Equipment
#TigerTuesdays: Every 2-iron Tiger Woods has ever used
A lot of golfers can hit the stinger, but when Tiger Woods was in his absolute prime there wasn’t a golfer on the planet that did it better. It’s part of the reason many still refer to the shot as “The Tiger Stinger” because of the way it took off and the trajectory it produced.
Beyond The Open Championship, the 2-iron has become a thing of the past in Tiger’s bag, and it has since been replaced with a much more user-friendly and versatile 5-wood. But over the years, Tiger used a number of different clubs to execute the shot. Here’s a look back at every 2-iron Tiger ever played.
Ping Eye 2 (1-iron )
Naturally, the very first 2-iron isn’t a two-iron at all, although the argument could be made about modern lofts and hotter club faces. During his junior career, Tiger used Ping Eye 2 irons and with that carried the matching 1 and 2 iron from the set. In this piece; History of the stinger, Tiger explains the origin of the club and how he learned to hit the now-famous shot.
Mizuno MP-29
Through college and leading up to his first Masters win, it is well documented that Tiger played a mixed set of Mizuno MP-29 and MP-14 irons split 2-4 (MP-29) and 5-PW (MP-14).
The MP-29’s were included in our Greatest Mizuno Blades of all time, and compared to the MP-14’s, offered lower offset to help with trajectory control.
Titleist 681 T
Once Tiger signed an equipment deal with Titleist he set to work to build his ideal set with their club maker Larry Bobka. The set became the Titleist 681 and the story behind them is quite fascinating: The real story behind Tiger’s 681T irons. This is right around the time the “stinger” started to gain real notoriety as Tiger used it to help rack up major wins.
To be fair, the shot featured in the video below isn’t a stinger, but it still makes for a great excuse to show Tiger hitting a 260-plus yard 2-iron.
Various Nike Blade 2-irons
Once Tiger made the switch to Nike equipment, things is his bag began to change, but the one constant was still a 2-iron and it came in many shapes and forms over the years. There were the original blades (pictured above) and then all of the following models including the VR TW and VR Pro Forged.
It was also with Nike that Tiger began to really experiment with 5-woods, which ultimately led him to make the permanent switch, with the first being the Nike T40, but as you will see next the 2-iron did go through a technology upgrade.
Nike VRS Cavity
I can’t imagine the team at Nike expected their most forgiving forged iron to end up in Tiger’s bag, but that’s exactly what happened when he decided to use the VRS Forged (from a spec note it was a black sole 3 iron bent to 2 iron loft). It was one of the only Nike cavity back irons that Tiger ever put into action.
TaylorMade UDI
When Tiger made the switch to TaylorMade, golfers got very excited to see what would eventually end up in his golf bag. He was experimenting a lot before settling since the above picture was taken at a clinic not long after he officially signed the deal, but the one club that stuck around was the UDI (Ultimate Driving Iron).
TaylorMade GapR LO
It was shorted lived, but a short life well lived, is better than no life lived at all – right?
It was the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie where Tiger Woods was spotted testing a TaylorMade GAPR LO long iron replacement. The GAPR series was available in HI, MID, and LO, and the one Tiger used was a tour only prototype with a fixed hosel compared to the eventual retail versions that offered adjustability.
TaylorMade P790
The Open Champion is where a number of OEM generally launch driving irons and 2019 was no different. The TaylorMade P790 UDI was launched and Tiger was spotted testing one early in the week at Royal Portrush. He had it in and out of his bag the remainder of the season but mostly stuck to his trusted 5-wood.
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Equipment
Rickie Fowler’s new putter: Standard-length Odyssey Jailbird 380 in custom orange
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 Jailbird craze hasn’t really slowed down in 2024, either. According to Odyssey rep Joe Toulon, there are about 18-20 Jailbird putter users on the PGA TOUR.
Most recently, Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open using a broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter and Webb Simpson is switching into a replica of that putter at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Now, Fowler, who essentially started the whole Jailbird craze, is making a significant change to his putter setup.
Fowler, who has had a couple weeks off since the 2024 RBC Heritage, started experimenting with a new, custom-orange Jailbird 380 head that’s equipped with a standard 35-inch putter build, rather than his previous 38-inch counter-balanced setup.
According to Fowler, while he still likes the look and forgiveness of his Jailbird putter head, he’s looking to re-incorporate more feel into his hands during the putting stroke.
He told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that the 38-inch counterbalanced setup “served its purpose” by helping him to neutralize his hands during the stroke, but now it’s time to try the standard-length putter with a standard-size SuperStroke Pistol Tour grip to help with his feel and speed control.
Although Fowler was also spotted testing standard-length mallets from L.A.B. Golf and Axis1 on Tuesday, he confirmed that the custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 is the putter he’ll use this week at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.
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Whats in the Bag
Akshay Bhatia WITB 2024 (May)
- Akshay Bhatia what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. Bhatia is deciding between drivers. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Callaway Rogue ST Max LS (9 degrees @7.2, 2 grams lead tape heel, 4 grams toe)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X (44 7/8 inches, tipped 1 inch)
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (15 degrees @13.9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X (43 inches, tipped 1.5)
Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW Prototype (19 degrees @17.8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 10 X
Irons: Callaway X Forged UT (21 degrees) Buy here, Callaway Apex TCB Raw (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 125 S+
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10S @49, 54-10S, 60-08C @61)
Shafts: KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 135 X
Putter: Odyssey Versa Jailbird 380
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Split
Grips: Iomic
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour
More photos of Akshay Bhatia’s WITB in the forums.
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Whats in the Bag
Emiliano Grillo WITB 2024 (May)
- Emiliano Grillo what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 70 TX
5-wood: Cobra LTDx Prototype (18.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 70 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex TCB (4-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: Callaway MD3 Milled (46-08S), Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10S, 54-10S, 60-08T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Flatso 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Emiliano Grillo’s clubs here.
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Pingback: 2 Iron Golf Club - Golfible
Pingback: 2 Iron Golf Club - Golfible
Delbert
May 20, 2020 at 12:46 pm
Lord I wish I could still hit my Apex II 2 iron!
Give it break please
May 19, 2020 at 8:34 pm
Wow another Daily Tiger Woods story ????
Cody Reeder
May 20, 2020 at 9:17 am
No one is making you read it.
Keith
May 20, 2020 at 10:45 am
Pathetic pandering to the Woods worshippers.