Equipment
GolfWRX Members Vote: “Which manufacturer made Tiger’s TGR prototype irons?”
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)
Look like the new mizuno mp18s.
— Chris Parkhurst (@cpark29) October 11, 2017
MP-29 nickel plated OG.
Go get em’ Tiger!
— trippinthejar (@trippgolfpro) October 11, 2017
That’s a mizuno https://t.co/CZn3NICtba
— RodMau5 (@RodPiece) October 11, 2017
Looks very mp33 like
— James Grimes (@ripjsg) October 11, 2017
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.
Probably custom TMs, considering his contract with them.
— Bryan Armstrong (@barmstrong1516) October 11, 2017
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.
Nah I think those blades are Miura
— Tyson Marostica (@azsportsclinic) October 11, 2017
Look like MP18’s to me.
— Brandon Price (@Brandoni311) October 11, 2017
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.
Look like Nike to me.
— Robert Montgomery (@rmontgom826) October 11, 2017
???? stamped VR Pros? RT @kevinromangolf: @GolfWRX Here is a look inside Tiger Woods bag. pic.twitter.com/OqJRkhZNUs
— ? (@corioz) October 11, 2017
Nike blades, number stamps are straight from a VR blade. NO manufacturer who makes those style blades currently has underline on the 6 & 9.
— Ronnie (@Retbanker) October 11, 2017
Join the discussion about Tiger’s TGR irons here!
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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
View this post on Instagram
According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
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It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.
We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.
From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.
“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.
TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°
TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
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- Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-TW11)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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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
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.
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
Jer
Oct 13, 2017 at 2:58 pm
They must be Spalding
Buck Futter
Oct 13, 2017 at 12:27 pm
Hattori Hanzo’s for sure
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.
mw
Oct 13, 2017 at 12:30 am
those are rejects. the real new Tiger irons are labeled Cheetah.
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!
Jill
Oct 12, 2017 at 6:08 pm
You “guys” are silly. These are Wilson Staff blades for sure.
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.
MB
Oct 13, 2017 at 2:28 am
Yeah that’s why you have the Vice logo on your bag? What a dumba55
JR
Oct 13, 2017 at 12:05 pm
Owned!
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.
The dude
Oct 12, 2017 at 3:36 am
ENDO
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.
2putttom
Oct 11, 2017 at 9:33 pm
so whats the end run? Will they be marketed or the consumer? Will they be affordable?
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
Andrew
Oct 11, 2017 at 8:53 pm
Does it really matter?
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.