Tiger Woods makes equipment adjustments at Memorial
On Thursday at Memorial, Tiger Woods shot a three-under 69 after making two subtle equipment changes.
In his post-round interview, the world's No. 1 player said, "I went with a little more loft, a 10°." Woods had previously used a 9.5° Nike Dymo 380 driver.
"As my release has changed over time with Hank [Haney], I needed a little more loft to get the ball in the air, little more spin."
Woods said that he is hitting the ball just as far with the 10° driver. And while .5° is not a big change in loft, for at least one day, Woods was clearly more accurate off the tee. He hit 13 of 14 fairways at Muirfield Village on Thursday.
"I don't have all my length back," Woods said. "It's getting better each and every week. My speed is coming back. My power's coming back. It's taken a lot longer than I thought it would, but then again, most people that play other sports take two years to come back. So it's a little bit different."
Woods also used different irons on Thursday. He did not use the Nike Victory Red Forged Blade irons he had used in each of his previous 2009 appearances. Instead, he used a set of Nike Forged Blades that in photographs appear to be identical to the irons Woods used in 2008. Click on the photo of Woods taken Thursday for a better look. The insert image was taken during final round of the Players.
Nike's tour field manager, Rick Nichols, said in an e-mail, "This is not the exact set of irons Tiger played last year, but they are similar."
According to a video featuring Tom Stites, Nike's director of product creation, nearly every aspect of the Victory Red Forged Blades were inspired by Tiger Woods and what he looks for in an iron. It is very possible that the only differences between the Victory Red Forged Blades and the older set Nike blades Tiger used Thursday are cosmetic.
However, just two weeks before the U.S. Open at Bethpage, the fact that Woods has chosen to put an old set of irons back in his bag could signal that he is looking for a subtle difference in feel or look.
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(Main photo, Fred Vuich/SI; inset, Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
Posted by: Brian | Jun 17, 2009 9:42:20 AM
Why doesnt Tiger use the new Dymo fairway woods? He still uses the Sumos. Anyone hear why he hasnt switched like he has with the driver?
Posted by: James Cole | Jun 7, 2009 5:17:40 AM
The Blades in the picture are Prototype Forged Blades built between '05-08 when Nike and Tiger were redesigning the original. They made several different versions. One is featured in the 'In the Bag: Anthony Kim' video on pgatour.com. Changes were mostly cosmetic: changing the location of the Swoosh and adding the Red TW logo. Tiger is simply tweaking his equipment for Bethpage Black and looking for number 15.
Posted by: Mike C. | Jun 5, 2009 9:13:39 PM
Whatever but I've got the Str8 Fit Round and it kicks butt ... only driver that beats my G10.
Posted by: DJ | Jun 5, 2009 5:50:06 PM
He should use my '02 TM RAC OS. They rule.
Posted by: Joe | Jun 5, 2009 1:42:00 PM
I think Tiger's approaching the Memorial as if it were an extended prep session for Bethpage. SO, he's tinkering, so what? But given his poor performance on the 3's today, those older irons aren't the answer.
He's also dialed back his tee shots. Long ago, touring pros said if Tiger swung at 90%, he'd never miss a fairway. Anyuone who's toyed with different driver lofts knows it changes the way the you "see" the ball at address. Every little bit can produce a change, whether good or bad.
Posted by: md | Jun 5, 2009 12:36:49 PM
The club in the inset looks bent.
Posted by: Justin | Jun 5, 2009 11:40:24 AM
Nevermind- I found out. It's an 8.5, according to this: http://blogs.golf.com/equipment/2009/02/tiger-will-come.html#comments
Posted by: Justin | Jun 5, 2009 11:36:08 AM
I also needed to ask... didn't he play a 7.5*?
Posted by: Justin | Jun 5, 2009 11:35:24 AM
I have a SuMo 5000 driver and the first generation SQ 3 wood... and I love these clubs. I just made an observation that is true, but apparently for everyone but him. For anyone else, people would say "Wow, that club/iron set/wedge might not be that great. I think the same applies for Tiger. His high finishes were because of his iron play- it was his driving that was killing him. So if his iron play, while being solid enough to overcome driving statistics that would make even a lowly duffer like me look good, was good enough... why switch irons? To me, that says "I (Tiger) don't like these clubs as much as I thought". Besides, if they were built correctly to his specific needs, what is next year's model going to look like?
Posted by: Shag Bag | Jun 5, 2009 10:43:47 AM
Interesting that such a small difference in the loft of the driver can make such a big difference in accuracy. I wonder how he would do with split-back irons.
Posted by: Ernie | Jun 5, 2009 10:11:04 AM
If Tiger goes back to his old irons and wins I believe the cost of the new Tiger Wooods VR irons stock and price will fall faster that the stock that Al Bundy buys. For 899 dollars anyone should be able to at least hit the ball a little better not much but a little better. All you cavity back users who think your clubs are great you should try the Tiger Woods VR irons I did and the feel was great and ball controll was fanatic. For Tiger to go back to his old irons I think was a good move. Ben Hogan once said once you controll the ball flight you can do anything you want with a ball. This is what Tiger is trying to do.
Posted by: Mark in NY | Jun 5, 2009 9:42:08 AM
It might very well be he's just trying to isolate some variables in his performance of late. By going back to a familiar previous set of irons he could either pinpoint or eliminate the Vr set as one of his issues. The set he's using now is supposedly not the exact old set, but it sounds as though they're close enough to serve in that capacity. He's working out some things as he goes, it's just part of doing what he does.
Posted by: Jher1 | Jun 5, 2009 9:36:56 AM
NIKE HATERS UNITE! Give the nike hating a rest for one day people! I know alot of people that use nike and love it! You can pay the high outrages price and be branded to one company or go with a fairly priced item and get all the new technology to help your game, thats my view. Get over it, you never would buy nike so its not like it affected your choice for clubs, just wasting our time complaining about his irons, get over it!
Posted by: Ta | Jun 5, 2009 9:23:48 AM
I think Nike also make the old set:)Also did he not win one tournament this year with the supposedly bad VR irons and a few top ten finishes? hmmmm...interesting.
Posted by: Ian | Jun 5, 2009 9:11:35 AM
Yeah, the fact that the best player in world has used Nike irons for the majority of his professional career suggests that they really are bad. Hmmmm, maybe he should go with Slazenger instead.
Posted by: Nick | Jun 5, 2009 8:38:34 AM
If the best player in the world needs to revert back to older equipment, it obviously shows that Nike's VR irons aren't the right clubs for him, which is an extreme sign of weakness in the design of these blades
Posted by: David | Jun 5, 2009 7:55:16 AM
Nike makes some great equipment, FOR OTHER SPORTS!!! I have used just about every brand of woods and irons and I can tell you that Nike is by far the worst in just about every aspect of what you look for in a club. And, as Justin pointed out above, if Eldrick, the guy who designed those irons, doesn't even believe in them, they must be bad!
Posted by: Justin | Jun 5, 2009 2:16:00 AM
Or are the Miura irons cosmetically altered to look like Nike irons? If the guy who designed them doesn't believe in them, what does that tell you?