Should Tiger drop Nike?

Is there any chance that part of Tiger's problem is that he plays with Nike everything?  Maybe I'm completely misguided, but I've never really considered them a serious manufacturer of golf equipment.  I hit a Nike 3 wood a few years ago and found it to be terrible and made the mistake of playing with a dozen Nike Power distance balls once which felt awful.

Anyone a fan of their stuff?

This. They literally make him whatever the hell he wants, copy the stuff he likes from other manufacturers, etc. If a piece of equipment only worked for Tiger and was terrible for anyone else, it would still be worth it for Nike to spend the money to keep Tiger happy. They could lose the whole rest of their staff in a smelting accident and the average golfer wouldn't care about anyone except Tiger and maybe Sergio. Even non golfers see the Nike logo and know who TW is. That is huge for the brand, people buying their first set would choose Nike because of that. So Nike would probably do damn near anything to make him stay.

I'd also guess he has financial reasons; he practically built Nike golf from nothing so I highly doubt he's without large amounts of stock, commissions, possibly a position of influence within the company and maybe the possibility of a comfy position with the company after retirement if he wants. He's made around 99 million in winnings, but much much more from other stuff.

Also, he does recognize the fact they never dropped his sponsorship when things were bad. To call him loyal might be questionable given his infidelity, but I believe he will play Nike for the rest of his life. He's been through a few instructors but seldom changed his equipment and set makeup.

Plus I believe he has a large amount of freedom in his contract; he used his Scotty putter and other balls for years. The idea was for Nike to build their product line around him and just try to make products good enough for him to choose to play.

As for the driver; Tiger is afraid of the driver. It's not Nike's fault. And I doubt he uses Nike Power Distance balls.

First of all NO. Second, everything that Tiger is using was built for him and because of him. And just because you hit a 3 wood bad a few years ago and didnt like it doesnt make it a bad club. I hit the AP2 a month ago and didnt like it, but i know it is still a very good club. Maybe you were the problem. And of course the Power Distance balls were terrible, thats why they cost like $10. Have you hit a 20XI, probably not. Nike has made some gimmicky clubs in the past but their VR Pro line and VRS line can compete with anyone in the market.

Nike takes a club concept and tweaks it to fit Tiger. The Nike driver or irons are a starting point for Tiger, who basically gets custom clubs made out of Nike components.

A few weeks ago I had a good demo day hitting some Nike VR-S forged irons which had N.S. Pro 950 (non-HT) R flex shafts. If Tiger hit these, I imagine he would hook the ball like crazy because he would overpower the lighter R-flex shafts. But for me, the club and shafts would probably work fine.

Most other Tour-card pros are in the same boat. I doubt if very many pros play more than one or two "off the shelf" clubs each. Most carry a bag of clubs with custom shafts, more upright lie angle, and several loft bends.

ouch

i don't claim to be an expert and think Nike sucks.  I really don't know anything about them.  that's why i started the thread.

I would say that you are misguided. Misinformed. Mistaken.

You ask if Nike should drop Nike and then wonder if Tiger should drop Nike.

I would say that your experiences with the "terrible" 3 wood and "mistake" PD balls are a reflection of your own ability.

Tiger has done OK with Nike (emoticon for obvious understatement), as have more than a few others.

Nike became a serious manufacturer of golf equipment because of Tiger. You don't have to buy their stuff.

And then you admit you know nothing, but think Nike sucks. Good grief......

Nike makes fine equipment. And Tiger has loads of input ....

But Tiger's problem is he can't make a putt today.

My bad, I forgot Sergio is with Taylormade. So what I meant is nobody on Nike's staff means anything to the average golfer, let alone the non-golfer.

But being used by the best player in the game right now is a pretty fair argument for why their gear is the best. Not saying I agree, but I'd say Tiger "14 majors" Eldrick McWoods knows a tiny bit more about golf than a bogey golfer who hit a 3 wood one time. Personally, I admire Wilson Staff irons because they've won the most majors; seriously, that's a reasonable claim for Wilsons being  some seriously good irons, but that doesn't mean Nikes suck. Mizuno makes great clubs that are used by Luke "Sort of #1" McDonald, the #1 ranked player until this evening. That's another valid claim that Mizuno makes the best irons.

The trouble is, all those claims are ridiculous and subjective. It's like claiming Ping won the Masters this year and Callaway won the British Open.

If you think Nike sucks then feel free to not buy their stuff. But take my advice: try knowing what you're talking about before making claims like that. If you've ever been near a golf course in the 2000s, you'd see Nikes all over the place. They are a serious manufacturer of golf equipment. Seriously.

I was ASKING if the are any good.  I do not think they suck.

No, you were asking "should tiger drop nike." Then you went on to say you had some bad experiences with a club and some balls and we did tell you that they make great stuff while we were poking fun at you.

Now a days almost all club companies make good quality equipment.  And like others said nike can get any design in any club he wants.  Only a poor handyman blames his tools.

yeh, didn't mean to imply i was an expert.  I need to find a Nike demo day and try some of their stuff out.

Back to Tiger, I was just thinking it would be cool to have a breakdown of how many wins he had with each on of his equipment changes.    Was the Scotty Cameron putter the last non Nike thing he dropped?  Or was the the golf ball?  just curious.

The putter was more recent, it was the only non Nike club in his bag for a while. The ball was pretty early. He won 3 times this year so far with his method putter, so it's not that. He wouldn't have won today regardless, Rory was an absolute filthy bastard on the greens. Tiger hasn't lost anything really. His whole game is fine. Otherwise he wouldn't have, you know, 3 wins this year so far. But they weren't majors so they don't count I guess.

Method putter is actually a really good putter. And like others said Nike makes him whatever he wants I don't see any reason for him to switch.