Tiger Woods makes his return to the PGA Tour this week at the 2020 Memorial Tournament, and it is fair to say that every shot he hits will be photographed and captured by television and video cameras. It has been that way for decades.
Golf equipment lovers have paid equally close attention to the gear Woods plays, from the days his bag was filled with Mizuno irons and he had a Ping putter, to today, with 13 TaylorMade clubs and his Scotty Cameron putter.
- Jul 22, 2020 Driver: Titleist 913D3 Fairway woods: Titleist 906F2 and Titleist 910F Irons: Titleist MB Wedge: Vokey Design SM4 Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport GSS prototype Ball: Titleist Pro V1x. First reached World No 1: May 18, 2014. We know Scott likes an unusual putter and things were not different when he was officially the best in the world.
- TaylorMade in 2017, Tiger worked hand-in-hand with the engineering team to develop the acclaimed P.7TW irons. He went on to capture his 80thprofessional win at the 2018 Tour Championship, claim a fifth green jacket and tie the record for the most all-time victories on the PGA Tour.
Tiger Woods’ five Masters victories have spanned more than two decades and coincided with what many consider to be the Golden Age of golf equipment technology. Driver: Titleist 975D (True. N90928 Tiger Woods WindSheer ® Hybrid 62' Umbrella Black / White / Varsity Red. Designed with two single canopy panels and six double canopy panels, the innovative WindSheer ® Hybrid Umbrella combines the technology of the patented Wind-Release System® with oversized logo enhancements offered by a single canopy umbrella. Patented Wind-Release System® allows wind to escape between.
Take a look at just a few of the pieces of gear the 15-time major winner has used over the last 10 years.
2010: Irons
Tiger Woods’ equipment at the 2010 Players Championship (Allan Henry/USA TODAY Sports)
At the 2010 Players Championship, Woods used a set of Nike VR Forged TW Blade irons. The VR stood for “Victory Red” and carried through most of the Nike equipment line. Frank the headcover was already famous in 2010, but some people may have forgotten that Woods used a Kiwi cover on his 3-wood as a tip of the cap to his then-caddie, Steve Williams, who is from New Zealand.
2010: Ball
Tiger Woods’ Nike ONE Tour golf ball (Allan Henry/USA TODAY Sports)
In 2010, Woods played Nike’s Tour ONE ball, and each of his were marked “TIGER.”
2010: Putter
Tiger Woods’ putter at the 2010 U.S. Open (Allan Henry/USA TODAY Sports)
By the time Woods arrived at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, he had been using a customized Scotty Cameron for Titleist Newport 2 putter for over a decade.
2010: Putter
Tiger Woods’ Nike putter at the 2010 British Open (David Dusek/Golfweek)
At the 2010 British Open at St. Andrews, Woods said that because the greens were especially slow, he was going to use a Nike Method putter. Tiger said the ball came off the face faster. However, Woods switched back to his Scotty Cameron putter before the fourth round.
2011: Putter
Tiger Woods’ putter at the 2011 Masters (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Before the 2011 Masters, Woods tinkered with a different Nike Method putter that had a more rounded back section. He used it in all four rounds of the tournament.
2012: Irons
Tiger Woods’ irons in 2012 (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Perennially one of the best iron players in the game, Woods opted to go with a Nike VR_S Forged 2-iron at the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral in 2012. Woods often switched between the 2-iron and his 5-wood based on course conditions.
2012: Apparel
Tiger Woods’ 2012 U.S. Open Nike scripted apparel (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Before the 2012 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, Nike put Tiger’s apparel for the week on display in Union Square.
2012: Footwear
Nike also debuted the first version of Tiger’s Free running shoe-inspired footwear before the 2012 U.S. Open. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Tiger enjoyed practicing in his Nike Free running shoes so much, he asked the company to make his golf shoes in the same style. Nike studied how Tiger swung his clubs, then took a sole designed for a boot made for first responders and attached it to the flexible running shoe’s upper. After a few modifications and feedback from Woods, the Nike Free TW ’13 was released in 2012.
