I contributed Tiger's lack of success recently to two things. The first, of course, is the sex scandal and HIS inevitable divorce. Divorce is always ugly for anyone. For a person like Tiger I can imagine it being ten times worse. Emotionally he was drained from the court hearings. He lost a lot of endorsement deals that made him a great deal of money every year. Nike, on the other hand, decided to stick by Tiger because they know the value of Tiger Woods. They also have faith that he will be back at the top of golf. What with custody battles for his kids, alimony, palimony, child support, the house, the cars, everything that goes along with divorce, it is a wonder Tiger even chose to swing a club last year. The second is the changes he is making in his golf game. Lets face it, the golf swing is the single most important part of being a golfer. If he was a basketball player that was in a shooting slump, we as fans would say drive the ball to the hole. But in golf, the swing is the foundation and without a consistent swing any golfer is going to struggle. He also has a new swing coach, so there is another transition that he must go through. These changes are necessary for Tiger to take his game to the next level. The swing he had a 25 is not going to work at 35, not Tigers' swing. Tiger has or had a very aggressive swing that required him to twist and stretch his body considerable in order for him to be able to hit the ball with such force and accuracy. Now, a knee surgery, back spasms, and shoulder problems later, he is developing a more affective swing that does not require the aggressive body movements much like a Fred Couples or Tom Leahman, who are still affective now in the later half of their pro careers playing on the PGA and Champions Tours. So, understand that Mr. Woods has had some major set backs to over come, but he is more than capable of making back to the top of golf. He just needs time to bounce back from his divorce and his personal situation as a whole. All the while he will be learning and getting comfortable with his new swing which means Tiger will be playing a lot of golf this year on and off camera. It won't be long before you see Tiger Woods at the top of the leader board on Sunday several strokes ahead of the competition. He just needs time. Remember, TIGER IS GOLF!
