Opinion & Analysis

Achilles Last Stand? Woods’ Pursuit of Jack Again in Doubt

Published

12 years ago

Mar 12, 2012

Pete Pappas

By Pete Pappas

GolfWRX Staff Writer

Early this season Tiger Woods said his left leg felt as strong as it’s been in years, and that he’s starting the 2012 campaign healthy for the first time in nearly eight years.

However Sunday at TPC Blue Monster he injured the same left Achilles he hurt at last year’s Masters, forcing him to pull out of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship. And now his mere presence at Augusta National next month is in jeopardy.

Remember Tiger grimacing on No. 17 at the Masters in 2011 after his second shot? That same agonizing grimace appeared Sunday at No. 10 on Woods’ approach shot which veered ominously left into the lake.

When the final round began at Doral, Tiger was nine-under, playing encouraging if not spectacular golf. And the man who used to be the greatest golfer most of us have ever seen appeared well on his way towards turning another corner in his ongoing battle of patience, process, and progress.

Woods came into the WGC-Cadillac Championship reinvigorated by his final round 62, T-2 finish at The Honda Classic. The golf world was again abuzz about Tiger’s pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 majors, and optimistic of Tiger’s chances at The Masters in April.

But something was amiss to start the final round at TPC Blue Monster.

“I felt tightness in my left Achilles warming up this morning, and it continued to get progressively worse,” Woods said in a statement. “After hitting my tee shot at No. 12, I decided it was necessary to withdraw. In the past, I may have tried to continue to play, but this time, I decided to do what I thought was necessary.”

Woods missed two majors in 2011 after suffering a mild medial collateral ligament sprain to his left knee and a mild strain to his left Achilles tendon. The extent of damage from this most recent injury won’t be known until later in the week.

“I will get my Achilles evaluated sometime early next week,” Woods said.

But no matter what the medical tests reveal, Tiger finds himself again embroiled in the middle of controversy, right where he’s been for the better part of 18 months.

When Woods withdrew at No. 12 citing a “left leg injury” another new can of worms popped open in this always evolving Tiger-drama. And fairly or not, Woods’ backbone, durability, and swing mechanics are coming under more forceful attack than ever before.

Fighting for nothing

If Tiger’s injury is a minor one, it’s possible he won’t have to miss the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, his next scheduled event on the PGA Tour. However if it’s a minor injury, people will also undoubtedly question his guts; in fact, many already have.

Back when Woods withdrew from the 2011 Players Championship after shooting six-over through the first nine holes (Tiger was three-over when he withdrew Sunday at Doral), more than a few in the media crucified him, and some tour players were less than supportive or understanding.

It’s said that one time’s a point, two time’s a trend, three time’s a pattern. So Woods has a trend of not finishing? A Tiger-trend of quitting?

Calling him a quitter and particularly comparing him to John Daly’s pinhead antics (as numerous are doing) seems extreme to me. Woods is surely closer to Jack’s majors record than he is to letting himself go, smoking unfiltered Camels, rehydrating with Pabst Blue Ribbon, and swearing by a “Krispy Kreme Extreme Abs Workout”.

On the other hand about a half-dozen lost endorsements ago, I believed Tiger was the clean-cut, All-American Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes type; so I know things aren’t always how they seem with Mr. Woods. Another trend?

Throw in a few gratuitous snide remarks pointing out Tiger allegedly wanted to quit the PGA Tour and become a Navy SEAL (according to Hank Haney in his Tiger tell-all book, “The Big Miss”), and I’m left to ask, are these criticisms of Woods’ backbone fair game?

One school of thought says you never quit; ever.

Quitting is disrespectful to the field, to the game, and (should be) to your own sense of professionalism. And Woods did play through worse, winning the 2008 U.S Open on a broken leg.

Others however point out withdrawing at the Blue Monster should be considered a sign of Tiger’s maturity; and perhaps more important for Woods’ future success, his acceptance of physical limits he didn’t believe existed before, or simply chose to ignore.

Tiger’s going to fight for nothing? Not even a top-10 finish at Doral, where he already owns more WGC titles than the five players ranked immediately below him (in WGC victories) have won combined? And in the process, risk exacerbating his injury to the point where he has to take a year off again; or worse, beyond a point of repair? Absurd!

Whatever you believe, one thing is certain, it’s definitely not easy being Tiger Woods these days. And though his golf game isn’t quite the wreck it used to be, the jury is still out on his Achilles.

