Did Tiger Quit From Pain Or Bad Play ?

I know of at least one other Tourney he withdrew from --
both times he was playing very poorly.
Has he ever quit while he was playing well ?
Makes me a "doubter"......sorry.
*
( and yes, I know Rory withdrew while playing poorly )

 

Poor play. He's won at TP 7 times in the past. He knows when he's doing well or not.

 

The guy won a U.S. Open on a fractured leg and bum knee. He shot his worst competitive round ever last week and posted. I think that says it all. I'm not one of those Tiger sycophants but I have the utmost respect for him as a competitor.

 

Billy Horschel, who was playing with Tiger, said he thought Tiger toughed it out longer than most would have.

 

I think a bit of both. Watching him play resembles Ali getting beat up by your little sister, which would get me to wd in a heartbeat. That being said, I think some of the pain is real. As someone that has had back problems for 20 years, I recognize certain reactions to that pain as you swing, bend or walk. How severe the pain is I don't know, but it's there. I tend to agree with Brandel Chamblee, who has been saying for over a year that he must change certain movements in his swing or these injuries will keep occurring. I hope he can overcome this as I enjoy "Tiger Golf." I don't care much for the man, but watching him play is fun.

Good Luck!
Ric at Joes

 

He needs to find a new, mature Tiger, 'cause the Tiger of the Ages is gone. It's all caught up to him. He's part of a generation of golfers who are far older physically than the calendar suggests, and him most notably; look at the number of young players having significant physical breakdowns. Hammering since a young age, the violent swing, the physically questionable swing changes, the obsession with buffness; Tiger's tank is far more empty than a Nicklaus or Snead at the same age.

 

I almost took Fowler -115 in a matchup vs. Horschel yesterday. Wish I had.

I have Keegan Bradley and Justin Thomas as top five finishers this weekend.

And, I have Koepka again this week in my golf pool. He was so good to me last weekend and he has the stats to win again. I'm hoping lightning strikes twice!

 

Probably a combo of both. Would it be worth it to play through the pain and come in way down the list or would it be better to just take the week off and come back full strength at a later date where you have a better chance of placing higher?

makes sense.

 

I think that's one of his problems. If you watch his swing he still tries to "torque" it, putting a lot of strain on his back and his reconstructed knee. He either has to tone it down or like Couples will continue to have back and knee problems as he gets older. I have no doubt that he can still win, just that this isn't the Tiger of old that was so dominant so he will either have to adjust to his body aging or may face an early retirement.

I can feel for the guy, I used to have more of a John Daly overswing but since I hit my 50's I have more of a 3/4 swing (back stiffening up). I also had ACL surgery on my knee but since it was on the back knee I don't feel the torque as much. I can feel the torque on my front knee so I can see Tiger having knee problems as he gets older since he had surgery on the front knee.

For me it was strange, I thought that if I toned down my swing to a 3/4 I would be more accurate but that doesn't seem to be the case. And it seems like I'm 30 - 40 yards shorter with my driver with the shorter swing (and less torque). I'm at least 1 to 2 clubs shorter with my irons nowadays. I gotta find a way to get my swing speed back up, I'm close to senior speed. I recently changed my irons (and shafts), I always used stiff shafts but now trying regular shaft irons and having a hard time hitting them. Guess I need to put more time on the range or else continue to be sucky with my irons.

 

actually Tiger has taken off because of injuries, he had this back thing in Sept last year and took off the rest of the year but it still is a nagging injury. Too bad, because of his "incidents" and injuries he probably missed the last 7 years, usually some of the best years of a golfers life. Doubtful he will be able to win more than a major or two at the most unless he finds a way to overcome the injury bug (swing changes, body changes, etc.).

 

Fred just has bad genetics, he didn't overwork himself into his career-long bout with significant problems. Yet with that, and though it never was conceived that Tiger would carry on on the Grumps Tour, it would be shocking to see Tiger play anywhere near as successfully as Fred from 40 or 45 on.

What do you mean "hard time hitting them"" All equal, stepping down typically leads to more hooks and high balls. But is something else going on?

I've never had more than a 3/4 swing, probably more 3/5, but I still generate 100+ with driver, so it can be done if you are so wired. But tempo typically can't be taught. (And lighter/longer clubs would add club speed but often comes at the cost of ball speed.) Who wouldn't rather take two more clubs and hit the short stuff? Now if you are shorter AND still errant, that sucks, indeed.

