Why was Tiger Woods Struggling (And it’s Not Because He Dips His Head) ?

All right, so everyone is talking (still) about Tiger and his swing. Here I have taken Tiger’s most recent competition (the Frys.com Open) and compiled swings to compare with his swings of years past, especially those of the Harmon era. What I have noted are a few basic elements: first, he is not dropping his head any more than he used to. It’s not hard to draw a line on top of his head in order to measure the amount of drop during the swing. Why the knuckleheads on television can’t seem to accomplish this small task, which incidentally would persuade them once and for all to leave the “head dip” thing alone, is beyond me. I have to attribute it to a degree of stubborn adherence to conventional (incorrect) wisdom (lowering is bad), but even more sadly to total lack of study and preparation. If they would take the time to look a bit more closely they would see what I am showing you here. Second, Tiger’s clubface is way more shut at the top than it ever has been. He went from a neutral face in the 2000-2006 period, then a more open face with Haney’s weak grip (even with a bowed left wrist, which tells you just how weak the grip really was), to what is now almost pointing skyward (closed) at the top. Third, Tiger’s hips are now “out of the box” for the first time, as his left leg doesn’t appear able to snap back ultra deep like it used to. Lastly, Tiger’s hands are still in vertical drop mode a la Haney again, and although Foley started out with the same idea I believe he is now (most likely due to his Trackman data) teaching Tiger to bring his hands more outward toward the ball in transition to encourage more rotation in both the upper and lower body in the forward swing. It is apparent that Tiger is working on not having the face closed at the top (he cups his left wrist in an exaggerated fashion during all his practice swings) but from the video you can see he is struggling with all of this. One thing he has going for him is his incredible work ethic. I still think he can turn it around and get back to number one. It will certainly be interesting to watch him try.