When you think of Nike irons, you tend to think of one man in particular and the blades that have taken him to so many victories. In fact, many have commented that it is Tiger’s use of blades that has caused a renaissance in their use, both among Tour players and better amateurs as everyone looks to capture just a shard of the great man’s ball striking ability. The Victory Red appellation is obviously a combination of Nike’s recent domination of iron win count (22 victories on all major Tours this year and 27 on the same tours last year) along with Tiger’s favored final day color.

Nike Victory Red TW Forged Blade Irons have a traditional muscleback that differs from Nike’s original Blades by having a larger muscleback and a fractionally thicker toe-line. The clubhead is also a fractionally longer heel-to-toe than the original Blades but you’re looking at no more than a 1/16 of an inch, if that. The club is finished in sparkling chrome that is so shiny that it’s practically a mirror and the face and muscleback is a blasted matte to reduce glare.

One of the rewards of playing blades is that wonderful sensation you get when you flush one out of the middle. The satisfaction of hitting the ball dead on comes from the choral symphony of feedback as the club sings in your hands in a way that no cavity back ever will. Nike have only been in the business of producing blades for a few years now and while it’s a little unfair to judge them against the acknowledged masters of forged irons like Mizuno and Titleist, in a like-for-like comparison it would be hard to say that these irons have quite the feel of the MP-67 or the Z-M. That’s not to say that the VR Blades do not give you a fantastic level of feel, it’s just that they are a fraction of a percent off the top spot. Tiger has said this about these irons – “I like VR Blades because of the consistent feel throughout the bag, how good it looks in a playing position and my workability. I can shape the ball both ways, change my trajectory, whatever I need to hit the ball closest to the hole and be as efficient as I can throughout the round. That’s ultimately what you want to have happen. I hope to have these new irons in my bag upon my return to competition.”

As with any set of blades, these clubs are intended for an above average ball striker. They will force you to hit them well to get any kind of decent result. The trade off is that you will know when you hit them well and you will know when and where on the face you may have missed the shot. The consistency of the ball flight and how it comes off the face is a big plus for the better player who likes to know exactly how the ball will react.

Golfers' review:

“I absolutely love My New Nike VR Blades. The feeing and feedback from these irons is superb!!I have not hit a shot that does not feel great. If you are looking to take your game to the next level and be way ahead of all the other manufacturers’ blades then the TW VR Blades are for you.”

“I bought the Nike VR TW blades as soon as I could get my hands on them. I have been a loyal Titleist fan for quite sometime but I was drawn to these irons because I wanted to switch to a blade and Tiger helped design them (I don’t know anyone better qualified to design a high performance club other than the arguably best golfer ever). My last set of irons were Titleist 755′s, which I love for their solid feel. I have always felt that Nike had been a little gimicky but the Victory Red lineup has changed my mind. I think they have stepped into the arena with Titleist and Mizuno.”

“These VRs are downright amazing. Much improved over the last Nike Blades if you ask me. I’ve been on the Titleist AP2 bandwagon for the last few months, but I demoed the VRs for 3 days and played them head to head against the AP2s, and the VRs simply have more feel. I also compared them with Titleist ZMs and ZBs, Cleveland CGTour and CG Red, and the split cavity VRs. I didn’t feel that the VR Blades were any less forgiving than any of these, more forgiving than some of them (ZMs/CGtour, and the feedback on them is better than all of them in my opinion.”

“I recently bought a set of VR blades and must say i am impressed. The look of the club at address is absolutely money! I agree with most about the aesthetics being too gaudy. You don’t even notice when you’re playing though.”

“I just switched from MP-32 to the TW VR’s and they are sweet! I am a 4 handicap and these blow away my old 32s. The control is amazing and bad shots aren’t near as bad as my 32s were. I am looking at getting new wedges and wondered how the VR wedges perform. I think Nike made a huge jump in the “players” club market with these, I tested the ZB, ZM, X tour, Taylormade MB (which are in my opinion total junk, I wouldn’t want a set if they were giving them away) and every other new players’ club out there and these are by far the BEST.”

“I own a set of these clubs and they are some of the best on the market. Very forgiving and they allow you to change your trajectory at the drop of a hat.”

More information at http://www.shoppinginjoy.com/Nike+Victory+Red+TW+Forged+Blade+Irons-goods-958.html