Grades for Tiger's Performance (Hero 2017)

[Patch]

  On 12/5/2017 at 2:53 PM, MSchott said:

Why shouldn't The Golf Channel (and NBC) fawn all over this. From my point of view I wouldn't have paid much attention to this tournament if Woods wasn't competing. And from the coverage on ESPN and even the cable news networks his presence was huge for the game of golf. There's widespread interest in having the greatest player of the last 20 years once again be competitive. 

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I tend to agree with you. I don't watch TV golf at all. My reasoning is that it's  boring, and my own little quirk that golf should be played and not watched. That, and my game and the pros games are light years apart. Not much in common. 

However, after Woody's first round play, I developed an interest in the guy. I still didn't watch the over all event, but I did take the time to watch the highs/lows of only his play each day on YouTube. 18 holes of play in roughly <12 minutes each day. No wasted time, just golf swings and ball flights. 

He is good for golf, in as much that he will bring more folks into the game.  More folks playing, means decent green fees. I hope he stays healthy enough to play 10-12 tournaments a year. 

[Marty2019]

  On 12/5/2017 at 2:53 PM, MSchott said:

Why shouldn't The Golf Channel (and NBC) fawn all over this. From my point of view I wouldn't have paid much attention to this tournament if Woods wasn't competing. And from the coverage on ESPN and even the cable news networks his presence was huge for the game of golf. There's widespread interest in having the greatest player of the last 20 years once again be competitive. 

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I totally agree.  The fawning is deserved.  Here's maybe the greatest player of all time, and we thought he was done at the age of 41.  And yet, here he is again- looking like the old Tiger Woods.  If he comes back to being close to his old self, it will be the biggest news of the year in golf. 

79 PGA Tour victories, 14 major championships, career tragically cut short at the age of 41, but oh, wait, not so fast, he's BACK. 

Imagine if we get to the last round of the 2018 Masters, and the leaderboard is Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, and good God, there's TIGER WOODS.  It'd be the highest rated golf tournament in history. 

Edited December 5, 2017 by Marty2019

[JonMA1]

  On 12/5/2017 at 2:53 PM, MSchott said:

There's widespread interest in having the greatest player of the last 20 years once again be competitive. 

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Exactly. Given one last chance, wouldn't we all watch Nicklaus, Hogan, Palmer.... play a tournament when they were still able to compete against the best players in the world?

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I'd give Tiger an "A-".

[downbylaw11]

it was an A+ 

he didn't win and his chipping seemed like garbage. but I thought his putting was better than when I saw him last, and his full swing looked great.  The fact that he played all 4 rounds seemingly pain free with 3 of them being under par is pretty unexpected.  after the 3rd round I honestly expected him to have a bit of a crappy sunday as fatigue set in combined with no longer being in the hunt, but he came out and ripped up the course early before falling off a bit. I was really impressed with his mettle.  winning the tournament, or generally looking really impressive in all areas of his game would have been a lot to ask for, so I still consider what he did to be incredibly impressive, compared to where most projected him to be.  I got my masters bet in while he was still 40/1 so A++++

fun fact, a 5 dollar bet on tiger winning the hero and the 2018 masters would have won 4000$ lol

[MuniGrit]

B+. I thought he played better than what I expected and what many expected. I'll be interested to see how he holds up for the long term when he has to hit out of rough and see if he has the yips or not. He didn't have the old man look like he had last year which was a great sign.

[rdubya59]

A-.  Haven't seen him drive it that straight since he was working with Butch Harmon. 

Most say the short  game is the hardest thing to get back in line.  If he gets that fixed, I think he's in business.  His swing looked great to me.   Nice to see him be able to rip that 2 iron and ball speed was truly impressive.

Like him or hate, more people watch when he's in contention.   

Say what you want, If he gets his A game back, he'll be the best in the world. 

[James Nicholas]

Exceptional!! He played like a returning champion whose game can only improve. Of course! he closed out in the top 10 against former and present world champions. That's very creditable 

[Groucho Valentine]

It was just really weird seeing his body lines and swing seemingly go left and then the ball darting off right on some of his full swings.  It seemed like he drew the ball from that, too. I dont know if thats by design or if its some kind of compensation. 

