Tag: Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods Wins PGA Tour Player of The Year

Perhaps ironically, last week Tiger Woods was voted the PGA Tour player of the year. It’s the 10th time in his 13 years on tour that he has won the award. As it turns out, the “player” of the year award was given to him for his accomplishments on the golf course, not between the sheets. OK, bad joke.

His season started with questions as to when he would return from knee surgery, and it finishes with questions as to when he will return – period. The gossip media is desperately trying to link Tiger with a Canadian doctor named Anthony Galea that is in trouble for his usage of human growth hormone (which is not illegal in Canada) and a substance called Actovegin, which is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency because it is a potential blood-boosting agent. It seems Tiger consulted with the good doctor when recovering from the aforementioned knee surgery. If there is a link between the two, and it is discovered that Tiger took HGH to speed his recovery as some are speculating, we could become witness to one of the biggest falls from grace ever for an athlete. Personally, I don’t think he will be linked to Dr. Galea that way.

We are all very familiar now with Tiger’s off course activities in 2009, which seem now to have diminished his on-course accomplishments. He won six tournaments, the FedEx Cup and the $10 million bonus that comes with it, won the money title for the ninth time in his career (over $10.5 million), and had the lowest scoring average on tour for the ninth time. Nobody else on the PGA Tour won more than three times. Tiger also swept all the rest of the major PGA Tour honors – Byron Nelson Award for the lowest adjusted scoring average (68.05), Arnold Palmer Award for the money title and Jack Nicklaus Award for player of the year. Of course, the one small dent in his 2009 golf resume is that he didn’t win a major.

Tiger was said to have left to the Bahamas aboard his yacht named “Privacy”. It’s a good name, since that would seem to be the only place he’ll get any. Privacy, that is.

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December 22, 2009
The Tiger Woods Mistress Meter – On The Rise Again

The Tiger Woods story just won’t die. I suppose we should all have seen this coming when he (allegedly) paid Rachel Uchitel to stop talking. Now, every other Woods mistress is coming out of the shadows for their 15 minutes and big payoff, whether it be from Tiger or the bloodthirsty tabloid media. Golf fans all around the world are holding their heads down in shame, for their squeaky clean superstar is now being dragged through the mud by the media in a desperate attempt for ratings, page views and dollars.

Being that intothegrain.com is a form of media, I suppose I sound like a hypocrite by accusing the media of not leaving well enough alone while I sit here talking about the very story I want to see go away. However, this isn’t just the biggest story in golf at the moment, it’s one of the biggest stories period, and it deserves it’s attention. Everywhere you turn on the television was an update, or a joke, or a SNL skit about Tiger. Every few hours it seems a new mistress is coming out and telling her story. During the NFL game Sunday between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans, A blonde woman with a huge plastic golf club started chasing a person in a tiger costume and a red shirt around the stadium. You can’t get away from the story. Hell, I’ve deleted more Tiger Woods joke emails this week than I care to remember. This story is now out of control. Chris Mathews and Nancy Grace are even talking about it!

And so in the last few days we have seen the so called Mistress Meter rise to a number between 7 and 10, depending on what smut magazine you read in the grocery line. I’m not going to comment as to which ones are lying or telling the truth, or give you details about where and when. Go to a tabloid for that. I am also hearing reports that his wife Elin has moved out and is considering divorce. Of course, this information will likely change in a matter of hours as the wave of inaccuracy and speculation spreads all over the internet.

As a golf addict and internet blogger, all I want to do is write about golf. I’m not thrilled about covering this story because it is mostly about family, marriage, children, scandal and public image. I don’t want to see a family torn apart, and I don’t want to see a man’s image tarnished by the press, but ultimately he brought it upon himself. Tiger Woods’ private life has always been well guarded, learning from others like Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal. Obviously, what happens behind closed doors in the Woods home is none of our business, but because it has now become everyone’s business, maybe Tiger himself needs to come out and set the record straight. This story has become a raging fire, and Tiger himself is probably the only one that can begin to smother the flames…

December 7, 2009
Tiger’s Crash/Cheating – Whats the REAL Story?

