Tiger too muscular?

[golf_junkie27]

there is a reason golfers and tennis players don't bulk up, these sports are the most comparable. everyone's body is also very different, everyone's tendons react differently to bulking them up.. some naturally tighten no matter what stretching program you're on.. no matter the sport you play, you can have too much bulk muscle, and tiger is dangerously close to being there..

Rafael Nadal is listed at nearly twenty pounds heavier than Tiger Woods: Nadal 205 and Tiger is at 187. I believe TV has much more to do with it. I saw him shaking Sean O'Hair's hand in the parking lot and Tiger did not look huge, at all. Personally, I'm tired of hearing all the talk about how he can play safety in the NFL and how he bench presses 450 lbs. I don't find him to be this massive, muscular freak when they are guys who are physically bigger like James Driscoll, more muscular like Camilo Villegas and just as strong like Henrik Stenson. More importantly, Tiger is famous for saying that he wears smaller shirts on the golf course, so he's going to look bigger. His biggest problem is rust. 9 months away from playing PGA Tour courses is a long time. Still, he's won and had, what, six top 5s? Considering his driver issues and that he was actually testing three different shafts at one tournament leads me to believe he's just not there, yet. When he is, look out. It's over.

[TN94z]

Rafael Nadal is listed at nearly twenty pounds heavier than Tiger Woods: Nadal 205 and Tiger is at 187.

Not to mention knee surgery and swing changes.

[Donnie_Brasco]

Nadal is listed 6'1 187 on every tennis site and personal site I viewed.. And no way is thicker than Woods..

Here is my point.. Tigers short game has saved him on a lot of misses from other clubs..

Short game rarely calls for a "full swing"

Tee shots, long irons ect, he is taking the "full swing" and is missing them at a rate thats very un tiger like.. To be honest missing them more than a scratch golfer does..

Is the added muscle/bulk affecting those full swings?

For anyone to rule it out so quickly, I believe is misinformed.

The reason I brought up tennis in comparison to golf, is that there is a lot of similar mechanics in gold swing to certain tennis swings..

[iacas]

Is the added muscle/bulk affecting those full swings?

Again, you've absolutely failed to establish that he's "added bulk." From 1997? Sure. From 2003? From early 2008? Probably not.

For anyone to rule it out so quickly, I believe is misinformed.

Bad choice of words. You can't be "misinformed" about your own opinion. And that's all you've got here.

[Donnie_Brasco]

the pics i posted earlier in the thread show he has bulked up.. you're the only one basically saying he hasn't bulked up.

the buick picture was from 2005-06

the plain clothes pic was 2008..

you're gonna look at those pictures and with a straight face say he hasnt bulked up? should I post them again?

there is an old saying.. the eye in the sky never lies..

[Donnie_Brasco]

[Donnie_Brasco]

my final post on this... here is a picture of tiger 2008 us open and then a picture at bay hill 2009

tigers arms and shoulders are so much bigger.. people who dont work out every day wont even notice, but for the people who go to the gym4-5 times a week will see the differences immediately...


bay hill on the left, us open on the right..




so please stop saying he hasnt bulked up since his last open..

[shortstop20]

Anyone that disagrees is wrong and you are right. So really what was the point of this thread?

[Garthmo]

Ya sure he has put on some muscle no doulbt about it, and so he should have working out like he does year after year. A few pounds a year seems about right. I don't think it has effected his game, I think the time off has affected his game a bit I guess, but hasn't he been in 3 tournys since he has been back and been in the top 10 and won one of them? So I think he's doing pretty well and when it all comes together he will be even more amazing then he already is. Think the majority of the problem is his timing but what the hell do I know

[iacas]

The pictures you've posted don't show anything. Not only are different lenses used, but Tiger's in different positions entirely and in some he's wearing long-sleeved, wind-blown shirts.

And if he did bulk up three pounds, if you think he can play great golf at x-3 pounds but horrible golf at x pounds, you're nuts.

[Spackler-esque]

I can't believe this is still going...

But can I just point out that your 2008 US Open picture isn't from the 2008 US Open? Shirt's wrong. Hat's wrong... Google image search "2008 US Open Tiger" and see for yourself. Also, I'm not sure what event that trophy is from, but it ain't the US Open.

If you're going to argue a stupid point at least don't lie while doing it.

[shortstop20]

Also, I'm not sure what event that trophy is from, but it ain't the US Open.

