The Tiger Woods Thread

Letree

Domo1982 wrote: »

I heard he had 26pts in the open singles up in Tulfarris

They gave him an 18 handicap too..

valoren

If he does eventually comeback and is able to post some competitive scores then it will be a big achievement. It will be a testament to his famous mental strength because people will scrutinise his every move. It takes a special confidence in your ability to perform under that level of attention. I love the concept of flow. Being in the zone. Reading material about Woods and he comes across as a neurotic in terms of his game, tinkering, trying to get better and better. His litany of swing coaches is proof.

In the psychology of flow, where the challenge level is high and the skill level is low then it induces Anxiety.
Tiger is used to playing with a high skill level under the high challenge level of tournament golf.
If he is privately suggesting that his game is not up to standard then this may offer some explanation.

http://mountaineernewsservice.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/flow-chart.jpg

Alternatively, he may be satisfied with his game to compete in lower profile PGA tour stops but as they are not the proverbial bright lights of a Major (and he feels that his game will never be there again) then he might just be simply bored and apathetic about Golf in general.

HighLine

So the tweets below would rule out any thoughts of injury. Tiger conducting a clinic today. Wonder did he do a short game clinic? :P

https://twitter.com/stevelutton/status/785939737508929536

https://twitter.com/stevelutton/status/785938674600939521

HighLine

And as for the strange decision from Tiger in also deciding not to play in Turkey, his agent addresses it below...

“He played a lot of holes of golf, and the game just wasn’t there,” Steinberg told Rosaforte. “[He] didn’t quite get all the holes in prior to the Friday decision, but he really wanted to play this weekend. You have to commit the Friday before. He flew Joey [Woods’ caddie, Joe LaCava] down to Florida. He flew him out to California with him. They were going through their prep for a tournament. Going through the weekend, playing as much golf as he did, it just wasn’t to the standard he wants it to be.”

As jarring as the announcement was, Sternberg said Woods’ withdrawal was less confounding than it would be if he wasn’t physically ready to play. Instead the agent suggested Woods just needed more time.

“If he were to call me and said, ‘Hey Mark, my back just can’t withstand this. I’ve got to pull out.’ That would be much more concerning than, ‘OK, Mark, my game’s not there yet.’ ”

While Woods’ game isn’t there yet, Steinberg insists his client’s motivation is -- in particular after spending a week as a Ryder Cup vice captain.

“Hanging with those guys at the Ryder Cup and living it every second of the day -- he loves that more than people would know,” Steinberg said. “That’s what drives him. It’s not the commercials, and it’s not the appearance fees. If it were, then he’d not play this week and go and have his first tournament in Turkey [The Turkish Airlines Open].”

Instead, Woods won’t play in that either. And the main reason why is not what you’d think.

“That would be an inappropriate thing to do,” Steinberg said of Woods returning at the European Tour event. “It’s my opinion, and Tiger and I talked about it and we agreed. He’s been out for 15 months. It’s not appropriate to come back to a non-PGA Tour sanctioned event.”

http://www.golfdigest.com/story/why-the-heck-isnt-tiger-woods-playing-this-week-his-agent-explains

Russman

So in a nutshell, his back is fine, he's just playing sh1te, and doesn't fancy playing a tournament until he improves.

ligerdub

Seems like it alright. I heard his chipping is still terrible.

luvthegame

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyIZIU2szsA

Lads, with all this talk about Tiger 2016 its easy to forget Tiger 1997.
Just look at the Masters footage. Hitting a steel shafted Titleist 975D so far he has 9 irons into the par 5's. His unbelievable short game, putting and course management.

HighLine

ESPN's Michael Collins on Tiger's WD

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=17779890

ForeRight

Sooooo tiger reckons he has 5 more majors in him

Armchair Andy

That sounds sore.

Senna

Are we counting Senior Majors, or maybe club majors??
I could see him winning captains day at my club easy enough.

CalamariFritti

Would be pretty cool though if he did.

Ninap

Anyone see the Charlie Rose interview? Tiger's self belief is indestructible. He absolutely believes he's going to win more Majors. The thrust of his talk was that he is over all his injuries, and it's now just a question of practice. He described the 'progression' required: playing on his own, playing with 'the guys', playing in tournaments, competing to win tournaments, competing to win Majors. He also says he can carry it 300 yards, which is farther than he could 20 years ago, but is, he conceded, not as far as the longest hitters now (who carry it 320). He blamed all the swing tweaks over the past 10 years as just compensating for injuries.
He also seems in a pretty good place mentally. He says Elin is now his 'best friend' and it sounds like he has a great relationship with his kids. But even a perfectly healthy Tiger would find it incredibly difficult to compete against Rory, Spieth and Johnson. When was the last time he was able to drive straight consistently? But will be great to see what he's like when he comes back.

spoke2cun

Might be the greatest comeback since Lance Armstrong..

ligerdub

I suspect much of that is Tiger wishing that to be true rather than it being true. I highly doubt Elin is his best friend, but keeping up appearances is important.

