Tiger Poll on ESPN

[iacas]

I encourage you to vote at the poll on ESPN.com , but here are the questions. I've provided my answers: what are yours?

1) Since Woods' historic Masters win in 1997, you ...

1. Play more golf
2. Play less golf
3. Play the same amount of golf

2) When Woods is not in contention in the final round of a major, you tend to watch ...

1. More than if he was in contention
2. Less than if he was in contention
3. About the same amount

3) What is Woods' greatest accomplishment?

1. Winning three straight U.S. Amateur titles (1994-'96)
2. Holding the ''Tiger Slam'' with all four major titles (2000-'01)
3. Spending 264 weeks atop the World Ranking
4. Making the cut in 133 consecutive events

4) What was Woods' greatest problem in 2004?

1. Poor driving accuracy
2. Distracted by impending marriage
3. Fired Butch Harmon as swing coach
4. Nothing

5) How many events will Woods win in 2005?

1. None
2. 1
3. 2-4
4. 5-9
5. 10 or more

6) How many majors will Woods win in 2005?

1. None
2. 1
3. 2
4. 3
5. 4

7) Woods currently has eight career major titles. How many will he end his career with?

1. 8
2. 9-12
3. 13-17
4. 18
5. 19 or more

8) Who is the greatest golfer of all-time?

1. Ben Hogan
2. Bobby Jones
3. Jack Nicklaus
4. Tiger Woods
5. Other

My Answers

1. Since his win, I play more golf. Not because of Tiger Woods, of course, but it's not an essay answer.
2. When he's in contention in a major , I watch about the same (all of it).
3. Woods' greatest accomplishment is holding the Tiger Slam.
4. Woods' greatest problem in 2004 was poor driving accuracy. It only makes sense: your driver is your most likely shot to go offline when making swing changes.
5. Woods will he win 5-9 events in 2005.
6. Woods will win 2 majors in 2005.
7. Woods will win 19 or more majors.
8. Jack Nicklaus is the greatest of all time. Woods has a ways to go before I'll even consider him.

[gas_can]

Boy did Tiger ever look so good? He looks like he's got a lot more confidence in his swing and definately in his driver. I like his new finish a lot.

Has anyone out there been able to hit the "stinger?" I can produce a swing that looks like it, but results in just a normal shot.

My answers:

1. I play more golf since his win definately b/c of Tiger I think he really turned it from a stuffy old man's game to one that's on par with any pro sport.
2. I watch all majors now, regardless of who's on top.
3. Tiger slam hands down. I think the grand slam of golf is the most difficult feat in all of sports, even the triple crown in baseball. No other sport asks you to change your game so much from event to event Augusta and St. Andrews are completly different courses and tailored to different games.
4. Driving Accuracy, although it's amazing how well Tiger is able to get out of nasty lies. When he's out of the rough you expect Tiger to make par, when he's in the fairway you expect him to birdie the hole. Can't say that about many players.
5. I too think he'll win 5-9 events, 9 is my guess.
6. I think he'll win at Augusta this year and again at Baltursol.
7. I also think he's going to win over 19 majors, he's got 20+ years of golf left.
8. I think Arnold Palmer's the greatest golfer of all time. Maybe even more so than Tiger, he saved golf. He played with a bravado and flair that I think is unmatched. Had he played "boring" golf who knows how many majors he would have won . . .

Just my $.02

[Mr_Slice]

1. I play more golf. But that's not due to Tiger. Well, maybe it is. Had the sport not gotten bigger, I may never have given it a chance.

2. I watch less than if he is in contention. The two guys other than Tiger that are my faves are Scott and Garcia, so if none of the three are in contention, I tend to yield to football in the Fall and Winter. The rest of the year I watch no matter who is going to win.

3. I think 264 consecutive weeks atop the World Ranking is his greatest accomplishment. It shows domination over a period of several years and not just two great, great years where he won four majors.

4. Biggest problem of 2004? Pour driving accuracy, although I think this was mostly mental and there were a lot of outside things that had his attention instead of golf.

5. I think he'll win 2-4 events in 2005. Maybe more, but I'm not ready to make that call yet.

6. He'll win one major. If I had to guess, I'd pick the Masters.

7. He'll end his career with a ton of majors. More than 13, but not sure if he'll get to 19 or not. Too many variables to make an informed guess.

8. Greatest golfer? I haven't been into golf long enough to fairly make a choice. Of my lifetime it is Tiger, so I'm going to give him the nod.

[iacas]

2. I watch less than if he is in contention. The two guys other than Tiger that are my faves are Scott and Garcia, so if none of the three are in contention, I tend to yield to football in the Fall and Winter. The rest of the year I watch no matter who is going to win.

The majors aren't really played in the "Fall and Winter."

[Mr_Slice]

Damn, misread the question. Thought it just meant all tournaments. So my answer is that I watch the same. No more, no less.

[pahonix]

1) Since Woods' historic Masters win in 1997, you ...

I definitely play more golf. Like others, though, not because of Tiger, but in my case, because other friends got into it and I happily picked my clubs back up.

2) When Woods is not in contention in the final round of a major, you tend to watch ...

It's not just Tiger that keeps me watching the majors. I'm there no matter what. I'm usually pretty adamant about keeping up with scoring through Thursday and Friday rounds, especially during the majors. I wish there was more events like Live @ 17 during the Players. I'm glued to that thing all day Thursday and Friday while supposedly working. But if someone's running away with it and I happen to not like that person *cough*Vijay*cough*, I'd be less likely to make sure I wake up or change the channel over to the action.

3) What is Woods' greatest accomplishment?

Making the cut in 133 consecutive events, definitely. This game is all about consistency and this streak speaks volumes.

4) What was Woods' greatest problem in 2004?

This is a tough one because they were *all* huge frickin problems for Tiger, but I think what led to a lot of his non-wins was the poor driving accuracy. If you can't get the ball in the fairway off the tee, you're just asking for trouble getting to the green.

5) How many events will Woods win in 2005?

2-4. If he wins more, great. I'm all for that, but I'm a realist. Vijay had a great year and no one really projected it. Who's to say that won't happen for someone else? Phil?

6) How many majors will Woods win in 2005?

Again, I'm taking the conservative route and will say he'll win 1 - The Open Championship. I'm not familiar enough with Pinehurst or Baltusrol to say whether or not he'd do well there. As for Augusta, it's a tough challenge for anyone. To accurately predict that one is impossible, imho.

7) Woods currently has eight career major titles. How many will he end his career with?

13-17. No real reason, just a guess.

8) Who is the greatest golfer of all-time?

Jack, right now. Probably Tiger 10 years from now.

[Ben]

1) Since Woods' historic Masters win in 1997, you...

Play the same

2) When Woods is not in contention in the final round of a major, you tend to watch ...

about the sme

3) What is Woods' greatest accomplishment?

133 consecutive cuts

4) What was Woods' greatest problem in 2004?

distracted by hot chick!


5) How many events will Woods win in 2005?[/b]

2-4


6) How many majors will Woods win in 2005?

1

7) Woods currently has eight career major titles. How many will he end his career with?

19 or more


8) Who is the greatest golfer of all-time?

Ben Hogan (maybe I'm just partial because of the name)