[iacas]

  On 12/12/2017 at 5:39 PM, Groucho Valentine said:

It was just really weird seeing his body lines and swing seemingly go left and then the ball darting off right on some of his full swings.  It seemed like he drew the ball from that, too. I dont know if thats by design or if its some kind of compensation. 

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Some players cut the ball from a closed stance. Some draw it from an open stance.

"Square" alignment is a bit of a myth in that few pros are truly square (parallel).

[MSchott]

  On 12/9/2017 at 4:27 AM, rdubya59 said:

A-.  Haven't seen him drive it that straight since he was working with Butch Harmon. 

Most say the short  game is the hardest thing to get back in line.  If he gets that fixed, I think he's in business.  His swing looked great to me.   Nice to see him be able to rip that 2 iron and ball speed was truly impressive.

Like him or hate, more people watch when he's in contention.   

Say what you want, If he gets his A game back, he'll be the best in the world. 

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I agree with this. If he can play close to how he played even in 2013, no matter how good the rest of the field has become, he will still be the best in the world. That's a big if but when Woods was a the top of his game, he was on a different level than the rest of the field. Not to mention the intimidation factor.

[Ty_Webb]

  On 12/14/2017 at 2:07 AM, MSchott said:

Not to mention the intimidation factor.

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This is what I want to see. I'm not sure that I really buy there was ever an intimidation factor. I think a lot of that was just that he was better than everyone else. It's hard to beat someone who's better than you. Especially when they are so consistently better than you. I think that was what really drove it. Be interesting to see. Either way, I really hope that we get to see the Tiger of old all guns blazing ripping through a top notch field and leaving them dazzled in his wake. It will be worth it if only for the teeth gnashing it would inevitably cause among a certain subset.

[Veteran Golf Fan]

Considering he hadn't played competitively in 301 days, he did fantastic.  Sure there was a bit of rust, but that will come around.  He played 4 rounds pain free and was really letting it go off the tee.  Many said he wouldn't have enough length to keep up with the kids, but he proved them all wrong.  Whistled a 2 iron 260 against the wind on the par 5 proved he has plenty of length.  It should be a joy watching him play this year assuming the back holds up.

[The Hook Meister]

I would rate Tigers return a solid B. He finished in the top 10. Considering how long it has been since he played in a full tourament not to shabby

[Veteran Golf Fan]

  On 12/3/2017 at 8:30 PM, 70sSanO said:

I'd give him an A.  Making the cut.  Completing 72 holes healthy.  Finishing in top 10.

Considering many thought he might never play again, it is remarkable.  Had Fowler not played a career round today, Tiger could have been less than a half-a-dozen strokes off the lead.

John

 

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Fowler had a pretty good day, right?  7 straight birdies to start.  Poor Charlie had a big lead and by the time he looked up, he was behind.

[inthehole]

I give him an A - far exceeded my expectations.    I just wish he'd quit trying to out drive the field and try to develop an 85% swing that would be easier on his back and longevity.   I'd love to see him really develop his game into a sharpshooter with the wedges and get that short game back where it used to be.  He doesn't HAVE TO BE the longest in the field anymore.    I like the analogy of great fast baller baseball pitchers - most of them give up the heat when they get older and develop into effective offspeed pitchers - there comes a point where they know their limits and adjust.  Apparently Tiger thinks he can still swing as hard as he did when he was 25 after 3 (or is it 4) back surgeries.  I just think his whole mindset (unwillingness to change/modify his game to conserve his back)  is a setup for failure...

Edited December 17, 2017 by inthehole

[iacas]

I don’t think he was going all out.

Its like people forget… he was a long hitter.

[1fish1]

My bet is Tiger wins 3 Times in 2018. 

[MacDutch]

  On 12/19/2017 at 10:05 PM, 1fish1 said:

My bet is Tiger wins 3 Times in 2018. 

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Nice, but what has that to do with this thread?