Photo courtesy of TMZ.com

Yesterday at about 2am, Tiger woods was exiting his driveway and struck a fire hydrant, then swerved into a tree. His wife heard the noise, grabbed a golf club and ran out, breaking a window and rescuing her hubby from his Cadillac SUV. At least, that is what we are meant to believe. As a friend told me as we heard the news – “Nothing good happens after midnight…”

What really happened? It’s still uncertain, and we may never know the whole story. However, Tiger’s wife Elin Nordegren seems to have confused her story. She first told an officer on the scene from the Windemere Police that she went inside the house after the crash to get a golf club and then hit the car in an attempt to free her husband. It was a low speed crash and the airbags didn’t even deploy, and one wonders why she would need to beat the car to get him out. Wouldn’t opening the door suffice?

Rachel Uchitel – Tiger’s Mistress?

Well, It seems that she told a very different story subsequently to the Highway Patrol. According to internet gossip site TMZ.com, Tiger told a friend that his wife went nuts at around 2am yesterday and scratched up his face. It may have been because of various tabloid reports that he allegedly had cheated on her with a woman named Rachel Uchitel. He then left the house, started driving away and she attacked the SUV with a golf club, Tiger told the friend. He got “distracted” and hit the hydrant. Now that story makes more sense.

Tiger has not talked to the police yet, and there is a press conference scheduled for Tuesday. If the scratches on his face are anything like the scratches John Daly suffered at the hands of his wife a few years ago, they will be hard to hide, since he’s also supposed to be playing in his off-season event called the Chevron World Challenge next week. The event benefits the Tiger Woods foundation.

Charges may be pending, if he was indeed on prescription painkillers as he told a friend (according to TMZ.com) or even domestic abuse against his wife, should he choose to persue them and she did indeed attack him.

Tiger’s life is in the public focus, and as such he is subject to a level of scrutiny that few other celebrities have to deal with. His situation is similar to that of Michael Jordan when he was in hot water over gambling and his marriage some time ago. Tiger is such a role model to so many that he’s not supposed to screw up, to cheat or drink. But even if he is a celebrity and ambassador of golf to the world, he’s human. If he cheated on his wife, she has every right to leave him, no matter who he is or how public it is. If it happens it’s a shame, and either way he may end up with one thing Jack Nicklaus never had – Messy marital issues. Let’s see how this all unfolds in the coming weeks.
Update – 11/30/09 15:00
Tiger will not play in the Chevron World Challenge this week, and won’t be there for his hosting duties either. No official announcement by the tournament, the PGA Tour or Woods, but several sources, including the Golf Channel’s, are leaking the decision by him not to attend. The Golf Channel reported, “According to sources, doctors have advised him that he should not travel due to headaches and soreness.”

November 28, 2009
Weekend Trifecta for Nike Golf

AP Photo/Miguel Tovar

Nike Golf had a pretty good weekend, with staffers Michelle Wie, Stephen Ames and that guy named Tiger all winning with a full bag of Nike equipment on Sunday. Actually I think Tiger’s win actually came on Sat for us, but who’s keeping track? Nike has built a solid stable of top players on the PGA and LPGA tours, so it’s no surprise that they have had success. This sort of thing has happened before, but not with Wie and Woods. With apologies to Frenchman Gregory Bourdy, who won in Hong Kong this weekend and plays for Titleist, the spotlight in the US and Australia was clearly on Wie, Woods and Ames.

Tiger Woods has traveled all over the world in his quest for victories, but Australia hasn’t been one of his most frequent stops. In fact, last week’s Australian Masters appearance was the first time he had played in Australia in 11 years! Tiger took a reported $3 Million just to show up, but quickly justified it by winning. Many may scoff at paying someone that much money just to come to play, but the record crowds and the fact that they sold out the practice rounds proved that to be the right choice. in the end, the economic impact for the Melbourne area was estimated at over $20 million. Tiger has vowed to come back much sooner next time, and at the very least he’ll be back in Australia in two years for the President’s Cup.

