The watch and wait game continues as the golfing world once
again was left with more questions than answers regarding the future and
direction of Tiger Woods. We listen to his press conferences and sound bites
and you get the feeling that he is making strides in his progress yet come
tournament time it continues to be much the same. A heavy dose of wayward
shots, a poor short game sprinkled with a spattering of decent shots thrown in
to further muddy the waters as to what exactly is going on.
Those of us who work with players of all ability levels on a
daily basis know that the better the golfer you’re working with the more
demanding and tedious the process can become. A rank beginner that doesn’t know
what end of the club to hold can be a walk in the park compared to let’s say a
+1 or +2 player. You would think it would be the opposite with the better
golfers having such a command of the
game, but then again golf is a very counter intuitive game, meaning; what you
think is logical is usually the opposite in golf.
Like so many professionals, amateurs and golf fan alike, I
have analyzed this Tiger situation and have narrowed it down to 3 key elements
that I believe would help Tiger re-establish himself as a force once again.
1] Change
his approach to his swing. Tiger must realize that he is not immortal and
that father time stops for no one. He cannot swing the same now as he did at
the age of 23. As fit as Tiger is, his back and joints can’t take the stress of
such a powerful swing like they could 15 or 20 years ago. His swing changes should
be geared towards swinging more efficiently and smarter with the understanding
that distance begins to dissipate with age yet accuracy is something you never
have to lose. Last I checked “Accuracy” is still pretty high on the list of
things one must have to succeed at any level of golf competition.
2] Stop
over analyzing every little body movement and swing mechanic. Even the high
handicappers of the world know that too much thinking is not a good thing. I
believe he knows this as well but for whatever reason he won’t or can’t move away from
this thought process. When he first started with his most recent coach Chris
Como, he talked about going back through old tapes of his younger days and
trying to move his swing in that direction. I consider that to be both good and
bad. Good, because his swing was less mechanical and much freer flowing and
that is a good thing. Bad, because again, he’s not 23 anymore and to make the
body do at 39 (almost 40) what it did 15 years prior is like shoving a square
peg in a round hole. I believe there are some past swing fundamentals he
can carry forward but with that some modifications to lessen the punishment on
his body.
3] Employ 1
person to serve as your coach, caddy, guru and mentor. This is something I
have not heard in anything I have read or seen regarding Tiger’s current
situation. Some will probably find this idea ridiculous; however, from a
professional standpoint it makes perfect sense.
There are a number of professionals on tour whose caddy is also their swing
coach. If I’m not mistaken Jason Day’s caddy is a gentleman who has been a
longtime mentor and swing coach to him. This to me makes perfect sense. He doesn’t necessarily need a top 100
instructor but rather someone who understands golf from the inside out and
backwards and let's face it, there’s more to golf than just swinging a club. Such a person
could serve Tiger well and be at his side literally at the times he needs it
most. But TW likes the spotlight squarely on himself and to employ such a figure may cause that spotlight to widen a bit and we know what happens when it does
i.e. Fluff Cowan, Butch Harmon, Hank Haney. Ego can be a terrible thing.
If Tiger would put more of his energy into game planning a
strategy for success and less into quantum physics and bio mechanics I believe
he would come out much further ahead. But as the saying goes “A tiger never
changes his stripes” and when change isn’t recognized as a necessity to further
evolve, what follows is extinction.
Blog written by Vince Fratercangelo-Director of
Instruction at VJF Golf Academy
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