Equipment

Tiger spotted testing new driver shaft at St. Andrews

Published

9 years ago

Jul 11, 2015

Tiger Woods was spotted testing a new driver shaft during a practice round at St. Andrews, site of the upcoming 2015 Open Championship.

From what we can discern in the photo posted in the forums, he’s testing a Matrix TP7HDe. Sources say the shaft is an X-Flex that weighs 78 grams un-cut and measures 44.5 inches in overall length with no tipping.

Most recently at The Greenbrier Classic — where he finished T32 — Woods had a Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Blue Board Prototype 70X shaft in his Nike Vapor Speed Prototype driver.

Tiger Woods WITB 2015

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Andrew Tursky

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

42 Comments

Sargio_Gercia

Jul 17, 2015 at 3:03 pm

Cut the driver down to about 40 inches 🙂
Smile a little and actually mean it
Be nice to people
Exhibit gratitude
You can only blame circumstance for so long in your life
Chill the funk out
Then just grip it and rip it…

Reply Report comment
- Brian
  
  Jul 22, 2015 at 1:52 pm
  
  Agreed. Be genuine. I think Tigers dad created a winner, but not a Champion (Think Jack Nicklaus arm around Tom Watson after Tom won at Turnberry in 77, honestly happy for Tom). If Tiger never wins another tournament, but becomes a great father to his children, he will have acheived success.
  
  Reply Report comment
Pingback: Tiger Spotted Testing a MATRIX Shaft at The Open - D'Lance GolfD'Lance Golf
Bar

Jul 15, 2015 at 1:13 pm

Could be wrong but the last time he won at St Andrews he never hit a wood all week. What makes him think he needs to change now .

Reply Report comment
- JT
  
  Jul 15, 2015 at 5:30 pm
  
  He said publicly a few days ago that the course is completely different from the last time he played it, and conditions are softer requiring more carry shots, so even more important to hit quality tee shots.. you probably are wrong about never hitting a wood and winning the British open..
  
  Reply Report comment
Dunn2500

Jul 15, 2015 at 2:22 am

I am not a huge woods fan but funny to me how people who will never be near his status can comment about him……stick a camera in your face every second of every day and see how you would react……have all these reporters talk trash on you and see how you would treat them…..none of you have an ounce of his golfing ability but you have audacity to critique his golf game ( and you can’t even break 90)…..he is human and has made same mistakes everyone here has but he is less than you?…….have the media publicize all your dirty laundry and see how well you take it…….nobody here knows how to do what he has done both good and bad in front of whole world and still be standing……..my guess is 99% would have folded like Appalachian lawn chair in any of his successes or failures. …….that’s why he is who he is……..I am not a huge fan of woods but I have respect for what he has done and had to go through while the whole world is watching. ……I know I couldn’t have done it…….as far as his golf game I can’t comment as he is far better than me so really what could I possibly have to say ……I shot 80 today with dbl and a trple……pretty sure he would have wiped my a$% had he been there playing in my group, lol

Reply Report comment
- ooffa
  
  Jul 15, 2015 at 10:03 am
  
  I dunno, Would he have to give you strokes? Sounds like you would have beat him pretty badly and taken him for a few presses as well.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Skip
  
  Jul 15, 2015 at 1:16 pm
  
  Well said.
  
  Reply Report comment
- FTWPhil
  
  Jul 16, 2015 at 3:19 pm
  
  You wasted a lot of strokes on ………….’s
  
  Reply Report comment
FergMan

Jul 14, 2015 at 3:12 pm

Tiger Woods is Golf, people. The hardcore fan may not give a damn but the weekend hacker who watches major tourneys only wants the headlines which is Tiger Woods. I can’t wait to follow every shot come Thursday morning and if you have a problem with all the headlines, simply avoid clicking on the story. You searched and came here and read the article so quit hating. We’ll see you all when his reign of terror on tour returns. He is too great to not come back.

Reply Report comment
- Cyd
  
  Jul 15, 2015 at 7:12 pm
  
  Tigger is not golf. The game is bigger than eldrick. You sir are a maroon!
  
  Reply Report comment
- FTWPhil
  
  Jul 16, 2015 at 3:12 pm
  
  Last time I checked we have the freedom to express our opinions without the need to qualify ourselves as experts of anything except our thoughts. So deal with that before you jump on your high horse. The world has vast amounts of perception that differs from your life experiences, and sometimes they can be enlightening. So accept the fact that we all don’t feel the way you do.
  
  P.S. Anything to help him win is good.
  
  Reply Report comment
ooffa

Jul 13, 2015 at 7:19 pm

He should just test out a senior flex shaft and be done with it. He’ll never win on the regular tour again anyway.

Reply Report comment
- Mat
  
  Jul 13, 2015 at 7:39 pm
  
  yeah, like you’ve ever won anything great. Troll.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - ooffa
    
    Jul 18, 2015 at 5:09 pm
    
    See, told ya so. Another missed cut at the Open. It’s not trolling if you’re right.
    
    Reply Report comment
Booger

Jul 13, 2015 at 11:29 am

Who cares. I’m sick of the fake smile on all his press photos. Miss the cut so I can enjoy watching this weekend !!

Reply Report comment
- Josh
  
  Jul 13, 2015 at 2:22 pm
  
  If so sick of him why click the link to a story about him?
  
