Yeah, but the problem is (to the extent it is a problem) that he is so damned good that he can win even when he is playing like shit. How many times have you seen him drive it entirely into jail, only to knock stiff some crazy unimaginable shot? Or he’ll even drive OB, head back to the tee, and still save par.
Hell, I expect him to make the miraculous recovery shot. He has got to be the best player ever as saving pars. So much of the time par for him almost seems like a let down. And his entire game is so damn good, that he can recover from sand, around the greens, putting… All the time the announcers are cooing over him as tho they’d love to give hime a BJ.
Here’s something kinda irrational, and that I expect to get some grief for, but I’ll say it anyway. I really respect his competitiveness and never-say-die attitude. But it also kinda makes me think of him as somewhat of a prick, the way he shows so little personality other than competitiveness and occasional anger on the course. And I’m not a fan of the way he and Steve whine when someone takes his picture during his swing. Never did understand why these guys need complete silence. I’m not saying he shouldn’t get mad, just saying ISTM that he gets madder than most of the others. I know he has bigger crowds than everyone else as well…
I acknowledge I’m likely stretching to find something to criticize about him. Actually, I often think my real complaint is with the other guys - Mick, Vijay, Reteif, Ernie, Sergio … who have consistently failed to step up to the plate.
But I make a point of not buying Nike products, and don’t intend to buy his Gatorade whenever possible.
I don’t disagree, but on their best days, a Bob May can give a Tiger Woods a run for his money on a big stage.
I get your problem with Tiger regarding pictures and cameras. I often wonder about that myself, but Tiger also has things on his plate that the others don’t deal with (death threats, giant crowds, more people taking pictures, etc.)
What amazes me about Tiger is his more mundane stats and actions. Greens in regulation vs. fairways hit – amazingly he’s tops in GIR and near or below the average fairways hit.
He has 3 putted exactly ONCE this year.
His sand play, in my opinion, is second to none.
Most players are content to find the green when laying 210-150 yards. Tiger feels he’s FAILED if he doesn’t put the ball within 5 feet of the cup on his approach.
I was hoping for a match this weekend. Instead I got a televised match play round with him being “spotted” 4 holes. I watched every shot and what entertained me was each shot. I didn’t miss the suspense of who’d win. Luckily, I can enjoy watching a round of golf several different ways.
There was a stretch where he went something like a year or more without missing from within 3 feet or something crazy like that.
I’ve actually been enjoying watching the women a bit more lately. Not just for the obvious reasons! But also because their swings and games are a little more similar to those of us mere mortals. I watch the men, and there’s nothing I can take from their games to mine.
Anyone see Paula Creamer win that tourney last Sat? Birdied something like 4 of the last 5 holes to come from (I think) 2 down to win on the 18th. With a friggin pink ball, no less! :eek:
There’s another reason why I enjoy watching the men, and in particular Tiger. They do things I can never hope to do and that astounds me. A three-foot fade? Controlling the amount of draw on a ball? Getting draw from the sand? Achieving a consistant and reliable distance from every club?
Hell, if I wanted to do the things they do I’d first need to find a way to consistently tee my ball at the same height every time!
I stopped going to pro tournaments some time ago, mainly because I found it depressing how damned incredible the worst players out there were. Heck, you can watch a full day of golf and the worst shot you see is likely to be better than the best shot you ever hit. And I’m talking as a 10-15 handicapper.
I remember the last time we were at the Western, and we saw one guy who was way right in some trees. Of course, he pulled off some miraculous blind sweeping banana onto the green. My wife said something like, “I bet you couldn’t do that!” I responded, “Actually, hitting curving shots out of the trees is something I have a lot more experience with than hitting greens from the fairway!”
Which one - the 360 yd drive, or the 200 yd 8-iron, or the wedge out of thick grass from the short side of the green that somehow manages to stop on a downhill?
I’m a pretty big hitter. Not crazy long, but pretty long. It amazes me when I catch on on the screws, maybe even with a touch of tailwind and downslope, and pace it off to no more than 300 yds. An average 3-wood for these guys.
I’ve admired Woods since his days at Stanford, but to be honest, if there was a “Non-Baseball Juice Pool” (ala the “Death Pool”) he’d be my #1 name. I’d have no idea how such things could help a golf swing, but I can’t help but notice the coincidence of Tiger’s dominance and the steroid era. Perhaps it is just coincidence. Perhaps.
At the late lamented International quite a while back, I saw Tom Kite and Peter Jacobsen (two very good but journeyman players) hit shots that almost made me give up the game they made me feel so inadequate.
Kite hit a shot out of a greenside bunker onto a two-tiered green where the pin was right at the bottom of the tier. The ball, I swear, came to a complete stop at the top of the tier, sat still for a few seconds, then trickled down the hill to within inches of the cup. I could stand in that bunker all day and throw the ball and not be able to duplicate that shot.
Jacobsen pulled his second on a par 5 into some trees. The ball was sitting on bark mulch on a steep downhill lie about 20 yards from the green and 20 feet above the pin. He hit a hooded 7 iron to keep it under the branches, landed it in heavy rough to take the speed off of it, one hopped it onto the green and watched it trickle downhill to about eight feet. From the look on his face, I don’t think he was even too pleased with the shot.
Naw, unless roids can make you a better putter or ball striker around the greens. The PGA Tour is full of 150-160 pound guys who can crush the ball. Tiger hasn’t been among the leaders in driving distance for a while now. Of course, he’s hitting a lot of two irons off the tees these days.
Seems a bit cynical to me. He was hitting the ball even longer than he does now when he was a gangly 20-year-old, and there is nothing inhuman about his physique (unlike, say, most NFL and NBA players). Right now I think it’s only fair to assume that he’s simply that good. After all, Jack Nicklaus dominated as a doughy crewcutted lad. He presumably wasn’t juicing either.
I don’t know about you, but I end up hitting those shots every time I play out of necessity. In fact, the miracle recovery shot is my only “wheelhouse” shot. Nice straight drive? Eh…only sometimes. But if you need a low hooking half 4 iron that will trundle onto the green from 150-yards out, I’m your man
But also because their swings and games are a little more similar to those of us mere mortals. I watch the men, and there’s nothing I can take from their games to mine.