face square longer, and the
stronger left hand lets him
rotate his hips hard without
worrying about missing right.
If you return to the iron-
swing sequence on the
previous page, you’ll see
that Tiger’s heels stay close
to the ground. He’s doing a
much better job rotating and
leveraging [the ground] like
he did in his prime. For a
time, he had stopped doing
his signature head drop at the
start of the downswing—but
that drop wasn’t a flaw. It
was a sign he was loading up
so he could explode into the
shot. He’s loading, rotating
his hips and keeping the face
square. He’s back to letting his
lower body help pull the club
through impact. And he’s got
his clubhead speed back.
More proof his swing is
working: Look at the places
he played well last year. At
Carnoustie, Bellerive and East
Lake—sites of the British Open
(T-6), PGA Championship
(2) and Tour Championship
(win) respectively—you need
impeccable distance control.
And he had it. When Johnny
Miller was the best iron player
in the world in the 1970s, he hit
his long irons pin-high. That’s
where Tiger is now.
Still, Tiger’s 43, and spinal
fusion is a big deal. It’s
amazing how well his back
functions after that surgery—
and it’s a testament to how
hard he works on his fitness
and swing. But he’s already
pulled out of a tournament
this season (Arnold Palmer
Invitational) with neck
stiffness. He’s going to have to
be careful with his back and
spine for the rest of his career.
Tiger could make a relativelysimple adjustment to his swing
that would help him preserve
his health and eliminate some
of the left shots he hates so
much. You can see (above) that
he stays down with his head
and torso through the shot. If
he totally released his posture
through impact, he’d protect
his back. And he would calm
down the left miss that comes
when his hands get too active.
He’s clearly not afraid to make
adjustments, and I hope it’s
something he considers. I’d
love to see how many records
a healthy Tiger Woods can go
out and challenge.
—with matthew rudy‘he’s back to letting
his lower body help pullthe club through impact.’▶ stress relief
One thing that could help Tiger’s
back is if he let his head and torso
release more through impact.mike adams, No. 2 on Golf Digest’s list of the 50 Best Teachers
in America, is the Director of Instruction at Medalist Club
in Hobe Sound, Fla., where Tiger spends most of his practice time.
He also teaches at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in Bedminster,
N.J., and is a member of the World Golf Teaching Hall of Fame.