By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

One week before the first round of the U.S. Open, Nike Golf released the apparel scripting for its athletes in the field on Tuesday — including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

With temperatures expected to be in the mid-80s at Merion Golf Club, Nike will have players sporting styles from the Summer 2013 Collection that incorporates key technologies such as laser perforations, no-sew technology and ultra-lightweight fabrications into each shirt.

“We share our newest innovations for the season with our athletes and focus on the technologies that are most applicable to the climate in which they will be competing,” said Merritt Richardson, Nike Golf's Vice President of Global Golf Apparel and Footwear. “We listen to their performance, comfort and style needs to ensure they are dressed to compete with the best apparel and footwear for the grand stage of a major championship.”

Woods will wear four different looks during the tournament and both colors (black and white) from the new TW'14 shoe line.

McIlroy also has four different looks planned and will go with white slacks on Thursday and Saturday. Unlike Woods, who plans on wearing two different shoes, McIlroy will sport four different versions of Nike's Lunar Control shoe.

Nike Golf is providing players different sole grind choices on wedges. (Courtesy: Nike Golf)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

Looking to give staffers additional options from a variety of turf conditions, Nike Golf announced the addition of three new sole grinds — Standard Grind, Dual Narrow Grind, and Dual Wide Grind — to its VR Forged wedge line.

Nike decided to added the three sole grinds to the wedge after consulting with staffers Tiger Woods, Paul Casey, and Francesco Molinari.

Influenced by Nike Golf staffer Paul Casey, the Dual Narrow Grind has a narrow sole width with higher bounce and extreme heel relief. The wedge sits low to the ball whether the face is open or square, which is something Casey, who prefers to create a variety of shots with fewer wedges, was looking for.

The Dual Wide Grind was designed for golfers looking for a wedge that could handle soggy turf conditions. With feedback from European Tour staffer Francesco Molinari, Nike gave the Dual Wide Grind a wider sole with a low bounce, making it the easiest of the three grinds to use from any location around the green.

The VR Forged wedges is crafted from 1025 carbon steel and come in a satin chrome finish. It also feature Nike's high-frequency X3X grooves and a laser crosshatch pattern that increases surface texture, creating more spin from a variety of conditions.

Kyle Stanley recently had a set of custom VR Forged wedges built with the new Standard Grind. He would be the first to use the new grind in competition if they go in the bag at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.