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Nike Sumo Squared Review

by Joel Thomas

Please note - this article was written in 2008. The information is valid - but the prices have come way down. Here is what you can pay today:
Nike Sumo2 5300 (2007) - $99
Nike Sumo2 5900 (2008) - $149
These are the lowest prices on the internet for these clubs. Ignore the prices in the article.

For 2008, Nike golf has released its second generation SQ Sumo² 5900 driver. The new club has the highest MOI of any driver Nike has ever released. Higher MOI means more stability on impact with less club twisting and that translates into straighter drives and more fairways, even on mis-hits.

Nike engineers took feedback from those who used the original award-winning Sumo squared in 2007 and made improvements that range from a cosmetically sleeker look to a twist-preventing 5900 MOI (the highest MOI in golf). The new SQ Sumo Squared has a quieter sound than the original model, but is still louder than most conventional drivers. But the sound isn't the only thing that will get your golfing partners' attention. Watching your drivers soar long and straight down the middle of the fairway will definitely make some heads turn.

How the Sasquatch Sumo² Fares on the Course

All the scientific jargon and hoopla doesn't mean anything if a golf club doesn't improve your game. This 'playability' factor is one that is hard to find on a spec sheet, but when you ask enough people who have played a club, you see a pattern start to emerge. Overall, golfers rank the Sasquatch Sumo Squared as a very playable club. I list some of the comments from average golfers at the end of this review. First of all, though, I'd like to give you my own impressions.

I, too was impressed with the Sumo Squared driver. I used one in 2007 and immediately fell in love with the increased accuracy. After putting a Sumo² in my bag in 2007, my handicap dropped by 4 strokes, my fairway accuracy jumped from 50% to 80%, and my distance increase by 20 yards. Those are some significant improvements for a 14 handicapper (now a 10, thank you). Although I could occasionally hit it longer with my TaylorMade R7 Draw Driver, I had to hit it flush to accomplish that. With the Sumo², my drives were overall more consistently long. That's because I only hit my drives flush about 40% of the time. The other 60% I tend to hit off the toe or heel.

The Sumo² Is Amazingly Straight

The thing is, even when I hit the Sumo² off the heel or toe, the ball seems to go almost a long as a flush hit. With my old driver, I would lose 30-40 yards with the same mis-hits. Although it is still possible to hook or slice with the Sumo², this is not the driver to use if you like to work the ball. That's the main reason Tiger Woods and other Tour players who use Nike Golf equipment tend to go with the more conventional Sasquatch Sumo rather than the square version. The notable exception, of course, is KJ Choi -- and just look at how his world ranking improved in 2007 after he started used the Sumo². The 2008 version of the Sumo Squared increases the MOI from 5300 to 5900, so it should be even straighter.

The Square 'Look' Can Actually be Helpful

The biggest complaint many of my golfing buddies have about the Sumo² and the other square drivers is that they don't like the shape. It seems too modern and not conventional enough. As they say in Latin "de gustibus no est disputandum" (there is no disputing tastes). But it's not a shape you have to either love or hate. I wasn't too sure about the blocky shape either when I first started using my Sumo², but I quickly found that the square shape actually helped me line up my drives along my target line. I got used to the shape in no time. Nike designers also built in a visual effect so that the top of the club (as you are looking down at address) has a dark part that is more of a traditional shape and "added" square part is a lighter color. This effect fools your eye into not noticing the square shape at all.

The Sumo² Hits it Lower than Many Drivers

The Diamana shaft on the Sumo² driver seems to have a rather low kick point, and for me that translated into my drives having a lower, more boring trajectory than, for example, the Callaway FT-i driver. For me, this was very helpful, since I tend to hit my driver high anyway. Unfortunately, I live in a windy climate and the high ball flight only helps on down-wind shots, which only occur about 2-3 times on my home course. The lower trajectory has really helped me when playing into the wind and in cross winds. It's not that the Sumo² is hard to get up in the air -- it's not. But if you normally like a lower driver angle (say a 9.5°), you may want to notch it up a degree to a 10.5° to get a similar result.

