Opinion & Analysis
4 things Tiger Woods needs to quit before he has to quit
I am a huge Tiger Woods fan, and I admire what he has done for the game and how he has impacted a new generation of golfers by making golf cool — but I have officially reached the end of my rope with him.
Like everyone else, I’m sick of hearing about his process, reps, release patterns and explosiveness right now, and I don’t know how much more I can take. I’m even more sick of watching the most dominant golfer of all time embarrass himself with three scores in the 80s in the past 15 rounds. That’s like watching an average golfer shoot 150 from the white tees.
Maybe better golf is right around the corner for Tiger Woods, but even as I write those words I’m shaking my head and thinking “It’s definitely not.” Tiger is so far off track, and that’s why he’d be better off to quit golf right now if he plans to carry on the way he has these past two years.
Before the Tiger fans come hunt me down and beat me up, let me explain my stance and why I feel the way I do. I have been a tournament player and a teacher for more than 22 years, and I have an understanding to some degree of what he is going through and the frustration he is feeling. His rapid decline is something that many professional golfers go through, and the ones who bounce back are those who can put their egos aside and accept that they are not working on the right things. They learn from the feedback golf always provides, tap back into their natural ability and almost always see their results improve.
But is Tiger Woods actually learning anything right now? His celebrity might eclipse more than the game of golf, but the golf gods have no sympathy for a golfer who won’t listen to what his scores are telling him.
Here are four things Tiger needs to do before he quits, and if he refuses to quit then it’s better that he quits the game right now.
Quit trying so hard and caring so much
There is a difference between trying “hard” and trying “too hard.” Few golfers have not worked themselves into a tizzy on the course. In this mode, golfers are trying so hard that they can’t even execute the simplest shots.
Think about putting: How many times have you practiced tirelessly on the putting green only to get on the course and let the pressure of a short putt cause you to miss most of them, if not all of them?
This is where Tiger is with his golf game right now, driver through putter.
At some point, golfers have to stop trying so hard and trust that the practice they’ve put in, along with their natural ability, will allow great shots to happen. Tiger has fallen into the trap of trying too hard and must allow himself some levity so he can enjoy the fruits of his labors again.
Quit being so hyper-focused on mechanics
Within the golf instruction world, we all know that Tiger is a hard player to teach, and it’s not a secret that he directs the teaching process where he wants it to go. All experienced teachers have gone through this with one or more players, but with Tiger it’s different.
How hard it must be to convince one of the greatest golfers of all time that working on his mechanics right now will only hinder his progress.
The type-A personality that Tiger possesses has served him well up to this point, but it’s clear that his focus is almost entirely on mechanical perfection, not winning golf tournaments.
Tiger’s previous coaches — Butch Harmon, Hank Haney, Sean Foley and now Chris Como — all know what they are doing, and I can say this because I know all of them personally. If asked, they would all say that Tiger needs to step back and remember that there has never been one perfect golf swing in golf history, and that all golfers possess idiosyncrasies that they have to work around.
Sure, golfers can always get better… but where would Jack Nicklaus have been if he’d have tried to “fix” his flying right elbow? Where would Lee Trevino and Fred Couples be if they tried to aim straight? What would have happened to Furyk if he refused to play with his non-conventional backswing? I guarantee that we would have never heard from them.
Tiger is in the wrong mode right now, trying to “fix” everything he sees and not letting Chris Como help him make his idiosyncrasies work for him.
Quit taking time off
Players of all levels know that there is a huge difference between working on your game on the range and on the course with your buddies and playing in tournaments where your score actually matters. There is no substitution for playing tournament golf, and even the best golfers in the world cannot exactly replicate the stress of a tournament. That’s why those who don’t play much tournament golf cannot improve their game as fast as those who do.
“Every bad tournament day you have is one day closer to you playing well again,” my father used to say. Sometimes time off is good for golfers, but Tiger has taken more time off for one reason or another than any of his peers since his last major victory, the 2008 U.S. Open. Clearly his current tournament schedule is not working. The last thing he needs to do is go back home to the range and worry about this and that with his body, setup and swing. He needs to get back into a tournament rhythm so he can start playing golf, not golf swing, for a change.
Quit forgetting that you have the best instincts on the PGA Tour
Tiger had (and probably still has) one of the best minds for the game of golf, and his instincts and feel for the shot at hand was in a league of its own. He has since lost that, allowing his mind to wander off on other tangents that have made things that used to come easy to him very difficult.
Let’s take Tiger’s chipping, for example. How can the the golfer who hit so many great flop shots under pressure on the final holes of major championships get the chipping yips? The only way a player loses the very best parts of his game is when they allow their instincts and feel to be compromised by something else, another more dominant thought. They starting thinking: “My club is out of position,” or “I need to do this or that on the way down” while they are playing.
Tiger has forgotten how to use his mind and experience to his advantage, and has morphed into a golfer who now hits cold tops from the fairway in major championships. The solution? Go back to hitting big hooks and slices, low shots and high shots, stingers and spinners in practice until you can begin to trust your talent again. When golfers vary their practice in this way, their mechanics almost always improve because they shift their focus from making a perfect swing to making a perfect shot.
As I said, I am a huge Tiger fan and think he’s great for our game, but if he does not quit what he is currently doing then he’s done as a threat to win major championships. No one can alter Tiger’s mindset and reverse the road he’s traveled except Tiger — not Butch Harmon, Hank Haney, Sean Foley or Chris Como.
Tiger’s problem is not his mechanics or the instruction he’s getting. It’s Tiger!
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My golf learning began with this simple fact – if you don’t have a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, it is practically impossible for your body to execute a fundamentally sound golf swing. I’m still a big believer that the golf swing is much easier to execute if you begin with the proper hold on the club.