I noticed that too.

[kris]

nonsense. i wouldn't listen too much to what jonny miller has to say.

[Iowa Hawkeye]

The guns are just as big in the older pic...

[Three Putt]

TW was very muscular a few years back (US Open).

Steriods???? Give me a break.

TW is a fitness nut and probably went gung ho on the weights, then realized it didn't help.

Dude's about winning majors, cleanly. Has probably the best sports experts around him and tried bulking up for more power (cleanly), and ditched the plan.

[Cesar]

OK...my $0.02.

First, Tiger has definitely bulked up and it's really no surprise since he has had a desire to do so. How much is anybody's guess, but my money is on 5-10 lbs.

He's made it no secret that he believes in adding lean mass helps his game and the only reason he hadn't done it earlier was that he didn't have the time to do it with the grind of a season to train around.

I'm trying to remember where I saw an article about him speaking about fitness, but he compared golfers to other sports' athletes and how it was more difficult to add mass as a golfer because there really wasn't an offseason like other sports. He called his weight training "maintanence" to keep his strength throughout the season while wishing he could have the time to seriously add strength like other sports athletes got to do. Well, that's one thing his layoff allowed him the opportunity to do.

That being said, to say this added mass has hurt his game a MAJOR league reach. First, Tiger's fitness program consists of 50% weights/cardio and 50% stretching. He is an extremely intelligent individual surrounded by the very best in sports fitness and nutrition. He knows very well how important flexibility is and will never do anything to jeopardize that.

Any talk of roids/hgh is so asinine it's not worthy of any discussion.

Tiger is simply knocking some rust out while at the same time tinkering with a newish swing and driver. He's also not making putts like he is more than capable of.

By his standards, he's playing like crap, yet there he is with a win under his belt this year and top 10 every week, if not a top 5.

His timing is going to come together, he's going to start to make putts, and is going to dominate again. He's going to do it with this extra mass and when he does, we can bump this thread back up to the top and get a good laugh at just how ridiculous this talk really is.

Tiger has some stuff he's fighting through right now, but his added mass is deinfitely not one of them

[mdvaldosta]

Yea he's bigger (alittle) but he's definately not bulky. I'm sure whatever he's done with the weights it's been for fast twitch muscles, speed and flexibility. Yea, he looks swole in the pic with the hot blonde, but it's very likely he was on a bulking cycle and bloated with a bunch of creatine and probably just off knee surgery and not getting much exercise outside of the lifting.

At any rate, watching him play at the Masters and TPC he's certainly not bulky, he's got a great build that most anyone of us would be (or are) envious of.

[Cesar]

Here's the article I was referencing:

http://www.mensfitness.com/exclusives/185 Specifically, this section:

Fitness in golf isn’t simply about striking the ball harder or farther, Woods says. Physical fitness directly impacts mental fitness—the ability to weather the pressure of a one-shot lead with two holes to play on Sunday while others wilt, to execute the shot (be it a drive down a tight fairway, an approach over water to a tight pin, or a 20-foot putt with a nasty break) when one swing can be the difference between winning and, well, bragging about a top-10 finish. The mental fatigue, coupled with the jarring action of the golf swing itself, takes a real toll. Add that golf essentially has no off-season, and it’s easy to discern why pros are finally striving for six-packs rather than reaching for them. “In golf, you are in a continual maintenance phase,” Woods says. “That’s probably the best way I can explain it, because you’re always playing. Hence, you’re always trying to gain a little after you lose a little. You’re always trying to recover. You’re not trying to make the big, drastic gains some [athletes] are trying to make, because we really don’t have an off-season. Once our tour ended the last week of October, sometimes first week in November, but guys used to go play in Asia, South Africa, or Australia [during those last two months]. So that time is covered. Next thing you know, it’s the first week in January and we’re teeing it up again. “My best friend is, obviously, Michael Jordan, and he had a whole off-season to build up. Same with [Derek] Jeter. He has an off-season to build up, but then he’s in a continuous maintenance phase as well, because he has to play so many games. He’s always trying to maintain what [fitness and weight gain] he has. For us, that’s all we’re doing all year long.” Many weekend golfers are reluctant to lift weights during golf season for fear of getting bulky and tight, unable to swing free and smooth. Any advice, Tiger? “There is a thing called stretching,” he says, flashing a mischievous smile rarely seen during competition. “I know that might be a new concept for some people.”