A Changing of The Guard??

I thought I would devote this latest entry to examining what some believe is a changing of the guard given the recent performances of Tiger Woods coming off his back surgery.  This is certainly a hot topic these days and it seems everyone has an opinion one way or another. I have also found that those opinions tend to coincide with whether people are or are not Tiger fans. Let’s make no mistake about it… most of us who live and breathe golf have our opinion about Tiger Woods and I think it is fair to say there isn’t a lot of middle ground…you either really like him or you really don’t and with that said I am going to try my best not to turn this entry into an “I love him or hat him” article because that’s not what this is about. Personal feelings aside, I’d like to focus more on the title of this blog which is about whether Tiger will continue to stand tall as the current guard or are we bearing witness to a change that will inevitably come, it’s just a matter of when.

Many are quick to write Tiger off based on the performances we have seen since his recent return from back surgery. My first question would be, is that fair or accurate? Any golfer who plays at that level and is forced to take time off to recover from a surgery is entitled to a grace period upon his/her return which is why I believe it is too early to determine the future of TW and his impact on tour week in and week out.

With all that said the current young talent that is out there every week, guys like Jordan Speith, Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Rory Mcllroy etc. are not going to make it easy, that’s for sure. But as we know golf is about battling the golf course and yourself, after all you can’t control what the other guys are doing. So I believe part of the question will be answered by how Tiger handles this adversity. I think another question that could be asked is…what (if any) changes are being made to his swing as a result of his surgery? Swing changes take some time before they truly take hold especially under tournament condition and pressure, so again another missing piece to this story.

I believe the answer to the title of this blog entry will be answered sooner rather than later. If TW wins a tournament between now and the first quarter of the 2015 season the guard will be unchanged for a few more years. However, if Tiger fails to win at least one event prior to that same time frame, then yes the days of Tiger domination will slowly fade into history. That’s not to say he will never win again, we are talking about a changing of the Golf Guard, a shift in power. If I were a betting man (or a weather man) here would be my 5 year outlook in percentages:

                                                                                             YES                  NO

• Win another tournament                                                99%                 1%
• Win another major                                                        50%                 50%
• Break Jack’s record                                                     15%                 85%
• Win 2 or more tournaments in a season                         45%                 55% 

So there you have it, just another point of view regarding the Tiger saga. One thing is for certain people tune in to see what will happen. If you’re a TW fan you watch in hopes that he wins. If not a fan you watch in hopes that he falters. When viewership is up that’s good for the game!

 Blog written by Vince-Director of Instruction at VJF Golf Academy