Tiger's fatal flaw?

[Rich Goodale]

Some time and somewhere recently I read some golfer of the past and of note who said:

"You only have one point of maximum acceleration on any golf swing--make sure that it is as late as possible."

Tiger is accelerating far too early.  Scott, who was and still is a (Butch Harmon) Tiger clone, accelerates at the proper point of the swing.

Game, set and match.....

[Jon Byron]

Is it just me or is Tiger's swing looking like Keegan Bradley's?

[Sam Morrow]

Is it just me or are we making a big deal about the fact he had the greatest run in history and now can't replicate it? Tiger spoiled us, that's a fact. He is still having a helluva run, we are bitching about top 10 finishes in majors.

[Jason Walker]

Is it just me or is Tiger's swing looking like Keegan Bradley's?

Tiger wishes his swing looked like Keegan's

[Mark Bourgeois]

Rich

That may be the proximate cause but it is the root cause that must be addressed for any technical fix to stick. And the root cause, per Hank Haney and (liberally) paraphrasing Hogan, is:

*fear* of the driver.

Game, set, championship.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Rich,

Do you feel the cause is his bulked up physique ?

[Rich Goodale]

Rich,

Do you feel the cause is his bulked up physique ?

No.

[Rich Goodale]

Rich

That may be the proximate cause but it is the root cause that must be addressed for any technical fix to stick. And the root cause, per Hank Haney and (liberally) paraphrasing Hogan, is:

*fear* of the driver.

Game, set, championship.

Fear is the proximate cause.  The root cause is his inability to swing.  Hitting ain't swinging.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Rich, a few days ago I read a summary of research that shows if you practice your chipping but get less than 4 hours' sleep that night you will not learn what you practiced. So it's Tiger's ability and willingness to swing thats killing him.

On the course he's always been a hitter not a swinger. Yes, the fear was deposited via his interpretation of accumulated experience but now / recently according to Haney it's become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Therefore until Tiger-Sean unlocks the fear it remains the root cause.

Game, set, Descartes.

[Jackson C]

It's between his ears - Alliss mentioned today that on the range all of his divots were lovely thin strips. On the course they were enourmous gouges. He speeds up under intense pressure. He's getting better and better. All the signs are pointing to contending again at kiawah and more wins this season. No way am I writing Tiger off.

I agree he is getting better.  The climb back is a lot steeper than most thought, but Tiger is climbing and I don't see him as a lost cause.
I'd look at his distance control on his short clubs as the part of his game that will come around last.

[Doug Siebert]

Is it just me or are we making a big deal about the fact he had the greatest run in history and now can't replicate it? Tiger spoiled us, that's a fact. He is still having a helluva run, we are bitching about top 10 finishes in majors.

The reason people make a big deal about it is because he's chasing Nicklaus' record.  If he had only 10 majors and there had never been serious talk about him winning 19 majors, I don't think there would be so much discussion about it.  So many people treated it as fait accompli that Tiger would win something like 25 majors, but having a career where you are winning majors for as long as Nicklaus did turns out to be more difficult than Jack made it appear

[Greg Tallman]

He should swallow his pride and go back to Harmon with whom he developed the tightest swing since Hogan or maybe ever.  

[Rich Goodale]

Rich, a few days ago I read a summary of research that shows if you practice your chipping but get less than 4 hours' sleep that night you will not learn what you practiced. So it's Tiger's ability and willingness to swing thats killing him.

On the course he's always been a hitter not a swinger. Yes, the fear was deposited via his interpretation of accumulated experience but now / recently according to Haney it's become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Therefore until Tiger-Sean unlocks the fear it remains the root cause.

Game, set, Descartes.

Whatever.  Or is it "+1"?

[Rich Goodale]

He should swallow his pride and go back to Harmon with whom he developed the tightest swing since Hogan or maybe ever.  

Yes, Greg.  My point exactly.

Rich

[Tim Pitner]

Scott had his swing before he started working with Harmon and he no longer works with Harmon, I understand. 

