Nike's new 5-wood got rave reviews from Tiger

 The Nike SasQuatch2 fairway woods - both 3 and 5 - were in Woods' bag at the Buick. 
At the Buick Invitational this week, Woods used a new Nike fairway wood: A 19-degree SasQuatch SUMO 5-wood with a Diamana 103X shaft.

"Actually I put in a new 5-wood at the Target Challenge and really liked it," Woods said. "I hit it a little bit further. It's a little bit better out of the rough. I can get underneath the ball and hit it a little bit higher. Actually it's slightly better than my old 5-wood, so it's in the bag."

Woods said that the new club had a thinner face and was a little bit shallower than his older 5-wood, which was about 3 years old.

"Technology changes pretty quickly in this sport," he said.

But the 5-wood didn't stay in the bag all four rounds. Woods substituted a Nike Blade 2-iron on Saturday. Generally, Woods decides whether to carry a 5-wood or 2-iron based on the course he is playing for the week. He also has two different 2-irons, one with slightly more loft, from which he can choose.

"This week I need some air. It's not going to be very dry this week," he said at the beginning of the tournament, then later changed his mind. However, he still came to the final day wishing he'd made a different pick.

"I take out my 2-iron because of what happened yesterday, (when) I needed a 5-wood," Woods said, "and what do I need on No. 9, I need a 2-iron."

Good to know that the best player in the world sometimes has trouble with the perfect club combination.