Jamie Kennedy
By

Nike Golf's president famously said about the company's Covert range of clubs, "If it’s good enough, then we must make it better.”

So was Cindy Davis right? Is the new range better? We got ourselves a set of the new Nike VRS Covert 2.0 irons and put them through their paces to find out.

Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Iron

Of all the clubs in the range, the Covert 2.0 irons have undergone the most dramatic makeover visually. They are very different on the eye compared to the original Nike VRS Covert irons that hit shops a year ago, or even the original Nike VRS irons. The changes were needed and the new look is a big upgrade that should have more appeal to "store-display" golfers.

The idea behind the new design, however, remained largely the same: produce an attractive, forgiving iron using perimeter weighting, centre of gravity shifting and Nike's NexCOR face.

As well as a shinier chrome finish, the Covert 2.0 features an updated, larger cavity behind the face.

Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Cavity

The rather strange looking cavity has been designed to pull more of the weight in the head away from the face to the perimeter where it can improve the club's forgiveness.

The good news is that you never see this design at address and it does seem to make a difference. The flight was very high, forgiving and had a really hot feel, especially in the mid to short irons.

At address, the rounded profile of the clubs is easy on the eye while the glossy look of the chrome framed the face nicely.

Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Iron At Address

Almost all the edges of the irons are soft. The topine, the toe, the cavity and even the leading edge. Nike bevelled the leading edge to allow more of the club to come into contact with the ground at impact. This was great on one of the days I tested the Covert 2 irons, as the ground was soft and it felt like extra bounce on the shorter irons.

One thing I noticed immediately throughout the set was a larger transition in size between the heel and the toe of the clubface. Essentially, the clubs look less square in shape at address, which again reminded me of the popular game-improvement irons of the early 2000s.

Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Iron Face View

Whether it was this new shape or not, the offset was less noticeable at address than most game improvement irons and in fact, in flight, the ball seemed to be less set on moving left in the air.

Whilst most game-improvement irons tend to get a little oversized and bulky in the longer irons, the Covert 2.0 irons are not. They sat more compactly behind the ball and the chrome finish made them look larger than they are. Fear not though, they still offer all the help that players suffering from "long-iron-phobia" will want and need.

The VRS Covert 2.0 is the third or fourth generation of iron that has included Nike's NexCOR face. With a variable thickness behind the face, Nike say the design "allows for greater ball speed off the face, resulting in more distance."

Truth be told, they may be right.

Nike VRS Covert 2.0 Iron Address Hero

Whilst the feel and performance off the face won't be for low handicappers, that is not who this iron is designed for. Nike created the Nike VR Forged irons for that category of player.

For the players who do want, or need, a little help and jump from their irons, they will be pleased. The hot, fast feel at impact was fun to play with, and whilst you can feel the difference on a low-face strike, the end result didn't differ greatly.

One last splash of colour and change in the Covert 2.0 irons comes in the form of the bright-white, Golf Pride 2G wrap grips. Slick in looks, the grips are very tacky but may require some cleaning maintenance over time, as anyone who's worn white trousers on the golf course will know all to well.

Overall, I was really impressed. The other irons in the range featured minor tweaks and upgrades, but for the majority of golfers that will fall into the target for these game-improvements irons, I doubt you'll be disappointed. Better looks, improved performance and plenty of forgiveness.

It's official, I've been Covert-ed.

Golfalot Rating: 4 stars
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Nike VRS Covert 2 Irons - Product Details

UK Launch01 February 2014
UK Launch RRP£449.99
Handicap Range
Low
High
GolferMens, Women, Senior
Hand AvailabilityLeft, Right
MaterialSteel
FinishChrome
Shaft NameDynalite 105 (Steel) or Kuro Kage (Graphite)
Shaft TypesSteel, Graphite
Shaft FlexLight, Regular, Stiff
GripGolf Pride 2G wrap
DesignCavity Back
Set Makeup4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, PW
Manufacturer's WebsiteNike Website

User Reviews

W.F.
November 2018

Just played a round with these today and the reviews are correct. They are long. After playing many, many rounds with my last set, my distance was starting to fade. I easily saw a club length more distance from my old clubs at their peak! I overshot 3 greens on the front 9 before calibrating myself to these, but once I did, I hit 3 greens outside of the 130-140 yard range. They feel great and the weighting is nice. These will definitely be my new gamers.

riverman
February 2018

I am a 6 handicap and in my mid forties, I can't hit blades as good as I use to so I switched to these game improvement irons. They are very easy to hit and hit very straight. Don't worry about really trying to work the ball because they won't, but they will go straight. It takes the pressure off of my game and I don't have to hit hundreds of balls at the range and I can still get the ball up somewhere around the green. I recommend these if you are tired of trying to have your perfect swing to hit players clubs.