I too am in the camp that thinks Tiger's best swing, by far, was circa 2000 when he dominated at Pebble Beach and St. Andrews. 

Unlike Hoylake, the conditions this week required the player to hit driver off the tee more than Woods did.  Scott and Els both hit a lot of drivers and hit a lot of fairways doing so.  Tiger wasn't going to win with his game plan this week unless he played his approach shots flawlessly and he obviously didn't do that. 

Too bad to see Scott come apart at the end--he hit the ball so well most of the week.  But well done to Els who I'm sure many people thought would never win a major again. 

[David Davis]

Maybe this was mentioned already, didn't see it.

Less we forget he's has 3 W's this year already. I'd bet he will have more. Certain courses shape up better for him or anyone else for that matter but let's face it he was literally 1 bad luck unplayable lie away from being right there at the end of the day. Pure bad luck and that's links golf. Sure confidence in the driver to hit it 300 down the middle would of been great but his strategy was working up till the bit of bad luck and sometimes that's links golf. A top 10 on a course that doesn't seem to suit him very well.

Ernie just won at age 42...guess there is still hope for us 40+ers

[Chris DeNigris]

I questioned Tiger's plan for this week but in retrospect it was the right plan. Even in the final round. He figured the field would likely back up and that something just under par would probably be good enough. He was one slightly pulled approach away from his 15th major. He knew that staying out of the fairway bunkers was the key to winning and they turned out to be the downfall of everyone but Ernie. Ernie was probably fortunate to hit that many drivers and avoid them to the degree that he did. Great for him.

[Tim Pitner]

I questioned Tiger's plan for this week but in retrospect it was the right plan. Even in the final round. He figured the field would likely back up and that something just under par would probably be good enough. He was one slightly pulled approach away from his 15th major.

Revisionist history.  It could easily have gone the other way too.  Take away a couple hole-outs from off the green and he'd have been tied with Nicholas Colsaerts.

[Mike Sweeney]

Still say it is putting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/22/sports/golf/tiger-woods-struggling-with-putting-accuracy.html

[David_Elvins]

It's between his ears - Alliss mentioned today that on the range all of his divots were lovely thin strips. On the course they were enourmous gouges.

Is there anyone on this forum who swings the same on the range as they do on the course? 


He's is the leading money winner on the PGA tour and has 5 top 4 finishes in his last 10 majors.  It it hard to argue that he is not heading in the right direction. 

[Ted Cahill]

If Tiger would have had his 110-140 yd game dialed in, he would have won the US Open and the Open Championship.  Now, the fact is, that part of his game is very poor and he can't win majors if it remains that way.  My point is, the rest of his game is championship worthy (his sand game looked good- who didn't love the 4 iron chip off of 17 today?).  It remains to be seen if he gets this together- or if he does, some other part of his game declines- but he is not the broken heap he was last year.

[Brent Hutto]

Still say it is putting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/22/sports/golf/tiger-woods-struggling-with-putting-accuracy.html

From his public comments, I'd think Tiger agrees that it's mostly putting.

[Mike_Young]

His biggest problem today was knowing that Stevie was behind him and he had crapped on him....in times before when all thought TW could do no wrong he had a completely different pschye.  I don't care how he swings it all comes down to how he puts and chips....

[Josh Tarble]

The lie in the bunker was the second time Tiger was screwed by the course...if it would have been blowing and weather like the practice rounds Tiger would have won by 10 shots.  His gameplay was flawless based on poor weather but far too conservative for the conditions the first three days.

[Tom_Doak]

The lie in the bunker was the second time Tiger was screwed by the course...if it would have been blowing and weather like the practice rounds Tiger would have won by 10 shots.  His gameplay was flawless based on poor weather but far too conservative for the conditions the first three days.

Because he did so much better against the field today, when the wind was blowing?

Perhaps Els would have won by a mile if the wind had been up.  There's no way of knowing, really.  But your projection above is especially hard to justify.  If only Tiger could see through the same rose-colored glasses you're looking, maybe he would have a bit more confidence.