Tiger Woods...

[warrior37 0]

kind of with the nike/tiger product, some guy at the CC told me that tiger has a clauss in his contract if he finds a better club than the nikes he can switch, anyone heard this?

[JR Boucicaut 3802]

But as long as he is designing/providing input into his clubs, he'd stay with the Nike.

[JR Boucicaut 3802]

Yeah, I think they duplicated his old irons. Supposedly they don't make them anymore...I read that somewhere, but I'm not a golf guy so I really couldn't tell ya...

[Chadd 916]

They were copies of his old Titleists. Phil did the same thing with the old Mizuno irons that he loved.

[JR Boucicaut 3802]

Actually, I thought that it was Tiger that used Mizunos?

[Chadd 916]

He was a titleist guy from what I've always heard. He was even using a titleist driver (975?) before he finally switched to a Nike.

[TBLfan 25]

lol, we went from talking about adidas to tiger woods golf clubs... awesome!

[jay 1]

His Nike irons were copies of his Titleist's which were copies of his Mizuno's (he played a Mizuno forging through high school and college until the Titleist endorsement). But over the years I'm sure they've changed somewhat from the design of the MP's he was using back when. He also went back to his Titleist 975D at one point when he was having trouble with the early Nike drivers. Back then he was outdriving everyone with that steel shafted 270cc club and could keep it in the fairway. Now, tons of people can hit as far or almost as far as Tiger and with much better control as the technology has improved so much. I honestly feel a little bad for the guy. He owned EVERYONE with that old school gear. Now he's barely hanging on to stay at the top and probably will never dominate like he once did.

Adidas won't go hockey. The name is too stodgy. Even Reebok has a different hockey brand... RBK. Reebok is too much jogging shoe and Adidas is too much golf and tennis shirt.

[tsanga 0]

Back then he was outdriving everyone with that steel shafted 270cc club and could keep it in the fairway.  Now, tons of people can hit as far or almost as far as Tiger and with much better control as the technology has improved so much.  I honestly feel a little bad for the guy.  He owned EVERYONE with that old school gear.  Now he's barely hanging on to stay at the top and probably will never dominate like he once did.

Adidas won't go hockey.  The name is too stodgy.  Even Reebok has a different hockey brand...  RBK.  Reebok is too much jogging shoe and Adidas is too much golf and tennis shirt.

Whoa, hold it. Them's fightin' words. Let's look at some numbers:

In 2001 (the year of the Tiger), he was tied for 3rd in driving distance (297.6 yards avg) and tied for 145th in driving accuracy (65.5% fairways hit), using the Titleist.

In 2005 (when he supposedly sucked), he was 2nd in driving distance (316.1 yards avg) and tied for 188th in driving accuracy (54.6% fairways hit), using his new 460cc Nike.

So while yes, his accuracy has deteriorated somewhat, it would be incorrect to say that tons of people can hit almost as far as Tiger. In fact, his driving distance improved with new gear along with everybody else. He attributed his decrease in accuracy to adjusting to his new swing and a new club, which he is constantly tweaking with Nike's R&D department. Maybe he should just pick something and stick with it for a while.

Perhaps more telling as to why he's not playing as well as he used to has to do with his short game. Anybody who's played golf knows that it's unreasonable to expect to hit the fairway all the time, but where a round is won or lost is around the greens - up-and-down saves and putts.

In 2001, Tiger ranked 1st in scrambling percentage (69.8%), but in 2005, he fell to 14th, converting only 62.1% of pars when he didn't hit the green in regulation.

Now he's barely hanging on to stay on top because 1. he got married (and we know what marriage can do to your golf game), and 2. his dad just died!! It's absolutely outrageous to say that he will never dominate like he once did. The Bear Jack Nicklaus himself went through a dry spell in the middle of his career, then came back with a vengeance during golf's prime years in his 30's, winning 11 of his 18 majors after turning 30.

The bottom line is, I've never seen a finer ball striker than Tiger.

P.S. When I think Adidas I think soccer.

[jay 1]

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Tiger fan. I watch every tourny he plays almost. But I also think Tiger's ball striking hasn't been as consistant since he left butch. I can think of quite a few memorable iron shots he hit back in those days but can't think of any one in particular over the last couple of years. I know all about the logic for switching but he hasn't hit the ball as well as consistantly. His putting hasn't been where it was in 2001 either. That's one area he was really tearing it up that year. I'll take the hot wife excuse though. That's definitely worth something.

