2013 Golf: Brandel Chamblee Has A Point About Tiger’s Swing

I happen to agree with Golf Channel Analyst Brandel Chamblee, and an article on SB Nation that Tiger Woods may be suffering from being over-coached. It’s a known fact that the great NFL coaches are able to build a game plan around a players talent, not make the player fit into the “system”. It’s my opinion, swing coach, Sean Foley is trying to mold Tiger into his definition of a good golf swing, and is not taking advantage of the raw talent he’s working with.

I remember telling my wife on Monday, while we were watching the closing stages of the Deutsche Bank Championship, “Tiger Woods looks completely lost”. How does the world’s number one player win the Bridgestone Invitational one week by seven strokes, and be so bad the next?

Tiger Woods shot a two over par 73 on Monday at TPC Boston, and I swear, I think I could have beaten him. He was clueless on the greens where he couldn’t get a putt close to the hole. I propose the problem is not the putter. Not everyone is able to putt well on a week-to-week basis for the entire year, not even Tiger Woods. The problems start at the tee.

On golf courses that Tiger knows very well like Torrey Pines, Bay Hill etc… he can win through attrition and just because he knows the courses so well. The rest of the time, he doesn’t hit the ball well enough off the tee to ever put himself is a position to score.

Most of the courses on the PGA tour that are well over 7000 yards require a precise tee shot. Some have to be played right to left, some left to right depending on flag position, and hazzard placement. Tiger is a one trick pony on the tee. He hits a power fade. If the shot doesn’t require a power fade, he’s in trouble. He can’t draw the driver, and can’t get enough distance with the stinger five-wood to get close enough for a precise shot into the green.

For a career, Tiger Woods owned the par fives. He always placed the ball in the correct place in the fairway, and was almost always on the green in two, putting for an eagle, at worst case getting that tap-in birdie. Now he can only do this if the hole is laid out correctly for him.

The limping Tiger Woods we saw at the 2008 US Open could hit any shot required from the tee. The big difference is his coach who wants a certain action that Tiger is not comfortable with. (the details are in the SB Nation article). Sean Foley has arguably, one of the greatest golfers in history, and the greatest golfer of this generation as a student, and he is was not able to win a major championship in 2013 with that talent although he did win five tournaments.

Again…I agree with Brandel Chamblee…Sean Foley has to go!!  Soon!!