The Tiger Woods Retirement Thread

[dkolo]

[SIZE=14px]This thread brought me here, LOL![/SIZE] [SIZE=14px]It is amazing to me how far people are willing to go with collective amnesia.  I guess, if one is suffering from either amnesia or collective cognitive dissociation, then proffering ideas about the premature retirement of the best professional golfer since Jack Nicklaus, before Jack's all-time record has been broken, probably seems "par for the course."[/SIZE] [SIZE=14px]What too many people seem to have suddenly forgotten is that Tiger, while not having played nearly up to his standards over the past couple years, has also not had a single season without debilitating injury in at least as much time.  And, even when he was suffering from serious injury a few years ago, he was still able to win more golf tournaments in a single year, than 99% of everybody else on tour - just not timely enough to win a Major in the same period.[/SIZE] [SIZE=14px]Any talk about "retirement" at this stage in his career, can only come from those who really don't know Tiger, or what it means to be as talented as Tiger, as capable as Tiger and as close to establishing Golf History, as Tiger.  He's no closer to retiring now, than I am to making my debut on the PGA Tour.[/SIZE] [SIZE=14px]Now, I absolutely know that there are plenty of people who don't want to see Tiger, make history by eclipsing Jack, but that's all just a matter of time and it always has been.  You have no idea what's about to happen in the world of Professional Golf, do you?  You ain't seen nothing yet.  Tiger, is going to make the run on Jack's record, more spectacular than the run on his previous 14 Major wins.[/SIZE]  [SIZE=14px]Tiger, was The One, from day one, to beat Jack's record and there is nobody on the horizon right now even remotely close to removing Tiger, from being The One.[/SIZE] [SIZE=14px]Tiger, is progressively getting back to a more "freely releasing" golf swing.  It will be the closest thing he has to his 2000 swing.  Astute listeners and astute people in the game, hear him talking about "trusting the release."  Anyone knowing anything about golf, knows that "trusting the release" is the final step in making swing changes permanent.  That's how close he is.[/SIZE] [SIZE=14px]Once he gets back to something he can "trust," then you will see his strategic mindset came back into tournament play.  Whenever Tiger, is able to effectively combine a "trusted" swing with his mental game, he's never been beatable.  Those are the two things that have been missing from Tiger's game since the SUV crash and for good reason.  He got some of it back in 2013, but that was a modified version of a swing designed to take pressure away from a physical problem - yet, he adapted to it well enough to win five (5) times.[/SIZE] [SIZE=14px]The new swing has taken longer to set-up because the old "pain relieving swing" took so much energy to evolve and lock down.  Once the "release" has been solidified, he'll naturally begin producing far more birdie opportunities and that will allow him to refocus on the one thing that made him better than everyone on Tour, putting and scoring.[/SIZE] [SIZE=14px]It is a progressive series of events that have to take place and you are watching the final block being put into position right now with the "release."  He's almost twirling the club again after teeing off - but not quite there yet.  When he's fully confident in the "release" and the 'twirl' comes back on the tee box, look out Jack.[/SIZE]

Welcome! I love Tiger. Spieth has been my absolute favorite the past year and I was still rooting for him to fall apart when Tiger was looking like he had a charge in him. I love Tiger. All that said, all we have with Tiger is hope at this point. If he's healthy, I have a ton of confidence in him. But his body is constantly giving him trouble over the past decade. As they say in baseball, "health is a skill" and until we see he has it for an extended period of time, all we have with Tiger is hope. So I hope his injuries don't force him into retirement. We already saw that his talent and desire only can get him so far if the body refuses to cooperate.

[QuantFx]

I said back in 2013, that Tiger, would do well to take one year off.  Get his mind and his body back on track.  Allow the past to be the past and to put it away, as any human being would do after making big mistakes in life.  I thought he needed one year to rest, relax, refocus and recommit to a new mission of winning just five (5) more golf tournaments - all of them Majors.

At this point, he's done just about everything you can do in the game, and so much more.  He's awaken millions of people around the world to the wonderful sport called Golf.  He's been the principle (Number #1) reason why more people have taken up the sport world wide than at any other time in the history of the game.  He's single handily caused people who never watched golf, to not only watch it regularly, but to learn about, study it, appreciate it and to spends thousands of personal dollars on the business of golf.  No single human being has ever had the kind of economic an social impact on golf and from golf, than Tiger Woods.  So, what's left?  Just five more golf tournaments.

