Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. ? David Toms is among those who wonder whether some drivers used on the PGA Tour are legitimate.

Starting this summer, he’ll know for sure.

The PGA Tour plans to experiment with a portable device at the Western Open that will measure the trampoline effect in drivers and determine whether they are fit for play.

“It will be interesting to see what the findings are,” Toms said. “When an equipment rep comes up to you and says, ‘Man, this is really close,’ what does that mean? That it’s over the limit? A lot of guys have picked up a lot of distance. We’ll see.”

The U.S. Golf Assn. and Royal & Ancient have proposed the portable test, which would take effect at the start of next year.

Unlike the current test, which must be administered at the USGA Research and Test Center and requires the club to be taken apart, the portable test will require only a low-speed strike to the club face by a small weight on a pendulum.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem mentioned the experiment during a players’ meeting last week at Sawgrass. None of the players seemed to mind.

“It’s important for all of us to be on the same playing field,” Tiger Woods said. “That’s why we should test drivers on the first tee, to make sure everyone is legit.”

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Spring exams: Woods’ father says the biggest challenge facing his son’s bid for a record third straight Masters might be the weather — not what it does to the golf course, but how it affects his allergies.

“The weather will affect him differently than the other guys because Tiger is allergic to everything on the golf course,” Earl Woods said. “He has taken allergy shots as a kid and he has developed a resistance to everything. But when he gets to Georgia in the spring, that pollen gets to him.”

Woods has managed to get by. He is 35 under in his last 10 rounds at Augusta, all of which have been under par.

“We have air purifiers that we put in his house, and in his room, so he can sleep properly and so his allergies won’t overcome him,” Earl Woods said. “He does not like to play with medicine in his body.”

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Special presentation: Davis Love III was not in the mood for a raucous celebration after his first victory of the season.

Love usually stays — and plays — at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with Jim Griggs, who lives on the Monterey Peninsula and is former chairman of the PGA Tour Golf Course Properties board that oversees the TPC network.

Griggs didn’t play in the pro-am this year, and Love told him before leaving the house Sunday morning that “I’m going to get you something good today.”

He won Pebble Beach, then returned home with the trophy only to discover that Griggs had been taken to the hospital with a mild stroke.

“We ended up taking it to the hospital and leaving it for him there,” Love said. “He was in good shape, good spirits.”

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Secret weakness: David Toms knows how to stop Tiger Woods.

“He’s allergic to garlic,” Toms said. “Maybe we should throw some garlic in there.”

Toms overcame food poisoning to reach the finals of the Match Play Championship, where he lost to Woods on the 35th hole. Woods had food poisoning in the final round at Bay Hill, and turned a five-stroke lead into an 11-stroke victory.

If Woods is allergic to garlic, does that make him a vampire.

“I know he’s got some special powers,” Toms said.

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Stat of the week: Toms has missed the 36-hole cut in his last four PGA Tour events.