Higher Handicappers will be Helped the Most

Will a Nike Sumo² Driver help you? That, of course, is the million dollar question, and it's not necessarily an easy one to answer either. A lot depends upon your swing path, your swing speed and what kind of driver you are playing now. Here are a few rules of thumb:

• If your current driver is more than 4 years old, the Sumo² will definitely help you - but then again any of the new models probably will. Driver technology has increased so dramatically in the last 2-3 years that you will almost automatically gain more yardage and accuracy with any of the newer clubs.
• If you normally slice the ball or hook it badly, the Sumo² will help you a lot. It's not going to correct your faulty swing, but it will counteract some of the detrimental results of your swing flaws.
• If you have trouble making solid contact on the sweet spot, the Sumo² will help a lot with it's large hitting area and with the fact that almost the entire club face is a "sweet spot."
• If you are normally a straight shooter, you may do better with one of the drivers that will help you squeeze out that extra 5 or 10 yards. Of course, you'll suffer on the mis-hits, but that shouldn't hurt too much if you normally make solid contact.
• If you are a "feel" player who likes to bend your tee shots around corners, you'll be better off with a more conventional driver.
• In general, the higher your handicap, the more you will like the Sasquatch Sumo². Lower handicap players will not see as much improvement and therefore, for a variety of reasons, may choose a different driver. Nevertheless, many low handicappers and even scratch golfers have joined the square club revolution and are finding the game more enjoyable. K.J. Choi enjoyed his best year ever on Tour in 2007 after switching to the Sumo Squared driver.

The Price is Steep, But there are Some Other Options...

Perhaps the biggest drawback of the new square drivers is the steep price tag. And although the Sumo² driver is not as expensive as the Callaway FT-i, it is still pricey. The worst thing is that the people that could be helped the most (high handicappers) are usually the ones who are priced out of the picture. Since high handicappers usually are more casual players and therefore don't budget as much of their income to the game, a $300-$500 price tag for a single club is usually out of reach. Heck, even for an avid golfer that's a big chunk of change to lay down for one club.

If price is the determining factor, there are 3 different options to help you out:

1. First, the 2007 models (first generation) will still be available brand new for a limited time in 2008, so you can find the Sasquatch Sumo² 5300 for as low as $199 brand new, configured as you want. These will most likely only be available for a limited time, though, so hurry to purchase while supplies last.
2. The second option is to buy used. You can check the classifieds in your local newspaper or ask at your local pro shop, but the best way is to check out the auctions on Ebay. There should be a sampling of some current Sasquatch Sumo and Sumo² auctions listed below. If you are unfamiliar with buying on Ebay, I can attest that I have purchased hundreds of items over the last 5 years on Ebay and have never been disappointed. Be sure to read each auction item carefully, however. Other places to buy quality used golf clubs is at some of the online golf superstores or at Callaway preowned. Even though the latter mainly deals in Callaway clubs, they also have a limited selection of other brands, including the Nike Sumo series. The upside is that all of their used clubs are certified and rated by professionals so you can buy used with confidence.
3. The third option is -- if brand name isn't as important as results -- go with a custom clone driver. I'm not talking about cheap, off-the-rack clubs like you find at Walmart. Those will hurt your game more than help. Stay away from them. I'm talking about quality, custom clubs built by a reputable club maker. If you find the right club maker or manufacturer, you can get a great driver for a quarter of the price. They can do this because they don't pay Tour players to endorse their clubs and they don't spend huge amounts on TV and Magazine advertising. Instead, they pass those savings on to you and you only pay for the equipment, not the publicity. The best outfit I have found is Gigagolf. In 2007 they sold a Nike Sumo² clone called the Ozzy MOTO. I actually tested it out and found it to be virtually indistiguishable from my Sumo Squared. For 2008, they have a new model called the GX Squared Ti 460 that is more like a Callaway FT-i clone, and it is even better than the Ozzy. There are actually several different clone golf club manufacturers that I have used and I can wholeheartedly recommend those that are on my list. Just check out the link below for the full list, but GigaGolf remains my favorite.

 

Discount Sumo² Options

Used Nike Drivers at Callaway Preowned - some good deals here (5300's under $150)

Nike Clone Driver Get a Nike Sumo2 clone for under $100

GX Squared Ti 460 - an FT-i style clone driver that works great for $99

Used Nike Sasquatch Drivers on Ebay:

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