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- Thread starter gteeitup
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I'm not a fan of Woods because I tend to pull for golfers who are a little more laid back, but I don't know that this is it for him. I think like Jack said, he just needs to "reboot."
They said he played alone (first) on Sunday. I don't know what it was like, but think it would have been pretty cool if he had fun with his situation Sunday. Maybe talk and joke more with the (probably small) crowd. Heck, let them pick what club he should hit. Things like that. Just treat it as an opportunity to thank the fans for their support over the years. Then, finishing first, he could have gotten a seat at the 18th green and watched every player come in.
For example, Scott Jurek, the guy going for the AT record mentioned in another thread, would sometimes win a race and then stay at the finish and cheer in every runner until the end.
They said he played alone (first) on Sunday. I don't know what it was like, but think it would have been pretty cool if he had fun with his situation Sunday. Maybe talk and joke more with the (probably small) crowd. Heck, let them pick what club he should hit. Things like that. Just treat it as an opportunity to thank the fans for their support over the years. Then, finishing first, he could have gotten a seat at the 18th green and watched every player come in.
For example, Scott Jurek, the guy going for the AT record mentioned in another thread, would sometimes win a race and then stay at the finish and cheer in every runner until the end.
The difference is that Jurek is a genuinely nice and good person.
Tiger is finished. Absolutely done. Even if he could get back to striking the ball at a consistent level, he can't putt anymore. Putting is nothing but confidence and when Tiger was winning everything, he made clutch putts at an unfathomable level. Now he knows he is no longer invincible and his putting shows it. Also, the worse things are going with the putter, the more tense you get from 160 out- you feel like you have to hit it inside of 8' to give yourself a legitimate chance for a bird.
There is a better chance of Jack winning another major than there is of Tiger doing so. (ok, that might be a bit of a stretch)
Tiger's body is just all worn out. He looks and appears to be in great shape, but, he's worn and torn in some major spots. It could be his body is just reacting to all those PEDs he was on earlier in his career and now he has just aged beyond his years. I won't even get into the mental aspects of his game.
Looking back on all the changes he's gone through, change of caddy, change of the swing coach, marriage woes, coupled with the nagging injuries have all taken its toll on him.
I'll give him credit though, he speaks in a very optimistic way and believes he can fix a few things and gradually get back to top form. Determination and will are pretty powerful, but, its an uphill battle . .
Looking back on all the changes he's gone through, change of caddy, change of the swing coach, marriage woes, coupled with the nagging injuries have all taken its toll on him.
I'll give him credit though, he speaks in a very optimistic way and believes he can fix a few things and gradually get back to top form. Determination and will are pretty powerful, but, its an uphill battle . .
I agree with most of that. Not sure about the PED usage. But what I think made Tiger so successful is also what makes him vulnerable to a crash. He has unrealistic expectations. When he was Superman, those expectations drove him to greatness. But Father Time is undefeated. And Tiger refuses to acknowledge that. There's no shame in playing for a top 10. But Tiger won't do that. He plays to win every event he enters. And that certainly changes the way you play. Of course every golfer tries to win. But smart golfers know when they have it going and make a push and when they don't and they need to be more of a course manager just to place highly. Tiger's drive doesn't allow him to make certain decisions - on the course and off - that pay off later. You mention many of the "changes" Tiger's gone through. He went through those changes because he wasn't able to manage relationships and sometimes admit that his play was partly dependent on those that he chose to surround himself with. He couldn't face the fact that Steve Williams is the best caddy in the game and without him, Tiger wasn't Tiger. He couldn't admit that Butch Harmon was good for him (debatable but you get the point). He couldn't admit that he needed stability in his life with a wife and family. He thought his drive and talent trumped all. It didn't.
Now that he looks through for the most part, I will now be honest about how I see him. I never wanted to admit this when he was dominating, but I will now. I think Tiger for a 5-7 year period of time was the best, most dominant golfer the game has ever seen. Yes, better than Jack. Jack at his prime doesn't match Tiger at his prime. But I've always been a fan of longevity and how an athlete deals with diminishing skills. And to that end, Jack mastered that. Tiger doesn't appear to have that club in his bag.
My guess with Tiger, is that blame for his competitive game being lost is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 80% physical and 20% mental. His game started to fall some prior to his back injury, so I would guess he wasn't feeling his best a couple years before that. Then he has back surgery, and from that there is never a 100% recovery. Knee problems followed as he was either feeling his age or that part of his body was compensating for the lack of torque his back would allow him to place in his swing. The mental part, I've already given examples of in my previous post, but, I also think that he's still somewhat mentally engaged by the fact he is still in pursuit of tweaking his game back to a competing level.
This past week's tourney is proof of that IMO, anyone who can withstand the embarrassment of shooting an 85, then subject himself to even more of the same by playing Sunday's opening round by himself indicates to me his willingness to punish himself just to climb back to the level he believes he can play at.
To put himself in the position he did this past wknd shows me he has the guts to see it through.
Its true, he'll never be the dominating force that he once was, but, I don't think he's totally lost that competitive spirit that is needed to drive a once-elite player . .
This past week's tourney is proof of that IMO, anyone who can withstand the embarrassment of shooting an 85, then subject himself to even more of the same by playing Sunday's opening round by himself indicates to me his willingness to punish himself just to climb back to the level he believes he can play at.
To put himself in the position he did this past wknd shows me he has the guts to see it through.
Its true, he'll never be the dominating force that he once was, but, I don't think he's totally lost that competitive spirit that is needed to drive a once-elite player . .
I guess I'm just hoping for a Grinch-like turnaround on the personality side. It's not like I want to dislike him.
As far as future performance goes, you guys certainly follow golf a lot closer than me, so I'll refrain from making any forecasts. I do wonder if he physically makes to that point if he would be happy joining the Champions Tour? Or is his personality such that he wouldn't consider a "second tier" Tour?
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