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Is Tiger Really back?? Your vote please.

Bravo

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2004
5,822
15
Our morning sportspage had a column about a conversation with Hank Johnson a local teaching pro. Johnson is on the Golf Digest Instructional staff and was named 2004 Instructor of the Year by the PGA of America. He has a putting lesson in the current GD and is head pro at Greystone where they have a Champions Tour event each May...

So the guy says that Tiger is clearly Not back yet. He indicated that the chip on 16 was what won the tournament for him and also noted the bad tee shots on 17 and 18 afterward. He said he is not as good a player as he was when he held all four majors simultaneously and noted the tee game as a primary example.

I thought it was a good article.

So it begs the question for Shottalkers...

Is Woods as good as before??
 

Loop

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2004
1,418
3
lol...
He did make bad tee shots on the fourth, but just look at how he played the second and third round.... Saturday evening, he made a 375 yards drive on the fairway on a 575 yards par 5.... I was completely dumbfounded :?
Tiger also a tendency to overpower the shots, when maybe he'll just only need to let it go and the ball will go super long and straight.
And he's almost to the point of having his swing ingrained.
Also, I think there's a mental aspect to it.

What amuses me are crictics that judge players by looking on how they play the last round, but one needs to take into account how they played previous rounds too.
Chris played very very well the last round, except the last nine of the third round.
 

DaveE

The golfer fka ST Champ
Aug 31, 2004
3,986
3
I think he's back in the sense of not being in a slump. One stroke or not, he just won the Masters and is #1 in the world again.

He will probably never be as dominant as he once was. That said, in couple of articles I've read he's still doesn't completely trust his new swing. Who knows what he will do if he ever gets totally confident with it.
 

mediaguru

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2005
513
0
Until he drives the ball straight he is not back.

Also, watch his head during his full swing. He DIPS major. That looks strange. There's too much going on in his swing right now.
 

Rockford35

Shark skin shoes
Staff member
Admin
Aug 30, 2004
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Luck sack.

If he was back, he would have won by 10. He squeaked one out at Augusta.

If Dimarco would have had some luck, he would have a new jacket as I type this. The ball rolling off the green on the par 3, the in and out on 18, Tiger not having an entire horse in his anus.....

The next month will definitely answer the question tho.

R35
 

DaveE

The golfer fka ST Champ
Aug 31, 2004
3,986
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8 events played, 3 wins = Luck Sack. ;)

I wanna be a Luck Sack.
 

Rockford35

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Aug 30, 2004
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I think his record isn't indicative of his play. The question was "Is Tiger back?"

I don't think he's back to where he was a few years ago, #1 by a long shot, in contention every weekend.

Mercedes Championships T3
Buick Invitational -winner
Nissan Open T13
WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship T17
Ford Championship at Doral -winner
Bay Hill Invitational Presented by MasterCard T23
THE PLAYERS Championship T53
Masters Tournament -winner


He hasn't put together two tournaments in a row since the first week of the season. 53rd at the Players?

Tiger isn't back. He's player better, but not back.

R35
 

Farquod

Short Game Tragedy
Mar 8, 2005
1,165
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Is he back? His control is back, but as long as he continues to try for the "extra oomph" drive, he will continue to have to save it from the sidelines.

As we've discussed elsewhere here, if he limited himself to hitting controlled drives, he would win even more.

Will he ever be as dominant as he was? I vote probably not. The field is much deeper now, with younger players who have grown up with him as a role model.
 

CKGuY914

simplicity vs complexity
Apr 8, 2005
128
0
Even though Tiger didn't pull away on the final round and win with a blow out you guys have to take into the account that both Tiger and Chris won the rest of the field by 7 strokes.

Perhaps Tiger's performance wasn't as dominating relative to the way Chris was playing, but the both of them surely dominated the rest of the field.

While some players are capable of beating the field every so often, Tiger is more capable of doing it more consistently.
 

DaveE

The golfer fka ST Champ
Aug 31, 2004
3,986
3
rockford35 said:
I think his record isn't indicative of his play. The question was "Is Tiger back?"

I don't think he's back to where he was a few years ago, #1 by a long shot, in contention every weekend.

R35

Agreed, I don't think he will ever dominate the way he did then. It's just that if this were anyone else he would be considered to be having an outstanding year.

In comparison, I don't remember anyone commenting last year how Phil won by only a stroke or that he was lucky to have made that last putt. I just think it's interesting to how he is regarded so differently than other pros.

So no, he is not back where he was, but if he is Luck Sack, I still want to be one. :D
 

buddha33

aka Dick Ramser
Aug 31, 2004
390
0
DaveE said:
He will probably never be as dominant as he once was.

While I don't think he is as dominant as he was in 2000-01, he's showing signs that he will be. He seemed to have so much control of his irons in the third and fourth rounds. That single plane swing that Kuehne has him on is going to be awesome. Once he's completely comfortable with it, especially off the tee, he'll dominate the field again. We're just now seeing him come back, and I think he'll eventually be better than ever.

Shame on us for doubting Tiger.

I think Jack's record is tumbling.
 

bdcrowe

ST Homeland Security
Aug 30, 2004
2,207
276
CKGuY914 said:
Even though Tiger didn't pull away on the final round and win with a blow out you guys have to take into the account that both Tiger and Chris won the rest of the field by 7 strokes.

Perhaps Tiger's performance wasn't as dominating relative to the way Chris was playing, but the both of them surely dominated the rest of the field.

While some players are capable of beating the field every so often, Tiger is more capable of doing it more consistently.
To me, that's the point. Chris DiMarco, as much as I like him, is a 2nd tier player. He has won 3 PGA tournaments in his entire career. Three! David Thoms, another 2nd tier player absolutely slaughtered him in match play. And Tiger won out by one stroke in a playoff. Tiger is coming around, but the old Tiger would have walked away from even a surging DiMarco like he was going backwards. I agree with others here that Tiger is not back-- better, but not anything like he was. The old Tiger could string strong performances together throughout tournaments. The new Tiger can't put 4 strong ROUNDS together. While he is still capable of brilliance, he doesn't have the same continual high level of play.
 
OP
Bravo

Bravo

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2004
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I agree bd...he's kind of in a B+/A- mode. He is simply not as good when he was at his peak.
 

buddha33

aka Dick Ramser
Aug 31, 2004
390
0
Bravo said:
I agree bd...he's kind of in a B+/A- mode. He is simply not as good when he was at his peak.

Give 'er time, boys. He'll be romping the field again. That swing is better than anything he's had in the past. Once he gets the confidence train going, watch out.
 

Silver

I don't have a handicap.
Dec 5, 2004
1,863
1
The field is better now. Tiger MAY be at the same level he was at in 2000 (probably isn't, but that's not the point), but if everyone else is better, he doesn't seem to be comparatively as good as he was then.

You're looking for domination in an era past (because it's obvious how much the game has changed since he came in), when things are different. It's all relative.
 

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