Three major takeaways from Tiger Woods’ equipment setup at The British Open Championship

Tiger Woods is on-site at Royal Troon Golf Club ahead of The 152nd Open Championship, preparing for his third Open Championship appearance at the venue. In his previous two performances, he finished T24 in 1997 and T9 in 2004; he did not compete in the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon, due to injury.

Following his practice rounds on Sunday and Monday at Royal Troon, Woods’ equipment choices for the event are starting to take shape.

The biggest surprise thus far is the inclusion of a 5-wood in his practice round setup.

Historically speaking, Woods typically opts to use a driver, a 3-wood and a 2-iron at the top end of his set when playing on links-style courses at The Open. Compared to a 5-wood, which Woods often uses on stateside golf courses, a 2-iron produces a lower ball flight, allowing Woods to more easily hit his famous stinger that’s quite effective on tee shots in the windy links conditions overseas.

Early week reports and photos show that Woods is leaning toward using his TaylorMade M3 5-wood, however, rather than adding in a 2-iron for the event. Interestingly, Woods chose to use a TaylorMade P-770 2-iron for the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst but appears to be sticking with the 5-wood for his practice rounds at Royal Troon.

This decision can easily change depending on course and weather conditions. Should winds pick up, it’s always possible that Woods opts to leave his 5-wood out of the bag and switch it out for the lower-flying 2-iron.

It’s certainly something to keep an eye on as the week unfolds.

In a more expected equipment change-up this week, Woods has added strips of lead tape to the back cavity of his famous Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS prototype putter.

He’s done this many times throughout the years at The Open, preferring a slightly heavier putter feel on the slower green complexes in Scotland. As a general rule, TOUR players often prefer a lighter head weight on fast greens and a heavier putter on slow greens. Although the strips of lead tape add just a few grams of weight, the heavier weight of the head can also add a slight bit of stability in windy conditions, helping keep the putter head more stable throughout the stroke.

Additionally, Woods has caught some attention on social media for his rusty-looking wedges. The reason that Woods’ TaylorMade MG4 wedges show so much rust is that they’re non-plated, having a raw metal “finish” instead. Most retail wedges on the market are plated to protect durability, but many Tour pros prefer the raw, rusted aesthetic. Over time, the more moisture the wedge is exposed to, the more rust will show. Rust doesn’t hinder nor help performance, but it does make the wear on the sweet spot of Woods’ wedge look that much cooler.

To recap, so far this week, Woods is using a TaylorMade Qi10 LS driver (Graphite Design Tour AD-VF 6X shaft), a Qi10 Tour 3-wood, a TaylorMade M3 5-wood, a TaylorMade P770 3-iron, TaylorMade P7TW irons (4-PW), TaylorMade MG4 Raw wedges (56 and 60 degrees) and a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS prototype putter.