  Reply Report comment
- Mat
  
  Jul 13, 2015 at 7:41 pm
  
  hey Booger Troll, stop complaining and lets see u make a title of an article here
  
  Reply Report comment
Ballstrikka

Jul 12, 2015 at 11:38 pm

Phil Pickleson would. Sergio Garcia would. Just face it, Eldrick hates his fan base and treats them accordingly. Live a little and splurge on a PGA Tour ticket and watch his behavior towards young fans and kids that show up dressed like him. He all but ignores them and can be quite rude. His attitude at his own tourney location in Los Angeles was atrocious and left a lot to be desired. This, and how he dumped his family is WHY the reactions are the way they are. This is what he signed up for, so he
has to weather the ^@*t storm at every turn of his life until his retirement day on the Senior errrrrrr,
Champions Tour. More than a handful of us will not be won back with a simple flash of his pearly whites and tip of his cap. Feeling sorry for THIS guy, uhhhhhh, no and *@ll no!

Reply Report comment
- Cyd
  
  Jul 15, 2015 at 7:13 pm
  
  +1000
  
  Reply Report comment
  - FTWPhil
    
    Jul 16, 2015 at 3:16 pm
    
    and 1
    
    Reply Report comment
Chuck

Jul 12, 2015 at 3:15 pm

My gosh; it occurs to me that any other player on the PGA Tour could demo a new driver, a new driver shaft, a new putter — whatever — and the general reaction might be interest in the new equipment, curiosity about what the player is looking for technically, and maybe even whether they should try that product themselves.

I see a lot of the reactions here, and I actually have some sympathy for Tiger.

It is personal to Tiger, right? Is there any other player who would get this reaction?

Reply Report comment
Ballstrikka

Jul 12, 2015 at 1:57 pm

While he’s at it, let’s test some new “putting” strokes! My friends, this guy has become pedestrian at best from 6-12 feet. He’s pulled his whatever generation golf shoes out of retirement, let’s dust off
the 2000 putting stroke too.

Reply Report comment
Greg

Jul 12, 2015 at 1:53 pm

Might help him shoot 75 instead of 80????.

Reply Report comment
JuNiOR

Jul 12, 2015 at 12:51 pm

Indian or Arrow?

Reply Report comment
- Jeff
  
  Jul 13, 2015 at 2:55 am
  
  Oh dude. That’s racist.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Lane
    
    Jul 13, 2015 at 9:26 am
    
    It is the Indian, not the arrows. And if you seriously think is racist you need to get a life.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - other paul
      
      Jul 14, 2015 at 8:03 am
      
      Is it the white guy or the rifle….? Less racist? Or equally racist?
      
      Reply Report comment
      - FTWPhil
        
        Jul 16, 2015 at 3:18 pm
        
        Yeah, we all know Indians use fake American names at customer service call centers, not arrows.
        
        Reply Report comment
Christosterone

Jul 12, 2015 at 10:06 am

It’s an aertech fairway wood shaft….can’t believe people are not seeing that.
It is hard to believe Tiger would play a $59 shaft but that’s what it is:
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=351442201471&globalID=EBAY-US
-Christosterone

Reply Report comment
- Chuck
  
  Jul 12, 2015 at 3:21 pm
  
  I would love it if this were actually true.
  
  Reply Report comment
- MHendon
  
  Jul 14, 2015 at 12:43 am
  
  No its a Matrix
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Jonzone
    
    Jul 15, 2015 at 1:17 am
    
    Correct. Matrix Ozik TP7HD
    
    Reply Report comment
- Dan Nichele
  
  Jul 14, 2015 at 4:47 am
  
  Yeah cos the guy taking the photo and talking to tour reps knows less than you about what’s in tigers bag. Tool.
  
  Reply Report comment
Matto

Jul 12, 2015 at 4:35 am

I hope he’s just testing it with no intention of using it. 3wood all the way at St. Andrews please, Tiger!

Reply Report comment
Dude

Jul 12, 2015 at 12:29 am

What happened to the AD-DI? He should go back to that.

Reply Report comment
Jeff*

Jul 12, 2015 at 12:11 am

Every half inch that comes off that driver, he hits it straighter. He’s absolutely my golf hero but I think he chases numbers he think he needs to be relevant and the numbers, spin rate, club head speed, smash factor, the numbers have nothing to do with fixing a fault when he’s nervous, facing pressure.

His club specs are for perfect conditions in a launch bay, for maximum ball-speed, every time he sacrifices “potential” or “hypothetical” club head speed, for control, by trimming his driver down closer to the length of his other 13 clubs, he hits it better and better.

His swing looks oily sweet and smooth on the range, if he ever did have the guts to put a 43.5″ steel shaft on that Vapor Driver, even painted like graphite, he’d be world #1 again in a few months.

Reply Report comment
Kyle

Jul 11, 2015 at 9:09 pm

Looked fine to me at greenbrier.

Reply Report comment
- Jim
  
  Jul 11, 2015 at 9:24 pm
  
  I have a broken watch that is right twice a day too.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Pat M
    
    Jul 12, 2015 at 10:40 am
    
    What is he ranked? 215th in the world? Journeyman golfer.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Kyle
    
    Jul 12, 2015 at 11:14 am
    
    Just a brutal reply. Swing changes take time.
    
    Reply Report comment
Slimeone

Jul 11, 2015 at 8:04 pm

Apparently it features space-age new anti-left/anti-right/anti-yip technology.

Reply Report comment

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

3 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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