Tiger Woods switched to TaylorMade’s TW-Phase1 irons last year at the Wells Fargo Championship, but according to the 14-time major winner, the irons were never destined to stay in the bag for the long haul.
In a recent interview with GolfTV, Woods confirmed his new TaylorMade P7TW irons were being designed behind the scenes while he was using TW-Phase1.
“We’ve been working for quite some time,” said Woods. “It’s the Phase 2 of my progression with TaylorMade. That’s something that’s been coming along and in the pipeline for quite some time, and I feel very comfortable with them.”
Before this week’s Farmers Insurance Open, Woods’s last start came more than a month ago at the Hero World Challenge, where he still had TW-Phase1 in the bag. Based on photos that have come out of the new irons, the stamping closely resembles what’s currently found on P730. The “TW” was also given a red paintfill to match his previous set.
Torrey Pines is more than just a winning tournament venue for @TigerWoods. In many ways, it’s where everything started 35 years ago. (Watch the full video at https://t.co/mfFM2eOEur) pic.twitter.com/aGo2qE4AN4
— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) January 23, 2019
Woods chose to add TaylorMade’s M5 driver (9 degrees) and 3-wood (15 degrees) to the bag as well. Unlike the lengthy road the irons took to production, Woods’s time with the metalwoods has been fairly brief. However, he’s already noticed a bump in shot dispersion during practice.
“I just put those in play maybe about two weeks ago — new driver and 3-wood,” he said. “I found that I didn’t pick up any distance, per se. But my misses were tighter.”
Woods chose to start 2019 at Torrey Pines, a venue where he’s won eight times over the course of his career, including the 2008 U.S. Open. He’ll be looking to build on a season that saw him win the Tour Championship and make the Ryder Cup team.
