Saturday provided most consumers with their first opportunity to try out Nike’s 2008 SUMO series golf clubs. While no Nike rep was on hand (I suspect he was down the road at Golf Galaxy), my local proshop had plenty of new drivers, fairway woods, and hybrids for me (and everyone else to try).

While I believe it’s important to demo new clubs multiple times before purchasing, first impressions matter as well. With that in mind, let’s just say that at first sight, my feelings were mixed. The new clubs are definitely square, which for some could be a deal breaker in and of itself. If that’s not a problem for you, by all means read on.

The first club I hit was the new SUMO² 5900 driver. The first thing I noticed was that Nike has tweaked the color scheme a little bit. Gone is the bright yellow shaft (the new stock shaft is black). Nike reduced the amount of yellow on the sole of the club, and refined the shape of the Powerbow. The new look isn’t nearly as distracting as years past. This year Nike also changed the finish on the black portion of the clubhead. Instead of the high gloss black common to many crowns, Nike is using a powdered matte finish more similar to the 2006 and 2007 Cleveland HiBore series. It’s a great choice, and really ads a lot to the clubs appearance at set up. The new paint scheme is common to all of the new SUMO series clubs.

As I mentioned above, Nike refined the shape of the Powerbow perimeter weighting system as well. Unlike previous models, where the design of the Powerbow seemed to do very little other than to accentuate what’s largely a marketing feature, the shape of this year’s matte silver Powerbow has been altered such that it produces an optical illusion of sorts. With it symmetrically rounded inside corners, it makes the rectangular clubheads appear, dare I say, almost conventional at address. This is huge as it really makes the square clubheads look almost normal.

Esthetics are only a small part of the equation. How the club plays is really the thing, right? You won’t hear me saying anything along the lines of “The new <insert club here> is the longest driver I’ve ever hit”. Don’t get me wrong, the new SUMO drivers are plenty long, but in an era when every club on the market is a titanium-faced, 460cc monster, you’d be hard pressed to find an honest 10 yards difference between any of them. Realistically, the biggest differences are going to be in feel, sound, and the trade off between forgiveness and workability. Of course, at some point in the demo process you’ll probably find a club that, regardless of any rational consideration, just feels like the right club. That’s the club you’ll buy.

With that out of the way…what did think about the performance of the new SUMO² driver? Having not so much as picked up a golf club since November, I was a little rusty to say the least. That’s not a bad thing. You’ll want to see what a club can do with your worst swings as well as your best.

The 2008 SUMO2 wants to go straight. Even the slices produced by my worst swings would probably qualify as fades. No nasty banana hooks or anything like that. Of course, slice insurance comes at a cost. I found it very difficult to move the ball right to left. My natural shot is more of a fade anyway, so I generally have to really work at creating a draw. With the 2008 SUMO², I simply couldn’t do it (better golfers could probably do a little bit more – but not much – with this club).

More so than with any other club, the sound and feel of a driver are closely linked. Last year’s SUMO was an acoustical nightmare; a loud pop that bordered on offensive. Nike put a lot of work into refining (changing) the sound characteristics of the new models. I have mixed feelings about the result. Gone is the loud pop. In its place is something closer to crack of a wooden baseball bat. While it’s a huge improvement over last year, it’s not as pleasing as what you’ll get out of a Titleist, or TaylorMade. That said, I actually prefer the new sound of Nike to the crunching of most composite crown drivers (Callaway for example).

After hitting a dozen or so balls with the SUMO² 5900, I moved on the more conventionally shaped SUMO 5000; Tiger’s driver. The results were just about what you’d expect. The SUMO 5000 isn’t quite as forgiving as the square model, but it still a reasonably forgiving driver. What I really liked about the 5000 was that it allowed me to hit a couple of beautiful high draws. I did bend a couple a little farther to the right than I would have liked, but again, that’s to be expected from a club that emphasizes workability over forgiveness.

Overall I really liked the SUMO 5000. One of my associates liked it so much he actually bought one (although he chose to replace the stock Diamana Yellowboard shaft with the Aldila VS Proto – which is exactly what I would have done as well).

SUMO Saturday also provided the opportunity to take a handful of hacks with both the new SUMO Squareway, and the new SUMO hybrid. I suspect that most people who like the SUMO drivers will love the fairway and hybrid clubs. If nothing else, the feel is remarkably consistent as you move from driver down to the hybrids.

The Powerbow weighting system does make it exceptionally easy to get the ball airborne. In fact, for me anyway, it may have been too easy. I’m fortunate in that I have a naturally high ball flight, and sometimes need to find ways to lower my trajectory. I consistently hit the Nike SUMO fairway 5 wood higher that I’d want on a golf course. With the hybrid, the high launch was even more pronounced.

If you’re looking for a higher ball flight, the SUMO fairways and hybrids provide a lot of help getting the ball up in the air. If you already hit the ball high, you may need to either replace the stock shaft, or look at something else altogether. I’m guessing, however; that an overwhelming number of golfers would see some benefit from the high-launching SUMO woods and hybrids.

What I didn’t like

• While across the board the esthetics of the SUMO drivers are improved, I don’t think I”ll ever embrace a square driver.
• The sound. While it’s a huge improvement from last year, it’s still not as appealing as the sound from Titleist, TaylorMade, and Ping.
• The SUMO² 5900 makes it very difficult to work the ball.
• The fairway and hybrids produce too high a ball flight (most should actually see this as a positive)
• No Nike rep on site. Last year, the Nike guy was available for questions and general conversation. I suspect this year he was down the road at the bigger Golf Galaxy store.

What I did like

• The new paint job greatly improves the look of the club, giving square models a more traditional appearance.
• The SUMO 5000 driver is a workable driver that still offers a ton of forgiveness. I like it a lot.
• Consistent feel from driver through hybrid
• Center of gravity of SUMO fairway and hybrid clubs is low and deep making it unbelievably easy to get the ball airborne (yeah…I know I said I didn’t like that, but for most golfers this will be a huge plus).
• Finally, I live that Nike actually has a nationwide launch event for their new clubs. I wish more manufacturers did this.

Final Thoughts

With my current driver less than a year old, I’m unlikely to seriously consider purchasing a new driver. If I find one in this year’s crop that blows me away I’ll be sure to let you know. That said, If the airlines lost my clubs and I had to start over, the Nike SUMO 5000 would definitely be on my short list. While the sound isn’t perfect, there really aren’t any significant negatives. Across the board it compares favorably with other workable drivers, and likely offers the most forgiveness in its class. Overall, I’m very impressed.

The SUMO² 5900 just isn’t my thing. It’s a very forgiving club, and it’s as long as anything out there, but the lack of workability, and the square design are non-starters for me. I’m sure, however, there will be more than a few golfers who add it to their bags this year.

Those looking for new fairways or hybrids should also look at the SUMO lineup, although I’m admittedly less enamored by them than I am the SUMO 5000 driver. Truthfully I’ve yet to find a single fairway wood that performs significantly better for me than any other. When I do find that club it will go in my bag. Still, if you need woods or hybrids, the new SUMO series clubs are definitely worth a demo, although my feeling is single-digit handicappers will probably want to look elsewhere. For the majority of golfers; however, the oh-so-easy-to launch SUMO woods and hybrids could offer legitimate game-improvement possibilities.

 Have you tried any of the 2008 Nike lineup?  Please share your thoughts below.