As you might imagine, I come into contact with hundreds of golfers of all skill levels. And it is very rare to see a good player with a bad hold on the golf club. There are some exceptions, for sure, but they are very few and very far between, and they typically have beat so many balls with their poor grip that they’ve found a way to work around it.
The reality of biophysics is that the body moves only in certain ways – and the particulars of the way you hold the golf club can totally prevent a sound swing motion that allows the club to release properly through the impact zone. The wonderful thing is that anyone can learn how to put a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, and you can practice it anywhere your hands are not otherwise engaged, like watching TV or just sitting and relaxing.
Whether you prefer an overlap, interlock or full-finger (not baseball!) grip on the club, the same fundamentals apply. Here are the major grip faults I see most often, in the order of the frequency:
Mis-aligned hands
By this I mean that the palms of the two hands are not parallel to each other. Too many golfers have a weak left hand and strong right, or vice versa. The easiest way to learn how to hold the club with your palms aligned properly is to grip a plain wooden ruler or yardstick. It forces the hands to align properly and shows you how that feels. If you grip and re-grip a yardstick several times, then grip a club, you’ll see that the learning curve is almost immediate.
The position of the grip in the upper/left hand
I also observe many golfers who have the butt of the grip too far into the heel pad of the upper hand (the left hand for right-handed players). It’s amazing how much easier it is to release the club through the ball if even 1/4-1/2″ of the butt is beyond the left heel pad. Try this yourself to see what I mean. Swing the club freely with just your left hand and notice the difference in its release from when you hold it at the end of the grip, versus gripping down even a half inch.
To help you really understand how this works, go to the range and hit shots with your five-iron gripped down a full inch to make the club the same length as your seven-iron. You will probably see an amazing shot shape difference, and likely not see as much distance loss as you would expect.
Too much lower (right) hand on the club
It seems like almost all golfers of 8-10 handicap or higher have the club too far into the palm of the lower hand, because that feels “good” if you are trying to control the path of the clubhead to the ball. But the golf swing is not an effort to hit at the ball – it is a swing of the club. The proper hold on the club has the grip underneath the pad at the base of the fingers. This will likely feel “weak” to you — like you cannot control the club like that. EXACTLY. You should not be trying to control the club with your lower/master hand.
Gripping too tightly
Nearly all golfers hold the club too tightly, which tenses up the forearms and prevents a proper release of the club through impact. In order for the club to move back and through properly, you must feel that the club is controlled by the last three fingers of the upper hand, and the middle two fingers of the lower hand. If you engage your thumbs and forefingers in “holding” the club, the result will almost always be a grip that is too tight. Try this for yourself. Hold the club in your upper hand only, and squeeze firmly with just the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb off the club entirely. You have good control, but your forearms are not tense. Then begin to squeeze down with your thumb and forefinger and observe the tensing of the entire forearm. This is the way we are made, so the key to preventing tenseness in the arms is to hold the club very lightly with the “pinchers” — the thumbs and forefingers.
So, those are what I believe are the four fundamentals of a good grip. Anyone can learn them in their home or office very quickly. There is no easier way to improve your ball striking consistency and add distance than giving more attention to the way you hold the golf club.
More from the Wedge Guy
- The Wedge Guy: Golf mastery begins with your wedge game
- The Wedge Guy: Why golf is 20 times harder than brain surgery
- The Wedge Guy: Musings on the golf ball rollback
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As the Florida swing comes to an end, the PGA Tour makes its way to Houston to play the Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course.
This will be the fourth year that Memorial Park Golf Course will serve as the tournament host. The event did not take place in 2023, but the course hosted the event in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Memorial Park is a par-70 layout measuring 7,432 yards and features Bermudagrass greens. Historically, the main defense for the course has been thick rough along the fairways and tightly mown runoff areas around the greens. Memorial Park has a unique setup that features three Par 5’s and five Par 3’s.
The field will consist of 132 players, with the top 65 and ties making the cut. There are some big names making the trip to Houston, including Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala.
Past Winners at Memorial Park
- 2022: Tony Finau (-16)
- 2021: Jason Kokrak (-10)
- 2020: Carlos Ortiz (-13)
In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value).
Key Stats For Memorial Park
Let’s take a look at several metrics for Memorial Park to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds:
Strokes Gained: Approach
Memorial Park is a pretty tough golf course. Golfers are penalized for missing greens and face some difficult up and downs to save par. Approach will be key.
Total Strokes Gained: Approach per round in past 24 rounds:
- Tom Hoge (+1.30)
- Scottie Scheffler (+1.26)
- Keith Mitchell (+0.97)
- Tony Finau (+0.92)
- Jake Knapp (+0.84)
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
Memorial Park is a long golf course with rough that can be penal. Therefore, a combination of distance and accuracy is the best metric.
Total Strokes Gained: Off the Tee per round in past 24 rounds:
- Scottie Scheffler (+0.94)
- Kevin Dougherty (+0.93)
- Cameron Champ (+0.86)
- Rafael Campos (+0.84)
- Si Woo Kim (+0.70)
Strokes Gained Putting: Bermudagrass + Fast
The Bermudagrass greens played fairly fast the past few years in Houston. Jason Kokrak gained 8.7 strokes putting on his way to victory in 2021 and Tony Finau gained in 7.8 in 2022.
Total Strokes Gained Putting (Bermudagrass) per round past 24 rounds (min. 8 rounds):
- Adam Svensson (+1.27)
- Harry Hall (+1.01)
- Martin Trainer (+0.94)
- Taylor Montgomery (+0.88)
- S.H. Kim (+0.86)
Strokes Gained: Around the Green
With firm and undulating putting surfaces, holding the green on approach shots may prove to be a challenge. Memorial Park has many tightly mowed runoff areas, so golfers will have challenging up-and-down’s around the greens. Carlos Ortiz gained 5.7 strokes around the green on the way to victory in 2020.
