Nike RZN Proto

[CBECH22]

http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/pd/rzn-proto-golf-balls/pid-10989234/pgid-11149970

 

Anybody get their hand on these? Saw Nike advertising them on their Instagram page and clicked the link but they are sold out. And for $60? Thats steep. But wondering if anyone played them and how they feel/compare to the current RZN.

[Surfcat808]

$5.00 a piece!?!? Wow, my pockets aren't that deep... but if they come with a GPS chip so I could find them in deep rough and dark forests, then ??? Hahahaha.

[balbowski]

I'm also curious to know what the performance is like on these balls. I wonder how it compares to RZN Black?

[BigHook25]

For $60 that better be an incredible ball. I seriously doubt its that much better if at all than anything. I think it is just typical Nike releasing a limited amount to create demand and get a higher price. They do the same thing with their sneakers.

[CBECH22]

[quote name='BigHook25' timestamp='1449240412' post='12679564']
For $60 that better be an incredible ball. I seriously doubt its that much better if at all than anything. I think it is just typical Nike releasing a limited amount to create demand and get a higher price. They do the same thing with their sneakers.
[/quote]

I agree. Its a good advertising scheme. And it worked now. I mean they sold out so they must have made some good money on it!

[BigHook25]

[quote name='CBECH22' timestamp='1449261448' post='12681088']
[quote name='BigHook25' timestamp='1449240412' post='12679564']
For $60 that better be an incredible ball. I seriously doubt its that much better if at all than anything. I think it is just typical Nike releasing a limited amount to create demand and get a higher price. They do the same thing with their sneakers.
[/quote]

I agree. Its a good advertising scheme. And it worked now. I mean they sold out so they must have made some good money on it!
[/quote]

Under Armour did almost a similar thing with their golf shoes. People watched Spieth with them and we heard rumors year after year about UA coming out with golf shoes. When they finally did, they did a limited release and they sold out instantly.

[MichiganMan]

I was able to snag two dozen during the release. An early birthday present for myself. They're getting delivered today. Can't wait to get them on the course to test them out.

And for those complaining about the price, the MSRP on ProV1's are $62/dozen. Meaning they're priced at essentially what ProV1s are intended to sell for. The only difference is these will never make it to retail for a lower price.

[Matt J]

People are paying a $15 premium for the entertainment value of trying a new ball before it hits the market. Nike was probably testing the water and it worked. My lowest rounds this season were with the RZN Black. Looking forward to detailed reviews when more of these things arrive and get played.

[Golfrnut]

From what I understand, these are the same version coming to the common market anyway. You get a "proto" stamp, and the ball a little bit earlier than everyone else. To each their own.

[MichiganMan]

[quote name='Golfrnut' timestamp='1449516326' post='12691360']
From what I understand, these are the same version coming to the common market anyway. You get a "proto" stamp, and the ball a little bit earlier than everyone else. To each their own.
[/quote]

There are varying reports on the veracity of this. While early word was that it would be the same ball, a few posters in the "Nike 2016" thread under "Tour/Pre-Release" have been told that it's not the same ball.

One thing is for certain, this is the same ball that Rory used to win in Dubai, which is where the majority of the demand comes from (myself included).

[Golfrnut]

[quote name='MichiganMan' timestamp='1449518196' post='12691474'] [quote name='Golfrnut' timestamp='1449516326' post='12691360'] From what I understand, these are the same version coming to the common market anyway. You get a "proto" stamp, and the ball a little bit earlier than everyone else. To each their own. [/quote] There are varying reports on the veracity of this. While early word was that it would be the same ball, a few posters in the "Nike 2016" thread under "Tour/Pre-Release" have been told that it's not the same ball. One thing is for certain, this is the same ball that Rory used to win in Dubai, which is where the majority of the demand comes from (myself included). [/quote]


Fair enough....and there is always going to be the mystique of something like that.

Unfortunate that most things like this never seem to come with clear terms of what exactly you are getting.

[BigHook25]

[quote name='Golfrnut' timestamp='1449516326' post='12691360']
From what I understand, these are the same version coming to the common market anyway. You get a "proto" stamp, and the ball a little bit earlier than everyone else. To each their own.
[/quote]

These will be free when I find them off the fairway and in the woods or somewhere else.

[yarbyarb01]

I found two a couple rounds ago. Played one for about 3 holes and liked it. It felt the same as the older model to me but I'm kind of a Pro V1 snob. haha! Good luck!

[CBECH22]

I agree, whether you're getting the really ball or not, Nike just made a ton of money off consumers. But if you're happy paying and playing it, the more power to you!

[TKD24]

Got my hands on a couple sleeves from our Nike rep, and these are no joke. I'm a big ProV1x guy (always have been), but I have never played with a better ball than the Nike proto.

My rep told me that these will be "comparable" to the new Nike Platinum balls, not identical, but very close.

[actchill]

[quote name='balbowski' timestamp='1449239089' post='12679462']
I'm also curious to know what the performance is like on these balls. I wonder how it compares to RZN Black?
[/quote]

rzn proto is the rzn tour platinum. I've been messing around with it, it is a lot softer then the rzn platinum current balls without loosing nay distance. the ball spins lot more around the greens and rolls even better. the new rzn black should be softer feel like the rzn platinum currents balls are. the new rzn tour balls are very nice and will be put into play.
you can really spin the ball easy

[Low3]

I don't like Nike's Balls but my father says that they are [color=#282828]softer then the RZN platinum and play about the same distance. [/color]

[BigHook25]

[quote name='TKD24' timestamp='1449675055' post='12698784']
Got my hands on a couple sleeves from our Nike rep, and these are no joke. I'm a big ProV1x guy (always have been), but I have never played with a better ball than the Nike proto.