I hope his game is better though, would be nice to see him in the field again.

CalamariFritti

I was listening to the Rose interview yesterday and while I'm a big Tiger fan I must say the narrative was overly positive. Like not a shred of doubt in his mind that he can come back. He's in a rosy place. Even the long lay off is great as for the first time ever he gave himself enough time to sort out all the little and big ailments and he is as healthy as he has been in a long time. He does however acknowledge 'the field' is better in relation to him than it was 15 years ago.
As for the mental side of it he talks about about the stages of golfing excellence. Hitting it great on the range which doesn't mean you're hitting it great on the course. Hitting it great on the course which doesn't mean you're going to hit it great in a competitive round. Hitting it great in a competitive round which doesn't mean you're going to do it over four days. And so on all the way to playing great on the back nine on Sunday in a major. He alluded to him being somewhere in the middle of that as in he can shoot a 64 in a buddy environment but doesn't yet trust himself to do it in a tournament. We'll see, I for one would love to see him shooting a 64 on a Sunday in early April.

The Rape of Lucretia

ForeRight wrote: »

Sooooo tiger reckons he has 5 more majors in him

I would agree 5 is within his compass. Could see two or three of them coming at Masters. More, I would have my doubts. Even if he didnt break Jack's record, even just equalling 18 would be somehow fitting.
I could see him favourite for next years Masters, but probably only that one next year. 2018 could be the year when we see Tiger really back in gear and pick up a pair. I dont see the slam or even the Tiger slam of a streak of 4 as really possible at this stage. At least, the chances are slim. There, but slim. Really looking forward to the battles he will have with Rors, DJ,Day, Bubs, etc. Can see Tiger putting them all in their boxes, although will only be for 3-4 years. Still, will be a sight to see. Really looking forward to the comeback now.

HighLine

Looks like Tiger will be heading down the same route as Rory with the switch to Taylormade woods.

https://twitter.com/TwSpot/status/799125250541752320

HighLine

As an aside.. hopefully they were warm-up swings. 3/4 and gingerly.

The Rape of Lucretia

HighLine wrote: »

As an aside.. hopefully they were warm-up swings. 3/4 and gingerly.

3/4 swings. 4/4 distance. He is still a phenomenon.

CalamariFritti

Yup, Taylor Made woods, sticks with Nike irons for the moment and it's going to be a Bridgestone ball. And no sign of a late pull out.
Just hope he plays to decent standard. He doesn't deserve the sh1t he gets if not.

HighLine

Tiger swing from the range today. Still looks very slow but maybe that's a good thing!

https://twitter.com/MoynihanCharles/status/803272888983830528

Henry Ford III

I can't see him winning anything much of substance from here on tbh.

Too old, too many injuries, and the game has moved on.

If he lashes at it in an effort to keep up with the bombers he'll get crooked, and from there it'll get ugly.

Dolph Starbeam

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I can't see him winning anything much of substance from here on tbh.

Too old, too many injuries, and the game has moved on.

If he lashes at it in an effort to keep up with the bombers he'll get crooked, and from there it'll get ugly.

I definitely wouldn't rule him out. I imagine he will have a small schedule and as usual pick the events where he has a good history so this will help him. 2013 is not that long ago.

luvthegame

He is still as good as anyone with his irons.

If his driving is average and he doesn't have the chipping yips he wont be far off, especially at Augusta.

ligerdub

We could watch him hit driver all day and not learn a thing about his ability to compete. His downfall in recent times has predominantly been his short game, and we'll only see how that looks come Thursday.

Personally I think he'll have needed to have put a hell of a lot of work for him to be competitive. Given how long he has been away from the game I wouldn't be so confident he could pull out a few wins in the next year or so, the standard is ridiculously high these days. That being said I make a rule to never discount the greats so long as they are physically able to do it.

CalamariFritti

Just looking at those videos... I fear it's not, but if this is his new swing speed, he's going to be good.

The Rape of Lucretia

Ohhhhhh, Yehhhhhhhhh!
Sporting event of the year coming up, no doubt about it.
So excited. Feels like Christmas eve.
The road back to reeling in the majors starts this week.
Its all just a ramp up to the Masters, but just seeing him tee it up at all will be worth all the waiting.
Proper Professional golf is about to restart folks............

ronnie3585

Yeah buddy!! Can't wait to see Tiger back in action!

https://twitter.com/JustinRose99/status/803297785353211906

Armchair Andy

And it starts already. Wonder how long will they follow the car home in the 'copter this time.