July 13, 2007
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| (Photo: Oscar Sosa, USA Today) |
SEA ISLAND, Ga. — Since world No. 1 Tiger Woods dominated Augusta National and the field in his record-setting 1997 Masters, the best professional golfers have labored to reach the bar he continually sets.
PGA Tour fitness trailers are fully occupied during tournament weeks. Offseason workout programs and extensive practice sessions have become customary. Experimentation with the latest equipment is constant.
Tour rookie Brandt Snedeker has a less-strenuous idea. “We have to start getting Tiger to use persimmon woods to keep up with him,” Snedeker, 26, says. “Make him use old irons, too. And an old ball.”
Snedeker arrived at this approach as a test subject for USA TODAY. The 6-1, 190-pound former Vanderbilt All-American enthusiastically agreed to play a round of golf with a set of previous-generation clubs.
