Tiger Woods makes the switch to Nike Forged Irons

After an average year by his standards - he won two of four Majors and five events total in 2002 - Tiger Woods has made the change to Nike Blade Forged Irons. Golf is a sport of subtleties and changing clubs isn't as easy as changing shoes - even club golfers can experience difficulty "getting the feel" of a new set of sticks can take some time. It will be interesting to see how this major equipment change affects Woods' performance this weekend, when he officially uses the Irons for the first time on tour at the American Express World Golf Championships in Kilkenny, Ireland. Despite the multi-million dollar sponsorship deal, Woods maintains that his choices are based on the best equipment that's available: "I truly believe that no one is making better equipment for golfers than these guys right now," said Woods.Woods' phenomenal success in recent years is closely linked to the rise of Nike as a golfing brand. Woods worked with the design team on the irons which were released in early 2002, adding to other collaborations including the Precision Tour Accuracy TW golf ball, the Dri-FIT Tour glove, plus footwear and the apparel. Woods already has a Nike Forged Titanium Driver in his bag, which along with the Forged Irons, have recently entered the Australian market, with a second set of "combo" irons that utilise both blade and peripheral weighting design (for the lower clubs) to reach our shores in December. Gizmo recently test-drove the new Nike equipment - read our review in Gizmo's next print issue.Ed note: Given that Woods posted a first round course-record 65 at the World Golf Championships, the new clubs may well have passed the test.