Tiger Woods: Where do we go from here?
Tiger has had a tough time last season, both personally and professionally. He has been trying desperately to get his “mojo” back, but it seems like it’s still going to take quite some time for the player to pull his act back together; IF he ever does pull
it together.
But it seems like Woods is struggling to get his game back, just like a snake trying to shed its skin. The golfing legend is desperately trying to kick his old habits and get some consistency back in his much remodelled swing. But you know what they say;
old habits die hard. Tiger Woods seems to be facing a similar dilemma with his old swing habits.
The latest blow to Woods' career and perhaps more so to his ego, came with his fluctuating performance at the Farmers Insurance Open that took place last week. Previously, the tournament was very much a part of Tiger Woods personal Kingdom and he reigned
supreme over it, year after year. For now, Woods has not confirmed his appearance in any tournament beyond the European Tour event; the Dubai Desert Classic, which will be starting next week.
Although the golfer has showed us flashes of his best game (that safely saw him sitting on the throne for many a year) in August; even being under the tutelage of coach Sean Foley has not been able to cure the sudden slip-ups under pressure during which
the player returns to his old swinging style.
However, despite much speculation about whether or not Woods will manage to ever get back on the horse and play like the pro we know he is; the player remains happily optimistic about his prospects. “They're very different swings; it’s tough. The old motor
patterns are still there, and that is the thing. I'm going to have to fight through that. But I've done it before, and there's no reason I can't do it again.”
If he is successful in this mission, and he seems very sure he will be, this will be the fourth swing change of the player’s professional career. He has previously gone through similar revamps with coaches Butch Harmon and Hank Haney. While many among us
are, quite frankly, sick and tired of Woods repeatedly calling the swing changes a complex “process” that takes time; the player himself seems to be quite happy with his relatively faster progress with Foley in charge.
Woods ended a much “disappointing”, to be mildly put, season last year with a glimmer of hope. His somewhat solid performance at the Chevron World Challenge offered us all some hope. Our expectations only went higher, when Woods returned from his off season
in a very good mood, calling the period “highly productive”.
The player even started the 2011 season on high, with seven birdies and no bogeys over the first 28 holes at Torrey Pines. But as usual it seems like a title win and Tiger Woods are playing a long drawn out game of hide and seek with each other and his form
saw another slump from that point onwards.
The player who was once revered for his short game and astounding ability to salvage a par from even the most awkward of spots off the green, Woods has no plans to play the same way in the future. He firmly believes that the only way for him to move forward
with his game and get better at it, is to make the changes Foley has been setting out for him. We, however, think that this daredevil attitude of his may cost him his career.
When asked about how he remains patient in the face of it all, Woods, who has not won a single tournament since the 2009 Australian Masters, had the following to say “It's just commitment to change and to moving forward. I got committed to what I'm doing,
and I'm not looking back. I'm moving forward. That's what I have to do, and that's what I'm doing.”
Is Tiger all set to make his big come back or have the days of the Tiger finally come to an end? Time holds the answer to this question.
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