On my recent trip to Fort Worth, TX I had the opportunity to get a rare behind the scenes tour of Nike Golf’s Research & Development facility, “The Oven”. ”TheOven” is where Nike Golf designs, prototypes, tests, and builds the golf clubs and balls that their PGA Tour players (Tiger Woods, Paul Casey, Stewart Cink, etc) use, but also make the final versions that are sent out to be mass produced and sold to consumers.
Let’s Go…Inside “The Oven”
This is Nike Golf’s second R&D expansion in just three years. Part of the renovation for the “Oven” involved adding an additional 17,600 square footage for offices and new large auditorium for meetings and presentations, but also an entirely new 129,000 square foot short game area made of synthetic turf, that looks and plays like real grass in the front of the complex. The short game area includes three synthetic greens, one natural grass green, bunkers and practice holes. The practice holes and hitting areas are designed for the purpose of providing various distances for short irons so that iron and ball testing is both extensive and constructive for Nike engineers and Nike athletes. The short game area also is enhanced by a water feature that runs through the middle of the short game course.
The main entry way features a wall of fame and time line of all the highlights of Nike Golf, and even a wall that displays every version of their golf clubs Nike Golf has produced from past to the present. A mixture of their latest equipment or technology breakthroughs are on display along with memorabilia over the years, like Tiger Woods tiger headcover and signed mock turtleneck that he first started wearing in 2003.
Before we went on the tour, we sat through a short presentation on the history of Nike Golf R&D and how they came up with the name. Interesting to note, because the name came from baking up good things, therefore the name “The Oven”. After the presentation, Nike Golf’s Director of Product Creation Tom Stites, Nike Golf athletes Stewart Cink, Paul Casey, and Justin Leonard took questions from the audience.
The Tour Of The Testing Lab
The tour begins with the testing lab, where Nike engineers test for a clubs sweetspot, USGA groove tests, center of gravity, and moment of inertia. The amount of testing time that goes into the developing your golf clubs is astounding. You come away with a big appreciation for the commitment and dedication by Nike Golf in producing the best product available.
Next stop on the tour is the CAD room where a design gets made into model that can be touched. Currently Nike Golf is working on clubs for 2013 release.
From their we go to the sound testing lab, where they tune the sound of the golf club. I never knew that this was part of developing a golf club, I always thought the sound was result of the material used to make the club.
Next is the CNC Shop, where the CAD designs are built into prototypes, either out of resin or metal. It’s in this room that all the initial prototypes are created, so they can be assembled into a golf club.
Nike’s :The Oven” CAD and CNC Room
Impact Testing Machine…To Test For Durability
The Center Of Gravity Machine…Shows Clubs Exact CG Location
This Is Where Tiger’s Clubs Are Produced
The assembly room, is where individual components are put together and assembled into a golf club. This is where they assemble the final clubs that Tiger Woods or any of the Tour players use. What was really unique about the assembly process, is how they determine the proper lie of the golf club. Traditional club making involves using either a Mitchell or lie board to determine the lie angle, but Nike Golf uses it’s more accurate method, with their patented device called the “Green Machine”. The “Green Machine”, which was developed by Nike Golf’s engineers, allows a club builder to build the club to the exact lie angle every time, no matter who’s building the club. The advantage of building clubs this way, is there is no variance in lie angle and club length from builder to builder.
Resin & Metal Prototypes in The CNC Shop
Putter Prototype Heads
Nike’s Commitment To Producing Top-Notch Clubs
The machine shop is where they polish and finish the golf clubs that the CNC shop produces before being sent to assembly.
At the end of the tour I came away with a several things: one is the commitment and passion of the Nike Golf R&D employees. Every person is so committed to building the best product on the market and it shows. Second, this isn’t a company out to make a fast buck by leveraging the Nike brand name. I still stand behind my belief, that Nike Golf is one of the most underrated golf equipment manufacturers, that has been producing high quality product over the last few years, and it shows.
“The Nike brand is globally synonymous with innovation, performance and the pursuit of athletic excellence,” said Cindy Davis, President of Nike Golf. “The expansion of “The Oven” is an indication of Nike Golf’s commitment to our athletes, as well as to solidifying our role as an undisputed leader in the research, design and development of clubs and balls.”
My visit to “The Oven” further reinforced my belief and look forward to seeing what Nike Golf comes up with next.
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