Is the Stealth the unmade Nike VPR Drivers

[DavidH88]

hey everyone and happy New Year to you all and I hope you are all well and enjoying some good golf. I'm hoping to get on the range next week (weather permitting) for the first time in 2022, but something just come to mind and I have the inkling that the new Stealth Driver would/could have been the Nike VPR Strike that was never released and the evidence is the sole of both. They are very similar minus the carbon face. Did perhaps TaylorMade buy the patents from Nike and used some of their designs to design the Stealth. 

 

Either way what do you guys think? based on this pic

 

 

 

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by DavidH88
mistake in title

[getair23]

Ping bought up the Nike golf patents.  This is just coincidental.  

 

Nice find.

[Bad9]

1 hour ago, DavidH88 said:

hey everyone and happy New Year to you all and I hope you are all well and enjoying some good golf. I'm hoping to get on the range next week (weather permitting) for the first time in 2022, but something just come to mind and I have the inkling that the new Stealth Driver would/could have been the Nike VPR Strike that was never released and the evidence is the sole of both. They are very similar minus the carbon face. Did perhaps TaylorMade buy the patents from Nike and used some of their designs to design the Stealth. 

 

Either way what do you guys think? based on this pic

 

 

 

 

 

Would the shape of a golf club sole be patentable?

[RogerinNewZealand]

Loved the 2010 Vr420cc, theres no way i would be seen with that Nike in my bag...

[DavidH88]

7 minutes ago, Bad9 said:

 

Would the shape of a golf club sole be patentable?

I would recon so since it would be a design and most designs go through patents but I do see your angle 🙂 but I could be wrong.

[DavidH88]

11 minutes ago, getair23 said:

Ping bought up the Nike golf patents.  This is just coincidental.  

 

Nice find.

that I did forget lol. still very similar ^_^

[Milfordlefty]

Maybe Ping sold the rights to Taylormade? Just a guess. My guess what is patented is what goes on under the skin. It is not like an OEM could patent a pear shape for a driver. This is all conjecture on my part regarding patents.

[amace04]

1 hour ago, DavidH88 said:

hey everyone and happy New Year to you all and I hope you are all well and enjoying some good golf. I'm hoping to get on the range next week (weather permitting) for the first time in 2022, but something just come to mind and I have the inkling that the new Stealth Driver would/could have been the Nike VPR Strike that was never released and the evidence is the sole of both. They are very similar minus the carbon face. Did perhaps TaylorMade buy the patents from Nike and used some of their designs to design the Stealth. 

 

Either way what do you guys think? based on this pic

 

 

 

 

I don't think so.  Look at any TM Driver from the M6 and on, or the cobra F9 and on.  They all have a very similar design.  The idea is to get weight as low and back as possible.

 

Maybe Nike was ahead of its time on this one.  I'm not familiar with this model or what came before it, but the mid-2010s  was a weird time.  Experimenting with low spin as the norm, the "loft up" campaign, weights close to the face, weights back of the head, weights you could put all over the place.  I think it's purely coincidental.  Nike was tinkering with discretionary weight, as all manufacturers do, and hit on something before the others did.

[animalgolfs]

40 minutes ago, getair23 said:

Ping bought up the Nike golf patents.  This is just coincidental.  

 

Nice find.

I thought they only acquired certain Nike patents?

[the bishop]

3 minutes ago, animalgolfs said:

I thought they only acquired certain Nike patents?

According to this article: https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2017/04/25/exclusive-ping-buys-nike-golf-patents.html  Ping bought 5 Nike golf patents.  But it doesn't say specifically which ones. 

[DavidH88]

3 minutes ago, amace04 said:

I don't think so.  Look at any TM Driver from the M6 and on, or the cobra F9 and on.  They all have a very similar design.  The idea is to get weight as low and back as possible.

 

Maybe Nike was ahead of its time on this one.  I'm not familiar with this model or what came before it, but the mid-2010s  was a weird time.  Experimenting with low spin as the norm, the "loft up" campaign, weights close to the face, weights back of the head, weights you could put all over the place.  I think it's purely coincidental.  Nike was tinkering with discretionary weight, as all manufacturers do, and hit on something before the others did.

Well said and spot on 🙂  apparently the Nike VPR line was going to be released after the Vapor line but of course went out of business before it was made.  

