British Open Equipment Wrap

As you know by now, Tiger Woods left St. Andrews with the Claret Jug following the 2005 British Open. Tiger stuck with the equipment setup that he used to win the Masters in April, including his array of 13 Nike golf clubs. That includes his Ignite 460 driver, T-60 3-wood, Nike custom irons and wedges and his Titleist by Scotty Cameron putter.

In fact, Tiger won the Open Championship and completed his second career Grand Slam with his backup driver. His swing coach, Hank Haney, told the New York Times that Woods cracked his driver on Tuesday, blaming it on hitting hard range balls in Ireland the previous week. He went with his backup driver, an exact copy of his first-stringer, and didn’t miss a beat. Don’t you wish you could average 341.5 yards in driving distance with your backup driver?

While Tiger wisely stayed with his winning hand for the Open, Ernie Els made a big change prior to arriving in St. Andrews. At Loch Lomond the previous week, Els switched to a new prototype Titleist driver. Reports suggested the new driver is called the 905C, sporting a 460cc head and a composite crown.

Reports suggest the new driver is called the 905R, but sources within Titleist tell the Bag Drop that the driver actually not part of the 905 driver family, and thus does not carry the 905C name. We’re also told that the driver does not have a composite crown. We’ll provide more information as it becomes available. Titleist has a long history of extensively testing products on tour prior to retail launch, and many products don’t make the grade (like the 905Z prototype drivers that have been seen on eBay).

But back to what we do know, thanks to Ernie himself On his website, Els wrote that he arrived at Loch Lomond, “(J)ust in time to get my hands on a new Titleist driver. Man, this new club is pretty amazing!” The Big Easy continued, “Don’t get me wrong, the 905T I’ve been using is a great club and I’ve played really well with it. The clubhead on this new model, though, is a little bit bigger. In fact, I think it’s about as big as the regulations will allow. But it doesn’t feel like you’re swinging a great big hammer. It’s got a really nice feel. The ball comes off the face a bit lower, which gives me more run.”

Els got plenty of run on the Old Course, where he averaged 315.25 yards in driving distance and hit 37 of 64 fairways. He was 5-under for the final round standing on the 11th tee, but a double-bogey 7 on the par-5 14th and a bogey on 16 left him at 2-under for the final round and the championship, as he finished tied for 34th.

Els helped make Titleist the No. 1 ball in play at the Open Championship (by a count of 102 vs. 19 for the nearest competitor) as well as the top wedge in play (with Titleist’s Vokey line). But the most-used ball in golf faces the possibility of a men’s major championship shutout if a Titleist player doesn’t win the PGA Championship next month, as Nike (Tiger’s wins at the Open and Masters with the new One Platinum ball) and Callaway (thanks to Michael Campbell’s U.S. Open with with the HX Tour) have kept Titleist out of the winner’s circle.

And speaking of No. 1s, TaylorMade claimed a number of them at St. Andrews. The company was the No. 1 brand in drivers, fairway woods, irons, and hybrids in play at the Open Championship. TaylorMade drivers were particularly in abundance, outnumbering the nearest competitor by a 60-20 count.

As a parting shot from the Old Course, we’ll point out Nick Faldo’s new putter. Faldo, who is certainly in the twilight of his pre-Champions Tour career, turned back the clock with a stunning birdie-eagle finish on Sunday at St. Andrews. Faldo started the run by holing a 30-footer for bird on the Road Hole, then drained a 60-footer from the Valley of Sin for a 2 at the home hole. Both putts were stroked with an Odyssey White Steel 2-Ball putter. Faldo, who finished T-11, famously used an Odyssey Dual Force Rossie II putter to win his last major, the 1996 Masters.