The Tiger Woods Thread

SaveOurLyric

Looking good for the Open now. Hard to see anyone challenging him in truth. Could even get him back in the running for a string of majors.

LinksLad

SaveOurLyric wrote: »

Looking good for the Open now. Hard to see anyone challenging him in truth. Could even get him back in the running for a string of majors.

One round a receptive course, four shots behind the leader. Where to begin....

I hope he's improved from the way below average player he's become, but honestly, really, are you talking about "a string of majors"???

Get a grip! (then re-grip)

Keegan Bradley dancing classes also available, apply within...

Polo Pete

Boskowski wrote: »

I had a feeling he was going to be better this week. Apparently didn't hit a ball since chambers bay but went on holidays with his kids instead. If that doesn't relax you I don't know what will.

Eh do you have kids?

Rikand

I'd imagine boskowski does have kids and that's exactly the joke

Boskowski

No kids, no. Really thought it sounded nice. But on second thoughts I get what others are on about.
It's just you never imagine the rich and famous having to deal with tired and nervy kids themselves. You couldn't see Tiger in a 7 seater, everybody on edge after a 4 hour drive, kids screaming at the back for McDonald's or a DVD or something while he sorts out the toll money slowly losing the will to live. You'd imagine that only happens to the likes of us.

Rikand

So conflicted

He just can't help himself

Russman

That looks like an even dodgier drop than the one in Sawgrass a couple of years ago !!

Rikand

Oh tiger.

That 4th shot on 17
That tee shot on 18

Rikand

Come on tiger!

Rikand

Sky giving tigers drop on 17 the once over

HighLine

Russman wrote: »

That looks like an even dodgier drop than the one in Sawgrass a couple of years ago !!

Yep.. for sure looked iffy when I saw it. Maybe he played a big cut... but even still, it wouldn't be at that point of entry.

ForeRight

HighLine wrote: »

Yep.. for sure looked iffy when I saw it. Maybe he played a big cut... but even still, it wouldn't be at that point of entry.

When you see his drive from behind it starts off straight down the middle so obviously tailed in at the end of its flight.
I don't really see the issue at all

slave1

I think....he's standing close to the ball with his iron shots, some of his iron shots were as good as ever, he's lost weight and looks in great shape, it's a great relief watched good Tiger

Boskowski

Watched yesterdays round. First time in a while I could bear to watch the whole way and I must say - he said it himself a few times - he IS not that far off. His irons are as good as ever and he putted really well. (Wouldn't read too much into the one bad chip on what was it, 17?) Also his tee shots when played at - say 80% - are perfect. The trouble starts when he tries to open up and let fly off the tee.
You could actually see what the's trying to do. He gets himself into a state of confidence with good play and good tee shots and then he goes 'this is nice, I think I'll chance a ripper now' and 'fore right' it is. He could actually contend without the rippers, but seems he's not happy with that. I guess he's Tiger Woods after all.

Somebody made a sarcastic comment earlier on this thread (which I quite liked, cos its all so ridiculously extreme with the comments on him) back to dominance, string of majors, Open guaranteed. Well obviously not that, but I'd say he will be in the mix and I'm looking forward to it.

As for this week. It feels he is more about getting back to what he thinks is his game rather than winning a tournament. Hence the tee shot experiments. But I reckon he will be on the first page on Sunday night which is not bad for a fella trying to find his game.

Edit: Can we have a Tiger Woods thread please? Like we have one for Padraic and Lowry? We could turn even this one into it if the OP and the mods agree?

fullstop

ForeRight wrote: »

When you see his drive from behind it starts off straight down the middle so obviously tailed in at the end of its flight.
I don't really see the issue at all

You don't see the issue?! The ball landed about 10 yards into the water and he wanders up and drops it beside where it splashed. There is no way in hell it crossed the hazard there, even if he did play a massive cut. Looking at the ball flights on protracer wil tell you that. But he'll get away with it as he always does.

SaveOurLyric

He has manoeuvred himself nicely into contention just four shots off the lead with 36 to play, and will have all those ahead of him looking over their shoulders nervously. He is plotting his way nicely around this track - hitting it superbly when not trying to hit it all out, which just shows how much he has in reserve. Yet he is just exploring where that power limit is this week, as part of his structured strategy to peak at St Andrews. He may well pick up the winners cheque tomorrow, but really, its only a staging post to the bigger prize.

zuutroy

Very solid round today so far. If the putter wasn't ice cold he could have been among the clubhouse leaders.

Rikand

zuutroy wrote: »

Very solid round today so far. If the putter wasn't ice cold he could have been among the clubhouse leaders.

If he wasn't so keen to flash it with the driver at 600 mph he'd be there anyway

zuutroy

Yea I guess driver cost him 6 shots over the 4 rounds. Still...only missed one fairway today and that wasn't by much.

downthemiddle

Boskowski wrote: »

I had a feeling he was going to be better this week. Apparently didn't hit a ball since chambers bay but went on holidays with his kids instead. If that doesn't relax you I don't know what will.

Obviously this is not the holiday where he gets to explain to the kids why Mom smashed the back window of the car with a 7 iron.

TheNap

I dont get Tiger . Why does he try smash to driver when it keeps costing him shots.

