May 13 2013

3:38 PM

Nike debuts Woods' TW'14 shoe

Nike Golf's new TW'14 shoe will come in three colors and will retail for $180. (Courtesy: Nike Golf)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

Tiger Woods won his second PLAYERS Championship title with a new Mitsubishi Diamana White Board 73x shaft in his Nike VR Tour driver on Sunday afternoon. But it wasn't the only change the 78-time PGA TOUR winner made at TPC Sawgrass.

For the first time in competition, he was also sporting Nike Golf's TW'14 golf shoe, which, according to the Beaverton, Oregon-based company, "brings enhancements and a modified look" to the second edition of Woods' footwear line.

Like last year's version — Nike debuted the TW'13 late in the 2011 season before bringing it to retail in 2012 — the TW'14 was created using Nike's Free technology and has a number of new additions, including a new upper that delivers added ventilation, as well as an improved "natural motion engineered outsole" that allows Woods to keep contact with the ground longer during his swing.

“With this shoe, we worked diligently to take every detail to a new level,” said Tobie Hatfield, Nike's Athlete Projects Innovator in Nike’s Innovation Kitchen. “Tiger’s relentless focus on getting better makes us better. His insights force us to never stop innovating and delivering technology that will enhance a golfer’s performance. In the TW ’14, he wanted more stability with mobility and we've accomplished that by using Nike's Dynamic Flywire technology which moves with him, but stabilizes his foot when he swings. We also increased breathability of the shoe by using a full mesh tongue."

Along with the release of three colors in the TW'14 line (white, black and grey), Nike also unveiled a fully customizable TW'14 iD version that will allow golfers to choose from a wide variety of color combinations, two uppers (waterproof or breathable) and two different outsoles (spike and spikeless).

The waterproof upper is made from multi-stretch synthetic leather that repels moisture; the breathable upper — only available through NIKEiD — features a lightweight mesh that's geared towards players looking for a hot weather shoe.

Nike's TW'14 will be available in white and black on June 7 for $180. The "cool grey with vivid blue and venom green" colorway is coming to retail on August 1.


May 12 2013

8:30 PM

Winner's bag: Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods used a new shaft in his driver en route to winning THE PLAYERS Championship on Sunday.
(Greenwood/Getty Images)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

With a new Mitsubishi Diamana White Board 73X shaft in his Nike VR Tour driver, Tiger Woods captured his second THE PLAYERS Championship title on Sunday, closing with a 2-under 70 to win by two shots over David Lingmerth, Jeff Maggert and Kevin Streelman. Here's a look at what Woods had in his bag.

What's in Tiger Woods' bag

Driver: Nike VR Tour (Mitsubishi Diamana White Board 73X), 9.5 degrees

3-wood: Nike VR_S Covert (Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board 103x shaft), 15 degrees

5-wood: Nike VR_S Covert (Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board 103x shaft), 19-degrees

Irons (3-PW): Nike VR Pro Blade (True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts)

Wedges: Nike VR Pro (56, 60 degrees; True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts)

Putter: Nike Method 001

Ball: Nike One Tour D


May 10 2013

8:08 AM

Woods, Snedeker, Kuchar updates

The group of Tiger Woods, Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker tees off at 8:39 a.m. ET in Friday's second round of THE PLAYERS Championship.

You can watch every shot from that group exclusively on PGATOUR.COM (click here for details).

To get you ready to watch that threesome, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider Jonathan Wall provides an equipment update on each player. Check it out below.


May 9 2013

12:06 PM

Roundup: THE PLAYERS

Tiger Woods is using a different shaft in his driver this week at THE PLAYERS Championship. (Getty Images)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Tiger Woods turned back the clock on Tuesday at the THE PLAYERS Championship when he showed up for his practice session with a Mitsubishi Diamana White Board shaft in his Nike VR Tour driver.
 
Woods used the shaft with much success several years back before switching to a Graphite Design AD DI-6X prior to his return to competitive golf at the 2010 Masters.
 
Woods had the White Board shaft in the driver that was initially in his bag, but he only hit a couple balls with it on the range before a Nike Tour rep handed him a similar Nike VR Tour with Woods' current AD DI-6X shaft.

Woods went on to spend a majority of his Tuesday and Wednesday practice rounds using the AD DI-6X in his driver.

Despite the lack of visible reps — he could've done additional testing outside the public eye — Woods swapped shafts and went with the White Board on Thursday afternoon.
 
Woods was also spotted on the range sporting a new pair of white Nike golf shoes. Nike officials confirmed Woods was wearing a new shoe — likely the TW '14 — and said details surrounding the model would be coming out in the near future.

Harrington spotted with adjustable Wilson Staff hybrid: Padraig Harrington is one of the biggest tinkerers on the PGA TOUR. Based on the adjustable hybrid Harrington was spotted working with on Wednesday, he may have the ability to adjust his Wilson woods in the future.