If he can get and remain healthy enough, he'll have 4-6 more years of prime golf left and another 1-3 years of sub-prime golf remaining.  That 16-20 major tournaments left where he has a realistic chance and maybe 4-12 additional major tournaments where he would be classified as having an outside change.  All he needs is 5 of them.

That's a 31.25% to 25.0% win ratio.  That's a challenge, but within the reach of Tiger, if no one else.  Every single tournament he plays from this point forward, should really be in preparation for a major.  The catch-22?  He needs more tournament reps - which means more stress on the back - which means potentially pushing nagging injury into a major tournament, which is the last place he needs it to show up.

For this reason, if I were his closely held wise counsel, I'd ride him very (very) hard to take one (1) solid year away - to get healthy.  He's got more than enough talent to take that year off, then come back very early and kick off the year with the opener in Hawaii, to get as many tournament reps in as he needs for Augusta, 2017.  Between 2017 - 2020.  Jack's long standing run for the most majors in a career, would be over as Tiger reaches Major #19.

He needs a full year off.

[Gunther]

Ha ha ha. What a short memory people seem to have. Tom Watson was an up-and-down from winning a major at the ripe old age of 59. Maybe he will-maybe he will not win another major. I just find the confidence to say one way or the other incredible given the history of golf the history of Tiger and even recent older players to have won or contended in majors despite not having the game Tiger has proven to have.

I enjoy the view from out on that limb. It's been my gut feel for a couple years now, and this weekend confirmed it. Not afraid to be wrong, done that too many times. Full disclosure: I've never been a Tiger fan but I have always enjoyed watching him. I actually like him now more than ever because he's improved his demeanor a lot. Loved seeing his hugfest early last week, it humanized him.

[Rick Martin]

I enjoy the view from out on that limb. It's been my gut feel for a couple years now, and this weekend confirmed it. Not afraid to be wrong, done that too many times.

Full disclosure: I've never been a Tiger fan but I have always enjoyed watching him. I actually like him now more than ever because he's improved his demeanor a lot. Loved seeing his hugfest early last week, it humanized him.

Other than playing the Par 3 with his kids, what demeanor changes are you talking about? Is he more media friendly? Less self-critical, less profane? Guess he was more outgoing this past week - played w/ Spieth and Crenshaw practice round.

On another note, CBS's Sat ratings were up 50% from last year....Tiger Effect.  Can't say he still doesn't improve the ratings.

[Gunther]

Other than playing the Par 3 with his kids, what demeanor changes are you talking about? Is he more media friendly? Less self-critical, less profane? Guess he was more outgoing this past week - played w/ Spieth and Crenshaw practice round.   On another note, CBS's Sat ratings were up 50% from last year....Tiger Effect.  Can't say he still doesn't improve the ratings.

He's a lot friendlier with his peers (not Serg). Seems to get on really well with Jordan and PReed, just generally seems more open and gregarious than he's ever been. And yes, he is different with the media. Don't know if he's giving more access than before but he does come across a lot looser now, more likeable. Still cussing but so do I (infrequently) so I've never gotten too upset about that. He's a different cat these days. Not sure it's working for him from a competitive standpoint, however. That aura of invincibility is gone, he's just one of the guys now.

[saevel25]

Other than playing the Par 3 with his kids, what demeanor changes are you talking about? Is he more media friendly? Less self-critical, less profane? Guess he was more outgoing this past week - played w/ Spieth and Crenshaw practice round.

On another note, CBS's Sat ratings were up 50% from last year....Tiger Effect.  Can't say he still doesn't improve the ratings.

He seems more relaxed. He is friendlier to the media. As someone who's watched his whole career he has mellowed out a bit over the past 5 years.

He'll always be critical of his game. A lot of players are. Who cares if he curses.

[Silent]

He will play at THE PLAYERS

[Gunther]

He will play at THE PLAYERS [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/118510/] [/URL]

Part of the reason I don't believe he'll break Snead's record is he's only going to play the big events with the strongest fields. There are just too many of the big names that have passed him, I don't see him getting 7 or 8 more tour wins. A couple, perhaps.

[3putter]

Part of the reason I don't believe he'll break Snead's record is he's only going to play the big events with the strongest fields. There are just too many of the big names that have passed him, I don't see him getting 7 or 8 more tour wins. A couple, perhaps.

