Tiger tweaks his driver – still can’t hit a fairway
By James Savage
Tiger Woods proved at the PGA Championship that his game is ready to compete with the world’s best.
Well, almost. You may remember he didn’t hit a single fairway on his front nine and some would suggest that without soft greens he would have struggled to post a decent score.
So Tiger’s done what Tiger does and tweaked his equipment.
The 14-time major champion has put a new Mitsubishi Diamana White D+ 80TX shaft in his TaylorMade M3 driver and 3-wood.
He’d previously been using a Mitsubishi Tensei Orange model in both.
The moveable weights on the sole of his M3 have also been tweaked slightly to try and promote lower launch and spin.
Woods has also switched from the Tour Preferred UDI 2-iron to a PSI model which we’ve seen him use previously.
The loft has been weakened from 20˚ to 21˚.
So how did the changes work during his opening round of the Northern Trust Open?
Not his best drive at No 18. Way left.
— Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) August 23, 2018
Well, I think it’s fair to say the driver is still an issue for the former World No.1.
Went with fairway wood at No 14 and finds another fairway. Anyone else sensing a trend?
— Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) August 23, 2018
But the 3-wood was working a treat and finding fairways on a much more regular basis.
Goes with 3-wood at 3 even though it’s pushing almost 600 yards. Finds another fairway.
— Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) August 23, 2018
Will we see Woods take to the course without a driver in the way we’ve seen Henrik Stenson adopt successfully on occasions?
Goes with fairway wood on 1 and, as the name would suggest, finds the fairway. Even threw in a club twirl for style points.
— Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) August 23, 2018
I’d say that’s highly unlikely but for Woods to get back to winning ways, he needs to either hit it straighter with the big stick or leave it in its headcover.
Goes with driver at 5 and sails it into the right rough. Sigh…
— Tiger Tracker (@GCTigerTracker) August 23, 2018
ANOTHER new putter for DJ
This is getting silly now. But he’s the World No.1 so who are we to argue?
Dustin Johnson has been switching between the Spider Tour Black and Spider Mini in recent weeks.
But now he’s plumped for a blade in the shape of the TaylorMade TP Collection Juno.
It’s the same model he won the event with last year.
DJ bagging Anser-style blade this week. Looks like TaylorMade TP Juno he used to win The Northern Trust last season. pic.twitter.com/1VfL6IqcxI
— Jonathan Wall (@jonathanrwall) August 23, 2018
The best line of the week came from DJ’s caddie Austin who said he needs to ask Siri to find out which putter his brother will be using each week…
Is Reed set for Mizuno irons switch?
As I’m sure you are all aware, Patrick Reed is a free agent when it comes to his golf clubs.
The Masters champion has been using some fairly old Callaway blades for much of 2018.
But it looks like we could see a switch in the near future after Golf Pride Grips posted a picture of a set of Mizuno MP-18 SC irons had been built for the Ryder Cup star.
If wouldn’t be a surprise with fellow free agents Brooks Koepka and Paul Casey among those already using Mizuno irons without contract.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on Reed’s sticks over the coming weeks to confirm.
A clean sweep for free agents in the 2018 majors
James Savage
Former equipment editor of NCG. Inconsistent ball-striker and tea-maker.