[DavidH88]

2 minutes ago, the bishop said:

According to this article: https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2017/04/25/exclusive-ping-buys-nike-golf-patents.html  Ping bought 5 Nike golf patents.  But it doesn't say specifically which ones. 

Indeed that is what I forgot, still a interesting view to see similarities between companies 🙂

[third-times-a-charm]

I dont know where the club designers at Nike went but I wouldnt doubt some went to TM and other large OEMs.

 

Weight 'low and back' in the driver is not new but the aesthetic of that center channel is definitely a hallmark of whomever at Nike designed it so whether it be a copy or that same designer - who knows.

 

From a 10k foot view it does seem Taylormade is turning very Nike-esque lately.

[IMeneses]

2 hours ago, DavidH88 said:

hey everyone and happy New Year to you all and I hope you are all well and enjoying some good golf. I'm hoping to get on the range next week (weather permitting) for the first time in 2022, but something just come to mind and I have the inkling that the new Stealth Driver would/could have been the Nike VPR Strike that was never released and the evidence is the sole of both. They are very similar minus the carbon face. Did perhaps TaylorMade buy the patents from Nike and used some of their designs to design the Stealth. 

 

Either way what do you guys think? based on this pic

 

 

 

 

The first time I saw the Stealth I thought “seems like a Nike driver”. I agree with you. Maybe some of the patents from Nike were bought by TaylorMade, maybe a certain Cat gave several inputs from an unreleased product. 😀

 

What seems to me is that Nike was ahead of its time, because this driver and the Ping i59 irons have Nike all over it.
 

Another question: if these were Nike products, would they still get the same praise that they have now? 
 

cheers! 

[Flip4000]

6 minutes ago, IMeneses said:

The first time I saw the Stealth I thought “seems like a Nike driver”. I agree with you. Maybe some of the patents from Nike were bought by TaylorMade, maybe a certain Cat gave several inputs from an unreleased product. 😀

 

What seems to me is that Nike was ahead of its time, because this driver and the Ping i59 irons have Nike all over it.
 

Another question: if these were Nike products, would they still get the same praise that they have now? 
 

cheers! 

Iron wise: maybe

Driver: probably overlooked 

[DavidH88]

7 minutes ago, IMeneses said:

The first time I saw the Stealth I thought “seems like a Nike driver”. I agree with you. Maybe some of the patents from Nike were bought by TaylorMade, maybe a certain Cat gave several inputs from an unreleased product. 😀

 

What seems to me is that Nike was ahead of its time, because this driver and the Ping i59 irons have Nike all over it.
 

Another question: if these were Nike products, would they still get the same praise that they have now? 
 

cheers! 

very good points and excellent question, I guess Nike were ahead of their time but who knows what Nike had in store if they had continued but I don't think they would get the praise now since technology moving at a rapid pace they would have been left in the dust perhaps beating Callaway but not TM. thanks for the reply ^_^

[DavidH88]

16 minutes ago, third-times-a-charm said:

I dont know where the club designers at Nike went but I wouldnt doubt some went to TM and other large OEMs.

 

Weight 'low and back' in the driver is not new but the aesthetic of that center channel is definitely a hallmark of whomever at Nike designed it so whether it be a copy or that same designer - who knows.

 

From a 10k foot view it does seem Taylormade is turning very Nike-esque lately.

Agree completely Nike had the Oven and were in a way private in what they cooked up. (pardon the pun) either way they make/made some interesting gear to say the least 🙂 I know Rock Ishi who made the Nike balls went to Callaway when Nike stopped and I know some club designers went to TM to help design Tiger's gear. But overall they were/are amazing people. 

[ode1]

I don't get why people are saying the Stealth is "Nike" esque?  Other than having the same colors as the covert, vr pro, etc. and Sunday TW,  I don't see any similarity.  The Stealth appears to be the next design of the SIM, SIM2, m6.  I don't get it....did anyone say the m6, SIM, SIM 2 were Nike like?

[MattM97]

13 minutes ago, ode said:

I don't get why people are saying the Stealth is "Nike" esque?  Other than having the same colors as the covert, vr pro, etc. and Sunday TW,  I don't see any similarity.  The Stealth appears to be the next design of the SIM, SIM2, m6.  I don't get it....did anyone say the m6, SIM, SIM 2 were Nike like?