You can’t win majors if you can’t play majors

An Achilles injury (minor or major) isn’t exactly MLB’s Ken Griffey Jr. pinching a testicle with his protective cup. Or professional disc golfer (yes they actually get paid) Ron Russel swinging his hand into a tree during a 2000 PDGA event.

Woods had torn ligaments in his left knee when he won at Torrey Pines, and had a stress fracture en route to giving Rocco Mediate his 15 minutes of fame in that remarkable 91-hole 2008 U.S. Open (you know I love you RAM!). And Tiger’s knee troubles and Achilles injuries reappeared at the 2011 Masters, and then again that same year at the Players Championship.

You didn’t need to go to medical school to figure this one out; it’s not just possible Tiger’s body is deteriorating; it’s damn near certain it is.

Just look at Woods’ disturbing freefall since last years Masters. U.S Open? Missed because of injury. British Open? Missed because of injury. PGA Championship? Tiger missed the cut.

You can’t win majors if you can’t play majors. And if Woods is absent from Augusta this year, don’t just throw up another road block in Tiger’s pursuit of Jack; bulldoze a few gigantic boulders in that path.

Missing another major because of injury will cause greater and louder questions about the durability of Tiger’s 36 year-old body than would exist if Woods was there, competing, and lost. The Achilles injury Tiger suffered Sunday as WGC-Cadillac is the same Achilles that he injured last year at Augusta National. This is not the kind of déjà vu Woods was looking for with the 2012 Masters on the horizon.

And on top of all that, who really knows what’s going on with Tiger’s body.

Remember when Oakland Raiders halfback Bo Jackson was injured on what seemed to be a routine tackle in a 1990 playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals? That injury spiraled out of control, deteriorating cartilage and bone around his hip joint. No one could have thought those consequences would result in their wildest dreams.

Tiger has gone hard on that left side for 16 years since turning pro back in 1996. And spectators have sworn they’ve felt the ground rumble beneath them when Tiger tees off. The Achilles tendon is the strongest tendon in the body, and depending upon speed, stride, terrain and additional weight being carried or pushed, may be subject to three-to-twelve a person’s body weight during a push off. It connects the calf muscle to the heel bone and can support more than 1,000 pounds of pressure.

We’ve seen Tiger many times look like he’s come close to maxing that out.

The Rock will layeth the smackdown on your candy-(you know the rest)

Somewhere Sunday afternoon, Mediate might have been heard yelling, “I knew it!”

No matter what kind of injury this current Achilles setback winds up being for Woods, severe or minor; it’s re-opened the debate on the positive and negative effects of Woods’ new swing style. And the question in particular is, does the new Sean Foley swing cause more damage; or does it prevent further damage (as Foley claims is the case).

I’m not going to presume to understand the anatomy of a biomechanically sound golf swing. And I haven’t studied and compared Tiger’s old swing and new swings to critique it from any injury preventive perspective.

Swing mechanics certainly generate substantial tension on the body, this much I do understand. And the question then becomes, is Tiger’s new swing worsening that tension’s damage, or softening its effect?

Mediate has been adamant in making a simple, single, but profound point about Tiger’s new swing: it’s just putting too much pressure and stress on Tiger’s body. (And for what it’s worth, Mediate is not alone in this belief; add Lee Trevino to the non-believers of the Sean Foley way).

“The physical motion is wrong,” Mediate said. “To get that stress off his body is a piece of cake, but the guys working with him just don’t know. Sean knows some stuff, but what’s going on with Tiger is not correct,” he said.

The Foley camp argues Tiger wanted the swing change, is happy with the swing change, and believes the swing change is necessary to avoid further wear and tear on his injured knee and body overall.

But even if that’s the case, who’s to say Foley’s technique is the best one for Tiger? The process has been protracted, the progress dwarfed, and Tiger’s patience tested time and time again. That doesn’t exactly sound reassuring.

Father knows best

In all walks of life, we use the expression Achilles’ heel to refer to a person’s single vulnerable point. And Tiger’s vulnerable point; ironically might wind up being his actual Achilles heel.

I see only one possible way this can turn out well for Tiger. He comes back for the Masters, reveals afterwards he had an injury worse than he (eventually) announced after Doral, and wins in epic Tiger style. His fifth Masters Green Jacket,and 15^th major, just three back from Jack; churn the wheels, grease the engines, Woods is back on pace to catch and surpass Nicklaus and he did it with that venerable Tiger flash!