Total Strokes Gained: Around the Green per round in past 24 rounds:
- Mackenzie Hughes (+0.76)
- S.H. Kim (+0.68)
- Scottie Scheffler (+0.64)
- Jorge Campillo (+0.62)
- Jason Day (+0.60)
Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult
Memorial Park is a long and difficult golf course. This statistic will incorporate players who’ve had success on these types of tracks in the past.
Total Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult in past 24 rounds:
- Scottie Scheffler (+2.45)
- Ben Griffin (+1.75)
- Will Zalatoris (+1.73)
- Ben Taylor (+1.53)
- Tony Finau (+1.42)
Course History
Here are the players who have performed the most consistently at Memorial Park.
Strokes Gained Total at Memorial Park past 12 rounds:
- Tyson Alexander (+3.65)
- Ben Taylor (+3.40)
- Tony Finau (+2.37)
- Joel Dahmen (+2.25)
- Patton Kizzire (+2.16)
Statistical Model
Below, I’ve reported overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed.
These rankings are comprised of SG: App (24%) SG: OTT (24%); SG: Putting Bermudagrass/Fast (13%); SG: Long and Difficult (13%); SG: ARG (13%) and Course History (13%)
- Scottie Scheffler
- Wyndham Clark
- Tony Finau
- Joel Dahmen
- Stephan Jaeger
- Aaron Rai
- Sahith Theegala
- Keith Mitchell
- Jhonnatan Vegas
- Jason Day
- Kurt Kitayama
- Alex Noren
- Will Zalatoris
- Si Woo Kim
- Adam Long
2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open Picks
Will Zalatoris +2000 (Caesars)
Scottie Scheffler will undoubtedly be difficult to beat this week, so I’m starting my card with someone who I believe has the talent to beat him if he doesn’t have his best stuff.
Will Zalatoris missed the cut at the PLAYERS, but still managed to gain strokes on approach while doing so. In an unpredictable event with extreme variance, I don’t believe it would be wise to discount Zalatoris based on that performance. Prior to The PLAYERS, the 27-year-old finished T13, T2 and T4 in his previous three starts.
Zalatoris plays his best golf on long and difficult golf courses. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the category, but the eye test also tells a similar story. He’s contended at major championships and elevated events in the best of fields with tough scoring conditions. The Texas resident should be a perfect fit at Memorial Park Golf Club.
Alex Noren +4500 (FanDuel)
Alex Noren has been quietly playing some of his best golf of the last half decade this season. The 41-year-old is coming off back-to-back top-20 finishes in Florida including a T9 at The PLAYERS in his most recent start.
In his past 24 rounds, Noren ranks 21st in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 30th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green, 25th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses and 21st in Strokes Gained: Putting on fast Bermudagrass greens.
In addition to his strong recent play, the Swede also has played well at Memorial Park. In 2022, Noren finished T4 at the event, gaining 2.2 strokes off the tee and 7.0 strokes on approach for the week. In his two starts at the course, he’s gained an average of .6 strokes per round on the field, indicating he is comfortable on these greens.
Noren has been due for a win for what feels like an eternity, but Memorial Park may be the course that suits him well enough for him to finally get his elusive first PGA Tour victory.
Mackenzie Hughes +8000 (FanDuel)
Mackenzie Hughes found himself deep into contention at last week’s Valspar Championship before faltering late and finishing in a tie for 3rd place. While he would have loved to win the event, it’s hard to see the performance as anything other than an overwhelming positive sign for the Canadian.
Hughes has played great golf at Memorial Park in the past. He finished T7 in 2020, T29 in 2021 and T16 in 2022. The course fit seems to be quite strong for Hughes. He’s added distance off the tee in the past year or and ranks 8th in the field for apex height, which will be a key factor when hitting into Memorial Park’s elevated greens with steep run-off areas.
In his past 24 rounds, Hughes is the best player in the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Greens. The ability to scramble at this course will be extremely important. I believe Hughes can build off of his strong finish last week and contend once again to cement himself as a President’s Cup consideration.
Akshay Bhatia +8000 (FanDuel)
Akshay Bhatia played well last week at the Valspar and seemed to be in total control of his golf ball. He finished in a tie for 17th and shot an impressive -3 on a difficult Sunday. After struggling Thursday, Akshay shot 68-70-68 in his next three rounds.
Thus far, Bhatia has played better at easier courses, but his success at Copperhead may be due to his game maturing. The 22-year-old has enormous potential and the raw talent to be one of the best players in the world when he figures it all out.
Bhatia is a high upside play with superstar qualities and may just take the leap forward to the next stage of his career in the coming months.
Cameron Champ +12000 (FanDuel)
Cameron Champ is a player I often target in the outright betting market due to his “boom-or-bust” nature. It’s hard to think of a player in recent history with three PGA Tour wins who’s been as inconsistent as Champ has over the course of his career.
Despite the erratic play, Cam Champ simply knows how to win. He’s won in 2018, 2019 and 2021, so I feel he’s due for a win at some point this season. The former Texas A&M product should be comfortable in Texas and last week he showed us that his game is in a pretty decent spot.
Over his past 24 rounds, Champ ranks 3rd in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 30th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses. Given his ability to spike at any given time, Memorial Park is a good golf course to target Champ on at triple digit odds.
Robert MacIntyre +12000 (FanDuel)
The challenge this week is finding players who can possibly beat Scottie Scheffler while also not dumping an enormous amount of money into an event that has a player at the top that looks extremely dangerous. Enter McIntyre, who’s another boom-or-bust type player who has the ceiling to compete with anyone when his game is clicking on all cylinders.
In his past 24 rounds, MacIntyre ranks 16th in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 17th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and 10th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses.
MacIntyre’s PGA Tour season has gotten off to a slow start, but he finished T6 in Mexico, which is a course where players will hit driver on the majority of their tee shots, which is what we will see at Memorial Park. Texas can also get quite windy, which should suit MacIntyre. Last July, the Scot went toe to toe with Rory McIlroy at the Scottish Open before a narrow defeat. It would take a similar heroic effort to compete with Scheffler this year in Houston.
Ryan Moore +15000 (FanDuel)
Ryan Moore’s iron play has been absolutely unconscious over his past few starts. At The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field, he gained 6.1 strokes on approach and last week at Copperhead, he gained 9.0 strokes on approach.
It’s been a rough handful of years on Tour for the 41-year-old, but he is still a five-time winner on the PGA Tour who’s young enough for a career resurgence. Moore has chronic deterioration in a costovertebral joint that connects the rib to the spine, but has been getting more consistent of late, which is hopefully a sign that he is getting healthy.
Veterans have been contending in 2024 and I believe taking a flier on a proven Tour play who’s shown signs of life is a wise move at Memorial Park.
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B.F. Skinner was one of the most important psychologists of the 20th century, developing the foundation of the development of reinforcement, and in doing so, creating the concept of behaviorism. In simple terms, this means that we are conditioned by our habits. In practical terms, it explains the divide between the few and far between elite instructors and college coaches.
To understand the application, let’s quickly review one of B.F. Skinner’s most important experiments; superstitions in the formation of behavior by pigeons. In this experiment, food was dispensed to pigeons at random intervals. Soon, according to Skinner, the pigeons began to associate whatever action they were doing at the time of the food being dispensed. According to Skinner, this conditioned that response and soon, they simply haphazardly repeated the action, failing to distinguish between cause and correlation (and in the meantime, looking really funny!).
Now, this is simply the best way to describe the actions of most every women’s college golf coach and too many instructors in America. They see something work, get positive feedback and then become conditioned to give the feedback, more and more, regardless of if it works (this is also why tips from your buddies never work!).
Go to a college event, particularly a women’s one, and you will see coaches running all over the place. Like the pigeons in the experiment, they have been conditioned into a codependent relationship with their players in which they believe their words and actions, can transform a round of golf. It is simply hilarious while being equally perturbing
In junior golf, it’s everywhere. Junior golf academies make a living selling parents that a hysterical coach and over-coaching are essential ingredients in your child’s success.
Let’s be clear, no one of any intellect has any real interest in golf — because it’s not that interesting. The people left, including most coaches and instructors, carve out a small fiefdom, usually on the corner of the range, where they use the illusion of competency to pray on people. In simple terms, they baffle people with the bullshit of pseudo-science that they can make you better, after just one more lesson.
The reality is that life is an impromptu game. The world of golf, business, and school have a message that the goal is being right. This, of course, is bad advice, being right in your own mind is easy, trying to push your ideas on others is hard. As a result, it is not surprising that the divorce rate among golf professionals and their instructors is 100 percent. The transfer rate among college players continues to soar, and too many courses have a guy peddling nefarious science to good people. In fact, we do at my course!
The question is, what impact does all this have on college-age and younger kids? At this point, we honestly don’t know. However, I am going to go out on a limb and say it isn’t good.
Soren Kierkegaard once quipped “I saw it for what it is, and I laughed.” The actions of most coaches and instructors in America are laughable. The problem is that I am not laughing because they are doing damage to kids, as well as driving good people away from this game.
The fact is that golfers don’t need more tips, secrets, or lessons. They need to be presented with a better understanding of the key elements of golf. With this understanding, they can then start to frame which information makes sense and what doesn’t. This will emancipate them and allow them to take charge of their own development.
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j
Aug 16, 2015 at 11:29 pm
I think it is simple
– Get out of the limelight
– Play more golf in Europe or any where else outside of the United States
– Stop thinking so much
– Stop trying to change your swing
– Get back to basics
Dr. Fitzgerald
Jul 22, 2015 at 11:44 am
honestly, he went into rehab at one point and likely they suggested some prescription medication to help him through the anxiety and depression. those medications can be powerful. then he is expected to go back on tour and hit a little white ball within millimeters of accuracy after starting a new medication that alters brain chemistry to some degree. that could be at play here.
shabby
Jul 10, 2015 at 11:45 am
Tiger should hold hands with bubbs and jump off a tall building
Speedy
Jul 3, 2015 at 10:15 pm
How ’bout, Quit being a jerk.
As much as some can't stand him....
Jul 1, 2015 at 3:17 pm
Tiger dominated for a long period of time. I don’t believe the players (greats) he is compared to played with as great of a field as he has had in his era. I just think the game is much more competitive then it was 30 years ago, and yes there have been some modern day great players, but none have done what tiger did for such a long period of time. How would ex. Jack play with the players on tour today? We will never know. But we do know tiger did it and crushed it for years. Whether people like him or not, what he did to the game and for the game will probably never be repeated. Will Speith or Ror’s stay on top for as long? Yet to be seen, but I have seen short periods of dominance out of players today, but nothing compared to what tiger has done for years. It’s sad, and I hope he doesn’t “jerry rice it”, but I think there were greats in the past, but in my opinion those greats wouldn’t fair as well as tiger did against the crop in past 15-20 years. Just my .02
Dennis Clark
Jun 30, 2015 at 5:05 pm
insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result
leo
Jun 29, 2015 at 4:50 pm
during tiger’s days of true dominance he was one of if not the longest player on tour. those days are gone he will never be the longest of the top players. while tiger has gotten shorter especially in relation to other players the courses have gotten longer.the stinger shot is mostly obsolete except in cases of very firm fast courses the same holds true for using exclusively less than driver off the tee.he can’t spot today’s tour players 20-30 yds off the tee and hope to win consistently.he must fix his problems with the driver first.Quit trying to move the ball so much off the tee.decide which shape he can regularly find the fairway at a distance he can be competitive and go with that 90% of the time,be it draw or fade.bubba watson just won hitting fades almost exclusively when hitting driver, patrick reed is having success with almost all draws off the tee.when tiger tries to hit those big fades off the tee it usually results in a double cross pull or a swipe to the right.if tiger could start finding some fairways while still hitting driver and be able to visualize a consistent shot shape i think he can win again and even sneak in 1 or 2 more majors. he still fares pretty well at the masters and the quirky courses in scotland with firm wide fairways are his best shot.i totally agree with points 3 and 4 in the article i guarantee tiger never shoots 80 in a practice round. as to plying more tiger always played a limited schedule and with his history of injuries playing a lot may not be an option
Tony Lynam
Jun 29, 2015 at 10:44 am
Great article Tom, the truth on so many levels. Also Tiger, more than anything, needs to find peace in his life and that peace will only come from a relationship with Jesus Christ and not some fat golden statue named Buddah.
Thaiger Woods
Jul 12, 2015 at 9:19 pm
@Tony Lynam
I have 2 words for you !!
Richard Dawkins
Artsontop
Jul 21, 2015 at 3:05 am
Amen, Tony!
It is so refreshing to see real men of real charachter and substance prosper in this game today. Zach Johnson, in winning The Open is humble and thankful for his God given talents and success.
Appreciative that he plays golf for a living! Jordan Spieth, a product of Dallas Jesuit, of the same mold. Did anyone notice Zach and Louis Oosthuizen share pleasantries as they walked 17 and 18 in the playoff? NEVER would you have seen the self absorbed, arrogant, ego filled Tiger Woods share such moments with his competitors…
Oldplayer
Jun 25, 2015 at 5:51 pm
Good article Tom. Relevant points well made.
Just remember one and all that golf is a tough game and that inside every great player is a bad player trying to get out!
PFTaylor
Jun 25, 2015 at 4:45 pm
To my eye, Tiger looks like a washed up ex-steroid juicing athlete. That explains a lot. Just take a look at those baseball players who no longer take steroids (Ryan Howard, et al). Their power numbers look “normal”, their bat is slow, and they are on their way out of the game.
Getting back to Tiger, since his name was on the list MLB uncovered from Biogenisis, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck…
Larry Fox
Jun 24, 2015 at 11:13 pm
Tiger was fine till he started playing golf with the President. I think government scientist found a way to swap his talents with the Presidents. When we hear about Obama shooting a 66 at the club we will
know i was right. You heard it here first.
talljohn777
Jun 24, 2015 at 4:09 pm
Pretty simple, Tiger needs to stop practicing and start playing lots and lots of tournament golf.
Tom Wishon
Jun 24, 2015 at 3:33 pm
Surfing channels last night I caught part of The Golf Channel’s “Golf Greatest Rounds” showing Tiger’s final round in the 2000 Open Championship at St Andrews when he shot 20 under and won by two miles. The replay made note of the fact between June 1999 and July 2000, he won 13 of the 23 tournaments he entered.
It only took seeing one swing during that replay to be shocked at his swing today vs then. No dip down and up, no right elbow outside the right hip, no getting jammed through the ball – he stayed level through the ball with a very consistent posture from back to follow through. Aggressive but very simple, stable and balanced. I could not help thinking, I wonder if he really looked at this 2000 round whether he could just go swing like that again.
Probably not since paralysis from over analysis seems to be approaching a fatal stage with him now. It’s too bad. While one certainly can criticize his behavior and demeanor over the years, solid playing Tiger was good for golf and good for increasing interest in the game.
Perhaps Jordan can achieve that so the game has a very strong ambassador to bring more people into the game.
Jimmy
Jun 24, 2015 at 1:10 pm
I am sick of hearing statements like……”most dominant golfer of all time”. For a while he was dominant but there are others that could be considered “most dominant golfer of all time”.
Lion Irons
Jun 24, 2015 at 3:02 pm
Who else has won a MAJOR by 15?
I’m not saying he’s the only ‘dominant’ golfer, but you say it like there are dozens of others. In reality, there are a select few that are even worth considering.
mike
Jun 25, 2015 at 12:01 am
In all seriousness, Tiger is the greatest golfer ever even if he hangs it up right now.
In the history of golf, there has never been any golfer considered the #1 athlete in the world. Tiger reigned supreme as not the best golfer but as the #1 athlete in the world for no less than 10 years following MJ’s final championship.
Think about it. A “GOLFER” being considered the greatest athlete in the world for over a decade. That is a monumental accomplishment to say the least.
Jason
Jun 24, 2015 at 1:07 pm
Precisely what I was thinking. Tiger needs to stop trying to find the perfect angles, plane, etc and just let his natural talents/instinct take over. This is like Michael Jordan worrying about his running mechanics instead of just getting the ball to go in the hoop anyway he can.
Ct
Jun 24, 2015 at 2:25 pm
Tiger needs more strange (p—y) in his life to get back to the top!!!
Steven Thomas
Jun 24, 2015 at 12:22 pm
Tom:
I just wonder if the desire is still there.
Tom
Jun 24, 2015 at 11:44 am
Tiger will be fun to watch a) continuing his down fall b) when he starts to come back. I am excited to watch golf with the game’s current greats. If Tiger can be part of it, wonderful. But if he continues to stink it up, pls keep the cameras off him and don’t let him be a story line. Right now he’s a 10 handicap.
Craig B
Jun 24, 2015 at 11:41 am
One Person who he should take a look at is Martin Ayers
Craig B
Jun 24, 2015 at 11:37 am
Having been a caddy on both sides of the pond in recent years, to which i have now retired and running a Golf Business day to day. The business that i now operate is to what people know as “Custom Fitting” but this is what all these big outlets call it but basically it’s trial and error and thats a FACT!! My business is that i optimise your equipment from Driver to putter none of this trial and error rubbish.
So to the point, Tiger’s equipment is all over the shop from when i last saw what he’s playing with theres no stability within in his shafts to what he’s playing. When i last saw his driver had a 60g shaft in it and his 3 wood was a 103, this is just complete bonkers!!! going from one club to the next he doesn’t know what feeling he has with his clubs, he needs to get this sorted first off as you can’t tell me its just down to what these so called Coaches are doing with him!! They’re all yes men and afraid to say anything as they’ll be off the payroll, go back to Butch that’s if he would have him back and start from there.
Hazen
Jun 24, 2015 at 11:30 am
Tiger needs to play a few rounds with Charles Barkley. That’ll make him feel better, a morale booster if you will. 😉
Jayw
Jun 24, 2015 at 5:03 am
Most of us are raised to be quitters. We are told that if we don’t succeed in certain areas then we will grow up to be failures. We are programmed to be fearful of failure. People are like animals in that when we see someone like Tiger struggling and hurting, to attack. People start laughing, heckling, put downs and whatever else, ( like to much advice), will finish him off. Tiger accomplished what he did because he was raised and told to go ahead and keep plugging away and to block out all of the mean and hateful things that people will throw at you. I believe that Tiger should do whatever he decides to do pertaining to his golf, since it’s his life and his golf game. If Tiger thought like everyone else he would be just like everyone else would have quit a long time ago. There is no one else that could stand up in front of the world and do what he’s doing and take all the meanness that the world has to offer. That shows what Tiger is really made of. It’s really like comparing us (mice) to a Tiger.
Nathan
Jun 24, 2015 at 1:01 am
Y’all got it wrong.
Tiger needs to do exactly what he used to do. Play golf, go back to hotel room think about what he had to do and just do it! Come out the next day relaxed as and play golf again.
Simple really
The stuff he would do in the hotel room with those ahh stars.
That’s the stuff missing from his game.
Bring it back tiger, you know it’s the only way
mike
Jun 23, 2015 at 10:57 pm
He needs a girlfriend. If you know what I mean…
There is one thing that is extremely important to men whether we would like to admit it or not.
This is the reason half of all commercials on the golf channel are about the blue pill or it’s counterparts.
The downfall started the day he got caught. Not sure why the public was so outraged about a personal matter. Not saying what he did was right but in all seriousness, it isn’t a big deal.
Tiger will play better or even dominate again if he stops trying to be like Jack Nicklaus and starts living free like Jack Nicholson.
Bruce Ferguson
Jun 23, 2015 at 5:56 pm
On top of those four things, I might add a fifth: be fan friendly. High-five the kids and sign some autographs, dialog a little with the gallery, loosen up. A player going through a bad patch needs fan empathy, and these days, I’d hate to hear some of the murmuring going on in the galleries when Tiger tops a shot or chokes on a putt.
other paul
Jun 23, 2015 at 9:09 am
This is the most I have ever disagreed with something you wrote Tom. Tiger needs to quit Chris Como and fly to Hawaii for a month or two and be with Kelvin Miyahira. Or at least talk to Lucas Wald. These guys are so far ahead of what everyone else is doing its silly.
Billy
Jun 23, 2015 at 4:51 am
I also sick of people blasting Tiger, it’s probably the lamest thing you can do right now, but we can certainly all learn from this article. Thats if you ever played a tournament, or tried to be competetive on any level.
Amado villanueva
Jun 23, 2015 at 4:06 am
KARMA PENDEJO
Tom Stickney
Jun 23, 2015 at 12:59 am
Jeff*– my thought was not to tear Tiger down but in fact help him understand what he needs to do to improve. I’m sick of the fact that he’s going about it the wrong way and robbing us of his great play from years past.
Stretch
Jun 24, 2015 at 12:57 pm
Great article! The readers have hovered around the root of Tiger’s problem. When he came out on tour his power created shots that demoralized his opponents. He created today’s bomb and gouge style of playing. His changing of coaches and styles is a need to get back to physical dominance which will not happen as the younger generations are bigger, stronger and faster. Technically he tries to create power and two problems arise. Too much energy in the transition lays the club down and back into the stuck position leading to hitting far right and left shots. Second the dipping of the head to create ground forces that can create some extra power leads to the thin and fat hits. Combining the two problems is creating all manor of havoc and seems to eliminate hitting the ball in position where his putting and short game superiority can create the winning game he still has lurking.
Jeff*
Jun 22, 2015 at 9:53 pm
Dude gave us the best golf we’ve ever seen, for a decade. Sorry to hear you’re sick of him, by winning the players in 2013, he’s qualified to play on tour 8 more years. Pretty sure he’s earned the right to tee it up.
You’re nobody. It doesn’t take courage to pile on. Congrats, you have readers. What I’m getting sick of is self-serving sentences that start with, “hey I’m a huge tiger fan”…BUT, pile on, pile on, profess to have solution, take a few more shots about how he should have been nicer all along and close it up with, “so I’m hoping he does get it back,” which you’re not, because nobody cares what Tom Stickney has to say about Tiger if he’s playing well.
So, you’ve got a lot of people to read what you wrote about Tigers slump. Slump working out pretty well for you, as it makes your information more important, certainly more urgent, being a golf teacher. The problem is I’ve read the same article a hundred times now. It’s not taking the high road or being a Tiger Woods fan, sorry. The high road means not highlighting the struggle of others for personal gain. See ya Tom.
