What is really wrong with Tiger Woods?

[Colton17]

I know everybody is tired of talking about him but I don't understand how someone of his caliber can do this bad because "something" is wrong with his swing. I believe that his issues are mainly mental because I don't see too much wrong with his swing. What do y'all think about his problems?

[Lakitu]

I don't understand what is so mystifying about this to people. Has anyone ever seen him go through a swing change before? These things take time. Worse yet, he's now saddled by being a bit older and having even more injuries. As we've seen several times prior, he takes quite a while to get the hang of it and get back to this winning ways. But he pretty much always does.

Don't even get me started on golf channel - endlessly parroting the "end of Tiger Woods" and "What could possibly be wrong with Tiger???" BS during his Foley swing change. Give it some time, and when he truly nails it he'll be back in winning form. As a fan, it's definitely annoying seeing him out of action for so long; he's unquestionably lost time transitioning his swing like this. I'm in no position to give him advice though.

[dunfy3]

More trips to Vegas and pancake restaurants.  That should get him on the right track again......

[Mr. Desmond]

Lacks a father figure for counsel. No one fills that role.

[uitar9]

More trips to Vegas and pancake restaurants.  That should get him on the right track again......

and bacon.

Seriously, he should:

go back to having a gal in every port and be public about it...and

play more golf/tournaments. He has to either play through the pain or stop playing. I cant see how folks at that level can compete unless they are competing

[ScouseJohnny]

Maybe beating Jack's record meant much more to him as a young man, than it does to him now, as he stands on the cusp of middle age?

Or maybe he got bored one evening, logged onto the Sandtrap's Jack vs Tiger thread, read it in its entirety, and said: "Mission accomplished, I'm the GOAT."

Joking aside - maybe it is just general fatigue. He's nearly 40, is the undisputed greatest golfer of his generation, has won pretty much everything there is to win, has experienced injuries, and also has a family life in the form of two children, and (as we learned this week), a dog. He also has more money than he will ever conceivably need to sustain him in his lifestyle for the rest of his life; he also has a brand name and related business interests. Additionally, he's watching two superb young golfers in the form of Spieth and McIlroy utterly dominating the game, surrounded by a bunch of other top, top golfers from the Millennial generation. Suddenly, he's an old man.

Not all great golfers compete into their 40s. Faldo didn't - he was pretty much done and dusted after he won the 1996 Masters at the age of 39. Others manage to keep going for ever, it seems - Watson and Langer spring to mind.

I think the only question, really, is how long Tiger is prepared to miss cuts before he packs it in. I don't believe he is tarnishing his legacy by turning in bad performances at the age of nearly 40, but it must still be embarrassing for him, and it is sad to watch.

[newtogolf]

His priorities may have changed.  Based on what I've read, Earl was the driving force for Tiger to dominate the golf world, without Earl pushing him or there for Tiger to do it for maybe it doesn't mean as much.

We really have no insight to what drove Tiger to be the best, was Jacks record ever really his goal or was he a good son who allowed his dad to live out his dreams vicariously through him?

[David L Yskes]

he doesnt play enough..... untill he starts playing every other week ( at a min ) he wont be back to even competing form....  it doesnt matter how much you practice or play on certain courses..... playing in competition is totally different......

[Patch]

One thing is for certain. With all the expert help Woody has had during his time in golf, and he still has this problem with his game, it does not say much for the week end golfer seeing a swing guru a few times a month who wants to get to single digits, let alone  scratch numbers, while playing different courses.  If Woody has this much trouble getting his "A" game back, it's an even longer road, or impossible for us mere mortals.

I have no idea what's wrong with his game. I can only speculate that he has the obvious two swing issues. One is mental for sure, and the other is physical. With so many different swing instructors in his past, and a body that is no longer 100%, confusion has to be a big problem, with physical limitations creating even more problems for him.  I don't remember what the number was, but someone once stated it took so many reps to ingrain a good thing into a golfer's swing. Seems to me Woody has had more than enough time to get where he wants to be. The idea of not being able to put 4 stellar rounds together, on any given weekend has to haunt him.

I'd like to see him get back into contention, but I still believe his best golf is now behind him. Of course, except for a few of young guns currently burning up the tournament trail, Woody at 75% is still good enough to beat a great portion of the field.

[nevets88]

How many swings has he had now? This is number 5 right? Let's not forget he had back surgery lately, had to take a lot of time off since 2009 and his personal life has been rocky. The grind of the media pressure must take a toll. If he continued his dominance, he'd have to be some kind of robot. Who knows what happens now. Ian Baker Finch, Duval, they disappeared quickly, no? Woods is almost over 4 times lifetime exempt, so he has the wherewithal to "drag it out" so to speak. In this ADD, 24/7, instant gratification world, of course this question gets asked constantly. I'm giving him till the end of the season to sort it out.

[ChrisP]

Saddest stat of the day:

Players currently ranked ahead of Tiger Woods in the World Golf Ranking:

Colt Knost

Stuart Appleby (he still plays??)

Morton Orum Madsen

Blayne Barber

Adam Bland

Jacques Blaauw

Zac Blair

Angelo Que

And my favorite....S.S.P Chawrasia

If that's not motivation by humiliation, I don't know what is.

[imsys0042]

Nobody really knows, probably not even Tiger.   Tiger is a person like any other so he can re-group and go another 25 years like Tom Watson, or he might have the issues that Faldo did and be kind of done at 40.

One thing from reading the responses here.   Faldo, Ian Baker-Finch and Tiger all seem mechanically oriented?   At least to me.   They all were focused on the mechanics of a swing.  Baker-Finch I believe changed his swing after winning his major to try and get better.   Over-thinking?   It sure bites me on the course.  Imagine having all the talent and smarts Tiger has and he can't get his mind out of the way.

[burton9190]

At his best he would make some crazy swings to get himself around the course, no wonder he got injured. I think this whole meltdown of his could be mostly to do with his loss of flexibility. Still class around the green, but who needs to be flexible to hit a good pitch?

[Rick Martin]

More trips to Vegas and pancake restaurants.  That should get him on the right track again......

be careful, this forum aka is The TIger Woods Forum.com.....anything conceived as negative or facetious will get you banned

[Jeremie Boop]

be careful, this forum aka is The TIger Woods Forum.com.....anything conceived as negative or facetious will get you banned

ROFL.. I don't agree with that, as a matter of fact I think just about everyone would think that comment was pretty funny. What isn't tolerated, about anyone, are remarks that are baseless and/or just derogatory for the sake of belittling.

[tiger19]

I think it VERY PREMATURE, to think TW is even thinking about packing it in. That is a good 5-7 yrs away. Even he didn't make a cut to then.

[MSDOGS1976]

Simply getting old and has a body more broken down than the average 39 year old. And with all the swing changes.......he is confused.

[David L Yskes]

While i dont think it's possible,,,, if he was to do another swing change, he'd have to goto something smoother, so it's not so hard on his body....    look at Ernie or Phil, or any of the older guys still playing on tour, and their swing is more smooth and tempo and not just swinging out of your booty.......