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.


2:58 PM

Odyssey's 'drain patches'

Odyssey Golf will award staff pros patches for putts made from 10 feet or longer. (Photo: Odyssey Golf)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

Callaway Golf's X Bomb patch is no longer the only patch in town. Building on the buzz surrounding Callaway's patch — awarded to staffers for drives hit over 325 yards with an X Hot or RAZR Fit Xtreme driver — Odyssey Golf followed suit and unveiled a "drain patch" for staff pros that sink putts of 10-plus feet during the month of May. Odyssey staffers are also carrying special staff bags.

Odyssey has a "Drain Tracker" that allows fans to track the status of the competition. Phil Mickelson is the current leader with 16 drain patches.


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

9:01 AM

Els, Horschel, D. Johnson updates

The group of Ernie Els, Dustin Johnson and Billy Horschel tees off at 1:39 p.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.


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

3:24 PM

Update: Garcia, Donald, Choi

PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider Jonathan Wall gives an equipment update on the featured group of Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald and K.J. Choi. Watch their first round live here.


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.

11:59 AM

Rose using custom TaylorMade putter

 
 
 
By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider
 
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Justin Rose arrived at TPC Sawgrass on Tuesday with a custom TaylorMade Spider Blade prototype putter in the bag. Unlike the current Spider Blade model — the putter is coming to retail on June 1 — Lucas Glover's been working with since the Zurich Classic of New Orleans that has a white/black contrast head, Rose's prototype putter is all white and features a number of interesting additions.
 
The 34.5-inch putter has a Tour-Only black stepped steel shaft with a No. 1 hosel, Short L neck; Rose's name along the hosel and initials on the bottom of the putter; and custom weight ports on the heel and toe that bring the total head weight to 346 grams.
 
Even though the total weight of the entire putter is 512 grams, Rose opted to pass on Spider Blade's 130-gram, counterbalanced grip and go with a conventional grip, much like the new putter Glover's been using.
 
Rose had been using a TaylorMade Ghost Tour Series DA-12 but is expected to put the new Spider Blade prototype model in play at THE PLAYERS Championship.
 
Rose's TaylorMade Spider Blade prototype specs
Loft: 3.5 degrees
Lie: 70.5 degrees
Swingweight: D9
Length: 34.5 inches
Head weight: 346 grams
Total weight: 512 grams

11:47 AM

Updated: Donald switches drivers

Luke Donald has been testing three drivers and might make a change soon. (Lecka/Getty Images)

By Jonathan Wall, PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider

Update (3:07 p.m.): As expected, Luke Donald swapped drivers on Thursday and went with a 9.5-degree TaylorMade R1 (Accra XC 65x shaft). 

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Comparison testing on the range doesn't always lead to a quick equipment switch. Luke Donald spent that last couple of months doing driver testing between TaylorMade's R1 driver, RocketBallz Stage 2 and TaylorMade RBZ (9.5 degrees) — the model he's currently playing — but it wasn't until Tuesday at THE PLAYERS Championship that he seriously considered making a change.

Working on a launch monitor with the three driver models, Donald noticed the R1 was performing better than his RBZ driver and RBZ Stage 2. Aside from the sheer statistical advantage, he also noted he was very comfortable with R1's launch characteristics, consistency and shot dispersion.

Playing with Thorbjorn Olesen in a practice round on Wednesday, the Dane snapped a photo of Donald teeing off with the new driver. Donald retweeted the photo later in the day.

Equipment changes aren't official until a player steps on the tee for the first round of the tournament, but based on the photo and the positive feedback Donald received early in the week, it appears a driver switch is imminent.

Donald opened the 2013 season with last year's clubs in the bag before adding a 14.5-degree TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 at the Northern Trust Open. Needless to say, the Englishman is incredibly particular when it comes to his equipment.

Donald was still playing the 2005 model of Titleist's Pro V1x until late last year when he switched to the 2013 model and won the Japan Golf Tour's Dunlop Phoenix tournament.


8:15 AM

Equipment update: Rory, Scott, Stricker

PGATOUR.COM Equipment Insider Jonathan Wall gives an update at the 2013 PLAYERS on the featured grouping of Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy and Steve Stricker.