What advice would you give Tiger?

[Aflighter]

Good lord tiger worshippers,im pretty sure the retiring part is just joking.Cmon.

[iacas]

Oh, definitely retire.  Who knows better than him that when you are at the low point of a swing change and regaining health that the way you pay in your first event completely determines how the future course of your career will go.  This is 1998, 2004, and 2012 talk all over again.

Rich, to be totally fair, no it isn't. The guy shot the worst 18- and 36-hole rounds of his career. He chipped worst than I would left-handed with no practice. It's different…

[David in FL]

Finally.  He is just barely returning from back surgery.  I don't care who you are but if they open up your back your body mechanics will change.  There may be no pain but it takes time for the muscles and neuro pathways to get rebuilt.  Not easy. Not fun.

I wondered how long it would be before someone pulled the old.....and I mean old , injury card.

[Rick Martin]

Keep the positive attitude. One of the first times in all the years I've followed him, I actually thought his post round interview after the 82 was humble, sincere, funny and worth listening to.  He's actaully a more likeable person now than when he dominated, imo.

[RandallT]

Ask David Duval if he would do anything differently when his game rapidly vanished. Ask Chuck Knoblauch if, in hindsight, he could have done anything to remember the motor skills of throwing a baseball to first base. Nip this in the bud and figure out how not to represent one of the worst sudden collapses in sports history. Time will tell if this is an overblown worry, but if Tiger can't bounce back and be competitive, won't he rank up there? Or will it get written off as just injury-related, as written above? Too early to tell but I'm worried for Tiger. This seems unprecedented.

[Wansteadimp]

The chipping problems he has have nothing to do with rust.

If it was purely lack of practice he would be hitting chips that end up further away than usual from the hole but would be recognizable as chip shots, what he is hitting at the moment are the result of mental problems and shouldn't be seen at a pro event.

Additionally, his short game stunk it up in December at the Hero and now a month and a half later it is no better. This is Tiger Woods, of course he has been working on the short game, its not technique its between his ears.

[ev780]

Your mechanics shouldn't change much, if any, in your short game. That's just a lack of practice, IMO. He performed exactly how I expected swing-wise. After back surgery it's going to take time, and if his short game wasn't so bad, he probably finishes the same as Phil. But the short game the last two days were downright....shocking. Just shocking to me. It's as if he didn't pick up a wedge in 6 months....and I hope he didn't, because if he's actually practiced on his short game the last 6 months and that's the result? Yikes. I think desire is a big question as well right now as well.

Maybe.  I can see it being a practice issue.  And I totally agree SHOCKING!!!!  Coming back from injury chipping is one of the first thing they let you do. So you have a good point.

I wondered how long it would be before someone pulled the old.....and I mean old, injury card.

Old?!?!  Surgery was March 31, 2014.

[Shorty]

Loving the advice that you would normally reserve for a team of junior high students who've just lost a match of some sort.

My advice  would be "Don''t listen to advice that you see here."

And then I'd say "Keep your chin up. Believe in yourself. Keep fighting."

Then I'd see if he vomited before I did.

[Rick Martin]

Steve Elkington @elkpga

Did anyone google earth tigers house to see if he's working on his short game....

[Kujan]

Unsolicited advice from Rocco Mediate on Feherty: [LIST] [*] 5 minutes w/Mediate, swing problems solved [*] Dump Como, see Trevino [/LIST] [URL=http://www.golfchannel.com/media/feherty-live-rocco-talks-tigers-golf-swing/]http://www.golfchannel.com/media/feherty-live-rocco-talks-tigers-golf-swing/[/URL]

It does look like TWs short game technique is way off. Go see Rocco and Trevino. Use the bounce!

[9iron]

It looks like the only problem he is having is not accelerating through his chips.

I'm not a coach, but I totally disagree with this assessment. He has some crap going on in his head for certain.

[Torres9]

This thread is turning into a comic strip.

[Lastpick]

I think Tiger needs to try acupuncture.

[Rick Martin]

http://golfweek.com/news/2015/jan/31/tiger-woods-chipping-problems-paul-azinger-explain/

zinger chimes in

[dkolo]

He should see if he can bum a copy of "Secrets of the Short Game" off of Mickelson.

Serious answer: He should do what he always does and keep at it. You don't go from being one of the greatest ever to the worst on the tour at something like chipping. It's a blip. Even if he's a victim of bad instruction, it's reversible. Stricker fixed Tiger's putting two years ago amid a similar nadir. Full swing is coming along. He'll be fine. Haters gonna hate.

[trickyputt]

Remember it is just a game and that he should take the hazards out of play.

[dkolo]

I think this is all just a marketing stunt.  Next week he is "spotted" with a full bag of Nike Vapor Speeds all the way through sand wedge and then goes on to win the next tourney with his new GI setup.  Interview goes something like"Gee, I guess it was just these old-fashioned clubs holding me back.  Everybody should go get fitted for the new Vapor Speeds!"

But seriously, correct me if I'm wrong, he is gaming the more forgiving Speed model of the Vapor driver, not the Pro / Tour model that he used to game in the Coverts (and which Rory is gaming now). And he still led the field in driving distance (wherever those drives wound up going, haha). So he's adapting to his game. I'd have been more concerned if his short game were fine but his long game were a mess. He's healthy, and I don't know why his talent and nerve would have spectacularly vanished, so I don't see any reason to assume this is somehow the new normal vs. just a hiccup. I think he'll be fine long-term. In some ways, I think the fact that he has such a quick turnaround between tournaments is a good thing for him because he can get right back out there and not dwell on it while practicing hundreds of chips for a few weeks back home.

[Rick Martin]

wonder what Jack has to say about all of this......