 
Harrington, along with the rest of Wilson's players at TPC Sawgrass, had the opportunity to test the adjustable prototypes early in the week. There's no official word on when the woods will be released.
 
Oosthuizen likes Diamana shaft: Louis Oosthuizen received a big boost in his driving numbers by switching shafts in his PING Anser driver.
 
The 2010 British Open winner had been using a Fujikura Tour Spec Speeder 6.2 but went to a Diamana 'ahina 60-X shaft that flew with less spin and launched higher. The new shaft gave Oosthuizen an additional 8-10 yards off the tee.
 
Spider Blade testing for Kaymer: Martin Kaymer could be the latest to switch to TaylorMade's Spider Blade putter following an extensive testing session on Tuesday with a 37-inch version (No. 1 hosel).
 
Kaymer has been playing a PING Anser 2 for years, so the switch to a counterbalanced putter would be considered a big change.
 
Bradley testing for U.S. Open: With the 2013 U.S. Open a little more than a month away, Keegan Bradley started testing additional Cleveland 588 MT irons in preparation for Merion's tight layout.
 
Bradley, who's already using a 588 MT 4-iron, tested a 2- and 3-iron. The long-irons have become a hybrid replacement for a number of players this year, and Bradley believes the club's length and accuracy could give him multiple options off the tee.
 
Cabrera going with course-specific PING hybrid: Having a club you can hit a certain distances off the tee or from the fairway is extremely important at TPC Sawgrass.
 
The course setup this week was a big reason why Angel Cabrera had PING Tour reps build him a 20-degree PING Anser hybrid that he could easily hit out of the rough. Cabrera already has the club in the bag and plans to use it during the tournament.
 
Walker adjusted Titleist irons: Jimmy Walker's work with instructor Butch Harmon forced him to make a necessary adjustment to his Titleist 712 MB Forged irons after Harmon flattened out his swing.
 
Titleist Tour reps moved the irons from 1 degree flat to 2 degrees flat. Walker felt the lie adjustment fit the new swing.
 
Divots: Trying to get his Callaway X Hot Phrankenwood to a particular swingweight, Phil Mickelson made a slight tweak to the shaft, cutting it down 1/2-inch. ... Sergio Garcia won't switch to TaylorMade's RocketBallz Stage 2 driver this week, but he did have TaylorMade reps build him a 9.5-degree version — the driver is counterbalanced in the butt end of the shaft like the rest of the clubs in his bag — to work with at home in the coming weeks. ... Harris English tested PING's Nome TR putter and walked away impressed with its performance. It could go in the bag on Thursday. ... Looking for a club he could launch higher and hit off the tee with confidence, Tommy Gainey replaced his Callaway X Hot 3-wood (13.8 degree of loft) with a 43-inch Callaway X Hot 4-wood (16 degrees). Gainey wanted a 260-yard club and the new fairway wood fit his criteria.

April 11 2013

1:44 PM

Woods adds new 3-wood

A new 15-degree Nike VR_S Covert 3-wood is in Tiger Woods' bag this week. (Nike Golf)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

Tiger Woods rarely makes equipment changes, especially the week of a major championship. But when the world’s No. 1 golfer stepped on the first tee Thursday morning at the Masters, he did so with a new 15-degree Nike VR_S Covert 3-wood in the bag.

Woods worked with the club early in the week and felt so comfortable with it that he went away from his usual driver off the first tee and used the 3-wood to split the fairway.

Reports coming out of Augusta National on Wednesday suggested Woods was seriously considering putting the 3-wood in the bag, but it wasn't until Thursday morning on the driving range that the switch was confirmed. Woods finished off his practice session by hitting a few balls with the club before heading to the first tee.

Within minutes of Woods teeing off, Nike's Twitter account tweeted out a picture of Woods' VR_S Covert 3-wood, saying, “The high draw demands Covert. The 3-wood that joins @TigerWoods bag.”

The 15-degree VR_S Covert 3-wood Woods is playing this week is the non-Tour version — also known as the "Performance Model" — that doesn't feature an adjustable hosel, something Woods has never used. Woods put the same version in the bag when he switched out his Nike SasQuatch 2 5-wood for a VR_S Covert 5-wood at the WGC-Cadillac Championship.

It's unclear what shaft Woods has in the new club, but based on the photo from Nike, it appears he's still using the same Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board 103X shaft he had in his Nike VR Pro Limited Edition 3-wood.


April 3 2013

1:52 PM

Tiger, Rory's apparel for The Masters

 
By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider
 
Nobody knows how Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will fare at the Masters. What is certain, however, is that the top two players in the world will be wearing four completely different Nike outfits at the first major of the season. 

