What Tiger Woods Will Use at the 2008 U.S. Open

Tiger will play the 2008 model Nike One Platinum, the exact same ball you can buy in stores. It's designed for players with a shallower swing path who don't generate too much spin on their full swings (particularly with the driver), but who want maximum feel and spin around the greens.

Tiger's "game" balls are delivered to his locker at the tournament site. Nike also provides Tiger with range balls on site. How many?

"He practices a lot, so we provide a lot," says Rock Ishii, Nike's product development director for golf balls.

With One Platinum, Tiger is always the first to test potential improvements. Then tests are run with other athletes (college players, club pros, and top local amateurs) to find the best performance specs. Then it's kicked back to Tiger for confirmation.

"Whenever we bring him better-performing products, he notices right away and takes it," says Ishii.