I’d like to believe that will happen. But I don’t. Instead I’m reminded of something Tiger’s dad once said.

“I’m going to make a prediction,” Earl Woods said. “Before he’s through, my son will win 14 major championships.”

Click here for more discussion in the “Tour Talk” forum.

You can follow Pete on twitter @TheGreekGrind.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

Published

3 days ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.

TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.

Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.

However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.

Past Winners at TPC Louisiana

2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)

2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks

Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)

Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.

This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.

McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.

Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)

Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.

Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.

Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)

Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.

NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 LIV Adelaide betting preview: Cam Smith ready for big week down under

Published

3 days ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After having four of the top twelve players on the leaderboard at The Masters, LIV Golf is set for their fifth event of the season: LIV Adelaide.

For both LIV fans and golf fans in Australia, LIV Adelaide is one of the most anticipated events of the year. With 35,000 people expected to attend each day of the tournament, the Grange Golf Club will be crawling with fans who are passionate about the sport of golf. The 12th hole, better known as “the watering hole”, is sure to have the rowdiest of the fans cheering after a long day of drinking some Leishman Lager.

The Grange Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 6,946 yards. The course features minimal resistance, as golfers went extremely low last season. In 2023, Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 on Thursday and Friday, giving himself a gigantic cushion heading into championship Sunday. Things got tight for a while, but in the end, the Oklahoma State product was able to hold off The Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri for a three-shot victory.

The Four Aces won the team competition with the Range Goats finishing second.

*All Images Courtesy of LIV Golf*

Past Winners at LIV Adelaide

2023: Talor Gooch (-19)

Stat Leaders Through LIV Miami

Green in Regulation

Richard Bland
Jon Rahm
Paul Casey

Fairways Hit

Abraham Ancer
Graeme McDowell
Henrik Stenson

Driving Distance

Bryson DeChambeau
Joaquin Niemann
Dean Burmester

Putting

Cameron Smith
Louis Oosthuizen
Matt Jones

2024 LIV Adelaide Picks

Cameron Smith +1400 (DraftKings)

When I pulled up the odds for LIV Adelaide, I was more than a little surprised to see multiple golfers listed ahead of Cameron Smith on the betting board. A few starts ago, Cam finished runner-up at LIV Hong Kong, which is a golf course that absolutely suits his eye. Augusta National in another course that Smith could roll out of bed and finish in the top-ten at, and he did so two weeks ago at The Masters, finishing T6.

At Augusta, he gained strokes on the field on approach, off the tee (slightly), and of course, around the green and putting. Smith able to get in the mix at a major championship despite coming into the week feeling under the weather tells me that his game is once again rounding into form.

The Grange Golf Club is another course that undoubtedly suits the Australian. Smith is obviously incredibly comfortable playing in front of the Aussie faithful and has won three Australian PGA Championship’s. The course is very short and will allow Smith to play conservative off the tee, mitigating his most glaring weakness. With birdies available all over the golf course, there’s a chance the event turns into a putting contest, and there’s no one on the planet I’d rather have in one of those than Cam Smith.

Louis Oosthuizen +2200 (DraftKings)

Louis Oosthuizen has simply been one of the best players on LIV in the 2024 seas0n. The South African has finished in the top-10 on the LIV leaderboard in three of his five starts, with his best coming in Jeddah, where he finished T2. Perhaps more impressively, Oosthuizen finished T7 at LIV Miami, which took place at Doral’s “Blue Monster”, an absolutely massive golf course. Given that Louis is on the shorter side in terms of distance off the tee, his ability to play well in Miami shows how dialed he is with the irons this season.

In addition to the LIV finishes, Oosthuizen won back-to-back starts on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritus Open. He also finished runner-up at the end of February in the International Series Oman. The 41-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers of 2024, regardless of tour.

For the season, Louis ranks 4th on LIV in birdies made, T9 in fairways hit and first in putting. He ranks 32nd in driving distance, but that won’t be an issue at this short course. Last season, he finished T11 at the event, but was in decent position going into the final round but fell back after shooting 70 while the rest of the field went low. This season, Oosthuizen comes into the event in peak form, and the course should be a perfect fit for his smooth swing and hot putter this week.

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Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: What really makes a wedge work? Part 1

Published

7 days ago

Apr 18, 2024

Terry Koehler

Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.

Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.

But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.

To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.

Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.

If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.

In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.

Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.

While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.

So, what about grooves and face texture?

Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.

Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.

But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?

The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.

So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.

And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.

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