TIGERS TRIBULATIONS

If you’re a golfer, most likely you’ve been asked the question, “Do you think Tiger is done” which is a direct reflection of his latest offering at last week’s Memorial Tournament. It seems everybody has an opinion and it appears until he starts showing signs of progress (which he claims he is making in his pressers) the questions and doubt will continue to linger. It is hard to fathom that a golfer with such raw natural talent could post a number remotely close to the 85 he recently posted.

I have had numerous conversations with both professionals and amateurs alike regarding this never ending topic and it seems people have strong convictions on how TW has fallen so far from where he once was as the #1 golfer in the world. Everything from the ordeal with his now ex wife to the numerous changes in his swing and swing coaches to having the “yips” as some of the most common themes I hear on an almost daily basis. And being a golf professional who makes a living at helping others play better golf I get the inevitable question (as I’m sure most golf professionals do) all the time as to what I think is wrong with Tiger’s swing and game.

Before I get to that, what I have found interesting and refreshing over the past several months is Tiger’s willingness to speak to the media after such debacles. Something he’s been reluctant to do in the past after poor performances. To that I give him kudos, and although his game is currently in limbo, it appears he is evolving as a more media friendly ambassador of the game even as the wheels continue to fall off. That also goes directly to his character....bravo!

As for the current “State of Tiger” I have looked at it much like I diagnose someone’s golf swing when seeing it for the first time. First, identify the swing deficiencies and then ultimately determine the “root cause” of those deficiencies. In other words don’t treat the symptoms, instead, attack the source. If you “cure” the source problem the symptoms will go away.

So if you apply that same logic to Tiger’s situation you need to ask yourself what are his deficiencies/symptoms? Inconsistency for sure, you can also throw in the inability to score and unfortunately without talking with him it’s impossible to know what his thinking process is at the moment but if this were a “real” player evaluation I would ask him a series of questions that would certainly shed some light on the situation. But given what we do know let’s delve a little deeper. WHY is he inconsistent and unable to score? By his own words, because he is “stuck” between patterns (that's not terminology I use on a daily basis with my students but I think I understand where he's coming from…). Ok now we ask why is he stuck between patterns, most likely because he has changed coaches a few times over the past several years. Ok, why has he changed coaches over the past several years? And that my friend is the million dollar question.

And in my most humble opinion, I truly believe it is the pursuit of perfection, and as we all know there is no “perfection” in golf. When Tiger admits to himself that there is no "perfect" in golf and the fact that he is no longer 25 years old and can’t move in the same way he did at that age, he will then be able to travel a path that is much less rocky and probably will yield more positive results.

It’s kind of like the alcoholic or drug addict syndrome; you can’t get better until you admit you have a problem. I see it much the same way, until Tiger admits there is no perfect, that it’s about getting the ball in the hole in the least amount of strokes and do it in an efficient yet different way than when he did in his 20’s, I believe things will continue to stay status quo.

It’s unfortunate that Tiger is blinded by science i.e. bio mechanics, because it is truly causing paralysis to his game. Back in the day of Arnie, Jack, Gary, Lee, Chi Chi and so on there was no talk of bio mechanics, quantum physics or anything else along those lines; it was about playing golf and putting the ball in the hole in fewer strokes than your competitor. Every watch Arnie’s swing? You certainly wouldn’t teach it but what a thing of beauty.

So, where does all this leave us? Only time will tell but as previously stated the current path doesn’t seem to be leading to greener pastures and Tiger assures us weekly that progress is being made. Now whether he truly believes it is another story.

Recommendation: If Tiger isn’t unwilling to return to Butch or Hank then I think he should go completely off the grid, do his homework, find himself a GOLF MINDED coach/instructor/teacher that deals with GOLF and disappear for a while. Will it happen, 99% chance it doesn’t but I am also 99% sure that he won’t be throwing in the towel any time soon but I do wish Tiger the best…..

To be continued 

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