Ryan
October 2017

This is by far the best irons I have played with. When searching for clubs I tried all of the name brands and the Nike covert 2.0 were longer and straighter with less effort. I get new clubs about every 5 years but I think these will be around for a long time.

Mike
July 2017

Most forgiving irons I've played (without looking like a clunky Super Game Improvement iron, to boot). They have a light feel. Doesn't have the excessive offset that some game improvement irons have.. They set up to the ball beautifully. Springy, variable thickness face. Nice distance even when hit off center. Most rewarding is that they help my particular mis-hit (out toward the toe). They have nice chunk of perimeter weight on the toe and helps! I had never tried Nike equipment mainly because none of my golf group has any Nike clubs (and isn't that how we get hooked on brands--by trying out our buddy's new driver?) I started with the Nike Vapor Fly driver (phenomenal) and tried the Covert irons at a local shop after seeing reviews on YouTube. Turns out Nike made great clubs! Too bad nobody knew about them.

May 2017

I love these irons. I went from a 15-5 hanicap. If you buy you will it be disappointed.

August 2016

Love them so much.

October 2015

Hello everyone,

First my game : I have started Golf only 3 years ago, playing about once or twice a week. I usually play 15 to 18. My first set was an Inesis (Decathlon) beginners set that I played for a year. Then, my neighbour was selling his 2006 Nike pro-combo set and for 100€, I bought that.... At first, it was very hard to hit, but I got used to it and started playing lower and lower. The problem with the blades, was that in a bad day, it was a complete mess and i would get very frustrated. So last Christmas, I bought at special discount the cover 2.0. I have lost the looks of the blades, but I gained 15 meters on each clubs and a good consistency.

And then, my wife wanted to offer me a new set for this Christmas! So I went for a fitting( the first), and since the wifey is paying, well... Let's go for forged Mizuno's 😄.

After hitting my 6 iron and then the entire Mizuno range with either orochi 70g reg and c taper lite 105, on Mp-25, MP-H5, JPX 850 forged, JPX 850, EZ Forged 2016, EZ 2016, well, the club with which I have the less dispersion (11 m left and 9 meters deep) and the most distance (138 m carry) is the Nike Covert 2.0!

I have re discovered my covert again, and I have seen that they were great clubs, consistent and really easy to hit.

So I'll stick to them until I go single digits...and then we'll see!!!!

August 2015

I bought these irons last season and I love them. They look awesome and people ask me often what irons I'm playing. I didn't much like the standard white grips that they came with so I changed those out to a midsize grip right from the start. I am a 10 handicap and one of the reasons I bought these irons is because they have very little offset to them. As others have mentioned, they have a very high ball flight and my biggest problem so far has been adjusting my yardages. What used to be an 8 iron for me is now a PW. Good problem to have!

August 2015

I'm a mid handicapper and been playing with these for about 8 months and haven't looked back since. These have brought me down from 25 to 15 handicap, they are very forgiving and add distance to your shot ! Still after 8 months I haven't found a fault with them playing wise or look wise , great looking clubs and great performing clubs. Will take a extreme set of clubs to make me change these!

May 2015

I have played with my new Nike convert 2.0 irons and I am very pleased with the good feel and long, straight hits. I have Kuro Kage shafts and the ball stops nicely into greens. Ball flight is nice and the clubs are very forgiving.

April 2015

I'm a 0 - 5 handicapper and recently traded in my Mizuno MP 4's and purchased a set of Nike Covert 2.0 irons. I really liked my MP 4's and played some of my best golf last year with them, but I really had to work hard on my swing to ensure solid contact with those blades. My reason for purchasing the Covert 2.0 irons - less work on the range and "easier to hit" clubs that allow me to go without practicing for a period of time and still enjoy golf on the course. The Covert 2.0 irons are very easy to hit and very forgiving, even when my swing is not "grooved". Of course, I've also added distance with the Covert 2.0 irons as they have strong lofts - about a club longer. That's not a big thing, but it does boost your confidence a little bit when you can hit an 8 iron into a green instead of a 7 iron, and bring the ball onto the green a little higher for better stopping power.
Yes, the Covert 2.0's look and feel chunkier than the Mizuno MP4's (or any other player's club), but the more forgiving and longer hitting characteristics of the 2.0's make me feel good about my decision. I'm really enjoying them.

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