I attended the Children’s Miracle Network Classic at the Disney World Resort lasy week, and while observing many players on the driving range I thought Nike staff player Justin Leonard was hitting the ball great and picked him to win. It turns out fellow Nike player and Canadian citizen Stephen Ames took the victory in a playoff against Leonard and George McNeill. It was Ames’ 4th career victory, but probably the first with his son walking along all the way. The atmosphere of the week was relaxed, as it probably should be at Disney. Most players probably spent more time at the magic kingdom with family than at the driving range. It’s the end of the season at a fun venue, so why not enjoy it?

To round out the Nike trifecta, Michelle Wie claimed her first victory as a professional in 65 LPGA starts at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, beating Paula Creamer by 2 shots. It was a good week for LPGA fans for two reasons: Michelle Wie has broken through finally, and if that first victory has the same effect it had on fellow Nike staffer David Duval when he finally broke through, the wins should start coming in bunches now. Secondly, Paula Creamer was back in contention after a year of illness and mediocre finishes. It was at this tournament last year that she fell ill and it took a full year to figure it out. Not to take anything away from the talented foreign players on the LPGA, but women's golf in America needs Paula and Michelle to be contending, not just making cuts. Congrats to Michelle on her first victory! Stay up to date with current posts and news by subscribing to our email updates below!

November 17, 2009
Tiger Woods Poised to win FedEx Cup

All Tiger Woods has to do to win the FedEx Cup tomorrow is finish in the top two. I think. Oh hell, I dunno. Has anyone figured out the FedEx Cup points fiasco? Either way, we’ve come to expect Tiger to do what needs to be done to win. It also helps that people seem to forget how to play when he’s on the first page of the leaderboard on Sunday. Kenny Perry has a two shot lead going into the final round, and just won the Payne Stewart award, which he called the greatest accomplishment of his career. With a good round Sunday and a small collapse from Tiger, he could also with the FedEx cup. Steve Stricker had a good day and is also back in it, along with Padraig Harrington and Phil Mickelson. It’s nice to see Phil in contention again. The last time we saw him at the top of a leaderboard was at the US Open. I miss his aggressive play and eventual blow up. Watching Phil play is like watching restrictor plate racing in NASCAR, we watch because we know the big wreck is coming sooner or later.

For all the hooplah and manufactured hype about the FedEx cup, the PGA Tour seems to be getting what they wanted. Many of the big names are in contention and the biggest name is ready to claim the FedEx cup. With the change in the way the points system works, we were guaranteed that the winner wouldn’t be decided until this weekend in Atlanta. However, the winner of the FedEx cup may not be the winner of the Tour Championship, which I still don’t understand. Are you going to have two guys for the trophy presentation? Won’t that suck for the winner if someone else wins the FedEx Cup? “Congratulations Mr X, here’s your little trophy and $1.35 Million, now move over. Congrats Mr. Y, here’s a way bigger trophy and way bigger check!”

The television commentators try to put up projections of where players might finish as they play, but I think this is just a weak attempt to create drama. Nobody really seems to know what’s going on, and not as many players really have a chance to win the cup as we think. At this point, O’Hair, Perry, Stricker and Harrington all have a mathematical chance to win, but it all depends on what Tiger does. Tiger needs to finish third or worst for any of the aformentioned players to even have a chance, and they would have to win.

Last year the FedEx cup was a forgone conclusion, with Vijay just having to finish the tournament to win the cup. At least this years rule changes have made it a little bit more dramatic. But the drama is really only with the players, as they are the ones competing for $11 Million. For the fans, it’s more about who wins the tour championship, especially with Tiger on the field. If you ask the fans, they would probably tell you that it would be better to reset the points to zero and make the Tour Championship a shootout, with the winner taking the whole damn thing. I think you could even take the low 16 guys after 54 holes and make a cut, then reset the scores again and have an 18 hole, 16 player shootout for the FedEx Cup. You want drama? I’ll give you drama! 16 guys, all with an equal chance to win, and everyone will be glued to that television set! Maybe they’ll change the rules again next year too.