 

Being out for injuries is nearly as much par for Tiger's course as his years of dominance:

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/2013-08/photos-tiger-woods-injuries#slide=1

 

Yup, that's me. When I was younger I could hit my drives a ton, just not straight (I'm a slicer). Now I'm shorter but not hitting it any straighter.

Tempo is probably my biggest problem, going from overswing to 3/4 (2 or 3 years ago) I probably needed to practice and break down my swing so I can find my "sweet" spot again but I never did that, just playing close to every week but not really working on my game (more for exercise and recreation, and definitely not gambling). My handicap probably went from a 14 to more like a 20 because of my fairway play. It got so bad a month ago (lots of duffs and tops and slices and duck hooks) that I ended up playing the back nine using only a half swing, at least I could pick the ball up clean and get a little distance. Not sure what caused that problem since I'm back at my 3/4 swing with mixed results.

 

I'm impressed that you can even alter things. I have what I have and it ain't going away. lol

Thankfully I'm longer now than 10, 20, even 30 years ago.

 

Some schlub on TV said the younger guys break down due to their modern swing and keeping the lower body quieter creating more strain on the lower back.

 

wow, I'm impressed that you can hit farther now than when you were younger. How did you accomplish this (if I may ask)?

It wasn't a matter of choice for me, I noticed that I "tweaked" my back more when I took the full/overswing and so I cut my swing down to protect my back and knees. Ball didn't go as far but I felt more comfortable and less pain on the back when I went with the shorter swing. Now I just have to find a way to get more thrust with the 3/4 swing, I see old timers with the shorter swing and they still get some good swing speed so I know that I can try to get a little more distance with the shorter swing.

 

I think that "schlub" is spot on. As the swing evolved, as kids began focusing on golf exclusively at younger ages -- as more "athletes" came to the game -- that makes sense. The dreaded reverse C of old didn't really maim folks to the extent of all this X factor and posting up so severely. Fluid swings survive.

 

Ken reminded me of something I thought 10 years ago or more. They say that golfers really come into their own in the early to mid thirties. This assumes that the player probably started playing with intensity at 10, 11 or 12. Tiger started much earlier and probably at a much higher intensity. My thinking then was how his body would hold up when he hit that age. His physical makeup at 40 might equal any rookie on tour..............the Champions Tour! He's got to start thinking about a swing that will let him play four rounds a week instead of one and a half.

Good Luck!
Ric at Joes

 

Short is only part of the equation. There are plenty of short swings at the hands of people with speed and hand-eye coordination and they can move it. It still remains far more important to hit it on the screws with less speed than patter the face at 5-8 mph faster. The numbers prove that up each and every time. How did you equipment change when you say you went from stiff to regular? What were you hitting then and what are you hitting now?

As for me, it's equipment. That's a huge part of it. I was a jock then. I'm zaftig now. I have an unbelievably fuked up swing with more moving parts than Big Ben. But I've kept my native athleticism and hand-eye coordination and it remains a game of impact. That my clubs work for me and my swing does not hurt. Plus I know I'm improving as I'm trending back toward a standard configuration in my specs.

Plus it helps that I seldom have a week where I don't at least get out for nine if not 18. Short game is learned practicing. Long game is learned on the course. Hence: Though I rant about being a hack and three-jacking all over the place, that I can shoot in the 70s and high 90s, I am by far a better striker of the ball now. But golf score is not just about ball-striking.

And, honestly, I don't think about it out there. I don't think about this move or that move, trying this or trying that. I have one swing thought and even that leaves me often. But rec golfers tinkering is a recipe for a worsening game.

 

I agree. Tiger seems to think he can still do what he did when he was twenty five years old. Yes, time has caught up with him and he cannot accept it.
I watch him trying to drive the ball like he did when he was younger and he cannot even get the ball in the fairway. He is still trying to over power the course and he just cannot do that anymore.
When is he going to accept the fact that he is not the intimidating player he once way and just go out an take what the course will give him until he can get his game back?
I think Tiger's problem is more mental than physical. How does a golfer just forget what he has been doing all his life? When you have been on the top for so long, it is hard to accept that you cannot do what you used to do. Tiger is too stubborn to accept that time has caught up with him.
He can heal the physical part, but until he gets his head together, I don't expect him to be any better than he is now.