Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NXT% Performance Review

 Nike’s latest tour offering just hit the shelves; how does it stack up against the previous iteration? The Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NXT% aims to replace and build upon the success of its predecessor, the Zoom Infinity Tour.

As someone who also owns the Zoom Infinity Tour, I have some gripes that I’m hoping that Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NXT% improves upon when compared to its older brother. But the question remains, is it worth the upgrade, or are you better off buying last year’s version at a discount?

Let’s find out.

First Impressions

The Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NXT% is, in my opinion, one of Nike’s best-looking offerings to date. They’re sleek, sexy, athletic, and bold.

I love a visible air unit, especially on a golf shoe, so that’s what caught my eye right at the start. The Infinity Tour NXT% is one of those shoes you wouldn’t know is a golf shoe unless you looked at it from the sole up. To me, the shoe looks like a running shoe or at least gives off that vibe.

Nonetheless, golf apparel is quickly becoming more tapered, athletic, and sleek when compared to the past, so I think the Infinity Tour NXT is perfect for the modern era of golf.

Materials

The materials on my pair of Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NXT% are nothing short of stellar. The mesh upper is light and breathable, while the leather overlays and swoosh take things up a notch.

It might sound weird, but the heel is my favorite part. This pair (the special colorway that Nike released for The Masters) features some amazingly lush long hair suede on the heel, a touch that you shouldn’t overlook. It looks sweet and feels fantastic.

Most TOUR-worthy golf shoes feature some premium materials, so this was a must. I felt that they mixed the textiles and premium materials in a way that added to the overall package and design of the shoe.

Traction

Like the original Air Zoom Infinity Tour, the Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NXT% features a spiked sole with four massive spikes to keep you grounded. The TPU spikes offered plenty of traction and grab, and the accompanying ridges and nubs provided more traction in critical areas to help reduce slipping.

Spiked traction like this is good because it really digs into the ground when applying force. Think of it like a pair of cleats; there’s a reason that all sports played on grass/turf use some sort of cleat or spike. The ground is unpredictable, and traction like this counteracts it and keeps you upright.

I didn’t notice any slippage while playing in these, which I expected. Spiked offerings such as this should, at minimum, stop you from slipping. Even when I got myself into some sticky situations on the course, I found myself completely confident in the traction of the Nike Kyrie 8.

Cushion

My favorite part of the Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NXT% is the cushion. Last year’s pair featured a React midsole and Zoom strobel, yet I found them rather uninspiring and stiff. I was glad to see that Nike listened to golfers like me and retooled the setup to make these mad comfy. They removed the Zoom strobel but beefed up the React midsole and added the two visible air units in the forefoot.

The React midsole is incredible. I’m a big fan of React, so I was not disappointed. When I say all-day comfort, I mean it. Generally, when I’m out on the course, I may switch shoes a time or two to continue to test other kicks, but not when I had these on. I couldn’t take them off. They were that good. I found these much more comfortable than last year’s pair, despite the change in cushion setup.

As if you needed more cushion, the two forefoot Zoom Air units provided good responsiveness and helped with energy and weight transfer through the swing. Explosive moves (at the transition from backswing to downswing) felt energized and lively.

Seriously, these things were so comfortable.

Stability

One of my biggest gripes with last year’s model was stability; the shoe felt so narrow that I struggled to stay in balance at times. Nike solved that in the Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NXT%. A wider base and the slightly improved traction gave me the confidence to swing away without falling off balance.

Fit

My other issue with last year’s iteration of the shoe was fit. The original Infinity Tour fit narrow, really tight, and pretty short. Again, Nike listened to golfers and made sure to address that for the Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NXT%. They fit much better in pretty much every way.

The overall fit is wider, less restricting, and more true to size than before. I would have gone up at least a half size in last year’s model. In these, I’m much more inclined to order my proper size.

Wide-footers who missed out on last year’s pair due to the fit will have no issues playing in these.

Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NXT% Summary

Everything that people (me included) didn’t like about the original Air Zoom Infinity Tour, Nike fixed for the Air Zoom Infinity Tour NXT%. There’s no doubt in my mind this is going to be a fan favorite moving forward.

Now, let’s revisit my question on whether you should buy the Infinity Tour NXT% or the original Infinity Tour at a discount. New version all the way. You’re going to want to experience the upgrades from this new pair.

Gone are the days (hopefully for good) of Nike Golf shoes fitting too narrow and lacking top-of-the-line cushion. The Infinity Tour NXT% is a massive step in the right direction for Nike and, admittedly, my current favorite pair of golf shoes.