Nike's announcement offers no iron specifications. Instead, it puts Mike Taylor, the team's Master Model Maker at The Oven, in the foreground.
The equipment story later shifted. Nike decided to stop making golf clubs and balls, and Woods moved to TaylorMade after several months of testing equipment from different brands. Nike kept working with him on apparel and other gear. Reuters reported the move on January 25, 2017. Woods had won 14 majors using Nike equipment.
The craft behind Nike Golf's clubs
Taylor has ground clubs for Nicklaus and Hogan. His work also includes Tiger Woods and Nike Golf athletes.
Nike says Taylor's knowledge and commitment are central to his role. The company's video shows him discussing design and innovation, then grinding clubs for Nike athletes and consumers. Some of the game's best players are among those he has worked for.
That craft drew praise from inside the company. At the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show, Tom Stites told GolfWRX that Nike had "two of the three best grind hands on the planet" working at The Oven. Taylor was one of them.
Irons announced without specifications
Nike's announcement pairs the new irons with a look at the clubmaking process, not a technical breakdown. It does not say how the irons are built. Nor does it give specifications or an availability date, leaving buyers without a basis to compare performance or weigh an upgrade.
Woods's move to TaylorMade happened in stages. His early mixed set included a TaylorMade driver and 3-wood. He also carried a 5-wood alongside Nike irons, with a Scotty Cameron putter in the bag. TaylorMade was customizing irons for him, too. Reuters reported on his equipment during that transition.
A separate equipment report noted Woods trying a single-length iron test before the Genesis Open.