Nike released the apparel scripting for Woods and McIlroy on Tuesday, along with the rest of the Nike athletes in the field at the Masters. According to Merritt Richardson, Nike Golf's Vice President of Global Apparel and Footwear, major championship scripting sometimes starts almost a year prior to the tournament. 

“We work with our athletes up to a year in advance to determine what styles and colors they prefer to compete in at a Major Championship,” Richardson said. “We share our newest innovations for the season with them and listen to their needs in terms of performance, comfort and style to ensure they are dressed to compete at their highest level.”

Tiger Woods has four different looks planned for the tournament — including the traditional Sunday red shirt and black pants that have been a major championship staple over the years — and will use both the white and black version of the TW '13 shoe. Nike recently released a limited edition Masters version of the TW '13, but based on Woods' apparel scripting for the week, it looks like he won't wear the shoe during competition. 

Rory McIlroy will go with bright colored shirts (Violet Force and Pink Force) on Thursday and Saturday, and a pair of bright blue pants that are sure to make the two-time major winner stick out from the rest of the field. McIlroy will also wear Nike's Lunar Control golf shoe in three different colors.

March 26 2013

11:00 AM

Nike releases limited TW '13 shoe

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

Tiger Woods is the hottest golfer on the planet heading into the Masters, so it makes sense that Nike Golf would release a limited edition version of Woods' TW '13 shoe ahead of the year's first major. 

Unlike the black and white TW '13 colorways currently on the market, the limited edition Master version, which retails for $179.99, will have a NIKE FREE Inspired green sole, yellow eye-stay (instead of the usual red), and red TW logo on the tongue. The shoe will also feature waterproof multi-stretch synthetic leather.

“The NIKE FREE Inspired TW ‘13 has done exceptionally well at retail with consumers raving about the performance of the shoe," said Lee Walker, Nike Golf’s Footwear Product Director. "Since its debut, we haven’t been able to keep the TW '13 in stock. We decided to release a limited edition version to celebrate the first major of the season.” said Lee Walker, Nike Golf’s Footwear Product Director.

Nike has yet to release Woods' apparel scripting for the Masters, but considering Nike staffers wore green, limited edition Nike Lunar Control footwear the past two years, there's a chance this shoe could make an appearance on Woods' feet at some point during the tournament.  

Limited quantities of the shoe will be available March 28, 2013 in retailers across the country as well as through www.nike.com.


March 25 2013

2:12 PM

Winner's bag: Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods won for the 77th time on the PGA TOUR on Monday afternoon. (Greenwood/Getty Images)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

Tiger Woods is once again the No. 1 golfer in the FedExCup standings and in the world. Woods captured the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard for the eighth time in his career with a 2-under 70 on Monday to win by two shots over Justin Rose. Here's a look at Woods' equipment.

You can buy Nike Golf products here

What's in Tiger Woods' bag:

Driver: Nike VR Tour (Graphite Design DI 6X), 8.5 degrees
3-wood: Nike VR Pro Limited Edition (Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board 103x shaft), 15 degrees
5-wood: Nike VR_S Covert (Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board 103x shaft), 19-degrees
Irons (3-PW): Nike VR Pro Blade (True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts)
Wedges: Nike VR Pro (56, 60 degrees; True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts)
Putter: Nike Method 001
Ball: Nike One Tour D


March 14 2013

2:27 PM

Tiger Woods ad features Nike driver

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

There's no question Tiger Woods is one of the greatest closers in golf history, but did you know he can also close the deal as a golf store employee?

In his latest Nike Golf commercial, Woods, who won his 76th PGA TOUR title last week at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship, plays a Dick's Sporting Goods employee trying to sell a Nike VR_S Covert driver to an customer.

Looking for additional information on the driver, Woods pulls a Clark Kent and returns moments later in his traditional Sunday red to close the sale. Only three months into the season, Woods has already starred in three Nike Golf ads, including one with the company's newest star, Rory McIlroy.

Even with the increased commercial load, Woods has looked incredibly sharp, picking up two wins in four PGA TOUR starts this season.


March 10 2013

7:26 PM

Winner's bag: Tiger Woods


Tiger Woods closed with a 1-under 71 to hold off Steve Stricker. (Little/Getty Images)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

DORAL, Fla. -- Tiger Woods captured his second PGA TOUR win of the season on Sunday at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship — and fifth victory in his last 19 stroke-play starts — with a 1-under 71 to best Steve Stricker by two shots. Here's a look at Woods' equipment.

What's in Tiger Woods' bag:

Driver: Nike VR Tour (Graphite Design DI 6X), 8.5 degrees
3-wood: Nike VR Pro Limited Edition (Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board 103x shaft), 15 degrees
5-wood: Nike VR_S Covert (Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board 103x shaft), 19-degrees
Irons (3-PW): Nike VR Pro Blade (True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts)
Wedges: Nike VR Pro (56, 60 degrees; True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts)
Putter: Nike Method 001
Ball: Nike One Tour D