Elastomer Excellence

by Victor Williams

Nicken's new Arc Wedges are a sight for sore short games.

WEDGES
Nickent Arc
$139 | www.nickentgolf.com

Feelin’ It: This SoCal company has made monster inroads on the Champions and LPGA
tours with their hybrids, but this is the club that should get them in the short game, too. Nickent hired Master Designer John Hoeflich to knock out a classic Tour-shaped wedge with game-changing technology. ARC Wedges feature a high-rebound elastomer inside the clubhead. The Accelerated Rebound Core positions elastomer directly behind the strike zone, delivering a lively, solid reaction from the face to the ball and eliminating vibration.

Like Buttah: FG’s range test with 56- and 60-degree wedges (both with steel shafts) found the ARC lives up to the hype. Shots flutter off the face with a nice firm-but-soft feel, yet there’s enough weight through the hitting zone to keep you feeling in control and able to dial in distance with the slightest alteration of swing length. The Arc’s milled face imparts plenty of spin; even rock-hard range balls put on the brakes. And at address, the look is as comfort-food classic as they come.

The Verdict: Some of the world’s top women players are jumping on the ARC. So are we.

IRONS
Yonex Cyberstar Nanospeed
$1,260 3-PW | www.yonexusa.com

Good Vibrations: Nickent isn’t the only company using Elastomer to soften those approach shots. Yonex’s Cyberstar Nanospeed multi-material irons sandwich the stuff between two graphite plates, behind an ultra-thin stainless steel face. This is a heady recipe for producing a springlike face at impact without sacrificing feel and workability.

Evolutionary Look: These slightly offset game-improvement irons are built into three variations — long, mid and short. Longer sticks (3-5) feature a hollow head design; mid irons (6-9) feature a cavity back design for unmatched distance control, shotmaking precision and forgiveness; and the wedges feature a half-cavity blade-like head for softer landing approach shots with spin performance, forged iron-type balance and feel for accuracy. And Yonex’s proprietary Nanospeed shafts with Fullerene are lighter but more stable than a conventional graphite shaft — and that translates into longer carry through the bag.

Tasty Test: On the range, FG testers were bowled over by the Cyberstar Nanospeed’s tight, soft feel and confidence-boosting ballflight. We’re as boggled by a lot of the technospeak as anybody, but the proof is in the performance, and these weapons not only perform, they dazzle.