Connect with us

Equipment

GolfWRX Members Vote: “Which manufacturer made Tiger’s TGR prototype irons?”

Published

on

With Tiger Woods being back in the full swing of things, it’s only right for the world of GolfWRX to take a look at what clubs he’s using.

Based on a picture Tweeted at us from @kevinromangolf, Tiger has quite a mixed bag including TaylorMade PSi, TaylorMade RSi2 and TaylorMade UDI irons, as well as Nike VR Forged wedges. But most of the talk revolves around the “TGR” blade prototype irons he has in the bag… what are they?!

After speaking with a variety of industry insiders, the best insight we received was from a former representative at Nike who was around when the company still offered hard goods. Our source speculates that they are old Nike irons — we assume the source is referencing Nike’s VR Pro blades that Tiger used as recently as 2017 — but re-stamped with Tiger’s “TGR” company logo. Another interesting tidbit from the source includes Tiger’s testing process; he says when testing equipment coming off a long break, Tiger goes back to all of his old equipment to get “baseline” numbers and seeks improvement in relation to those.

But we still did not find a concrete answer for who exactly manufactured the irons, but rather, simply speculation from a former Nike representative. So we put the question to GolfWRX members, who are endlessly knowledgable about equipment and have followed Tiger’s equipment decisions for years.

Below are the results from our forum poll, answers from GolfWRX members in the forums, and Twitter responses. Make sure to check out the full thread here.

Other (5.10 percent of votes)

Golfingfanatic: Mike Taylor at Artisan Golf is my guess.

From_Parts_Unknown: My guess would be Endo (Thailand) finished by Mike Taylor.

Mizuno (8.28 percent)

TaylorMade (17.20 percent)

Nard_S: They are Taylormade’s based off the Rory prototype.

HDTVMAN: Look like a custom version of the new TM P Series.

Miura (29.30 percent)

seetoo: Made for Nike by Miura.

DatSliceDoe: The original source is Miura, then Nike, then someone else who did the stamping.

J13: Miura for Nike For TGR for Tiger.

Nike (35.67 percent)

ago33: Old nikes because of the stamping.

Neverfaze: I mean the font on the 6 iron is straight from the VR series.. so..

KeithM38: Yeah they look like straight VR copies.

dalton044: Probably just some unstamped Nike heads he had.

PARthur: Guessing Miura, possibly TM or Titleist. Look like copies of his Nike blades. I imagine any mfg with great forgings could make them.

Kylekoz17: Definitely Nike heads, most likely finished by Mike Taylor at Artisan at the open Oven. Muscle and number stamps are identical to VR Pros.

Join the discussion about Tiger’s TGR irons here!

Your Reaction?
  • 55
  • LEGIT7
  • WOW3
  • LOL7
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP20
  • OB17
  • SHANK117

We share your golf passion. You can follow GolfWRX on Twitter @GolfWRX, Facebook and Instagram.

27 Comments

27 Comments

  1. Realist

    Oct 20, 2017 at 12:24 pm

    Based on the P stamp on his wedge, it is identical to the Nike VR series stamping. That has my vote

  2. Jack Nash

    Oct 13, 2017 at 8:23 pm

    Ummm, who cares?

    • LenG

      Oct 17, 2017 at 3:08 pm

      You obviously do to read and comment here.

    • Jim

      Nov 6, 2017 at 8:44 am

      ‘Zactly… so done with it/him.

      He’s done. No one captures lightning in a bottle twice, no one’s afraid of him & he finally grew up. Tigger’s fini. It’s the Eldrick show now.

      Maybe a win or two on SENIOR Tour down the road – if he stops that stupid squat move that ate his back in the first place…TKR before he’s 50…

      I wish him no ill-will; go in peace my brother. Be happy, be well. I just don’t need or want to hear about it.

  3. Mike

    Oct 13, 2017 at 6:25 pm

    There’s a guy out the back of K Mart putting them together
    Why bother the tour has moved on and we are better for it

  4. Jer

    Oct 13, 2017 at 2:58 pm

    They must be Spalding

  5. Buck Futter

    Oct 13, 2017 at 12:27 pm

    Hattori Hanzo’s for sure

  6. JR

    Oct 13, 2017 at 11:15 am

    Who cares? They would need to be forged by God himself if he’s ever to win again.