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September 26, 2009
Game Review – Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for Wii
There’s a lot of discussion these days as to which gaming system is the best. Many people would say the the Nintendo Wii is a bit of a laugh and can’t compete with the other systems like the XBox 360 or Sony PS2/PS3. Certainly, the Wii isn’t designed like the others, which are basically PCs packaged for top graphics performance. Where the Wii may not have the graphics performance of the other systems, it has a user interface that is inovative and fun to use, making the game experience unlike any other system.

I broke down and bought a Wii a little while back, and the first game I purchased was Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. I’ve been playing golf games since the original Nintendo and Sega Genesis and my old Apple IIc. What makes TW 10 appealing to me is that Wii interface and the new Wii Motion Plus controller that adds a whole new level of sensitivity to the controller. Every golf game I’ve ever played had some sort of swing scale, and you had to push a button to start the swing and push it again to hit it. It started getting pretty boring, until the Wii came along and made you get off your lazy ass and actually make a golf swing!

As I mentioned before, the graphics on the Wii version of TW 10 may not measure up to the PS3 or Xbox 360, but they do just fine in this game and there is certainly enough detail to know what you are looking at. Once you start playing however, the focus shifts to the user interface, as it’s a real stroke of genius. The new Wii Motion Plus controller adds an ultra sensitive accelerometer to the bottom of the wireless Wii controller and combined with the great control system in this game it makes even the slightest movement possible. I’ll get to that in a minute. Another benefit of the Wii Motion Plus add-on is that it adds length and weight to the controller, which to me makes swinging it through the air more realistic and gives me better tactile feedback.

The ultra sensitive controller now allows you to control the club and the swing with much greater accuracy. On the most sensitive setting, the interaction between the game and the player is almost 1:1, in that if you make a half swing the player in the game will make a half swing. If you rotate your right hand over the left during the swing, the game will interpret this, close the clubface and in the game you will hit a hook shot. It’s really quite ingenious and fun to experiment with. The only issue I found is producing a fade requires you to rotate your right hand under the left to open the face, and this isn’t a natural move when swinging. It’s a minor annoyance, and I’m sure future versions of the game may be even more sensitive to the swing path of the “club” in producing fades and draws.

Putting has been taken to a whole new level in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. The Wii Motion Plus makes it so sensitive that you really have to concentrate on your stroke. The length of your backswing and the tempo of your swing determine how hard you hit the putt. It’s as close to real putting as I’ve ever seen in a video game, and it’s where the game really shines. Not only do you have to keep the controller/putter face square to the target line, if you jerk the controller too fast towards the ball you will hit it too hard. You really need to make a smooth stroke to get good results.

The next cool feature of the game is the real time weather conditions. If your Wii is connected to the internet, you can use the weather channel to download real time weather updates. If you decide to go play Bethpage Black and it’s actually raining at Bethpage State Park at that time, it will be raining in the game too. Now that’s cool, because you’ll never actually get wet! In the game however, the ball will roll less in the fairway if the fairways are wet, and the putts will roll slower too.

In the past, golf games have tried to add commentary and mostly it’s been botched and the execution was pretty weak. I almost always end up turning it off. In TW 10, we get a broadcast like presentation with the voices of ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt (formerly of the Golf Channel) and Kelly Tilghman from the Golf Channel. They present the action like you would see on a TV broadcast and give updates on tournament scores. They will offer up some praise for good shots and hammer you for bad ones. It’s pretty well done over all, with only one problem – Kelly Tilghman is almost as annoying in this game as she is on live television, which again has me looking for the option to turn off the commentary. I wish we could just turn off Kelly, because Scott Van Pelt is a funny guy. I love those Titleist NXT spots.

