Golf

Tiger finally coming out of the woods

He is yielding somewhat to new technology, like the 460cc Nike driver that has been part of his newfound success.

By BOB HARIG
Published February 3, 2005

When Phil Mickelson made some controversial remarks two years ago in a magazine interview, saying Tiger Woods played with "inferior" equipment, there was plenty of truth in his words.

It had nothing to do with the clubs themselves being faulty.

It had everything to do with the fact Woods was not taking advantage of the available technology.

It was only last fall, at the Tour Championship, that Woods put the 460cc Nike Ignite driver in his bag. Woods was stubborn about switching, keeping a smaller-headed driver while many of his peers had already gone to the bigger models.

"He's an incredible talent, but in many ways, Tiger is a throw-back to an old pro," said Tom Stites, the product creation director for Nike who began his career in the golf business as an engineer for the Ben Hogan Co. "He learned how to hit all the different kinds of shots. He's played trajectory and ball movement his whole career.

"So the technology that's been available to Tiger ... he's starting to understand that even his game can benefit from it. He was slow to move into the high side of technology from a driver standpoint. The great challenge for us is to make (the clubs) attractive-looking and pleasing and still cram in all the technology possible."

Perhaps it is just a coincidence that since Woods put the new driver in his bag, he has finished second, first, first, third and first in the five tournaments he has played.

Woods, 29, who has 41 PGA Tour titles and eight major championships, signed an endorsement contract with Nike in 1996 and helped put the company on the golf map. But it didn't even have products for him to play until 2000. Now, with his direct input, it has balls, irons, wedges, fairway woods and drivers.

Yet, although Woods gets $25-million a year from Nike (according to Golf Digest, the figure includes profit sharing and bonuses), he was not going to put new clubs in his bag simply for the sake of doing so.

"I don't change very often," Woods said last week at an appearance for Nike in conjunction with the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando. "I've used the same length, the same lie, the same loft, the same weight, the same swing weight on my wedges since I was 14 years old. So when you give me something different, I will know. I'm not one of those guys who changes all the time.

"One thing I've always believed in is not to change very often. It's been fun to experiment with different products, but I keep going back to the same things. The only thing I really have changed and used a lot lately is my driver."

Still, Woods has been very good for Nike.

"When we signed Tiger Woods, it's like we're committed to this business," said Bob Wood, president of Nike Golf. "The guy is a complete geek for product."

Throughout his amateur and early pro career, Woods used Titleist equipment (and still uses a Titleist Scotty Cameron putter). He first used Nike's golf ball in 2000 at the Buick Invitational, tied for second, then went on to have one of the greatest years in golf history, winning three major championships and nine tournaments overall.

Two years later, he put a Nike driver in his bag (275cc) and won two major championships. Later that year, he switched to Nike's irons and won the American Express Championship that week. In 2003, he switched to the Nike One golf ball and a 340cc driver while also adding 56-degree and 60-degree wedges. Last year at the Tour Championship, he switched to the 460cc from a 410cc driver.

Stites also worked with Jack Nicklaus in designing clubs and said both are very in tune with the equipment they use.

"Tiger has an incredible eye and an incredible set of wires in his body in terms of being able to feel and pick up things," said Stites, who makes sure a Nike representative is with Woods at every tournament in case there are questions or problems with his equipment. "It's a phenomenal experience to try to learn and communicate what he is seeing and feeling and then convert it back to give him the hard facts. It is a challenge but it is a lot of fun.

"Tiger can feel the balance on just about any kind of club just from a waggle or address stroke. He can feel where the center of gravity is, how it's making his hands feel. A number of people in history have been able to do that. Not everybody playing on tour has that. Tiger is certainly at the top."

Woods struggled in 2004, winning just once on the PGA Tour before two last-season, unofficial victories turned things around heading into this year.

For most of the year, Woods was working on swing changes, which he said led to the delay in switching clubs.

"I had a hard enough time hitting fairways," Woods said. "I had to feel comfortable with my technique before I could hit the ball 20 yards farther. Once I did, I've gone to a longer graphite (shaft), went to a hotter driver. And I'm hitting it farther but my technique is more sound so I can capitalize on it."

[Last modified February 3, 2005, 01:08:13]