 

Don't you see, TaylorMade waited 3 generations slowly tweaking their drivers to release the Stealth all just to copy a driver that would be 6 generations old by now. 

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by MattM97

[Abh159]

Stealth looks just like the SIM and SIM 2 to me only with a different color scheme

[kmay__]

Just looks like a blacked out og SIM to me, with a new face. 

[TheGuywiththeWhiteBelt]

On 1/11/2022 at 12:25 PM, kmay__ said:

Just looks like a blacked out og SIM to me, with a new face. 

I agree. I hit the Stealth today at our club and did like it much more than the SIM though I still feel like it looks a cheap and gimmicky with the matte/gloss and red face. Just not for me I guess though you know TM will sell a ton of them. 

[hammergolf]

On 1/11/2022 at 10:39 AM, DavidH88 said:

hey everyone and happy New Year to you all and I hope you are all well and enjoying some good golf. I'm hoping to get on the range next week (weather permitting) for the first time in 2022, but something just come to mind and I have the inkling that the new Stealth Driver would/could have been the Nike VPR Strike that was never released and the evidence is the sole of both. They are very similar minus the carbon face. Did perhaps TaylorMade buy the patents from Nike and used some of their designs to design the Stealth. 

 

Either way what do you guys think? based on this pic

 

 

 

 

The design element that TM has called their “inertia generator” was actually an Adams design from 2008….

 

 

[mallrat]

Interesting question. I need to do some digging, A good buddy has seen every Nike club designed to be produced so he’ll know but I imagine he’ll have to see the TM in person first. 

[PorkChopExpress]

9015d was amazing

 

too bad TM acquired Adams

[Ivyguy]

On 1/11/2022 at 12:57 PM, getair23 said:

Ping bought up the Nike golf patents.  This is just coincidental.  

 

Nice find.

They did buy up SOME of their patents. 

[grm24]

TM may have purchased some Nike patents. However in Japan in 2013 and 2014 TM released multi layer carbon faced drivers called the Gloire Reserve (2013) and Distance Gloire (2014) before Nike left the equipment game in 2016 and had patents for sale. TM has been working on this technology for quite some time as they have indicated in articles on the Stealth release. Some of the later release Gloire drivers went back to a titanium face.

 

http://www.eighteenunderpar.com/blog/2013/03/22/taylormade-japan-gloire-driver/ - 2013 driver.

 

The Gloire line features all forged irons and drivers as well as a new carbon face on the Gloire Reserve driver. Below, you can take a look at a video by Taylormade that discusses the new Gloire Reserve driver – it is Taylormade’s most premium distance driver ever with the biggest sweet spot they have ever produced due to the multi-layer face. Furthermore, the Gloire Reserve driver takes advantage of Taylormade’s knowledge in adjustability, having a tuned CG weighting system (slightly heel-biased) to promote a high draw ball-flight and Flight Control Technology (FCT), with a total of 8 settings and a total loft range of 3 degrees.

 

http://www.eighteenunderpar.com/blog/2013/10/11/taylormade-japan-new-distance-gloire/ - 2014 driver.

 

The driver offers a high launch and draw biased characteristic. The main feature of the New Distance Gloire driver is the “Gloire Speed Face” which is made of 70 layers of graphite composite that allows for a lighter headweight. The multi-material Gloire Speed Face also gives golfers a 30% larger face area and a 55% larger sweetspot compared to a titanium face. And of course, the driver will feature Taylormade’s adjustable loft system.

Edited January 13, 2022 by grm24

[mogc60]

12 hours ago, hammergolf said:

The design element that TM has called their “inertia generator” was actually an Adams design from 2008….

 

 

TM has used so many Adams innovations since the acquisition. There is a reason they bought them. Inertia generator, velocity slot, sole designs on hybrids and face tech. 

[hammergolf]

On 1/13/2022 at 10:02 AM, mogc60 said:

TM has used so many Adams innovations since the acquisition. There is a reason they bought them. Inertia generator, velocity slot, sole designs on hybrids and face tech. 

Adams never got the credit they deserved. They really made some GREAT products.

[J.Bex]

Everyone has a version of similar low rear weight these days like the Nike and Adams, whether an obvious ridge or not.  TaylorMade is just more dramatic about it!

 

 

 

For reasons mentioned in the "unicorn driver" thread: