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GolfWRX’s Swing Experts Weigh In on Tiger’s New Swing

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tiger woods new swing

Everyone has a take on Tiger Woods “new swing.” That is, the action he displayed in his “smooth iron shot” video last week and at his clinic at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, Monday.

Would it be premature to draw any firm conclusions from what we’ve seen? Absolutely, but analysts — both armchair and professional — are going to analyze.

We’re lucky enough to have Tom Stickney and Dennis Clark among the experts who share their knowledge of the golf swing with the GolfWRX audience.

It only seemed natural to ask the pair of top teachers what they see in the 14-time major champion’s motion as he tries to make a return to competitive golf following his fourth back surgery.

Here’s the footage they were looking at. And we can’t thank Kevin Roman, Director of Instruction at MPCC, enough for bringing the items he tweeted to our attention.

https://twitter.com/kevinromangolf/status/917913614375198720

Dennis Clark

“My thinking on Tiger remains the same. If he gets his body speed back he may compete at a high level again. He can’t turn through like he used to, so he can’t release the club as freely. His lower body stops, hands take over flip hook or block.

“From the little I can notice in this video it does appear like he’s been more aggressive coming to the golf ball.”

Tom Stickney

”Basically it’s a stock Tiger “range swing” where he’s relaxed and moving at a much slower pace than normal. Therefore, his extra head motion and linkage is not as out of whack as it is in full speed.

“But what can we expect from a guy who is just a few months out of back surgery? It does appear that he is not ‘staying with the shot’ as much as he normally does giving his shots the sound of being a touch thin, but who would at this point? I think he’s slowly moving forward and have confidence that Chris Como and he will address any physical contraindications that will come their way.”

So there you have it, a couple of professional opinions regarding Tiger’s “new” swing to reference when you’re playing the swing videos on your phone and breaking down TW’s action at the bar with your buddies this weekend.

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28 Comments

28 Comments

  1. steve long

    Oct 28, 2017 at 11:25 am

    unless the right elbow is bent at address, the right shoulder and the head must be lower at impact than at address, because the right elbow is bent at impact.

  2. Jim

    Oct 15, 2017 at 10:58 am

    Dennis,

    I suffer from exactly the same swing problem that Tiger has, just not on the same level. I have found that what works for me is keeping my right shoulder higher in the downswing. My contact is much better and I can get more to my left side and, most importantly for me, I can finish in a straight up and down position as opposed to the back-killing old reverse C. This has greatly helped take pressure off my lower back.

  3. The dude

    Oct 15, 2017 at 6:22 am

    Follow through…….stiff as a board

    • Harvey Weinstein

      Oct 15, 2017 at 10:17 am

      Hmmmmm. Age. But we can still dip

  4. OB

    Oct 13, 2017 at 4:58 pm

    I’m impressed with his effortless kinetic chain power transfer from his lower body to his upper body. His legs and hips are decisive and the kinetic energy just ripples up his spinal column to torque his broad shoulder span. From there his arm and hands react to the power flow culminating in a sweet release of his clubhead. This golfer is destined for bigger and better things in the future because he has that winning ways mojo about him.

    • MB

      Oct 13, 2017 at 5:39 pm

      Until we stick a few cute blonde girls with big chests in front of him down the fairways and around the greens and he’ll lose his concentration

      • birdy

        Oct 16, 2017 at 9:21 am

        these predictable and tiring jokes are so stale

    • golfreality

      Oct 13, 2017 at 8:27 pm

      your delusional

  5. DJ

    Oct 13, 2017 at 12:03 pm

    Tiger has never dipped this much on the DS. I agree with other posts that he will struggle greatly if not corrected. The dip adds more pressure to the swing and under pressure the dip will be quicker and steeper. He looks the same. Wait till he starts little pitch shot a under pressure and see how well this holds up. Won’t happen.

  6. Tom

    Oct 13, 2017 at 11:24 am

    Title reads “Experts weigh in…” I was expecting insight from every user on the Instruction forum.

  7. Dave

    Oct 13, 2017 at 10:59 am

    I immediately noted the “Tiger dip” when I first saw this clip. He looks good. Hope he can make a strong comeback.

  8. Andrew

    Oct 13, 2017 at 9:46 am

    If Michelle Wie can play on the PGA Tour, Tiger can play on the LPGA Tour, right? Equal opportunity goes both ways, right?

    The swing that Butch built is gone. Let’s see if Adam Scott’s swing can hold up another 10 years without back problems. If so, BIG MISTAKE Tiger. Huge. Greed ruins.

    • Skip

      Oct 13, 2017 at 1:26 pm

      let’s see if Adam can win 14 majors…yeah.

      • Shallowface

        Oct 13, 2017 at 6:13 pm

        If Scott would have had Tiger putting for him, he probably would have broken every record in the book.
        I used to get a lot of eye rolls when I would tell people that if Woods ever lost his chipping and putting, he’d be just another guy named “Meat.”
        After that last comeback attempt, I don’t get those looks any more.
        It’s the biggest part of the game, but make no mistake. Tiger’s later record was built on chipping and putting, not ball striking. That’s going to need to come back if he has any chance. I think that’s unlikely.
        If Tiger had kept the “Butch” swing, he would have broken every record in the book, and probably would still be breaking them.
        But as I read recently, Butch said “Tiger likes to tinker.”
        And there you have it.

        • Jer

          Oct 13, 2017 at 7:22 pm

          He would have won more with Haney’s swing than Butch’s. Butch actually didn’t to much to the actual swing, Butch is always more the mental game and game plan/course management type coach, but Haney definitely changed it up. And Eldrick won more with Hank than he did with anybody else. It’s his women-chasing that was his downfall, not the swing tinkering, let’s all be honest about that.

          • Terry (TMAC)

            Oct 13, 2017 at 11:05 pm

            He may have won more tournaments with Haney’s swing but he won more Majors under Butch.

            • Jer

              Oct 14, 2017 at 3:28 am

              But if he had carried on with Hank, imagine how many he could have won. But then then he got caught with the ladies, so that was that, as they say

        • golfreality

          Oct 13, 2017 at 8:29 pm

          please watch us open final round at pebble and talk 2 me about ballstriking

        • Steve S

          Oct 14, 2017 at 4:24 pm

          Read Mark Broadie’s book every shot counts. He debunks the myth that Tiger was a great putter. . He was a great ball striker. His approach shots were much closer than anyone else on the tour at his peak so he had more makeable putts for birdies(and eagles) than anyone else by far. He was a good short range putter which we saw on TV since he was always much closer to the hole than his competition. As far as his rank on the tour for putting he was rarely in the top 20.

  9. MB

    Oct 13, 2017 at 2:34 am

    Dippity doo dah, dippity day
    This way too much dipping will cost him his game
    A great swinger he once was
    Now can’t figure out anything but dippity too dah
    and look like he’s copying Charles Barkley’s flaws

    • The dude

      Oct 13, 2017 at 4:17 am

      14 majors with Dippity do da ……how was your coma?

      • Scott

        Oct 13, 2017 at 10:11 am

        He never dipped like that when he was winning said 14 majors. I hate to use the words never or always, but in this case I am very confident that will never win again with that dip. That is an awful swing flaw that he needs to eliminate.

  10. Groden

    Oct 12, 2017 at 7:43 pm

    first video shows a very nice swing…..the next few show his quick jerk of his body at impact, is he planning on tearing up another part of his body? Needs to look at his smooth swing and figure out how to play with that…gee he may have to move up a club or two and give up the 150 yard pitching wedges…

    • OB

      Oct 13, 2017 at 5:09 pm

      Yup…. that upward thrust prior to impact will again tear up his left knee ligaments because the addition of thrust to the high torque applied to the left knee is dangerous, particularly if you have already had surgery on his left knee.

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Instruction

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

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Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?

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How a towel can fix your golf swing

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This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.

For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.

Setup

You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.

While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.

Get a Better Shoulder Turn

Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.

In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.

Stay Better Connected in the Backswing

When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.

Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.

Conclusion

I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.

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Instruction

Clement: Why your practice swing never sucks

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You hear that one all the time; I wish I could put my practice swing on the ball! We explain the huge importance of what to focus on to allow the ball to be perfectly in the way of your practice swing. Enjoy!

 

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