I was alays a bit of a Tom Stickney fan, I respected him as a teacher, but as a golfer he just should have had the sense to not tear down someone who conquered golf, as a writer, just because it could get more people to view his work, so, I am SICK of Tom Stickney. I’ll watch Tiger play golf til the day I die.
Dan Nichele
Jun 23, 2015 at 3:31 am
Settle down fanboy! Gee dry your eyes princess
Jack
Jun 24, 2015 at 10:26 pm
He WAS the best golfer. Now he’s near the bottom. Everyone can see that he’s struggling. And most think that he is struggling because he keeps changing his swing. Not sure what was wrong with the one with Butch or Hank since he won plenty with them. Now he wants to change again. It didn’t work with his last coach and it’s not working with Como. Stop dicking around and just play what you body wants you to do. He’s fighting so much against his instincts.
Ilsompati
Jun 22, 2015 at 9:53 pm
Karma baby………it is simply karma.
Ryan K
Jun 22, 2015 at 9:17 pm
All I really got from that was apparently Jim Furyk has a bass ackwards swing. Thanks Tom! Ha
Mark
Jun 22, 2015 at 7:28 pm
Tiger needs to speak to Jack about course management. Nicklaus’s biggest weapon was his brain. He didn’t try to blast it if it didn’t need blasted. And as already said he must play more events. Try 3 or 4 on the bounce. Play some courses you haven’t before and be prepared to go out in non-marquee groups. And dare I say he needs to do a Phil and get a mini driver that he can shape and keep in play?
Mitch
Jun 22, 2015 at 7:22 pm
plus he seems to be injury free
Matto
Jun 22, 2015 at 6:55 pm
Just stop trying to hit the ball so godamn hard for christ’s sake!!!! Just peel it back to even 85-90% when the long sticks are in the hand. His swing (with that now huge head lowering move) has never looked more brutal and aggressive……but not in a good way. It just looks like it’s out of control and that it hurts!
Sacrifice 20 off the tee and hit the fairways for starters.
Hints
Jun 22, 2015 at 6:30 pm
I don’t think it has anything to do with his “mechanics” and you don’t become a great sportsman without great instincts. It has everything to do with his head and specifically his ego and self image. At his best he “knew absolutely” he could do anything. I mean on the course and also in his private life. He was at the pinnacle of sport and life. He was able to express himself entirely without the constraints that self doubt impose on normal human beings. His behaviour off the golf course mirrored this, he felt entitled, deserved and as with with shot making, he pushed the envelope to the limit. When he was exposed it cracked not only his personal life but his persona as well. His downfall was swift and complete. His grubby goings on were laid bare for the world to see and the people he relied on washed their hands of him. He was alone for the first time in years and it must have forced him to take a long hard look at himself and I think he didn’t like much what he saw.
I don’t believe he can get back to the top of the game. I think he thinks he can, and that is why he is so tough on himself but his inner image has been shattered and the voice in his head now says “I think I can” instead of “I KNOW I can.”
The next generation of golfers, some of whom would have been inspired by his bold, exciting style are now breaking through. Time to be easier on yourself Tiger. Try and smile a little and you may start to enjoy yourself a tiny bit more. Crowds can warm to a fading champ, but they don’t like Mr Grumpy, just ask Colin Montgomerie….
cody
Jun 22, 2015 at 6:08 pm
he for all intents and purposes is done. Start the na, na, na, na goodbyes.
Matt H
Jun 22, 2015 at 6:02 pm
Matt Hirshland
I think #2 is the most important. He needs to play more tournaments. He swings beautifully on the range and can hit any shot he wants. Get him on the course, and we all know what happens. If he truly believes in “more reps” then they need to be 18 holes at a time. Forget the range. Get on the course and get comfortable playing in tournaments again.
cb
Jun 22, 2015 at 6:02 pm
tom, from a mechanics perspective would you like to see tiger have his hands higher on the backswing? he’s always had this natural dropping on the downswing, and in the 2001 era swing his hands were higher and they would drop on plane. now his backswing is more on plane but then his hands often drop below and thats when he gets “stuck” and has to flip it or block it. just a thought, and always love your articles
Mitch
Jun 22, 2015 at 5:05 pm
why do people keep mentioning Butch? first of all, how much time is butch willing to commit to tiger? tiger needs to figure this sh$t out himself. he is totally lost right now. Case in point, Wednesday afternoon before the US Open, you see him on the range, he isn’t rehearsing any pattern or working on anything because he is hopelessly searching for that “feeling”, all the years I have watched him, he is either working on a particular shape or even something mechanical. Right now he can’t self correct on the range or on the course. He can’t differentiate why he is hitting a bad shot or worse yet why he hit a good shot. Historically even when he tore down his swing, he could at least hack it around and place top 40 at worst. I don’t know if his philosophical approach is not matching up with his new body, or if he has a lingering injury. Either way there is a major disconnect between what he wants to do vs what he is able to accomplish. This is arguably the greatest golfer and athlete we have ever seen yet he can’t even hit functional shots after all this time off? I would say whatever he has been doing the last few months, put a stop to it. Go play some tennis, call up Derek Jeter and learn to throw side arm. His hips and legs look strong and he seems to moving them in a sequence similar to Ben Hogan, but his hand path is so out of sync that he has no other option but to rely on impeccable timing to square up the face.
Tom – I thought Chris Como was big on how the arms and hands move during the transition? Surely they can see from video that Tiger’s hand path is dropping down rather than at the ball, its almost like he wants to reverse what him and Foley were working on?
