Tiger Woods Driving Problems - Really dude? Really!

[clutchshot]

Tiger has risen back to #1 in the world. Tiger won 5 tournaments last year. Tiger was a flagstick away from a major. His coaching is fine guys. He hasn't won as much with Foley? He's older now and injured. Still wins. Not fair to compare Tiger at 20 to Tiger now and say its all coaching. Coaching is fine.

[Mr. Desmond]

Tiger has risen back to #1 in the world.

Tiger won 5 tournaments last year.

Tiger was a flagstick away from a major.

His coaching is fine guys.

He hasn't won as much with Foley? He's older now and injured. Still wins. Not fair to compare Tiger at 20 to Tiger now and say its all coaching.

Coaching is fine.

Who said it's all coaching?

Flagstick away?

Seriously?

Maybe... who knows?

But we are 4 years into Foley ... maybe it will happen this year. My opinion, and we all have 'em -- maybe it's time for a former player to work with him at his age. Tiger is not an easy student. He seems to take to players.

[Phil McGleno]

You seem to have a hardon for Grant.-He might use Grant,sure, but he probably feels hes doing fine with Foley. WHats Grant know about winning on the current-day PGA TOur that Tiger doesnt know?- Or winning a major?[quote name="Mr. Desmond" url="/t/73010/tiger-woods-driving-problems-really-dude-really/36#post_960034"]Who said it's all coaching? Flagstick away? Seriously? Maybe... who knows? But we are 4 years into Foley ... maybe it will happen this year. My opinion, and we all have 'em -- maybe it's time for a former player to work with him at his age. Tiger is not an easy student. He seems to take to players. [/quote]

[Mr. Desmond]

You seem to have a hardon for Grant.-He might use Grant,sure, but he probably feels hes doing fine with Foley.

WHats Grant know about winning on the current-day PGA TOur that Tiger doesnt know?- Or winning a major?

pfft.

[Phil McGleno]

Ill take that as a yes.[quote name="Mr. Desmond" url="/t/73010/tiger-woods-driving-problems-really-dude-really/36#post_960041"]pfft. [/quote]

[Mr. Desmond]

Ill take that as a yes.

Take it anyway you want. When you post in a crude manner, you gett the response you deserve, basically nothing

[Phil McGleno]

Lighten up.-You clearly like Grant Waite even though his career was surpassed by a few thousand players. He barely has any experience winning-And none winning a major.[quote name="Mr. Desmond" url="/t/73010/tiger-woods-driving-problems-really-dude-really/36#post_960068"] Take it anyway you want. When you post in a crude manner, you gett the response you deserve, basically nothing[/quote]

[14ledo81]

Lighten up.-You clearly like Grant Waite even though his career was surpassed by a few thousand players. He barely has any experience winning-And none winning a major.[quote name="Mr. Desmond" url="/t/73010/tiger-woods-driving-problems-really-dude-really/36#post_960068"] Take it anyway you want. When you post in a crude manner, you gett the response you deserve, basically nothing

[/quote] "Lighten up?". I have nothing against you Phil, but you can't give someone a condescending response and expect a normal answer.

[iacas]

Back to the topic please.

[Valleygolfer]

I don't know what Foley is doing with these guys but he didn't get to this position just with good advertising. Tiger and Rose have had injuries but Rose was really playing well until he got hurt. I think Tiger is playing better because he took a little off his swing to ease up on his back.

[newtogolf]

At this point I don't think Tiger needs a traditional swing coach.  Foley, Haney and Harmon have all said he's very educated on golf mechanics and theory.  Foley is a good fit because he's going to approach Tiger differently than a guy that's looking to "fix" Tiger.  Tiger needs someone that will provide him feedback on his swing when he wants it and keep him mentally stimulated.

I read an article in Golf Magazine that made sense.  They said that while Tiger's personal problems and injuries have slowed him down, they can't be 100% responsible for his difficulty in winning a Major.  The article contends that other golfers studied how Tiger won over the years and realized that he made shots no one else could as consistently.  The top players have now added those shots to their arsenal and the gap has closed significantly.

When you consider that Tiger is barely top 50 in driving distance and the other guys are hitting the same crazy iron shots he can, it's not going to be as easy for him to win like he used to against the best golfers in the world.

[Mulligan Jeff]

No player led driving accuracy enroute to victory in 2013. Doesn't appear to be a priority statistic.

[liquor box]

If I had the ability to hit everything straight I would probably hit long irons off the tee to allow me to hit full irons into every green.

I admit I am not a great player but I too have difficulty hitting accurately from 60-70 yards so I usually aim to be either 90-100m from the pin for a SW or 120m for a PW.

I also hit long irons or 5w from the tee to allow this distance to be left. I could hit driver but if you think about your next shot and not just the shot you are currently hitting you will quickly lose strokes from your handicap.

If you are even mildly accurate off the tee, even being in the first cut of rough on most fairways then course management will lose you plenty of strokes.

