Learn From Tiger

January 28, 2008

Tiger warms up for the first round of the 2008 Buick Invitational.

Tiger Woods won the Buick Invitational today by 8 shots. Not bad, but considering his claim that winning all four majors is “within reason” this year, just a small step up the mountain. Not that it is not “within reason” for Tiger to win all four majors - he did win three once, after all.

Tiger has more in common with his ghost of 2000 past than he has in a while. Namely, I am talking about his swing, and not in a good way. Tiger had one of the best ball-striking years of his life in 2000, and ever since, he has been on a quest to improve his swing (I know…why??). For the first time in a while, it looks like Tiger is finally comfortable enough to forget about his swing, atleast until he sees it on videotape and sees what the rest of the world can see.

If you look at the image above, you’ll notice how bent over his spine is during his downswing. His back did not start out at this angle. Watching him in real time at the Buick, it was very noticeable that he was back to his dip-and-lift move that characterized his swing in 2000. It is also a characteristic of a lot of blocked tee shots.

Amazingly, when Tiger’s swing seems at its worst, he plays at his best. Yet, I don’t think it’s so amazing at all. Tiger is an incredible athlete, who is blessed with eye-hand coordination most of us could not dream of. When he’s confident in his abilities, his natural tendencies take over his swing. His natural ability seems to follow suit. Most importantly, his putter seems to take a life of its own, when finally given the chance.

If you want to be like Tiger, let your abilities do their thing. Your timing and eye-hand coordination are infinitely more important than swing plane or any other technicalities in your swing.

And by the way - I think Tiger has a real shot at having the best year of his life (so long as he doesn’t catch a glimpse of himself on camera).

Written by John at 1:42 am. Miscellaneous