  7. mw

    Oct 13, 2017 at 12:30 am

    those are rejects. the real new Tiger irons are labeled Cheetah.

  8. shuttleston

    Oct 12, 2017 at 8:45 pm

    My WITB::
    9.5* GBB Epic w/ RT Technologies Zeus 75g
    16.5* Tour Issue TaylorMade M2 w/ RT Technologies Zeus 85g
    20* Itobori Hybrid w/ RT Technologies Midas 88g
    Itobori Black Copper Blades w/ AMT DG X100 4-PW
    Itobori Custom Grind 51* & 56* w/ AMT DG X100
    MannKrafted Yaupon
    Vice Force Stand Bag
    Vice Pro Plus

    • MB

      Oct 13, 2017 at 2:27 am

      And your handicap is 34? Amazing. Well done to you.

      • LenG

        Oct 17, 2017 at 3:07 pm

        He doesn’t play, he only owns his saxy clubs!

  9. Jill

    Oct 12, 2017 at 6:08 pm

    You “guys” are silly. These are Wilson Staff blades for sure.

  10. Thomas A

    Oct 12, 2017 at 10:16 am

    Basically everyone is commenting on who the wish made these clubs. “They’re Endo because I love that factory!”
    “They’re Mizuno because everyone wants to play Mizuno because I play Mizuno!”
    “They’re old Nike’s because now that they stopped making clubs Nike is retro cool!”

    • Bill Cunningham

      Oct 12, 2017 at 11:25 am

      In marketing circles it’s called “tribal product syndrome”.
      People become the product name they advertise on their body.
      I only associate with golfers who wear a Ping cap or Titleist cap.
      You get the point. You are your ‘sign shirt”.
      “I am Nike, hear me roar!!!!”

      • shuttleston

        Oct 12, 2017 at 8:53 pm

        Humanity is so pathetic. I never wear the logos of the products I use, unless they pay me. Just imagine what weak minds wear the name of products. They have the pride and intelligence of a 10 year old child.

  11. RG

    Oct 12, 2017 at 8:58 am

    Straight Endo action. Just like his “Nike” irons. They used the old stampings the y had at Miura to put “TGR” on them. Tiger has always played Miura clubs, although they were dressed up like Nike. Why would he change now? If you get a taste for a Miura forging there’s no going back.

  12. The dude

    Oct 12, 2017 at 3:36 am

    ENDO

  13. Jim

    Oct 12, 2017 at 12:40 am

    I would say just ask Tiger…but then again he would not mention a company name without someone handing him a check.

  14. 2putttom

    Oct 11, 2017 at 9:33 pm

    so whats the end run? Will they be marketed or the consumer? Will they be affordable?

  15. UnclePhil

    Oct 11, 2017 at 8:56 pm

    Looks like 3 Christmas Trees to me! Eldrick…..GO AWAY DUDE! Golfwrx, get off this guys jock strap!

    PLEASE

  16. Andrew

    Oct 11, 2017 at 8:53 pm

    Does it really matter?

  17. etc.

    Oct 11, 2017 at 8:39 pm

    Tiger’s TGR line of muscleback blade irons will go into competition with PXG and will top their price too.
    “No Screws or Foam Here — Just Pure Muscleback Power for Real Golfers” !!!!!!
    Lotsa WOOOOOO in these clubs!!!

    • larry

      Oct 12, 2017 at 1:00 am

      First model: The Good Wood Club

      • shuttleston

        Oct 12, 2017 at 8:55 pm

        You know what they say — if you can’t get it up you can’t get it in.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Whats in the Bag

Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)

Published

on

Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX

Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4

More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Equipment

Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?

Published

on

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.

The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?

Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.

When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.

To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.

Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.

“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.

“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”

Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.

Your Reaction?
  • 1
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW0
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Continue Reading

Equipment

Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird

Published

on

With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.

On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.

Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.

See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here

GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?

Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’

So that’s why I went back.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?

It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.

Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.

It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.

Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.

Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.

So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?

Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.

Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play? 

Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.

There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.

It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.

Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.

And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?

Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’

If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’

My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’

I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”

And you’re going with it this week?

Hundred percent.

Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week. 

Thanks, man.

See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here

Your Reaction?
  • 34
  • LEGIT3
  • WOW1
  • LOL2
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK3

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending