For a while after they came into golf Nike made some great fairway woods. Models like the Nike SasQuatch II Fairway are still in a lot of tour player bags even today. Unfortunately despite the launch of the Nike VR_S Covert fairway it is likely to stay that way.
Let's start with the things we do like first. The red colour of the head is a lovely luxurious red that will really stand out on the fairways. The face with the NexCor design is clearly visible at address and looks like it sits in front of the hosel giving you a nice feeling of confidence. The depth of the face is good and will enable most levels of player to get the ball up and away.
The Covert cavity on the sole looks striking and with the weight more in the corners than most other fairways it does provide a decent level of stability.
So standing still, the VR_S Covert looks great, well apart from the white swoosh by the hosel. And the head size which is just a bit too compact for a mid handicappers club. It is a very round style with lovely smooth lines but it just doesn't look right to us.
When it moves then the performance is solid without being spectacular. The sound and feel are average and performance is OK as the ball goes up in the air and forward. Given the size of the head the forgiveness is not particularly high, which is not surprising given most of the weight is in the middle of the club. This will increase ball speed but not help with dispersion.
There are a lot of things we like about Nike golf clubs. The irons and wedges have always been excellent and the fairways used to be another strong point, so come on Nike, give us a fairway to get the SasQuatch out of our bags.