I haven’t tried playing online yet, but I’m sure online tournaments will add a whole new element to the game, where you will play with others all over the globe. The only real negative I can see with this game is that because of the accuracy of the user interface and precision needed to hit a great shot, it’s impossible to play a quick round in 10 or 15 minutes like the traditional golf games that use a joystick or keyboard & mouse. It takes closer to 30 minutes or even an hour for a 2 person game. The big plus of this game is of course the control. This game becomes wildly addictive when you play with others, and at least it makes you get off your butt a bit and concentrate on making a good swing or stroke.

There are 27 courses to play, and 24 PGA and LPGA pros to choose from, along with a host of fantasy players also. If you can name a famous US course, it’s probably on there, and at least you won’t get bored playing the same couple courses all the time. I wonder if EA will make additional courses available for download in the future. The only disappointment I have with the players is the lack of realism of their golf swings. The player attributes are not bad, if you play with Jim Furyk for example you won’t hit the ball as far as Tiger, but if you are expecting to see his trademark loop-de-loop swing you will be disappointed.

There are quite a few other features of this game that I haven’t touched on, but I can still highly recommend this to any golfer and gamer out there. Its the most fun and addictive golf game I’ve seen since the original Links 386 came out. Once you pick up that controller and start making swings and rolling in putts, you won’t want to put it down! I was up until 2:14am on the night I brought it home!

Here’s a summary of the game’s features as listed on EA Sports’ website. I also embedded a video of an EA staffer Jay Shenkman showing off the game’s features. Enjoy!

General Features
- Wii MotionPlus Integration – Through EA Sports Motion, gamers can now experience a true-to-life golf swing and have the ability to work the ball with precise draw and fade capabilities
- Play the Prestigious U.S. Open – The U.S. Open makes its inaugural appearance in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. Known as one of the toughest tests in golf, Bethpage Black will challenge every player’s golf skills with its extremely challenging course conditions
- Real-Time Weather Conditions — Powered by The Weather Channel, real-time weather now effects gameplay by providing current conditions at actual courses. Putts will roll slower on wet greens and drives will be shorter due to the rain soaked fairways
- Broadcast Style Presentation — ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt and the Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman form a new commentary team that adds to the new sports broadcast presentation, including hole overviews, up-to-the –minute updates from around the course, and more
- Tournament Challenge — Relive key moments in tournament history through an all-new character progression mode
- Precision Putting – Maintain complete control of your backswing and follow-through to ensure an accurate putt with all-new Precision Putting
- Take on the Leaderboard — Exciting changes are in store for gamers as Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 features new enhancements for the online tournaments. Get ready to step up and take it to the next level this PGA TOUR season
If you’ve been looking to buy the game, Amazon has some great prices and most orders will ship free. Check it out below.
September 16, 2009
Does Anybody Care About The FedEx Cup?

Who will win the FedEx Cup?

The FedEx Cup was created in November of 2005 to add some excitement to the end of the PGA Tour golf season. Every professional sport seems to build towards a year end climax, giving the fans something to look forward to all season. On the PGA Tour we have the majors to fill that need. Unfortunately, after the PGA Championship the interest level of the fans and many players falls of significantly, and the television ratings reflect that.

In the past, many of the top players would take breaks from the schedule as the holidays drew nearer, and many tournaments on the tail end of the PGA Tour schedule suffered from low ratings and a lack of star power. Tiger Woods’ emergence on the tour in the late 90s helped drive tournament purses to all time highs, and also made it more expensive to host a tournament. When he doesn’t play, the ratings and fan attendance fall off significantly. As a result, the sponsors don’t get their money’s worth and some were threatening to pull out. The PGA Tour needed a boost at the end of the season.

