What started with a plan to develop game improvement irons for his son led Tom Stites, director of product creation for Nike Golf, on a decade-long journey of designs, prototypes, and testing. After countless sketches and more than 200 handmade prototypes Stites settled on the theory that if the centre of gravity (CG) is pulled behind the clubface and lower in the club head, progressively from short irons to long irons, it promotes a higher launch angle and facilitates squaring the face. What Stites created is referred to as Slingback technology and the resulting Air CG. The Slingshot irons have a metal bar arcing from heel to toe to facilitate squaring the club head at impact and to create a higher ball flight for long, soft-landing shots. Throughout the set, the flow weighting of the Slingback design shifts the CG incrementally higher, closer to the face, and towards the toe as it moves toward the short irons. This progression reduces the launch angle and increases the spin rate which helps prevent shots from ballooning while maintaining the ability to hold greens. The distance between the arcing Slingback and the center point on the back of the clubface is a constant six-tenths of an inch. The CG of most conventional irons is within the clubface; however, the CG of the Slingshot irons is suspended in air behind the face, creating Air CG. The Air CG promotes a higher launch angle and makes it easier to square the clubface resulting in greater distance and fewer slices. Air CG is made possible by the use of a Custom 455 Stainless Steel face, which is thinner, stronger and faster than standard stainless steel. The weight savings realised from the lighter face, or 20 grams, is repositioned behind the face in the arcing Slingback. The Air CG resides between the back of the face and the Slingback. All Slingshot clubfaces are “cold-rolled” Custom 455 Stainless Steel and milled flat to within .002 of an inch and have engraved scoring lines to ensure consistent and predictable ball flight and spin rates. They have a progressive offset that is greater in the long irons to allow additional time to square the clubface before impact. The Lightweight Speed Step Steel Shaft is 30% lighter than traditional steel shafts.