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How Understanding Tiger’s Troubles Can Help Your Game

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Anyone who pays attention to golf or watches the occasional episode of SportsCenter these days is aware of the issues with Tiger Woods.  I don’t think that there has been more focus on a single athlete since Lebron was making his big choice of which team he wanted to play for in 2010.  Whether you love Tiger or hate him, there is one undeniable truth about him, he is good for the game.  When Tiger plays well people are talking about him and thinking about golf.  When he plays poorly or is injured as he is now, people are still talking about him and thinking about golf.  So for the good of golf I hope he gets back to playing at least reasonable golf so the game will grow.

With that being said, I’ve been listening to many of the voices saying this and saying that about what Tiger needs to do in order to regain top form.  There is only one problem with these voices, they are all talking and not asking.  I truly believe that there are some mechanical issues with Tiger’s full swing and his short game and they are the same issue; too much lateral motion in his lower body.

Briefly, in the full swing, lateral motion in the lower body acts as a “shallowing agent” by getting the spine angle to drop away from the target.  This motion then allows the arms and the club to drop to a shallow swing path through impact.  For most amateurs you can’t feel enough of this but many tour players need to feel the exact opposite in order to avoid getting the club too shallow and “stuck” behind them.  In the short game as in full swing, a lateral lower body will create a club that will shallow out and tend to bottom out behind the ball.  This is a problem because for all shots around the green, the club must bottom out in front of the ball which gets the ball airborne and hit solidly.  This flaw is what creates the symptoms that Tiger is currently dealing with, a club that is “stuck” behind him in the down swing and an embarrassing exhibition around the greens.

Tiger Woods may be the best ever to play the game and is an incredible athlete, but all of the teachers, coaches, and consultants in the world can’t get into his head.  Now before you think it, I don’t believe for a second that this is a mental or a trust issue for him.  I’ve never in my years of teaching and coaching seen someone develop the yips that first didn’t have a problem with their mechanics.  For this reason it is very easy from the outside to look at him and say “do this” or “try that” but I believe that he needs to be asked one very important question that no-one has said yet.  “What were you feeling and doing when you played well?”  The better question then becomes, “what is the difference between those feelings and what you are feeling and doing now?”

When Tiger is in south west Florida the next time, I would love to sit with him and do nothing but listen to what he used to feel.  I grew up as many 30 something’s did in the Tiger Woods era and can plainly see the difference between good Tiger and bad.  As a coach I would simply pull up videos of him hitting some of his greatest shots of all time and ask what did you feel when you hit these full swings, chip, and pitches.  I think then as one of the most talented athletes ever to play golf he could then start to find clarity in his own head and move in the right direction.

With all of that being said, there is always something to learn when someone succeeds and more importantly when they are failing.  I know that many of you that are reading these articles have played a great round or two in the past and are searching for more of those quality shots and better scores.  Here is the best advice I could give you to make you play better without giving you a mechanical golf lesson; write down all of your feels when you play well.  Rather than going right to the clubhouse and having a drink with your friends after a career round, take five minutes to collect your thoughts and write down exactly what you were feeling during the course of the day.  By doing this, it will give you a reference point for when you start to play poorly in the future and give you some direction on how to get that good sensation back.  In the long run, what you will find is that you will fall back into similar bad patterns and by keeping these notes it will help you to dig your way back to playing better golf.


Rest in peace to a true pioneer in the game and the bravest man I’ve ever had the pleasure to play this great game with, Charlie Sifford.  You will be missed and never forgotten.

Cover Photo Credit

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Tim Jankowski is the Director of Golf Schools at the Alico Family Golf Academy in Ft. Myers Florida. Tim has spent time learning from many of the Top 100 Golf Instructors and notably Tim was a finalist for the Golf Digest Top Teachers under 40 award. You can learn more about Tim at www.alicofamilygolf.com or email/call him directly with questions at [email protected] or (847) 644-1513

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