Steve
Jun 22, 2015 at 4:50 pm
Its over guys, 25 year old Tiger is gone. What is left is a scrap heap of swing thoughts and over thinking. Alot of mental and physical scar tissue. When his kids are old enough and wonder why mom and dad got to divorced, all they do is google and find out of much of a jerk he was. All this has to weigh on his game. His dad passing, his divorce, swing coach after swing coach, different caddy. He is 205 in OWGR and sinking fast. Every hack in the world knows what is wrong with him, maybe this is how it ends. Epic flame out
Mitch
Jun 22, 2015 at 5:10 pm
From my perspective Tiger’s off course life is probably at one of the best times in his career. He is financially set for life and he is happy. his golf game just sucks right now.
Steve
Jun 22, 2015 at 5:14 pm
He has been fianacially set since he signed with Nike almost twenty years ago. Why do you think off course is the happiest in years?
Mitch
Jun 22, 2015 at 7:21 pm
He seems at ease when he arrives at tournaments. he isn’t stand offish in the past. He doesn’t have to deal with any off course distractions. he is after all a bachelor again, and he has the means and ability do whatever he wants outside the ropes. what more can a golfer ask for?
Steve
Jun 22, 2015 at 7:49 pm
You could be right, who knows what in his head. It is just hard for me to believe that the struggles on course are physical. Physically he is not capable of playing high level golf? Or mentality not capable?
Slimeone
Jun 23, 2015 at 4:34 am
I don’t think he’s at ease. I think he knows that he has no game to justify acting like a tool anymore. He’s also trying to be nice to the other players so they treat him gently. If only Sergio had some game he would punish Tiger but he’s about as inept as Tiger at the moment.
Freddie A. Davis
Jun 23, 2015 at 2:09 pm
I’m sure in your heart that’s the case but thank God your feelings or opinions don’t have any weight in his outcome. If he never wins again he’ll be fine. He is a great golf player, his tournament wins say so and he’s more than capable of righting his ship. As far as being a jerk I’m sure that’s some peoples view of you, it certainly is mine.
Dr Troy
Jun 22, 2015 at 4:10 pm
Totally agree with your article, Tom!
jgpl001
Jun 22, 2015 at 4:02 pm
Well written and spot on
We are sick of the Tiger nonsense now
A few more things he needs to do:
1. Eat humble pie and phone Butch
2. Just go out and play, loose the intensity
3. Don’t bag a driver, his current mechanics are a mess
4. Where is the stinger 2 iron gone? – he could have walked around Chambers Bay with this tee shot
Greg V
Jun 22, 2015 at 3:15 pm
I don’t particularly like Tiger – he comes off as a spoiled brat – but I would like to see him play well again. To me, he looks impatient at the end of his backswing, as if he can’t wait to get the shot over with. First hole, second round at Chambers Bay, Tiger hit a decent drive in the fairway. Then his swing looked impatient on the second shot, and it was all downhill from there. A good swing has sequencing. Jack Nicklaus knew this, and called it “collecting” at the top. You can’t hit it with your backswing. You also can’t hit it decently when you lurch at the ball from the top.
Unfortunately, to get from here to there, he probably needs a much greater sense of inner peace. And a more supple, less ripped, upper body.
Dunce
Jun 22, 2015 at 2:55 pm
how about the things he needs to start doing, smiling
Brian
Jun 22, 2015 at 2:07 pm
My teachers would say to just go at it 80% and get the ball in the fairway. No one ever told me to “be explosive.” Just saying. I bet he could shoot a 75.
Sideshow Rob
Jun 22, 2015 at 2:04 pm
I agree with all your points. Hopefully he reads your article and puts his ego aside. The great player he was is still in there somewhere…
JE
Jun 22, 2015 at 1:58 pm
Well said Tom.
Damone’s (modified) Five Point Plan:
1. Take driver out of bag and throw into lake. Big lake.
2. Always call the shots.
3. Act like wherever you are – that’s the place to be.
4. Make peace with who you are. It’s a classy move.
5. When it comes to making out, whenever possible, put on side one of Led Zeppelin IV.
Relax Tiger. No one is going to ever do what you did for golf. You can take it easy now and have fun. We will still like you.
Winmac80
Jun 23, 2015 at 1:25 am
I think this is the best comment of all. Especially the last 2 lines.
Gubby
Jun 22, 2015 at 1:50 pm
Tiger is in a dark place right now. He is very caught up with mechanics. Guy has one of the best swings in the world and he keeps tinkering and building new ones, not sure why. He seem to almost have an obsessive compulsive personality even going back to his personal problems.
He needs to get out his own way and just start swinging again. I wish he and Butch could put egos aside and get start working again. They have a chance at history.
Pat M
Jun 22, 2015 at 2:04 pm
He or his sponsors need to pay Butch $4 million a year and Steve Williams $4 million a year to work with Tiger. Tiger needs to apologize to Butch and Stevie.
Adam Scott was in nowheres-ville until Stevie came back.
I think most of Tiger’s success had to do with Steve Williams. Tiger without Steve = no majors. Without Butch and Steve – there will be no way back for Tiger.
Patricknorm
Jun 22, 2015 at 4:16 pm
Your not wrong but it’s never going to happen. Tiger has burned so many bridges that there are many who are quietly enjoying this tragedy unfold. Professional golf is in a good place right now. We witnessed perhaps one of the best golfers of all time until his five win season in 2013.
Now after back surgery he’s playing catch up where the mind and body are not synchronized . Toms article is a start. Tiger is trying way too hard. He needs to try easy.
Quote attributed to former Yankees pitching coach Mel Stotylmeyer. Giving advice to wired, hyper son Todd who pitched for the Blue Jays in the mid ”90’s.
Pat M
Jun 22, 2015 at 8:22 pm
I agree about burning the bridges. A lot of people do not like him. He must dump the driver. Too many good players are playing now with no fear and no mental or injury issues. People like Spieth and the 21 year old Aussie kid who played very well.
Adam Scott’s turnaround once Stevie showed up was pretty incredible. It took a few days but Adam’s 64 on Sunday was pretty staggering.