The Return of Tiger Woods
This past weekend, Tiger Woods won the Buick Invitational. The golfing world seems to think he is on the way back. They say his "slump" is over. Although Tiger never admitted his inability to win was actually a slump, I'm sure he's still happy to be out of it.
This is the guy that won seven of 11 majors at one point. He ruled the golfing world. No one even held a candle to what this guy could do. But then somewhere along the line, Tiger changed coaches. He made "improvements" to his swing. Suddenly, he wasn't the golfer he used to be. And then the unthinkable happened. Vijay Singh unseated Tiger as the world's number one golfer.
People began to talk like Tiger was done. He was a flash in the pan. A very bright flash that lasted for quite some time, but still a flash. But what about now? Will he find the form that brought him 27 tour wins including seven majors from 1999 to 2002? Or will he fall back into the average play that only won him 12.1 million dollars over the past two years?
A lot depends on his new swing.
Changing a swing, especially after becoming the world's best with it, is a dangerous endeavor. You never really know if it's going to pay off or not. You have to stick with it through the learning curve and buy into it enough that you don't quit before you have the chance to really see it work. But the risk is that it will never work, and you have given up everything you had.
When you're in the position Tiger Woods found himself in three years ago, changing anything is a terrible decision, much less his entire swing. It was a risk, a gamble. And it didn't pay off. But maybe this Buick Invitational victory is the start of something new. Maybe five years from now we'll be talking about how brilliant and brave he was to make those changes.
Maybe. But I don't think so. If you are the best, stay the best. Don't be stupid. Don't change a thing.
This is the guy that won seven of 11 majors at one point. He ruled the golfing world. No one even held a candle to what this guy could do. But then somewhere along the line, Tiger changed coaches. He made "improvements" to his swing. Suddenly, he wasn't the golfer he used to be. And then the unthinkable happened. Vijay Singh unseated Tiger as the world's number one golfer.
People began to talk like Tiger was done. He was a flash in the pan. A very bright flash that lasted for quite some time, but still a flash. But what about now? Will he find the form that brought him 27 tour wins including seven majors from 1999 to 2002? Or will he fall back into the average play that only won him 12.1 million dollars over the past two years?
A lot depends on his new swing.
Changing a swing, especially after becoming the world's best with it, is a dangerous endeavor. You never really know if it's going to pay off or not. You have to stick with it through the learning curve and buy into it enough that you don't quit before you have the chance to really see it work. But the risk is that it will never work, and you have given up everything you had.
When you're in the position Tiger Woods found himself in three years ago, changing anything is a terrible decision, much less his entire swing. It was a risk, a gamble. And it didn't pay off. But maybe this Buick Invitational victory is the start of something new. Maybe five years from now we'll be talking about how brilliant and brave he was to make those changes.
Maybe. But I don't think so. If you are the best, stay the best. Don't be stupid. Don't change a thing.
posted by Joe Siple | 1:16 PM
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