Anyone who has read the excellent Shoe Dog by Nike founder Phil Knight, will understand the challenges the company faced in it's early years.  It wasn't always Air Jordan and Tiger Woods.  There were some serious years of struggle and hard sacrifice from many.

One those tricky roads were navigated, the company has grown to gigantic proportions.  The World Headquarters in Knight's home state of Oregon span a whopping 286 acres and boast over 75 buildings.  Many of the buildings are named after highly accomplished Nike athletes including Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, LeBron James, Lance Armstrong, John McEnroe and Ken Griffey Jr.

The Greek Goddess of Victory and The Swoosh
Nike was named after the Greek Goddess of Victory - something that seems apt now that the brand has umpteen Olympic Gold Medals, Tennis Grand Slams, Athletics World Recorlds, stunning goals and of course, many many Major Championships.  The Swoosh (don't call it a tick please) was designed by Carolyn Davidson in 1971, the Swoosh has become one of them most iconic brand logos in the world.  Ms. Davidson was paid $35 for designing one of the most famous logos in history!  What a deal!  As explained the in aforementioned Shoe Dog, Nike weren't thrilled with any of the designs, and were forced to choose due impending deadlines.  They picked the logo "the least awful".  Sounds unbelievable now given how famous it is now.  Fortunately for the benefits of this story, Ms. Davidson was rewarded later in her life with a decent pile of Nike shares.  "I never get tired of looking at it," she says.  I'm not surprised!
Hello World! The New Kid on the Block
Rather obviously there is one player that comes to mind when thinking of Nike in the world of Golf.  When Tiger Woods won his 3rd straight US Amateur title in 1996 and then promptly turned Pro with that amazing Nike advert, there was a collective shaking of heads when it was announced how much money Nike were thowing his way.  It seemed excessive and unlike the sort of deals that golf offered up to the established stars of the day like Greg Norman, Nick Faldo and Nick Price.  When 2 time US Open Champion Curtis Strange interviewed Tiger after his first professional round a week later, it seemed people were not taking too kindly to the young pretender.

With the benefit of hindsight, Nike signing the greatest player of his generation (some say of all-time), has been a master stroke.  The truth is, they have previous for this.  In 1984, when they signed Michael Jordan, there were similar thoughts about the amount of the endorsement.  You can't really say that it wasn't a good decision now!  Between the two of them, they have taken Nike into the stratosphere.  If you look at just one impact of all the changes Tiger has brought to the game, not every Tour player used to wear a hat before Tiger and his Swoosh came along.  Now Robert Rock is about the only player that eschews the money on offer for wearing a hat during Tournament rounds.

These days, they are so many players adorned head to toe in Nike on the European and US PGA Tours.  Players such as Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau, Cameron Champ, Paul Casey, Jason Day and Russell Henley have all joined Tiger in the famous brand.

With an enormous range of high quality golf clothing, footwear, outerwear and hats, the Nike section is one of the most popular on our website.  There are signature pieces from Tiger Woods, scripted pieces for the Major Championships for other athletes and limited edition capsules.  Remember though, just don't call it a tick!

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Scottsdale Golf (@scottsdalegolf)

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Scottsdale Golf (@scottsdalegolf)