Nike Talks About Tiger's Ball

Editor’s Note: Rock Ishii is Nike Golf’s product development director for golf balls. He was born in Tokyo, Japan and has a Masters degree in mechanical engineering from the Nagaoka Technical Institute University in Miata, Japan. Immediately after college Rock worked for Bridgestone Sports in sports research. He joined Nike Golf in 2002. Rock is responsible for all golf ball research and development at Nike Golf; from product concept work, to the marketing and sales team, product development, working closely with the vendor team and the R&D team. Rock is married and has three children: two sons, 12 and 8, and a 5-year-old daughter.
 
A Conversation with Rock Ishii…
 
Casey / Q:
Rock, what ball does Tiger play and why is he playing it?
 
Rock / A:
Tiger plays the ONE Platinum 2008. This is the ball we launched on February 1st of this year. Tiger is always looking for total performance out of his golf ball. The distance is certainly important. However, even more than distance, Tiger values performance on his approach shots in to the green and short game performance around and on the green.
 
Casey / Q:
And he is also very much a worker of the ball, isn’t he?
 
Rock / A:
Very much so. Tiger likes to work the ball so he is playing a ball that fits his eye in terms of trajectory. Tiger moves the ball a lot; right to left, left to right, high and low. The ONE Platinum is not designed to be the longest ball on the market. It is designed to be the number one total performance ball on the market.
 
Casey / Q:
What are some things people should think about when they look to choose a golf ball?
 
Rock / A:
There are a couple of key things involved when you are trying to figure out what kind of ball to play. First of all, ask yourself what the weakest part of your game is. Take my game, for example. Shooting 81 or 79, well, that’s a huge difference, right? We’d always rather break 80 if we can. Those two shots, I can almost guarantee, are shots that I lose on the green or around the green. And most golfers are going to tell you the same thing. I didn’t chip it close enough to get up-and-down, or, I missed a putt that I should have made. Well, the ONE Platinum is designed to help players manage the feel part of their game. It’s the ultimate scoring ball in my opinion.
 
Casey / Q:
The last time I looked, golf was a game of score not how far did I hit that last drive.
 
Rock / A:
Exactly. This I believe very strongly in. Making birdie or saving par and going to the next hole with momentum, you can’t get any better than the ONE Platinum for that scenario. How many times have we seen Tiger with an amazing par save and then go to the next hole and birdie? All the time we see that. And that is game management, premium feel around and on the green, controlling trajectory on approach shots; the ONE Platinum is a ball that answers all these demands and that’s why Tiger plays the ball.
 
Casey / Q:
What is another important factor in selecting a golf ball?
 
Rock / A:
Swing path and angle of attack is also a huge factor in determining what kind of ball to use. Many of the college players you see today have tons of power but their angle of attack in to the ball is very steep. Much steeper certainly than Tiger who has a relatively shallow angle of attack. These college players, or players who are generating a lot of spin, should play the ONE Black, not the ONE Platinum. If you can’t manage spin well, you want a ball that spins less. And relatively speaking, ONE Black spins less than ONE Platinum. And with optimum launch conditions, the ONE Black is a little bit of a longer ball than the ONE Platinum. Now, don’t get me wrong. The ONE Black is still a urethane covered golf ball so it spins plenty well around the green and there is ample control with the ONE Black. It just doesn’t spin quite as much as ONE Platinum.