Tiger Woods Throughout the Years
I n t h e 1980s, Nick Faldo was known as “Nick Foldo,” because he often stumbled in the fourth round of tournaments, especially major championships. He went to instructor David Leadbetter and completely revamped his swing. Faldo’s motion went from a leg-driven, reverse-C action (reminiscent of the champions of the 1970s, most notably Johnny Miller) to a more rotational modern look. Faldo went on to win six major championships and was arguably the best golfer in the world from 1987-1996.
Tiger Woods has also sought change in his golf swing, but unlike Faldo, Woods doesn’t seem content to hold on to one swing philosophy for years and years. Since turning professional in 1996, Woods has completely revamped his swing no less than three times under the tutelage of Butch Harmon, Hank Haney, and Sean Foley.
What drives Woods to continually tinker with a swing that many consider not broken? According to an article in an issue of ESPN The Magazine, Woods is bored with constancy and also has an obsession with seeking perfection. In this article, we examine the three major swing changes Woods has made during his professional career.
Swing Change
#1: 1997 – 2004.
Instructor:
Butch Harmon
Butch Harmon became Woods’ swing coach in 1993, and three years later Woods turned professional in 1996 after winning the US Amateur for the third consecutive year. During an interview with ABC Television’s Curtis Strange, Woods said that his objective was to win every week he played. Strange looked incredulously at Woods and told him, “You’ll learn.”
It was Strange who did the learning, as Woods went on to win twice in 1996 and dominated at the 1997 Masters. Woods won twice more in 1997, and then did a curious thing – he told Harmon he wanted to change his swing. Not just change it, but revamp it. Woods became convinced his swing was too dependent upon timing and that his body turn and arm swing often didn’t match up. Part of the changes involved Woods shortening his swing, and also to not get off his right heel so early in the downswing. Harmon warned Woods that the changes would take time, but Woods didn’t care. They got to work in the summer of 1997 and Woods soon stopped winning at a prolific rate, capturing only one tournament in 1998.
At the Byron Nelson Championship in 1999, Woods told Harmon that he finally fully incorporated all the changes. What happened next was perhaps the greatest golf ever played over a four-season period. Woods won 29 events, including seven majors. He crushed everyone in the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach, winning by an astounding 12 shots, and later that year won the British Open by eight. Woods won “only” four times in 2003, and began to wonder if it wasn’t time to part ways with Harmon and strike out on a new path.
Swing Change #2: 2004 –2010.
Instructor: Hank Haney
In March 2004, Woods announced he was now working with instructor Hank Haney. Haney had been the long-time coach of Mark O’Meara, Woods’ close friend, so undoubtedly this relationship had something to do with the switch. Woods, always vague on why he does certain things, did say he wanted a swing that would be easier on his body and to find a swing that would last a lifetime. There were also indications Woods was dismayed with Harmon’s increasing celebrity because of their association. Whatever the case, most observers thought Woods was crazy to abandon a coach who brought him to such heights, but Woods was determined. Haney’s methodology basically involves keeping the clubshaft parallel at all times during the swing to where it was at address. Since this was a flatter motion than what Woods used under Harmon, Woods often started blowing his drives way out to the right. Eventually, he got this problem under control, and after winning only one tournament in 2004, Woods went on another tear. He won 34 tournaments internationally with six majors. Then, in late 2009, his life imploded.
Swing Change #3: 2010 – present.
Instructor: Sean Foley
In November 2009, Woods’ troubles in his private life surfaced, and he and his wife Elin divorced shortly afterwards. Haney announced in early 2010 that he was quitting as Woods’ coach, leaving Woods on his own. Rumors surfaced in the summer of 2010 that Woods had been seen with Sean Foley, and it was announced in August of that year that a formal coach-player relationship had been formed. Foley is a coach who has studied biomechanics extensively, and is a devoted user of TrackMan, a launch monitor that measures every aspect of ball flight and club action.
Foley’s methodology consists of being centered over the ball during the backswing, as opposed to shifting weight into the right side. While what Foley teaches is not exactly stack-and-tilt, it has similar characteristics. Pictures of Woods show that he is doing a good job of staying centered. In addition, Woods is bent over at the hips a little bit more than he was under Haney’s tutelage, and his arms hang more vertically.
SUMMARY
Were all these swing changes necessary? That’s hard to say. What can be said is that Woods sacrificed two years of his career to change his swing under Harmon, a year to change under Haney, and another two years changing under Foley. That’s five years where Woods was playing less than Tiger-esque golf; five years where he could have been winning tournaments instead of tinkering with his mechanics. How long will Woods remain a pupil of Foley’s? Given his history, and if it is indeed true that Woods gets bored with the status quo and is seeking perfection, chances are that he will once again rework his swing and change coaches sometime in the future.
