/1117497381832933376

Yep, can’t make a commercial any better than that. It’s been a long time since that win at Torrey Pines in 2008, and this video not only captures the journey from then until now nicely, but it also captures his entire journey from when he was a child to now as well. And they did it all in 52 seconds, ending it perfectly with a young Woods stating “I’m gonna beat Jack Nicklaus.” Two years ago, that was not only unlikely, but it was virtually impossible. His career was all but over, and just being able to walk again without feeling pain would have been a victory. Now, he’s a 15-time major champion, putting him just three away from Jack Nicklaus’ all-time record of 18. With Bethpage Black and Pebble Beach hosting the next two majors, two venues Woods has won majors at before, he’s got a chance to get that much closer to the record in 2019.

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An Instagram post from someone who identified themselves as an “ex-Nike employee” surfaced showing photos of a “VPR Strike” driver, a product that allegedly was going to hit the market in 2017.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

The @nikegolf driver that never was!! This was going to be the 2017 driver until they decided to exit the club & ball market #VaporStrike

A post shared by Oli Willson (@oli_willson13) on Oct 5, 2018 at 12:45pm PDT

The former employee, who goes by the handle of oli_wilson13, told Golfwrx.com that the driver, which featured a massive speed slot and deviated from the previous year’s blue-and-neon colour scheme, was actually illegal in certain parts of the face. “Was going to be marketed potentially as ‘The legal, illegal driver,’” Wilson told Golfwrx.com. Wilson also shared that the VPR Strike gained eight mph of ball speed versus the 2016 Vapor Fly Pro, and that Rory McIlroy loved the driver so much he begged to put it in play at the 2016 Open Championship. (Nike announced it was discounting its club and ball business just three weeks after the Open.)

Though Nike never made a major dent in the equipment industry, these photos true their share of eyeballs and curiosity. However, this is not the first time an unreleased Nike product has made its way onto social media, many of which weren’t scheduled to be brought to market. But, according to a former Nike insider, the picture of the VPR Strike is “very real.”

“It was very much a done product,” the source told Golf Digest. “It was fully cooked and athlete-tested. It was locked and loaded.”

The source said the rumours swirling since the photo appeared may have several “embellishments” and “partial truths.”

But, the source said, “What might have been…”

Despite its exit from hard goods, a handful of Nike clubs remain in tour bags. Tommy Fleetwood still plays VR Pro blades and a Vapor Fly fairway wood. Brooks Koepka has used a Vapor Fly 3-iron for all of his three major championships, while Patrick Reed used a Nike wood in his Masters victory. Kyle Stanley, one of the better second-shot players on the PGA Tour, still employs Nike clubs as well.

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The 37-year-old South African played in the BMW International Cup qualifier at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Thursday and signed for a not-to-be-sneezed-at 75 on the European Tour venue. Most importantly he smoked a few decent drives ahead of his second crack at the Dubai leg of the Long Drive World Series.

Dominguez will be back at JGE on Friday morning chasing one of four wildcard spots in the main LDWS event which starts at 7pm. He qualified last year via an eGolf Megastore promo but failed to advance beyond the afternoon seeding rounds with a best blow of 318 yards in the breezy conditions.

Related: ‘Blonde Bomber’ Burke back to defend title

Last year was a baptism of fire for the Nike Golf brand manager and after wandering down to the JGE driving range following his BMW round, he admits it’s going to be “daunting again”.

But he’s better prepared this year after turing up with a stock Callaway Epic (12.5 degree) Sub Zero driver head and a 48 inch, 83 gram extra stiff shaft last March – useless in the 25mph winds. The long drive specialists, two-time world champ Joe Miller among them, were wielding two degree, 48 inch weapons by comparison.

“Joe Miller gave me a couple of heads last year so now I’ve got four heads and six or eight shafts…hopefully I can get two out of those that co-operate,” Dominguez said.

“If I hit at my best like today I’m around the 340-350 yard mark, that’s kinda of where I should be. The last two weeks I’ve been getting it going so hopefully I can qualify.”

One advantage Dominguez has over any other game UAE amateurs is experience.

“I’ve got a better understanding of what I have to do. Speaking to the guys last year, they say get four or so drives in the grid, line them up and get them in, and then go crazy and see what you can do. Last year I tried to hit as many balls as I could in the five minutes which is kind of not going to work.”

Miller might advise better time management, but clearly not swinging smoothly as this video stresses:

The open qualifier begins at 10am.

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—Stephen Hennessey/@S_HennesseyGD

The post Unique, Lightweight Shoes from Seamus Developed by Nike Designer appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“The three areas where we’ve seen significant advancements in the technology with game improvement irons is in ball speed off the face, launch conditions and forgiveness,” explains Ashley. “Thinner faces on these clubs help produce faster ball speeds, and by moving the centre of gravity further back, the top manufacturers have been able to strengthen the lofts and produce better launch conditions.”

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