‘Golf ball aerodynamics are not as simple as an airplane wing,’ said Rock Ishii, Nike Golf’s senior director of innovation for balls. He was talking about the newly launched RZN Tour and RZN Speed balls, which are the culmination of a six-year-long development project.
There is a visible difference on the cover, which features a 344-dimple pattern with 13,558 micro dimples (approximately 40 per dimple). According to Ishii, the microdimples improve lift and drag properties, particularly at the end of the ball’s flight.
‘We knew there was something in these small protrusions, especially in the second portion of the ball’s trajectory, after the apex,’ said Ishii. ‘It’s visible and it works.’
The RZN Tour balls are available in a Black (less spin) and Platinum version, the latter of which was put to the test by Rory McIlroy towards the end of 2015. The Ulsterman played the final three events on the European Tour schedule with a Platinum prototype and went onto win the DP World Tour Championship as well as the Race to Dubai.
‘I saw a significant increase in my ball speed and iron distance,’ said McIlroy. ‘I feel like that has been a huge help to me in the three tournaments I’ve played with this ball. I don’t feel like I have to go after my irons as much. The new dimple pattern also helps it cut through the wind. I’m able to hit some shots that I wasn’t able to hit before.’
The RZN Tour is a four-piece urethane-cover design that uses a new resin (RZN) material, which enables the core to be made 10 percent larger for a faster ball speed while also providing the opportunity to soften the feel by about seven percent. The core boasts an x-shaped surface pattern that creates 26 percent more surface area than the previous generation.
In addition to the RZN Tour the company also unveiled the RZN Speed, a three-piece ball in two versions (White for softer feel and Red for longer carry). The balls use a softer RZN formulation as well to enhance feel.
‘This is innovation,’ said Ishii. ‘This is where we are now. And we are heading toward our future.’
