Equipment: Tiger moves to lighter shaft

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Although much was made of Tiger Woods' use of Graphite Design's 75-gram Tour AD DI shaft at the Masters, it appears it was a one-week experiment. Teeing off in the pro-am at the Quail Hollow Championship, Woods had a Mitsubishi Fubuki Tour shaft in his Nike VR driver.

Woods, who was one of the last to use a steel-shafted driver on tour, had played Mitsubishi's 83-gram Diamana White Board for several years. The Fubuki Tour, however, is 63 grams. The move to less weight should result in a modest increase in swing speed for Woods, while the shaft is designed to maintain high launch with low spin--a desirable attribute for Woods, who traditionally launches the ball lower and with more spin off the tee than most tour pros.

-- E. Michael Johnson