Most of the other professional sports have a regular season that leads up to the playoffs, where an eventual champion is crowned for the year. The marketing minds in Ponte Vedra Beach thought this system would work too, and they dreamed up the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Starting in 2007, the FedEx Cup became a season ending points race similar to the one used in NASCAR. The top points earner becomes the FedEx Cup champion. In a sleeper, Tiger Woods won the first FedEx Cup by 12,000 points. Over the last two years the PGA Tour has changed the rules to address issues that arose the previous year. In 2008, the changes were designed to allow more golfers a chance to move up the points list as the playoffs go along, and penalize those who skip a playoff event. When Vijay Singh earned enough points in the first three events early in the 2008 campaign, he just had to show up the final week to claim the FedEx Cup. In November of 2008 they changed the rules once again to help ensure that the championship would not be won until the final event.

This year at the season ending Tour Championship only the top 30 players will be eligible to play, with the points resetting so that any player in the field has a chance to win the cup. Any player in the top 30 can win, but the higher ranking players have the greatest chance. The first ranked player starts the Tour Championship with 2500 points, and the 30th ranked player starts the week with 210. Obviously this is to virtually ensure that the top 10 players have the greatest chance to win, since the tour is betting that the top players include most of the star personalities like Tiger, Phil, Ernie, Goosen, Furyk, etc.

So the real question is – does anyone really care about the FedEx Cup? We’ve already mentioned that the television ratings go way up when Tiger is in the field, and the ratings go through the roof when Tiger is on the leader board with other names like Mickelson and Els in contention. If TV viewership is the sole indicator then the FedEx Cup Playoffs are a success. If you ask the players you might get different stories. The whole set up of the playoffs and the points structure are designed to keep the big names on your TV set all the way up to the silly season, which makes the sponsors happy and the tour rich. In fact, the Champions Tour and European tours have adopted similar playoff type systems called the Charles Schwab Cup and the Race to Dubai.

Respect for a golf tournament is usually measured by who shows up to play it, and to a lesser extent by the prize money available. Many golfers would tell you that they would play a major championship like the Masters or US Open even if no prize money were offered, because they want to win a prestigious tournament that many of the games great have won in the past and winning these tournaments makes you a part of history. The FedEx Cup doesn’t have the history or the prestige of a major, but it has the prize money. I suspect we won’t be hearing too many young phenoms saying “I want to win the FedEx Cup.” when asked what they want to accomplish as a professional golfer.

I don’t think the players really care about winning the FedEx Cup as much as they want to win the huge $10 million payout and five year exemption. I think this weakens the whole event into a frantic money grab. People just want to see their favorite players, they don’t care so much about the Cup. Besides, despite the rule changes the winner of the Tour Championship may not necessarily be the winner of the FedEx Cup, so who wants to see someone win the Cup without winning the last event? That would be like the Lakers winning the NBA Finals even if the Magic won the series because they won more games in the playoffs than Orlando. Reset everyone’s points to zero for the Tour Championship and make it a real shootout! Unfortunately I don’t think that will happen, because Tim Finchem wants to hand the Cup to Tiger or Phil, not to Heath Slocum or Ted Purdy.

Let me know what you think. Should the FedEx Cup matter or is it a marketing gimmick? Will the FedEx Cup become a premier event that people really want to win? What do you think?

September 1, 2009
Y. E. Yang outclasses Tiger Woods!

Photo: AFP

Tiger barely looked up and Steve Williams walked away as Y.E. Yang’s birdie putt rolled into the center of the cup on 18 Sunday to give him a 3 shot win over the best player in the world. Yang did the impossible at the PGA Championship – he faced down Tiger Woods face to face in a major championship with Tiger holding a 2 shot 54 hole lead and beat him by 3.

Tiger had never lost a major after holding the 54 hole lead. Maybe Y.E. Yang didn’t know this, or maybe he didn’t care. Tiger didn’t have his A game, but he had won majors before when not playing his best. I, like many others on Sunday, were waiting for Tiger to come alive with a long putt or another 178 yard eight iron to 4 inches to seize control of the tournament. Instead, Yang seized control on 14 with a chip in for eagle and never looked back.

