Nike Golf launches Tiger Woods 2015 golf shoe with Flyweave Innovation

Nike Golf and Tiger Woods have for a long time now worked closely on pushing the boundries of both golf club and shoe design. This week they have, together launched the all new TW ’15 shoe which is Woods’ latest signature golf shoe and the first to feature Nike’s breakthrough Flyweave technology in the upper.

The TW’15 is the latest collaboration between Woods and Nike designer Tobie Hatfield. Woods debuted their first project as a prototype at the WGC Bridgestone in 2011. Since then, each iteration of the TW-series has featured a Nike Free-inspired outsole while consistently raising the bar for what athletes should expect from a golf shoe.

Woods and Hatfield have raised the bar to new heights with the TW ’15 by integrating Dynamic Flywire into a Flyweave upper with a Nike Free outsole. The result is a golf shoe that provides the ultimate level of stability, fit, and flexibility.

“Nike keeps answering the bell every time I want to push the envelope,” said Woods. “The new Flyweave technology provides even more stability and support for my foot, and when you pair that with the Free-inspired outsole, I noticed I can push off the ground better and finish my swing with power.”

Flyweave enables the creation of a one-piece upper that is woven to provide great strength-to-weight support where it is needed most based upon the demands, or movements, of the sport. While strong and supportive, Flyweave is also incredibly lightweight and flexible.

Nike debuted Flyweave in a basketball shoe in 2014. Even though the dynamic movements of a basketball player’s feet are different from those of a golfer, both require stability and a natural range of motion.

“Tiger epitomizes power,” said Hatfield, Athlete Projects Innovator, Nike. “His power starts with natural motion which begins with unleashing the foot from the ground up. Flyweave gives you that flexibility coupled with support.”

Due to the lightweight Flyweave technology and the golf-specific Nike Free-inspired outsole, designers were able to make the TW ’15 10 percent lighter than the previous model.

 

There’s Always Better

The Nike Free-inspired outsole gets a few updates to offer athletes a golf-specific natural range of motion. Woods provided detailed feedback to help designers create an outsole that is 3mm lower than the TW‘14 to maximize ground feel and longer contact with the ground.

An updated process for creating the outsole optimizes the flexibility of the shoe, another request from Woods. Combined with four replacement spikes, Hatfield utilized Integrated Traction in the toe area of the shoe to offer more flexibility to help Woods harness the full power of his swing without sacrificing traction.

Athlete Insights

More of Hatfield’s aesthetic design inspiration was based on Tiger’s personal love for diving and spear fishing. His first sketch of the shoe featured star-shaped traction, similar to a starfish.

“That reminded me of Tiger’s love to spearfish and be underwater,” Hatfield said. “Adding the sea elements allowed another part of Tiger to live in the design of the shoe.”

The traction elements in the toe are shaped like octopus beaks, while the rubber in the tip and the heel are inspired by shark scales.

Nike TW’15 Availability:

A limited number of the Nike TW ’15 shoes in the Metallic Silver/Black/Cool Grey colour way will be available on nike.com beginning February 2.

The Nike TW ’15 is available in three colourways on March 5 with pre-orders beginning February 12.

Colorways: University Red/Black; Metallic Silver/Black/Cool Grey and Black/White.