Tiger Woods is playing in the Safeway Open in October

[newtogolf]

16 minutes ago, colin007 said:

 I'm not sure if it would have made a difference… Do you play any particular clubs because a professional plays them? I am the biggest Tiger lover around and I don't own a single Nike club.

I haven't bought a club because a pro uses them in at least 3-4 years but I'd be lying if I said I never did.  I never under estimate the influence of marketing.  Pro V1's are great golf balls but there are others that are just as good but most people play Pro V1's because the majority of pro's on Tour do.  

[Golfingdad]

39 minutes ago, colin007 said:

 I'm not sure if it would have made a difference… Do you play any particular clubs because a professional plays them? I am the biggest Tiger lover around and I don't own a single Nike club.

I was definitely always interested in what they played - when I used to get GD a long time ago the WITB page at the end was always my favorite.

And whenever I noticed a trend - many of them at the time seemed to play the same or similar Titleist 3W - I wanted to follow it.  I never did because I didn't care enough, but I noticed at least.

But Nike clubs?  Blech. (For no fair reason, mind you)

[MacDutch]

Why would he stop after three poor rounds? He played a lot more poor rounds the last time he tried to come back. 

I think he will try for at least a year, 2017 that is. And if he stays healthy I bet he will win again.

[nevets88]

Waiting for the swing instructor and swing rumors (Secret Tour Pro) to drop in 3... 2... 1...

 

[CarlSpackler]

16 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

Waiting for the swing instructor and swing rumors (Secret Tour Pro) to drop in 3... 2... 1...

I heard he has been training with aliens. 

[Missouri Swede]

16 hours ago, jkelley9 said:

1. Tiger does indeed come back to these events as planned and does NOT re-injure himself in some fashion again

I just want to see some of "the old Tiger" back on the course. The things that made him who he was as a golfer.

I think these two are in conflict with each other.

My concern is that TW may be able to play in a manner that isn't horribly deleterious to his back in practice, but that when he gets back into competition he will revert to more aggressive patterns that will set him up for recurrence of back injury.

I hope I'm wrong.

[newtogolf]

4 minutes ago, Missouri Swede said:

I think these two are in conflict with each other.

My concern is that TW may be able to play in a manner that isn't horribly deleterious to his back in practice, but that when he gets back into competition he will revert to more aggressive patterns that will set him up for recurrence of back injury.

I hope I'm wrong.

While Tiger hasn't played in a tournament I'd think he's tested his game in practice rounds playing for some big money to see how he will perform under pressure.  What he probably can't simulate is the tougher course setups he'll face and the galleries watching.  

Unless he's found a way to maintain distance without the excessive stress he places on his back and knees he'll have to focus more on his mid - short game if he wants to win.  

[nevets88]

So, what is this, Swing 6.0? 

Or 5.2? 

[Spitfisher]

I mentioned to friend of tigers announcement and his planned return...he responded. "Oh it's nice to see the HGH shipments got thru to his house"

 

[boogielicious]

1 hour ago, CarlSpackler said:

I heard he has been training with aliens. 

Nah. Seal Team 18, the Navy's elite Special Forces Golf Squad.

[jkelley9]

2 hours ago, Missouri Swede said:

I think these two are in conflict with each other.

My concern is that TW may be able to play in a manner that isn't horribly deleterious to his back in practice, but that when he gets back into competition he will revert to more aggressive patterns that will set him up for recurrence of back injury.

I hope I'm wrong.

I absolutely agree that they're in conflict with one another. Tiger was an aggressive ball striker with huge power. It was what made him special and made him able "to bring courses to their knees." I want to see this Tiger again, truly. But I also don't want the guy hurting himself which is my first-most desire.

I would be happy with a different Tiger. More calm, strategic without insane distance and strain but able to win. Over "the old Tiger" where I'm biting my lip thinking he's going to hurt himself again every round.

[ncates00]

I just hope he truly is healed up.  I think he still has swing issues for sure (and you could go back and forth on the swing leading to the injury or the other way around all day), but a healthy Tiger would be really good to watch.  But I say that as a Tiger fan.

[phan52]

3 hours ago, newtogolf said:

While Tiger hasn't played in a tournament I'd think he's tested his game in practice rounds playing for some big money to see how he will perform under pressure.  What he probably can't simulate is the tougher course setups he'll face and the galleries watching.  

Unless he's found a way to maintain distance without the excessive stress he places on his back and knees he'll have to focus more on his mid - short game if he wants to win.  

Judging from his issues in his last go-around, that may be a problem.

[turtleback]

More posts in this thread than the Barclay's and Deutschebank combined.

Golf doesn't miss Tiger.  

[Aflighter]

7 hours ago, turtleback said:

More posts in this thread than the Barclay's and Deutschebank combined.

Golf doesn't miss Tiger.  

Golf doesnt miss Tiger, just his worshippers.

[iacas]

41 minutes ago, Aflighter said:

Golf doesnt miss Tiger, just his worshippers.

Nobody misses his haters.

[Buckeyebowman]

On 9/8/2016 at 4:18 PM, onkey said:

I'd like to see him accept his age and start to play with some maturity.  I don't want to see a Tiger who is striving to overpower the golf course anymore.

I like this. I would say that he needs to learn how to play golf like the ageless wonder, Tom Watson, who recently shot his age, 67, in a Senior tourney. Watson never overpowered courses, he'd outthink them, outstrategize them, and outmaneuver them by playing one beautiful stroke after another!

And why do you think that Tiger has chosen these tourneys for his return to play (I refuse to use the word "comeback", since it implies something that I think may be impossible). Light, less than stellar fields populated with a gang of guys from the Buy.com tour and other sub PGA tours. More of a chance to make the cut and play for 4 days. Heck, I never heard of the "Turkish Airlines" tourney before now!

But, it sounds like a smart strategy to me for a guy trying to work his way back onto the tour. Plus, these tourneys are spaced out enough that there's plenty of time for R&R in between.

It will be interesting to watch.

[iacas]

12 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

I like this. I would say that he needs to learn how to play golf like the ageless wonder, Tom Watson, who recently shot his age, 67, in a Senior tourney. Watson never overpowered courses, he'd outthink them, outstrategize them, and outmaneuver them by playing one beautiful stroke after another!

And why do you think that Tiger has chosen these tourneys for his return to play (I refuse to use the word "comeback", since it implies something that I think may be impossible). Light, less than stellar fields populated with a gang of guys from the Buy.com tour and other sub PGA tours. More of a chance to make the cut and play for 4 days. Heck, I never heard of the "Turkish Airlines" tourney before now!

Two quick thoughts.

I think Tiger is not given enough credit for being strategic. He's demonstrated he's plenty strategic; that doesn't mean he should hit irons off every tee (which he's done in winning majors).

Second, Tiger plays best when par is a good score. Playing against "pedal to the metal" players is actually bad for him if he's looking to place highly. He's simply playing the tournaments available to him.