Tiger Woods making equipment change to deal with Mexico City altitude

MEXICO CITY – After a day of leisure to recharge his batteries, Tiger Woods was back in a new office and making the most of every minute he was on the clock.

“Hell, yeah, it’s a lot of work,” Woods said Tuesday during a quick nine holes alongside Justin Thomas and Billy Horschel at Club de Golf Chapultepec, home to this week’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship.

It was the first time Woods saw the course, which rests some 7,800 feet above sea level. It is also the first time Woods will play a tournament in high altitude since 1999. Back then, he finished in a tie for 37th in the Sprint International at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado, which is 6,500 feet above sea level.

WANT MORE?: Get the latest golf news and analysis at Golfweek

OPINION: PGA Tour is in no hurry to fix slow play

So he spent about 45 minutes on the range with caddie Joey LaCava and Trackman, a launch monitor that examines each shot’s characteristics including ball speed, spin rate and distance.

During his round with Thomas and Horschel, he continued to dial in his distances, spent a considerable amount of time on and around the Poa annua greens that he said were bouncy, and got familiar with the layout.

He hit a soft, high cut 3-wood 345 yards on the downhill, par-5 11th. On the par-3 13th, he went full out into the wind with a 5-iron from 235 yards and was long. Throughout the nine holes, he got a better measure of what the ball will do.

“The spin is the same, but the ball stays flat. It doesn’t peak,” Woods said.

For that reason, he will have a 5-wood in his bag this week instead of the 2-iron.

“The 5-wood will spin more,” Woods said.

All in all, LaCava said, it was a good day’s work.

“It’s a work in progress,” LaCava said. “But he looks good so far.”