My rep told me that these will be "comparable" to the new Nike Platinum balls, not identical, but very close.
[/quote]

If the nike Nike platinum are like last years, they had a little too much spin for me; especially on slightly windy days. I liked the Nike RZN black better. If the proto can play like the RZN black off the longer clubs, but spin a little more around the greens, then you have a winner.

[TKD24]

[quote name='BigHook25' timestamp='1449698537' post='12700348']
[quote name='TKD24' timestamp='1449675055' post='12698784']
Got my hands on a couple sleeves from our Nike rep, and these are no joke. I'm a big ProV1x guy (always have been), but I have never played with a better ball than the Nike proto.

My rep told me that these will be "comparable" to the new Nike Platinum balls, not identical, but very close.
[/quote]

If the nike Nike platinum are like last years, they had a little too much spin for me; especially on slightly windy days. I liked the Nike RZN black better. If the proto can play like the RZN black off the longer clubs, but spin a little more around the greens, then you have a winner.
[/quote]

By "new Platinum" I meant the 2016 version. I actually prefer the past Black to the Platinum as well.

[nikewalt]

I have found that the Rzn * Proto is longer and softer than this years Black with more greenside spin.

[BigHook25]

[quote name='nikewalt' timestamp='1449752808' post='12702448']
I have found that the Rzn * Proto is longer and softer than this years Black with more greenside spin.
[/quote]

That would be a win/win. A combination of what was best with the RZN black and platinum would be a great ball. Now your talking TP x territory, which is my favorite golf ball right now.

[theonlybfc]

I've been playing the RZN Black and really like the Proto. Don't know if i'll but them at $60 though.

[bigbutch]

Remember this, you can't buy a golf game. These $60 doz. balls will not help you shoot any better than a $40 doz.

[Miker20890]

Could never justify that price for a dozen golf balls.

[MichiganMan]

So I just finished playing my first 9 holes with the RZN Proto and I wanted to write a review for those who were interested. I played 9 holes with 2 balls: a 2015 Nike RZN Black and a RZN Proto. I wanted to be able to test them side-by-side. Here are my thoughts/observations:

Feel: The RZN Proto is much softer than the RZN Black. It was obvious from the first swing that the feel was much improved. For me, this took some getting used to, especially around the greens. Having played the RZN Black for about a year and a half now, the softness of the Proto took some adjusting to on delicate touch shots. One thing that I did notice that felt different to me was that the Proto felt "heavy" off the driver. Hard to describe, but it felt like you didn't have to hit it on the screws to compress it.

Spin**: The RZN Proto spins much, much more than the RZN Black on iron shots. I hit two different 3/4 shots (1 PW & 1 9 iron) that both spun back about 8-10 feet. In comparison, the RZN Black for me hits and stops. I don't get much zip on the ball. With the driver, I don't think the Proto spins much more than the Black does.

Distance**: I would say that the Proto and Black are pretty similar when it comes to distance. The course I played was quite soggy, so roll wasn't really there today, and every drive I hit the two balls were within 5 yards of each other.

Ball Flight/Trajectory**: I didn't think there was any discernable difference in the trajectory of the two balls. I would say that if anything the Proto flew a touch higher due to the added spin, but it was a negligible difference.

Durability: There is no question this is where Nike hit the home run to me. The durability of the Proto is hands down the best I've seen from a Nike ball. The Black I played today had quite a few cuts and scrapes on it from the various wedge shots, but the Proto only had one small mark (from a stone under the ball in a bunker). Other than that, it barely looked like it had been played.

Overall: I was very impressed with the Proto. The two biggest adjustments for me with this ball will be how soft the ball is around the greens and how much more it spins with the irons. Having to play for the ball to spin back as opposed to hitting and stopping will be and adjustment, but certainly a manageable adjustment. Without a doubt, I think it's a better overall golf ball than the RZN Black.

**I don’t have access to a Trackman at the moment, so these are obviously just visual observations.

[jerseyshoregolfer]

Those balls better curve around trees and track the hole for that price!

[Ajota]

Too rich for my blood. I still play Nike Super Fars lol.

[taylorkt33]

I got two of these friend who works at a golf shop, he got them from the Nike rep. I've played both the RZN Platinum and RZN Black a good amount this past year so was pretty curious to slap these around. While I liked things about each of the current gens, I found the Platinum to feel a bit too "heavy" off wedges and the putter and the Black to be a bit unforgiving if you don't compress it completely, which I think was due to an overly firm cover. I also thought they both felt a bit artificial, for lack of a better term, though they were both massive improvements over the 20XIs, which were almost unplayable.

The RZN Proto isn't really like either of the current generation balls. It feels lighter off the putter face, with just the right amount of "click" for me. Feel off the wedges, irons and woods is spectacular - you can feel the ball compress even off a solid gap wedge, and if you compress it with an iron you're going to just sit there holding your pose while you think about how good the ball felt. Overall a soft but not too soft ball with a nice level of firmness in the cover that compresses very nicely. I didn't hit too many drivers with it because I'm struggling with the big stick and didn't want to hit it in the woods (which I eventually did with one of them, which was just annoying as all he!!), but driver is the least important for me when considering balls - I would expect it to feel just as good and perform the same as all other balls in terms of distance, which is to say, the same as all other balls.

Optically, it seems to have some type of micro-dimples that you can only see if you look closely, but that gives the ball a slightly grey appearance that I thought looked really modern compared to a pure white coating. Also hope they keep the blue numbering - looks really sharp.

May very well be my ball for next season.

[highdraw69]

that's a pretty impressive first post! nice write up and thanx for the info

[YoYoJumbo]

Apparently I ordered enough from Global Golf to get a nice Xmas surprise from them! Great customer service. These will be put into play next weekend!

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