Is Tiger Woods So Good Because Of GIR?

[PerfectStriking]

Just putting it out there, is the reason Tiger is one the best ever, probably one of the 2 best ever, because he is so good at GIR, even now he leads the tour at his age, I'm older so I'm not dissing him on that. Maybe I should put this up as a poll?  

Stat – Greens in Regulation Percentage

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Strokes Gained | Greens in Regulation | Accuracy from Fairway | Accuracy from Rough | Scoring | Going for it | HoleOuts, Other

 

[benharris]

If we're talking overall greatness here across his entire career, I can't see any reason to not go with the whole thing. Sure some of those parts (GIR definitely a big part) of his game may be bigger influencers on his performance but to be as great as he is it's gotta be the whole package. 

Maybe if the question was which of those things contributed more to that greatness then I think I'd probably say his ballstriking but as the question is worded I'm sticking with the whole package. 

[Zeph]

You obviously need the whole package (not forgetting the mental game and practice regime), but of course GIR is a very important statistic, both for Tiger and everyone else. From LSW, we learn that the importance of the various parts of the game are ranked (most to least important): driving, approach shots, short game, putting. GIR is a summary for both the first two (and most important) parts, or the entire long game. GIR is important to anyone who ends up winning a tournament, and if you want to replicate Tiger's careers, you'll need a lot of them.

Tiger's strongest part of the game is probably his irons. He's generally a good driver of the ball, but he can hit some incredible iron shots, which is what ultimately gives you a GIR. You get a GIR even if you hit the approach from the rough, pine needles or a bunker as long as you find the green. Being a long hitter also helps a lot since approaches are shorter, you can use shorter clubs, more loft for a steeper drop into the green.

Would be interesting to see a stat summary from a few years of PGA tour wins and how the winner ranked in the four major categories.

Edited April 28, 2019 by Zeph

[PerfectStriking]

7 minutes ago, benharris said:

If we're talking overall greatness here across his entire career, I can't see any reason to not go with the whole thing. Sure some of those parts (GIR definitely a big part) of his game may be bigger influencers on his performance but to be as great as he is it's gotta be the whole package. 

Maybe if the question was which of those things contributed more to that greatness then I think I'd probably say his ballstriking but as the question is worded I'm sticking with the whole package. 

I agree, if I could work out how to add a second poll to the question I would go with your second poll suggestion as well 😎

[Killa]

If you read the book Every shot counts you see that in the years he was dominating he was the best in approach shots by a wide margin. So that was the biggest part of his success. His driving was second if I recall correctly. 

[jamo]

He has at times been an excellent putter and a great driver of the golf ball, but he's almost certainly the best irons player in history, so I'll say yes.

[HJJ003]

I said his greatness is due to his all around game. His best area has been his ability to be a fantastic ball striker. However, to be the greatest he was pretty dang good everywhere. 

[Patch]

I went with the whole package. That said, I always thought his mental toughness during his play is what separated him from the pack during his best playing days. He was just mentally stronger than his competition. 

[Piz]

Tiger is more than just GIR...there is also the T and E.  I voted for the whole package.

[saevel25]

If I had to select one thing, its his approach shot game.  

Here are some images from Every Shot Counts,

His long game from 150 to 250 yards is an outlier. These stats do not even include his run from 1999 thru 2003! 

[ncates00]

I'm going with approach to green because while his strokes gained off the tee aren't that impressive, the approach to the green part makes his entire tee to green stat one of the best.  In other words, his GIR more than makes up for so-so driving.

1 minute ago, saevel25 said:

If I had to select one thing, its his approach shot game.  

Here are some images from Every Shot Counts,

His long game from 150 to 250 yards is an outlier. These stats do not even include his run from 1999 thru 2003! 

100% agree.

[shortstop20]

He's the best iron player of all time.