Surely there is more pride in competing for tournaments than driving the ball 350 yards

FixdePitchmark

TheNap wrote: »

I dont get Tiger . Why does he try smash to driver when it keeps costing him shots.

Surely there is more pride in competing for tournaments than driving the ball 350 yards

Because that is his swing.

What looks like a smash to us is just a swing.

Not very easy to change tempo in golf.

Anyway he won everything there is with what looks like a smash. He can also smash irons over 240 yards with draw from rough to 8 feet for eagle putts .

Everyone has weak parts of their game . But score is all that counts.

I'd attribute much of his injuries to swing speed. But it won him hat loads too.

Changing swing speed is not easy at all.

Rikand

TheNap wrote: »

I dont get Tiger . Why does he try smash to driver when it keeps costing him shots.

Surely there is more pride in competing for tournaments than driving the ball 350 yards

You wouldnt have told Seve to not slash it with a driver. Even if you did, he wouldnt have listened..... that's just his way....

davo10

TheNap wrote: »

I dont get Tiger . Why does he try smash to driver when it keeps costing him shots.

It's the rage against time, it happens to us all. We all believe we will continue to hit the ball like a 25 year old even when we are 50. We swing harder and buy the latest technology in drivers to prove to ourselves we can still hit it as far as we used to. It's in his nature to try harder to show he can still do it, asking him to stop is like asking Messi to run a bit slower so that he can control the ball better.

First Up

davo10 wrote: »

It's the rage against time, it happens to us all. We all believe we will continue to hit the ball like a 25 year old even when we are 50. We swing harder and buy the latest technology in drivers to prove to ourselves we can still hit it as far as we used to. It's in his nature to try harder to show he can still do it, asking him to stop is like asking Messi to run a bit slower so that he can control the ball better.

Not quite. Some players can leave their ego in the locker room, or at least in the bag. Tiger is a bit of a mess on that front.

davo10

First Up wrote: »

Not quite. Some players can leave their ego in the locker room, or at least in the bag. Tiger is a bit of a mess on that front.

I disagree in this case, for 15 years he had been the best golfer on the planet and some would say, the best who ever hit the small ball. It's not easy to leave that behind in the locker room or the bag, that's why many of the best sports stars like to retire at the top before their powers fade and they become mere mortals. I don't like him personally but as I said, asking him to slow down and not try to hit the ball as far is to ask him to change his whole persona, he won't do it because if he did, in his mind it would be to admit that he just isn't able to cut it with the big boys anymore, that's a difficult thing to admit for a sporting great.

First Up

davo10 wrote: »

I disagree in this case, for 15 years he had been the best golfer on the planet and some would say, the best who ever hit the small ball. It's not easy to leave that behind in the locker room or the bag, that's why many of the best sports stars like to retire at the top before their powers fade and they become mere mortals. I don't like him personally but as I said, asking him to slow down and not try to hit the ball as far is to ask him to change his whole persona, he won't do it because if he did, in his mind it would be to admit that he just isn't able to cut it with the big boys anymore, that's a difficult thing to admit for a sporting great.

It goes beyond his golf. His ultra competitive psyche was nurtured by his military father almost from infancy and it manifests itself in all sorts of ways - Navy Seal training, his weight-lifting competitions with Steve Williams, his 10 hours a day workouts and many more - see Hank Haney's book for an inside look.

That may be his personality - even the essence of him - but on the golf course, it just isn't how to battle the inevitable decline that comes with ageing. He was 32 when he won his last Major; that is the AVERAGE age of Major winners. Tom Watson won his last aged 33, Arnold Palmer 34 - even Seve was only 31. If Tiger was going to win many or even any more, he should have done it by now.

Nicklaus was something of an oddity winning the Master at the age of 46 and he didn't do it by trying to bomb it as far as the young tyros. Nicklaus said that nobody played golf as well as Tiger did as a young man. But nobody played it better than Jack as an older man. Tiger is 40 in December; he better start getting used to it.

davo10

First Up wrote: »

It goes beyond his golf. His ultra competitive psyche was nurtured by his military father almost from infancy and it manifests itself in all sorts of ways - Navy Seal training, his weight-lifting competitions with Steve Williams, his 10 hours a day workouts and many more - see Hank Haney's book for an inside look.

Brandel chamblee said the same thing, Gary Player responded by saying he was talking complete s**t. Player was the first golfer to advocate fitness, strength and conditioning as an essential part of a golfers training and practice. Fifty years ago people were saying the same thing as you are about Player.

First Up

davo10 wrote: »

Brandel chamblee said the same thing, Gary Player responded by saying he was talking complete s**t. Player was the first golfer to advocate fitness, strength and conditioning as an essential part of a golfers training and practice. Fifty years ago people were saying the same thing as you are about Player.

Absolutely not. Nobody in golf for the last thirty years has any doubt about the importance of strength, stamina and conditioning. Tiger's obsessions go way beyond that and a substantial part of his spate of injuries is due to him going way beyond what makes sense. S

Sports science has a pretty good handle on what works and what is counter productive and downright stupid and some of his reported adventures are most definitely in the latter category.

HighLine

Photo confirms what a highly respected publication the Daily Mail is

https://twitter.com/ESPNGolf/status/620220081042165761