Nike 20XI premium balls introduced

Nike Golf is unveiling its new 20XI premium golf ball franchise, featuring innovative golf ball technology that will dramatically enhance the performance of golfers around the world and, at the same time, propel golf ball manufacturing into an entirely new level of innovation.

The new Nike 20XI golf ball features a combination of proprietary technology never before seen in the golf industry, and is the result of four years of collaborative research and development between Nike Golf's golf ball engineers and a team of material and science experts at DuPont.

Watch the Nike players at the Oven

The technology replaces conventional rubber cores with a radical new resin material. Resin is a highly neutralised polymer that's faster and lighter material engineered to produce longer distance and more controlled shots.

"I have never been more excited about a new golf ball innovation than I am now," said Rock Ishii, Nike Golf's Product Development Director for golf balls.

"For many years, golf ball development has primarily been focused on the number of layers with a solid rubber core.

"We believe that there wasn't really anywhere else to go as far as technology advancement in these areas, and felt that the next window of opportunity was in the exploration of various materials for the core."

Stewart Cink and Francesco Molinari are just two of a number of Nike stars to make the switch to the new golf ball.

The Nike 20XI franchise will launch two versions of the ball, the 20XI-X (tour-level distance) and 20XI-S (tour-level spin).