Viewer Question: Tiger Woods 2018: Has His Hand Release Changed and Can it be Effective?

Jeff Mann sent me the link to video of Tiger’s 2018 swing and asked the question: “As a big fan of Tiger Woods, what do you think of his recent swing action where he uses a roller hand release action? Do you think that he can be competitive against the many PGA Tour golfers (like Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, and Tommy Fleetwood) who use a DH (Drive/Hold) hand release action-even if he doesn’t have a relapse of his back problems?” I think the video holds my answer, which is given that his present release looks almost exactly like his 2001 release, a year everyone would probably agree was in the middle of his prime, he should do just fine. It does appear that his hands are more forward at P6 now than they were in 2001, which is probably left over from the Foley years where it seemed that he was going for more of a D/H release with the driver. With his tendency to lower a lot during both the backswing and the forward swing I think the wider release area gives him more time to square the club, and the full roll release is something he has been comfortable with since he was a junior. Is it an effective a release as those of the aforementioned players? Well, none of them have even close to the record Tiger has amassed so I believe time will tell. There will be many factors in play that will determine if Tiger can be competitive, but it would appear that he is going back to a swing he has used successfully before, which bodes well if he can stay healthy.
 

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