Tiger Woods: Spin Rates were not the Problem at the 2015 Open Championship

What a fantastic 2015 Open Championship. St. Andrews said good-bye to Tom Watson, we watched Jordan Spieth make a run at 3 majors, Phil mounted a little charge and it all climaxed with a 3-way playoff. Congratulations to Open Champion Zach Johnson. On a couple of sad notes, Dustin Johnson fell back 3rd round and Tiger’s poor performance. Like Tiger or not he is still a big part of golf and his struggles demonstrate the cruelness of the game. I don’t pretend to know all that is taking place in Tiger’s camp however he is struggling more than any of us would expect. At one time he was brilliant on the golf course and he is one of golf’s greats. I took note of his choice of words in his post play news conference. What he referenced illustrates the mental collision golfer’s face daily as they search for answers to their game. How much analysis is good or bad? The realty of golf is that there is only one person, one mind and one instrument that is allowed to advance the ball. Regardless of what technology advancements have been introduced to the game, a golfer must advance the ball through a primitive movement of swinging the club. Tiger was asked “Did you learn anything from your game this week”? He responded about hitting the ball solid and it not getting through the wind. He continued on about not sure why it was not penetrating the wind. He then said “we are going to have to take a look at it and see if the spin rates are on or not…..” I’m sure some people love the techno insight but that is not the answer. Spin rate? The winds were over 30 mph out there. I don’t think you can make the same perfect swing you have worked on for the last 9 months under perfect conditions. Hit the shot the conditions demand. You are Tiger Woods, don’t get caught up in the stinking spin rate. Hit the shot that is needed, you can hit anything….you are Tiger Woods. Playing tournament golf, playing good golf or playing for the first time is about creating shots over the terrain of land faced with different type weather conditions. The test is to create the right golf shot for each situation. A golfer needs to draw upon their experience(s) as they set out to play their best golf. Tiger Woods mastered every course he set foot on for the 17 years of his career. For him to say he needs to go check the “data” on his spin rates indicates he is searching into a techno-babble. That is a state of mind in golf that is a headed away from peak performance and towards robotic golf. I’m all for the proper equipment, lofts, lies, shaft flexes and weights etc. however the game of golf is still played in the 6 inches between the ears. Tiger has not played enough tournament golf with his new swing changes, searching for answers in the data is a direction that leads further to techno confusion and not player performance. I love working with my students and I can get very analytical at times but true performance is not from the numbers it is from the creative mind turned lose to play the shot the hole requires. Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson played this week with their heart and desire to win and hit the shots that were best for the conditions. They didn’t worry about the data….they got the ball in the hole. That is what that game is about. Over analysis has screwed up many more golf games than it has ever helped.

Cause & Effect Golf

7/26/20151 min read