You have said you can hit a driver up to 300yds straight, do you ever try to move the ball left or right? This is when you will start to have issues with accuracy

[Chris E]

I don't know what Foley is doing with these guys but he didn't get to this position just with good advertising. Tiger and Rose have had injuries but Rose was really playing well until he got hurt. I think Tiger is playing better because he took a little off his swing to ease up on his back.

I think that is it. When Tiger is on the course it looks like he is trying to kill the ball, except yesterday. Much different than the fluid swings we see on the range.

I don't know what was up with that flub approaching 18, though.

[Valleygolfer]

[QUOTE name="Valleygolfer" url="/t/73010/tiger-woods-driving-problems-really-dude-really/36#post_960153"] I don't know what Foley is doing with these guys but he didn't get to this position just with good advertising. Tiger and Rose have had injuries but Rose was really playing well until he got hurt. I think Tiger is playing better because he took a little off his swing to ease up on his back. [/QUOTE] I think that is it. When Tiger is on the course it looks like he is trying to kill the ball, except yesterday. Much different than the fluid swings we see on the range. I don't know what was up with that flub approaching 18, though.

Exactly what I meant. It is like he's trying to hang with the likes of DJ and Bubba. I think he's so competitive about power that it negatively affects his body. But hell what do I know, I am just a internet hack.

[Mr. Desmond]

Back to TIger ...

During his Hank days, I swung away with futility under the direction of a couple of his head instructors, and I heard things. Hank would put on Instructing the Instructor Schools and tell stories that has relevance here ... he was surprised that Tiger was a nervous player. When he went to the first tee, he was full of nerves. He was perfect on the range and clinics, but the guy had nerves on the course.

Look at Tiger on the course now. Does he look like a zen-ful guy? Laidback? Do you see him complaining a lot about his inability to "get" the speed of the greens? He's had cussing incidents throughout his career. You'd think he'd come to some sort of acceptance of imperfection .

He had a wonderful short game and long iron game under Hank -- Tiger's ability to scramble was phenomenal. He had that scramble ability before Hank.

I remember a quote where Hunter Mahan stated that Tiger was a terrible ball striker before Tiger got to Foley. So the thought comes up, "What did Hank do with Tiger?" But that's in the past.

As to Foley, he has a thankless task. He's got a guy who will be the most prolific PGA Tour Winner when his career is over, and has him when many are hitting their prime - mid to late 30's - and his player has performed, but not to his previous levels.

I criticize him because Tiger hasn't won a major, but he may be doing a masterful job at mechanics. He seems to be knowledgeable of the biomechanics of the swing, and the technology. But no one seems to have settled Tiger down mentally. That head must be a tough one to crack. Many times, a guy in his 30's, like Tiger, the ego is too big to help him mentally. He's got to fall and not blame others. You'd think the Shanksgiving incident would have brought him back to earth mentally. Maybe it did in some ways, but perhaps not on the golf course.

There is something in Tiger that prevents him from achieving his former consistency -- is it age at an age when most guys see the physical skills deteriorating but the mental skills and strength increasing. That mental edge gets them over the top. Could it be that Tiger trusts no one and therefore is difficult to reach?

Don't know. But something is amiss, and it may not be about Foley. Can Foley help him where it's really needed? Not until Tiger allows him inside...

[Chris E]

He's human, and the game is hard. Obviously something gets to him when he gets on the course. Fear of failure? Why does he swing so much harder on the course and spray it everywhere? We all have trouble replicating what we do on the range and it is all mental. These are simple things that are difficult to overcome, and a swing coach is not the answer to the mental part of the game IMO. He's got to work this out himself, beginning with his crashes on the weekends in majors. Blaming Foley for Tiger Woods' (Tiger Fricking Woods!) mental issues a strawman. We are not talking about a 16 year old here trying to find his way.

Even so, the guy won 8 times the last 2 years, while being injured part of that time. Everybody is all over DJ's jock and that is what he has won his whole career, for example. He has set a bar way too high for so long and maybe it is getting to him.

[Mr. Desmond]

He's human, and the game is hard. Obviously something gets to him when he gets on the course. Fear of failure? Why does he swing so much harder on the course and spray it everywhere? We all have trouble replicating what we do on the range and it is all mental. These are simple things that are difficult to overcome, and a swing coach is not the answer to the mental part of the game IMO. He's got to work this out himself, beginning with his crashes on the weekends in majors. Blaming Foley for Tiger Woods' (Tiger Fricking Woods!) mental issues a strawman. We are not talking about a 16 year old here trying to find his way.

Even so, the guy won 8 times the last 2 years, while being injured part of that time. Everybody is all over DJ's jock and that is what he has won his whole career, for example. He has set a bar way too high for so long and maybe it is getting to him.

Well, I don't know. Tiger has been protected all his life and may have been surrounded by "yes" men -- no doubt. Overprotected, who knows his mental maturity? Just speculating here...

Isn't it Foley's job to get his player to perform? Whether it is mental or physical? Heck, for all we know, Foley may have tried to get him help. Sorry if my posts are nuanced. The "blame," if any, goes to every member of Team Tiger, including Tiger. They take the glory ... and must take the accountability, allocated by Tiger...