2013: Woods
Tiger Woods’ equipment at the 2013 PGA Championship (David Dusek/Golfweek)
While Tiger did not make any changes to his irons in 2013, he did start playing Nike’s VR_S Covert Tour driver and fairway woods.
2013: Putter
Tiger Woods’ Nike Method putter (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Throughout much of 2013, including at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, Tiger used this customized Nike Method 001 putter.
2015: Driver
Tiger Woods’ driver at 2015 PGA Championship (Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports)
In 2015, Tiger tinkered with different shafts in his Nike Vapor Speed driver. While the standard Vapor and Vapor Pro drivers each had a 460-cubic-centimeter head, Tiger’s had a 420cc head.
2015: Irons
Tiger Woods’ Nike irons in 2015 (David Dusek/Golfweek)
The Nike Vapor Pro irons debuted in August 2014, and Woods added them to his bag in 2015. In a conversation at the iron’s launch in New York, Woods said that for the past few seasons, Nike had added tungsten to the toe of his irons to shift the ideal hitting area into the center of the face. The Vapor irons incorporated the same construction.
2016: Ball
Tiger Woods signs with Bridgestone. (Bridgestone Golf)
After Nike announced it no longer would make clubs and balls, Woods signed a golf ball endorsement deal with Bridgestone in December 2016 and started using the company’s Tour B XS ball.
2017: Driver
Tiger Woods’ driver at 2017 Hero World Challenge (Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports)
After signing an endorsement deal in January 2017 with TaylorMade, Woods used a TaylorMade M2 driver.
2017: Irons
Tiger Woods’ irons at the 2017 Hero World Challenge (Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports)
Back injuries and multiple surgeries sidelined Woods for most of 2016 and 2017. He played a few events in early 2017 using old Nike VR Forged Blades but missed all four majors because of injuries. When Tiger returned to action in December 2017 at the Hero World Challenge, he arrived in the Bahamas with a set of irons that did not have a manufacturer’s name on them. They did, however, feature Tiger’s new corporate logo.
2018: Driver
Tiger Woods at the 2018 Valspar Championship (Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports)
Woods switched into TaylorMade’s M3 driver at the beginning of 2018 and played it throughout the season.
2018: Irons
Tiger Woods’ TaylorMade Phase1 prototype irons (David Dusek/Golfweek)
In 2018, Tiger added a prototype set of irons to his bag that were made by TaylorMade. The TW Phase1 was a muscleback blade shaped and styled like his previous irons. At several events he added a TaylorMade RSi Forged 2-iron to his set.
2019: Woods and irons
Tiger Woods’ TaylorMade equipment in 2019 (David Dusek/Golfweek)
In 2019, Tiger’s TaylorMade irons became available at retail under the name P7-TW, and he added a set to his bag. He also started using a TaylorMade M5 driver and 3-wood. His TaylorMade M3 fairway wood and Scotty Cameron putter remained.
2019: Wedges
Tiger Woods’ sand wedge at the 2019 Northern Trust (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Tiger added a new TaylorMade wedge to his bag at the 2019 British Open, a prototype of the Milled Grind 2 with a unique milled sole grind.
Take a trip down memory lane with the gear Tiger Woods used to devastating effect throughout his career
Nothing gets the juices flowing among gear nerds like a Tiger Woods equipment change.
When he signed his first professional deal in 1996, Nike only made shoes and clothing so he used gear from other brands until they joined the hardware game.
Used Titleist 5 Wood
So let’s take a look at some of the 15-time major champion’s iconic gear from down the years…
- Related: What’s in Tiger’s bag for 2020?
1. Iconic Tiger Woods equipment: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS putter
Arguably the most significant piece of equipment used by any player in the history of the game.
Woods used the Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS putter for 13 of his 14 major victories – but he always favoured a Ping grip.
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He switched to a Nike Method putter and found his way back to the top of the world rankings but never won a major with it.
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Woods went back to the Scotty as soon as Nike left the hardware game in 2016.