Woods back to old driver

Woods wanted to go back to something he's played well with.
RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif. (AP) -- Tiger Woods is approaching the last important stretch of the season with a new club -- his old Titleist driver.
Woods, who began using a Nike driver 18 months ago, ditched it in favor of a Titleist 975D he began using in 1997 and likely will keep in his bag for the final major championship of the year.
"I wanted to go back to something I've played well with in the past," Woods said after he and Ernie Els lost Monday night in the "Battle at the Bridges."
Upcoming schedule
Woods defends his title this week in the Buick Open. After a week off, he has the PGA Championship, the NEC Invitational and the inaugural Deustche Bank Championship on the TPC at Boston.
"He wants to make a switch," said Mike Kelly, Nike's business director of golf clubs. "We think it's a natural phenomenon for most golfers. Whether you're the best in the world or an average golfer, you go back in the garage and find something you were successful with."
In an era of bigger clubs with thinner faces, Woods is going back in time. The 975D is not even on the market except in resale bins. Titleist upgraded that version with the 975J in 2001, and the 975K and 975E this year.
For Woods, it's more about control than distance. He is 128th in driving accuracy on the PGA Tour this year, hitting the fairway 64.5 percent of the time.
Mixing it up
While the change might be only temporary, it marks the first time he has gone back to old clubs after switching to Nike. He started playing the Nike Golf ball in May 2000, and switched to the Nike irons last September.
Woods continues to use his 3-wood, wedges and putter -- all Titleist products.
He looked comfortable with his old club Sunday afternoon on the driving range at the Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe, picking out targets he had to squint to see.
"Corner of that dirt road -- those two small boxes," Woods told caddie Steve Williams, pointing to a pair of green, waist-high electrical units some 300 yards away.
The first shot was just left of the target. The second was perfect.
"You know why I can hit that shot?" he said. "It stays on the [club] face a fraction longer and enables you to shape it. Just like the old persimmons drivers that guys could move. The new drivers are too hot."
Kelly said most of its customers -- professionals and recreational players alike -- prefer larger heads that push the limit of trampoline effect.
Michael Campbell won the Irish Open on Sunday using a Nike driver with a 400cc head.