Tiger Woods Walks Masters Practice Round With Vintage Wilson Staff Putter

On Sunday, Tiger Woods arrived at Augusta National to prepare for The Masters, and now details have emerged on the clubs he used during his first practice round.

The 48-year-old will be playing in his first competitive tournament since February’s Genesis Invitational at the Major having been listed in the field last month to end any lingering concerns he may not participate after withdrawing from the Riviera Country Club event through illness. 

Woods is looking for his sixth Masters victory, having last claimed the Green Jacket in 2019, and per Golf Digest’s Jamie Kennedy, he used his first practice round to work on his approaches, chips and putts with business associate Rob McNamara and caddie Lance Bennett alongside him.

Woods also didn’t have a bag during the session, but instead was seen using just a small selection of clubs - three wedges, a 9-iron, an 8-iron, his Scotty Cameron putter, and, most intriguingly, a Wilson 8802 blade putter.

The latter is a vintage that's considered one of the best putter designs of all time, with the original Arnold Palmer collection effort renamed the 8802 way back in 1963. 

It’s highly unlikely Woods will opt to use it during the tournament, having never selected it before in a competitive event, let alone one as prestigious as The Masters. So, why has he opted for it in the build-up to the 2024 event? 

Woods has long been known to use the putter when practising, and he told NBC Sports in 2020 why that is, explaining: “I really do practice with my 8802 probably the most because I like feeling that toe release and I like putting with my right hand. That’s basically my training aid, and then I went to a longer putter to get more reps in.”

Four years on and it appears that hasn’t changed, while the sight of Woods concentrating mainly on his putting and wedge game before The Masters is also nothing unusual.

The putter certainly has pedigree at The Masters, with Ben Crenshaw, who is regarded as one of the best putters of all time, winning his two titles using it, including in 1984, which was helped by a 60-foot birdie putt on the 10th using the trusty putter he named “Little Ben.”

As for Woods, it’s highly likely that, come the opening round, he will opt for the other putter he had with him during his practice session, the iconic Scotty Cameron GSS Newport 2. After all, that has an impressive history, too, and he has used it in all but one of his 15 Major victories.