[Chadd 916]

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Tiger fan. I watch every tourny he plays almost. But I also think Tiger's ball striking hasn't been as consistant since he left butch. I can think of quite a few memorable iron shots he hit back in those days but can't think of any one in particular over the last couple of years. I know all about the logic for switching but he hasn't hit the ball as well as consistantly. His putting hasn't been where it was in 2001 either. That's one area he was really tearing it up that year. I'll take the hot wife excuse though. That's definitely worth something.

In 2001 if he could putt that week, he was winning. He's hitting a lot more bad shots than I ever remember before. The driving stats don't accurately reflect if the ball is a couple feet off the fairway or if the ball was 40 feet off the fairway. He's had a lot more of the 40 footers lately.

[tsanga 0]

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Tiger fan. I watch every tourny he plays almost. 

Ha, what have you been doing with all your free time this year? :lol:

His putting hasn't been where it was in 2001 either.  That's one area he was really tearing it up that year.

This will surprise you. In 2001, his putting average (putting performance on those holes where the green is hit in regulation, eliminate the effects of chipping close) was 1.775, good for 102nd best on tour. In 2005, he was tied for 5th, with 1.731 putts for GIR. So if anything, his putting has improved drastically! It probably seems like he was putting better in '01 because he was winning all those tourneys with timely putting.

But I also think Tiger's ball striking hasn't been as consistant since he left butch.  I can think of quite a few memorable iron shots he hit back in those days but can't think of any one in particular over the last couple of years.

There were rumors he changed his swing from his time with Butch after his knee surgery because it was placing too much stress on his knee. Whatever it is, he is definitely less consistent. Although, his GIR performance compares similarly between 2001 and 2005, when you put the whole thing together his consistency is considerably worse. They calculate ball striking performance as a combination of total driving and GIR stats, and he has fallen from 12th to 36th between '01 and '05.

  I'll take the hot wife excuse though.  That's definitely worth something.

Yeah, if I had his wife, I'd just want to be lying around in bed all day! :lol: Screw golf! But we'll see what happens when the honeymoon period is over. Falling in love, then getting engaged and having a fancy wedding is plenty distracting, and he's got to get that rush of new love out of his system. Look at how many years it took Lefty to start playing well after getting married to a hot woman! But I guess going to your dad's funeral is pretty distracting as well.

In 2001 if he could putt that week, he was winning. He's hitting a lot more bad shots than I ever remember before. The driving stats don't accurately reflect if the ball is a couple feet off the fairway or if the ball was 40 feet off the fairway. He's had a lot more of the 40 footers lately.

Quite true. And this is reflected in the scrambling stats, where he hasn't been getting up-and-down with as much regularity.

Bottom line, I think, is he's got to stop dicking around with what works and play some golf. Not so much with his swing, since everybody's swing evolves over time; it's the nature of the game. But with the equipment. I'm not sold that all this personalized tinkering with Nike R&D is getting him significantly better clubs and balls.

[RadioGaGa 162]

...he hasn't been getting up-and-down with as much regularity.

With the smokin' hot wife, you'd figure THAT wasn't the problem.

[tsanga 0]

...he hasn't been getting up-and-down with as much regularity.

With the smokin' hot wife, you'd figure THAT wasn't the problem.

LOL...as long as he doesn't forget the up part....

[tsanga 0]

Now, tons of people can hit as far or almost as far as Tiger and with much better control as the technology has improved so much. I honestly feel a little bad for the guy. He owned EVERYONE with that old school gear. Now he's barely hanging on to stay at the top and probably will never dominate like he once did.

Ha, now he's winning everything by keeping his "new technology" in the bag most of the time.

[hudsonhockey22 0]

tiger was usin a titleist putter, this week, it zoomed in from a back view for a putt, dont remember the hole or anything

[JR Boucicaut 3802]

I believe he always has.

[Chadd 916]

I don't remember him using anything other than a Titleist.

[sherwood21 0]

He's used Newports (Scotty's) since before I can remember

[jay 1]

K... I'm currently choking on Tiger's 5 wood.

[ThePurpleCobra 0]

He uses Nike Forged Blade iron that can be bought any where, titleist Vokey spin milled wedges, titleist Scotty cameron putter and nike sasquatch driver

[sherwood21 0]

Not to be a fanboy but i'm pretty sure his 56 is a nike pro combo, and his 60 is a nike forged. That is unless he's changed it up since the British, which i doubt..

[Miike 1]

Not to be a fanboy but i'm pretty sure his 56 is a nike pro combo, and his 60 is a nike forged. That is unless he's changed it up since the British, which i doubt..

You're right. He's using the Nike Pro Combo 56 degree and a Nike Flatback 60 degree. Thats what he used at Medinah.

[jasper 0]

4 in a row