Woods Back with Mitsubishi White Board Driver Shaft

Before Saturday's third round of the Quail Hallow Championship, Tiger Woods reverted back to playing with a Mitsubishi Diamana White Board driver shaft in his driver.

On Wednesday during his practice round, Woods used an Aldila Voodoo XPP8 shaft in his Nike Dymo 380 driver. On Thursday, The Shop Blog broke the news that Woods was using a prototype Oban Mach 4 shaft.

While Tiger had averaged 316 yards per drive, he sprayed tee shots both left and right. In fact, the world's No. 1 player hit just 30% of the fairways on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, Woods hit 64% of the fairways while averaging 304 yards per drive.

It's important to remember that driving accuracy stats don't take into account what club a player choses to hit off the tee on par 4s and par 5s. On the same course, under different playing conditions, Woods and other golfers may hit different clubs off the tee, making round-to-round comparisons challenging.

UPDATE: Tiger Woods has the Mitsubishi Diamana White Board driver shaft in his driver again on Sunday.

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Tiger Woods Testing New Driver Shafts

Tiger Woods had been using an 83-gram Mitsubishi Diamana White Board shaft in his drivers for several seasons. But on Thursday morning his Nike SQ Dymo 380 driver was outfitted with an 85-gram Oban Mach 4 prototype shaft.

On Wednesday, during his practice round with Payton Manning at the Quail Hallow Championship in Charlotte, the world's No. 1 player had an 89-gram Aldila Voodoo XPP8 prototype shaft.

According to Rick Nichols, Nike's Tour Field Manager, Woods recently tested eight new shafts at his home in Windermere, Fla., as part of an annual equipment review process with Nike.

"Tiger had been off for nine months," Nichols said. "So there were several shafts out there that he had not had an opportunity to test. We said to him, 'Let's test them and confirm that what you're playing, or if there is something better for you, let's look and see.'"

Using Nike's STR8-Fit system and a TrackMan launch monitor to expedite the process and confirm what Tiger felt in his hands, Woods narrowed the field down to three potential successors — the Oban, the Aldila, and a 76-gram prototype True Temper Project X graphite shaft.

The Nike STR8-Fit system allows golfers to unscrew the head from the driver's shaft, then re-attach it in one of eight different positions to change the loft and lie angle of the club. According to Nichols, Tiger's specs were not changed during the testing. His driver has 8.5° of loft and with a face that is 1.5° open. He also tested all the drivers with the same ball, his Nike One Tour.

The 13-gram weight difference between Tiger's heaviest and lightest test shafts translates to distance. "Tiger probably has another 20 yards in him if we gave him a harder golf ball and a longer, lighter shaft," Nichols said. However, that added distance could sacrifice short-game and iron control, so Tiger, like every other golfer, has to weigh his options and priorities.

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(Photo by Fred Vuich/SI)

Andres Romero's Bag for the Zurich Classic

Sports Illustrated has started a new feature within SI Golf Plus called My Bag. You can now look forward to getting a detailed look inside the golf bags of the game's biggest stars.

In the days leading up to the Masters, SI Golf Plus published the equipment used by Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Geoff Ogilvy, Trevor Immelman, Hunter Mahan, Adam Scott and Chad Campbell.

This week, SI Golf Plus grabbed Andres Romero, the defending champion of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, to see what he is expecting to use in defense of his title:

Driver: TaylorMade R9 (9.5°) with Aldila One NV prototype 80 shaft
Fairway woods: TaylorMade R9 (15°) and Burner TP (17.5°) with Aldila One NV prototype 80 shafts
Irons:  TaylorMade R7 TP (3,4) with True Temper X100 shafts; Tour Preferred (5-PW) with Rifle Project X shafts
Wedges: TaylorMade RAC (54°, 56°)
Putter: Guerin Rife Antigua
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

(Photo by Fred Vuich/SI)

J.B. Holmes's new driver and PGA Championship clubs

J.B Holmes has a new toy. The Kentucky native switched to a new driver just before the PGA Championship, a Cobra L4V X, which is intended for players with extremely high swing speeds. (Um, I think J.B. qualifies.)

For players who really pack a wallop, the LV4 X is designed to create a high-launch, low-spin drive that maximizes distance. The face has no bias, so skilled players should be able to work the ball with either a draw or a fade.

According to Cobra's Web site, these are the clubs that J.B. has in his bag at Oakland Hills:

Driver         Cobra L4V X (8 °) with an Aldilla Voodoo XVS8 shaft
Fairway      Cobra Speed LD-X Pro (13°, 18°)
Irons            Cobra Pro CB (3-PW)
Wedges       Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled (54°, 60°)
Putter         Rife Barbados belly
Ball             Titleist Pro V1x

(Photo by Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)

Cabrera's patriotic driver shaft

SAN DIEGO — After shooting an opening-round 79, defending U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera is a long shot to retain his title. But if the man they call The Duck is look for inspiration, he doesn't have to look any farther than the shaft of his driver. Cabrera has an Argentinean  flag on his 45 1/4-inch Aldila ProtoPype ADX shaft. The shaft weighs 80 grams and is X-stiff. Click on the photo for a better look.