Tiger seemed flustered and out of sorts. His distance control was off and he hit many good putts, but they just didn’t want to fall. Yang played solid golf and smiled and waved at fans and the camera all the way. His second shot on 16 stayed out of the hazard, and he managed to dodge a bullet on 17 when his first putt came up woefully short. Fortunately, Tiger couldn’t muster a par either after hitting a flush iron shot that bounded over the green.

Y.E’s second shot on 18 will be in the highlight reels for some time. His three hybrid shot that almost went in from 210 yards will rank right up there with Shaun Micheel’s seven iron in 2003. What will make Yang’s more important is who was watching from the other side of the fairway when he hit it.
I have seen the unbeatable superstar fall before, and things seem to change once it happens. For two or three years, Roger Federer was untouchable until Rafael Nadal took him out at Wimbledon. Then Novak Djokovic beat him a few times, then Andy Murray, and people started thinking they could beat him. He's still the best player in tennis and will go down as the best player of all time, but he's no longer the unbeatable force he once was. I predict the same may now happen in golf. Y.E. Yang has show the golf world that Tiger Woods can be beaten head to head in a major. For those of us who are fans of the game, we were waiting for someone that could stare him in the eye and say "Tiger, I'm going to take you down!" Harrington came close last week, and others like Bob May have given him scares, but no one had pulled it off until Sunday. Maybe now the rest of the golf world will start believing they can beat him too. As Frank Nobilo asked on the Golf Channel's post game show: "Where does Tiger go from here?" I think Tiger will use this loss as motivation for next year. A few months ago we didn't expect much from Tiger coming off knee surgery. All of a sudden he wins, then wins again, and again, and overnight he's the old Tiger again and we expect miracles from him. Where as the rest of the PGA Tour stars may start the believe he can now be beaten, Tiger may also take his game to a level we have yet to see from him... I always welcome comments, questions, hate mail - whatever. I want to hear from you out there! Let me know if the 5 minutes you wasted at work to read my blog was worthwhile. Cheers!

August 17, 2009
How to Hit Tiger’s Stinger Shot

Photo By J.D. Cuban/Golf Digest

Tiger Woods didn’t invent the knockdown shot, or stinger as it is often referred to, but he seems to have made it popular again. The stinger is a shot with a long iron or fairway wood that stays very low with little spin and runs after hitting the ground. Tiger has made great use of this shot over the years. It’s a great shot to hit under pressure and in the wind. Paul Azinger made a pretty good name for himself while hitting the knockdown almost exclusively with his irons. Either way, it’s a crown pleaser and also very effective, especially on fast, dry courses and links.

How do you hit this shot? I’m going to show you. It’s not as hard as you might think, but it does require some grasp of the fundamentals and I wouldn’t recommend this shot (or any specialty shot) to high handicappers. If you can’t make consistent contact yet you should probably work on that first before you try hitting anything but a basic full swing shot.

As with most shots, the secret to hitting the knockdown shot is in your setup. To hit the ball lower, you have to make a few changes that will help you de-loft the club and basically turn a 5 iron into a 3 iron.

Step 1: Take an extra club or two and grip down on the club so that a few inches at the top of grip stick out past your left hand. Choking down on the grip gives you a bit more control and makes the club shorter, which reduces clubhead speed and spin.

Step2: Move the ball back a few inches in your stance. Ideally you want to play the ball just behind the center of your stance. The reason we do this is mostly to force the hands ahead of the ball and deloft the club. Be carefull not to play the ball too far back, as this forces you to make compensating moves to hit the ball solid and produces too much of a decending blow, creating backspin. The goal is to reduce backspin so the shot flies lower.

Step 3: Make a full backswing and shoulder turn. Don’t confuse the knockdown with a punch. This isn’t a punch shot. A punch shot requires a shorter backswing, but a knockdown is a full swing that flies lower, so make a normal, full shoulder turn.

Step 4: Lead with the hands. The key to this shot is delofting the club, and the setup is designed to help that. At impact your hands should be ahead of the ball and the club should be striking the ball with a slightly descending blow. You have to resist the urge to help the ball in the air by flipping it, the goal here is a low flying shot. The Tour Striker training aid is perfect for teaching you to lead with the hands, and I highly recommend it!

