Tiger's Driving..??

[bigboom]

he definetly was unbeatable at the time with butch, but if you read everything tiger has said it wasnt a desire just for changes sake, he was forced to change due to the extreme wear and tear that butch's swing was doing to his knee. you will see it in all the young guys too, they snap that left leg straight to generate more power and it will eventually hurt you. so in the long run this allows him to play longer. personally ive also found when playing the "one swing plane" of haney's i have to swing harder to generate the same distance compared to the traditional 2 swing plane theory.

[strangegrey]

he definetly was unbeatable at the time with butch, but if you read everything tiger has said it wasnt a desire just for changes sake, he was forced to change due to the extreme wear and tear that butch's swing was doing to his knee. you will see it in all the young guys too, they snap that left leg straight to generate more power and it will eventually hurt you. so in the long run this allows him to play longer. personally ive also found when playing the "one swing plane" of haney's i have to swing harder to generate the same distance compared to the traditional 2 swing plane theory.

Oh, that's right...he had knee replacement or surgery...right? Maybe that's the reason for the change. I had not read that tidbit about the Harmon swing...

[SubPar]

Tiger's driver swing is usually at max speed. If your swing is not right-on at 130mph+, you're gonna miss fairways. On most courses he can miss fairways and still lead in GIR. Not at Augusta.

At the Masters his game was at about C+ and he was still in it to the end. Like every golfer, he has off weeks... but he is still a factor most weekends.

[bigboom]

Oh, that's right...he had knee replacement or surgery...right? Maybe that's the reason for the change. I had not read that tidbit about the Harmon swing...

Yeah he had knee surgery on the left knee and could not do that snapping properly anymore so he had a tendency to stay back on his right leg and not transfer his weight to get the most power out of a typical harmon swing. Hence the switch to Haney...and while O'meara says he didnt do it im pretty sure he had a hand in Haney getting involved with Tiger.

[Long Knocker]

I started noticing a decline in his accuracy when he switched from the steel shafted 43.5" driver to the graphite shafted 45" driver several years ago. I often wondered why he changed since he was already outdriving most of the field.

[unscathed]

Tiger changed from his 275 cc Nike to the 300 cc Nike, then to the Ignite which was when he started using the Diamana shaft. He made these changes because people were bombing it past him and he realized that he was holding himself back. (Remember Lefty's "inferior equipment" comment?)

A popular theory is that it's easier to bomb and gouge from 200 on in than to have to hit an approach shot after a shorter drive.

Tiger never had "knee replacement surgery," he's still got the same one Momma and Poppa Woods gave him. He did undergo knee surgery though.

As far as Tiger spraying his drives, I'm sure he's making more changes to rectify that problem. This is just an oil change as compared to an engine swap for Tiger.

[J.P.]

No question - It's the head dip.

He tends to squat a bit too much - his head position from address to impact drops a few inches in his bad swings. Let's try that and see how far off line we hit it! When he does this - seemingly to load up his legs to create a powerful press off the ground through leverage, he has too little room for his arms & shaft to move through, and he simply blocks it.

You know, sometimes he gets it right and he drives it real good. Anybody notice that?

[ezmoney5150]

I'm not sure if technique is the right answer because his swing is the best on tour. He just sometimes gets the club stuck behind him, which is a common miss on the tour.

It's not his equipment. As much as I dislike Nike, he has a clause in his contract that if he doesn't feel the equipment is up to par he can play what he wants till they get it right. Remember when he switched back to the Titleist 975D???

[muskegman]

No doubt it's down to poor technique. The equipment argument is hollow. He plays among the best equipment in the history of golf. While I'm not a huge Nike fan, it is solid equipment. His equipment is fitted to his specs, checked, double checked, buffed, and shined. His problem is not his equipment.

The head dip or something that causes the dip (as Erik has pointed out) is his problem. He would also be well served to back off a little when he has driver in hand which would help him avoid the death-dip. You don't need to swipe at the ball like a swarm of killer bees to get the ball into good position IMHO.

[lamebums]

Tiger always swings at top speed--if you try to kill the ball, you will miss fairways, no matter how good you are, because it'll require a dead-on shot at 130+ mph to hit a fairway.

Then again, it is better to be long and inaccurate rather than short and inaccurate.

[unscathed]

Tiger always swings at top speed--if you try to kill the ball, you will miss fairways, no matter how good you are, because it'll require a dead-on shot at 130+ mph to hit a fairway.

Actually, Tiger almost never swings at top speed. During his clinics, he's always telling the spectators that he usually dishes out about 80% of his power so that he stays balanced and in control. He's also said that if he needs to, he can reach back in the bag and come up with another 10-15% power if he needs to bomb it long - never 100%. He's got another gear most others don't have.

I think it's technique... yes, I said it. Tiger's still human, so movements will vary from swing to swing - especially at 125-130 mph.

[seattlemudder]

Hard to say. Far be it for me to question his swing. If you notice the longer hitters, many give up some accuracy for the sake of distance. A small degree off will magnify itself when one hits it further. Tiger hits his 3 wood as far as some pros hit their driver. I think his accuracy isn't really an issue as much as going with the big dog sometimes when he doesn't have to is and I don't think he makes that many mental mistakes.

I think it's just something people (especially the media) love to ding him on because there is very little to criticize him for - he's incredibly gifted.

[lamebums]

Actually, Tiger almost never swings at top speed. During his clinics, he's always telling the spectators that he usually dishes out about 80% of his power so that he stays balanced and in control. He's also said that if he needs to, he can reach back in the bag and come up with another 10-15% power if he needs to bomb it long - never 100%. He's got another gear most others don't have.

I'd beg to differ, from my watching him--but let's put it this way (and I'm sure we can agree on this). A five degree spray is still a larger spray when it's 320 rather than 250 yards.

[ronaldkuntoro]

I don't think Nike SQ is to blame... it's just when he's on, he's on and win it.

When he is not, he just blew it big time.

Too many people shouting when Tiger teeing off... that is also a factor.

[milesdowsett]

More times than not he blocks the ball right when he misses off the tee. Because his body is so quick through the ball his arms sometimes don't keep up and he blocks the ball right - this invariably happens when he unleashes that violent swing of his, with the driver.

[jb1982]

More times than not he blocks the ball right when he misses off the tee. Because his body is so quick through the ball his arms sometimes don't keep up and he blocks the ball right - this invariably happens when he unleashes that violent swing of his, with the driver.

That's very true. But this is also his "preffered miss". As long as his misses are always going right he still scores well. It's when he starts missing both ways that he struggles. (2nd round of the Masters)

Wouldn't it be nice to finish 2nd at the Masters and have people saying you "struggled"?? LOL. If I say I struggled, it means I had a hard time keeping my round in double didgets!!

[X20_Tour]

He's been changing his swing for the past two years to become more consistent.

Unlearning 20 years of what his father taught him, and trying to learn something new doesn't just happen overnight. That's why he's been so inconsistent (for him anyway) for so long.

He should have it sorted out by the end of this season, if not next season.

Sure, the Nike clubs are not the best out there, but the pro's can play with anything. The clubs they get are a lot more advanced than what we can buy in the store. His "Nike's" are not even Nike clubs going by the standards used for the clubs available to the public.