How's that different from what he's been doing for the most part of his career? 5 wins 2 seasons ago came from similar fields

[Gunther]

How's that different from what he's been doing for the most part of his career? 5 wins 2 seasons ago came from similar fields

It's different cuz he's been lapped by the field now. 2 years ago might as well be a lifetime.

[dkolo]

It's different cuz he's been lapped by the field now. 2 years ago might as well be a lifetime.

The guy went into The Masters cold and finished 19th with a bad wrist. I wouldn't say the field has lapped him.

[Jakester23]

It's different cuz he's been lapped by the field now. 2 years ago might as well be a lifetime.

So did the field lap The big easy before he won the open in 2012?

[MSchott]

It's different cuz he's been lapped by the field now. 2 years ago might as well be a lifetime.

That's a bit strong. Are you talking about the same guy who had basically been out all season, returns for the Masters and is more than competitive? I think it's always dangerous to count out Woods. If he can stay healthy, he will be one of the top players on the tour.

[Gunther]

The guy went into The Masters cold and finished 19th with a bad wrist. I wouldn't say the field has lapped him.

Yep, understand but he wilted in the 4th round. That's when I saw he was essentially finished being a consistent winner on tour. I'd count him as an above average player still, and I think he'll win a couple more but 7 or 8 more? Nah, that's a career for an above average player. [quote name="Jakester23" url="/t/79927/the-tiger-woods-retirement-thread/280_40#post_1133757"] So did the field lap The big easy before he won the open in 2012?[/quote] See above response. [quote name="MSchott" url="/t/79927/the-tiger-woods-retirement-thread/280_40#post_1133758"]That's a bit strong. Are you talking about the same guy who had basically been out all season, returns for the Masters and is more than competitive? I think it's always dangerous to count out Woods. If he can stay healthy, he will be one of the top players on the tour. [/quote]See above response.

[MSchott]

Yep, understand but he wilted in the 4th round. That's when I saw he was essentially finished being a consistent winner on tour. I'd count him as an above average player still, and I think he'll win a couple more but 7 or 8 more? Nah, that's a career for an above average player.

I don't see what that has to do with anything. He wasn't going to win the Masters this year anyway. I stand by my statement that it's foolish to count him out.

[Jakester23]

Yep, understand but he wilted in the 4th round. That's when I saw he was essentially finished being a consistent winner on tour. I'd count him as an above average player still, and I think he'll win a couple more but 7 or 8 more? Nah, that's a career for an above average player. See above response. See above response.

7 or 8 is a career for an above average player but he's not an above average player he's the GOAT. He has won at least one WGC event 12 out of the last 16 year. I doubt he will go the rear of HIS career without stumbling into 5 wins. (I capitalized his cause he is different from everyone else)

[Golfingdad]

Yep, understand but he wilted in the 4th round. That's when I saw he was essentially finished being a consistent winner on tour. I'd count him as an above average player still, and I think he'll win a couple more but 7 or 8 more? Nah, that's a career for an above average player.

Somebody responded earlier in either this or the Masters thread to a similar post with what I believe to be the most sensible answer:

That is an AWFUL lot to draw from one round of golf.

You realize that Tiger Woods has played mediocre rounds on Sundays of majors before, right?  Even when he was in his prime.  Hell, he missed the cut of the US Open in 2006, right in the middle of a string of major finishes from the 05 Masters through the 08 US Open where he went 1,2,1,4,3,CUT,1,1,2,2,12,1,2,1.  Was he "finished" then?

I have no problem with people thinking that he's finished because injuries have caught up with him or simply age, or some other factor, but to say it's because he didn't play great on Sunday ... that's just plain silly.

[Billbill13]

Part of the reason I don't believe he'll break Snead's record is he's only going to play the big events with the strongest fields. There are just too many of the big names that have passed him, I don't see him getting 7 or 8 more tour wins. A couple, perhaps.

Kind of a lose lose for him, he plays the big events with lots of competition and really strong fields and doesn't win,  and if he played in these shootouts like the Fall schedule and events like the Zurich and doesn't blow away the weaker fields then people would still say he was done. He plays courses he has a lot of great memories from and a lot of wins so always possible for him to pick up a few a year for the next couple years IF he stays healthy.