Step 5: Follow through low with your hands going towards the target. Tiger likes to play this shot with “soft hands”, which basically means that he’s not releasing the club aggressively. Instead he doesn’t let the right hand overtake the left on the follow through and the result is a low flying stinger, as shown below.

Drills: The best drill to learn the knockdown shot is one I was shown by my college coach when he taught me this shot back in 1993. On the range, take a long iron, such as a 2 or 3 iron, and set up to the ball to hit a knockdown as described above. Start by hitting chip shots, then work your way up to 20 and 30 yard shots, while keeping your hands ahead of the ball at impact. Keep gradually increasing your backswing and hit 60 and 70 yard shots, then 100 yards, 150, etc. The idea is to show you the feel of leading with the hands and shortening your follow through to produce the low shot. To hit the ball further, you simply increase your backswing. Give it a try, it really works! If you don't master the stinger shot right away, don't give up. It's easy to learn but difficult to master. At the very least you'll have a great option when pitching out of the woods! A Note about Hybrids: Hybrids have become very popular with amateurs and professionals alike because they are more forgiving than the long irons they replace, and hit the ball higher and straighter. As far as hitting the stinger shot, they aren't as friendly. This is the main reason why Tiger said he hasn't made the switch yet. The low center of gravity of hybrids is there to help the ball get airborne. I've struggled hitting low shots with hybrids, and I know many others do too. If you want to hit the stinger frequently, stay with the old 2 iron. Videos: This video is a bit crude, but a great demonstration of Tiger's stinger. Take a look: I found a great video by Gary Koch on USA Network's website that demonstrates the shot I just talked about. Check it out! http://www.usanetwork.com/videos/index.html?xml=pgatourgolf.xml&video=1|8 I always welcome comments, questions, hate mail - whatever. I want to hear from you out there! Let me know if the 5 minutes you wasted at work to read my blog was worthwhile, and how you are hitting your stinger! Cheers!

August 11, 2009
Tiger wins at Bay Hill – Again

Did Tiger win it, or did Sean O’Hair lose it? I think maybe a bit of both. Clearly Tiger had to make that 16 footer on the last hole to win, but O’Hair dumped one in the water on 16 to give Tiger a free pass. It’s easy to sit here and play Monday morning quarterback; wondering what could have happened if Sean did this, or Tiger did that, but a few things are certain. It seems that no one is able to play well on the back nine on Sunday in the presence of Tiger, and no matter how long he has been away or how he played up to that point, Tiger is the most opportunistic player of this generation. When an opening presents itself, few players in history are able to seize the moment like Tiger. One great example of this was the clutch par save on 16 after O’Hair dumped a ball in the water.

That hole was the pivotal point in the round to me. Even though his play was sloppy and he was obviously nervous, O’Hair was still in control and ahead by one shot. After Tiger pushed one into the trees requiring a certain lay up, Sean O’Hair hit a ball that came up 2 clubs short and rolled back into the water. You could clearly see that Tiger knew he had been let off the hook and given an opening. He responded with a great hook spinning wedge shot and a par to O’Hair’s bogey, taking the lead into the 17th. O’Hair has been here before. At the ’08 Player’s Championship he dumped 2 balls in the water at 17 to lose to Sergio Garcia. However – That day he was behind and going for the win by shooting at the flag. Sunday, he was defending a lead and going at the fat side of the green. Despite a Woods bogey on 17 to draw back even with O’Hair, after the approach shots into 18, I could sense that O’Hair new he was defeated. With the sun setting and the flash bulbs popping, there wasn’t a true golf fan in the world that thought Tiger would miss that putt.

So, did Tiger win it or O’Hair lose it? Most of the time Tiger gets credit for winning tournaments. I think this time Sean O’Hair lost it. Better luck next time Sean. Maybe next time your final round opponent will be Phil the Thrill…

April 1, 2009