A few equipment notes ... of note:

• Check out a great article on Golfweek.com about the long, glorious history - and slow, inglorious demise - of MacGregor Golf as an independent company and top-tier brand. Some great history here, involving the likes of Tommy Armour, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman, not to mention the MacGregor clubs and club designers themselves.

• Our most recent new equipment gallery includes Slotline putters plus a hybrid, a junior set from Cleveland, golf bag and several collections of apparel. Check it out.

• And we have several reviews of Srixon Golf releases. Take a look at the Z-TX driver, the Z-TX irons, and the Z-TX hybrids/fairways.

A Canadian doctor who has treated Tiger Woods, among many other professional athletes, is under investigation by the FBI for allegedly providing athletes with performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), and is under investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police "for smuggling, advertising and selling unapproved drugs as well as criminal conspiracy," according to an article in the New York Times.

The Times investigation does not suggest that the doctor is suspected of providing Woods with PEDs; and the doctor denies providing any athletes with human growth hormone. To me, there is nothing in the article that suggests there's any reason to suspect Woods of using PEDs, and so any dark inferences should be avoided. What was most interesting about the article (as it related to Woods, anyway) is the section that I quote at the bottom of this blog post, a section that makes clear Woods' recovery from knee surgery was much more painful and problematic - and ongoing - than previously revealed.

It's also important to note that the doctor - Dr. Anthony Galea, a sports medicine specialist based in Toronto - is not some shadowy figure, but is the team doctor for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts; has openly treated many prominent athletes; and is considered a pioneer of a technique known as "platelet-rich plasma therapy," or PRP. Some other prominent sports medicine doctors believe that PRP is a breakthrough technique that can dramatically speed recovery time from injuries and surgeries; other doctors believe the technique's benefits are as yet unproven and more research is needed.

Dr. Galea was arrested on Oct. 15 after his medical bag was found in the car of one of his assistants who was attempting to drive into the United States from Canada. The doctor's bag included human growth hormone (HGH) and a controversial drug called Actovegin. HGH is not illegal in Canada, and Dr. Galea insisted what was found in his medical bag was his own personal stash.

Actovegin is derived from calf's blood and some athletes apparently believe it speeds recovery time from injuries, aches and pains. The drug is illegal in the United States, but is not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, mostly because nobody is really sure if the drug has any benefit to its users. Perceived benefits may just be the placebo effect, according to a drug expert quoted by the Times.

It is the platelet therapy that Dr. Galea administered to Tiger Woods, according to the Times investigation and confirmed by Dr. Galea. Read more...

Yesterday, Gillette said it would phase out advertising featuring Tiger Woods, but stopped short - for now, anyway - of saying it would discontinue its sponsorship deal with Woods.

On Sunday, Accenture took that step, announcing that "it will not continue its sponsorship agreement with Tiger Woods." And the reason? The scandals, of course. A press release posted on the Accenture Web site states:

... Given the circumstances of the last two weeks, after careful consideration and analysis, the company has determined that (Woods) is no longer the right representative for its advertising.

The company does, however, "(wish) only the best for Tiger Woods and his family."

Accenture, a consulting and outsourcing powerhouse, had built its marketing around Woods, exhorting potential customers to "Go on, be a Tiger." As the Associated Press put it in its article, "Accenture has used Woods to personify its claimed attributes of integrity and high performance." Hey, nothing Tiger's alleged mistresses have said undermine any talk about high performance (wink wink, nudge nudge). But integrity? Well, that's definitely been undermined.

Update: Tag Heuer isn't going anywhere. The Swiss watchmaking company said in a statement by a spokesperson that it will continue its sponsorship of Woods because he's the best in his field and because his private life is "not our business."

Update II: Not so fast. A statement released later Monday by Tag Heuer now sounds a more cautious not, with the company stating it will "spend the next few weeks assessing its relationship with golfer Tiger Woods."

See also: Tiger Woods scandals

There had been a few grumblings from sponsors, a few possible signs of things to come, prior to Tiger Woods' announcement on Friday that he plans to take an "indefinite break" from golf. But in the aftermath of that announcement - which included Woods' first explicit admission to marital infidelity - some of Woods' major sponsors have changed their tone from one of support to one of caution.

One, Gillette, said on Saturday that it is ramping down its use of Woods in company advertising, a company spokesman saying Gillette will help Woods "to take a lower profile" by "limiting his role in our marketing programs."

AT&T, which sponsors the July PGA Tour event hosted by Woods, issued a statement offering support for Woods, but also saying, ominously, "We are presently evaluating our ongoing relationship with him."

Nike Golf, on the other hand, remains steadfast in supporting Tiger. He is, after all, the very well-compensated poster child for the company. Tiger Woods had an endorsement deal with Nike before Nike even had golf clubs on the market. Nike Golf issued a statement that can be described as offering the company's full support, and included this: "(Woods) is the best golfer in the world and one of the greatest athletes of his era. We look forward to his return to golf."

Prior to Saturday, Gatorade announced a discontinuation of the Gatorade Tiger Focus line, although that decision apparently pre-dated the outbreak of the Tiger Woods scandals. Tag Heuer pulled in-store Woods displays from its Australian stores. And Accenture removed Woods from the homepage of its Web site.