We’ve known about the Nike 20XI golf balls for months, and months, and months. We’ve seen players on tour sporting the logo on their hats and (presumably) playing the new ball.
But so far Nike has been pretty mum about the new balls publicly. The Nike reps I played golf with a few weeks ago weren’t interested in discussing it at all and claimed that they didn’t have any with them (they did).
However Nike is finally officially unveiling the 20XI and beginning their marketing push with a video showing player impressions of the new ball.
The 20XI will come in 2 flavors, X and S (Distance and Spin, respectively) and will have a street price of $45.99. The release date is April 29th. The resin technology looks promising and I’m definitely going to try a sleeve as soon as I can get my hands on one.
See the Press Release below the break.
Nike Golf Introduces Ground-Breaking Technology Never Before Seen in Golf Balls with the Introduction of the Nike 20XI Franchise
BEAVERTON, Ore. (February 15, 2011) – Nike Golf is unveiling its new 20XI (pronounced: twenty-X-I) premium golf ball franchise, featuring innovative golf ball technology that will dramatically enhance the performance of golfers around the world and, at the same time, propel golf ball manufacturing into an entirely new level of innovation.
The new Nike 20XI ball features a combination of proprietary technology never before seen in the golf industry, and is the result of four years of collaborative research and development between Nike Golf’s golf ball engineers and a team of material and science experts at DuPont. The game-changing technology replaces conventional rubber cores with a radical new resin material. Resin is a highly neutralized polymer that’s faster and lighter material engineered to produce longer distance and more controlled shots.
“I have never been more excited about a new golf ball innovation than I am now,” said Rock Ishii, Nike Golf’s Product Development Director for golf balls. “For many years, golf ball development has primarily been focused on the number of layers with a solid rubber core. We believe that there wasn’t really anywhere else to go as far as technology advancement in these areas, and felt that the next window of opportunity was in the exploration of various materials for the core.”
Ishii and his team of engineers discovered that using resin core technology accomplishes three critical performance components that golfers dream to have in a golf ball: More distance off the tee; Straight ball flight; Increased control around the greens.
Faster Ball Speed Equals More Distance
• Advancement in proprietary resin core chemistry delivers faster ball speed.
• Internal tests with Nike Golf tour athletes have shown an average of 2-3 mph increase in ball speed.
• Every 1 mph increase equates to 2-3 yards carry distance.Highest Levels of MOI Provides Longer, Straighter Ball Flight
• Lighter core and heavier outer layers result in perimeter weighting.
• High MOI assists in reducing driver spin and maintains spin beyond apex to maintain carry and control.
• After apex, the higher MOI assists in maintaining spin an average of 100-200 RPM.
• 20XI has the highest levels of MOI in a golf ball to date.Steeper Spin Slope Equals More Distance Off the Tee; More Control Around the Green
• Less spin off the driver, more off the wedge.
• Overall design and MOI assist in reducing driver spin at impact on average of 100 – 200 RPM over prior Nike ball technology.
• Softer cover materials allow for greater short iron spin and control.To date, the following Nike athletes have made the switch to the new Nike 20XI: Stephen Ames, Stewart Cink, Richard Finch, Lucas Glover, Matt Haines, Anthony Kim, Kevin Kisner, Justin Leonard, Jamie Lovemark, Pablo Martin, Francesco Molinari, James Morrison and Carl Pettersson.
The Nike 20XI franchise will launch two versions of the ball, the 20XI-X (tour-level distance) and 20XI-S (tour-level spin). While both balls deliver on faster speed, higher MOI and steeper spin slope, the 20XI-X is optimized to reduce excess driver spin to maximize distance. The 20XI-S incorporates a softer cover for enhanced greenside spin and control. Both 20XI balls will be available April 29, 2011 in North America.
“Rock and his team have nailed this,” said Nike athlete Stewart Cink. “They’ve been able to increase the gap between driver spin and wedge/iron spin. With this ball, I have 2mph more speed off of the driver and I’m hitting it 10 yards farther. Nike has developed a ball that goes faster and has found materials that spin more with the wedges and less with the driver. So it’s longest off the tee and spinniest around the greens. What’s not to like?”
In addition to developing a first-of-its kind golf ball, Nike Golf’s new technology has led to a reduction in manufacturing steps and allows for a 54% improvement in production consistency for resin core vs. rubber core.
Availability: April 29, 2011
MSRP: $58.00
Street Price: $45.99
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Why the wait till April? I have been playing for a couple weeks now and have already stocked up on balls for this year. I was really excited to try the new 20XI but Nike releasing the ball so late in the season is kinda dumb… I guess it gives people time to get over the ball hype now and then focus on the Nike in April but I’d be playing it now if it were out…
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