“Is that legal?”; “Uh oh, he ain’t back yet” – Fans confused as Tiger Woods practices with a rusty wedge at The Open Championship 2024

Tiger Woods has caused a stir on social media by choosing to play with rusty wedges ahead of the 2024 Open Championship. Fans were curious as to why the legendary American golfer decided to play with rusty wedges.

Woods is heading to compete at this week's Major, making his return to the tournament after 2022. The tournament is scheduled to commence on Thursday, July 18.

Ahead of the event, the legendary golfer practiced a few rounds on Monday, July 15. However, what caught the people's attention was the rusty TaylorMade wedges.

Nuclr Golf shared the pictures of Tiger Woods wedges on its X account.

Fans swamped the comment section to reflect on the condition of wedges, with some asking if it was legal to use them.

"Uh oh, he ain’t back yet," a fan wrote.

"Is that legal?" another fan commented.

Another fan reflected on how difficult it is to play with rusty wedges.

"Must be changing his balls out every 4 holes with that type of rust…..," another fan jotted.

"I feel much better about the lack of cleaning my wedges endure," a fan commented.

Here are more fans reactions:

Fan's reaction (Image via X/@NUCLRGOLF)

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Why do pro golfers, including Tiger Woods, play with rusty wedges?

Professional players often use raw steel wedges, which lack a protective coating and thus, rust easily. There are certain advantages of playing with raw steel wedges, which is why players, including Tiger Woods, use them in their games.

Manufacturers typically use chrome to make golf wedges shiny and protect them from rusting. However, these chrome wedges can reflect sunlight brightly, causing problems for players while taking their shots.

Raw steel wedges, on the other hand, do not reflect much light even when new, and the rust further reduces glare. Therefore, even new raw steel wedges won't cause reflection problems.

Additionally, rust increases the spin of the wedges. According to Golf Monthly, this helps players improve their performance in wet weather, adding another advantage to using rusty wedges.

Interestingly, this is not the first time Tiger Woods has used rusty wedges. He was spotted playing with rusty golf gear at the 2019 Northern Trust at Liberty National Golf Club.

At the 2024 Open Championship, Tiger Woods was spotted playing with TaylorMade MG4 wedges. He uses a 56-degree sand wedge and a 60-degree lob wedge. They feature a Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shaft and a Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord grip.

Woods has won the Open Championship three times in his career, and with these new additions to his bag, he is preparing to add another trophy to his collection.

The Open is set to begin its first round on Thursday, July 18, at Royal Troon. This will be Woods' first time playing at the venue since 2004 when he competed in The Open Championship and tied for ninth place. The tournament was last held at Royal Troon in 2016, but Woods did not participate.