With Nike out of the game, Tiger Woods switches to Bridgestone ball

With Tiger Woods being forced to find new equipment with Nike out of the picture, his preferred ball is an unexpected choice.

Nike announced back in August a full closure of their golf brand. Woods, a Nike faithful, whose most iconic moments in his storied career have been assisted by the brand, was left to make a decision in new equipment in his comeback attempt.

As Woods prepares for his next tournament, he surprisingly revealed to ESPN.com his new ball of choice is a Bridgestone golf ball.

“The most important thing is the ball,” he said. “Once you find a ball, then you can work around everything else. The ball is No. 1. The most important club in the bag is the ball.”

While Woods plans to still use Nike Irons, but shifting from a Nike Ball to a Bridgestone is not the expected choice. With Woods changing balls, one would think he’d go with a big player in the sport, like Titleist (which he used to play with before going to Nike) or a Callaway ball. Bridgestone makes good balls, but if Woods was switching from Nike, you’d think he’d go somewhere else. The biggest stars that use Bridgestone balls are Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker and… no a lot of others. The Bridgestone site prominently features players like Fred Couples and Nick Price who do their playing on the Champions Tour.

Woods pumped up the Bridgestone ball like it’s golf’s great tool, so perhaps he’s landed a sponsorship deal with the brand. Regardless, it’s going to be strange to see Woods hit anything but a Nike ball. Let’s see if the change can resurrect his limping career.

[ESPN.com]