LGP Golf Thread

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

I think physically he's still at the top of the golfing world, I just think he's way too in his own head at this point. He can't get it done mentally for whatever reason. Like he can do well on the Thursday and Friday of a major and then, instead of getting better on the weekend like he did pre-2008, he falls off the map and loses by 10+ strokes

[count2infinity]

When he was on top, he was one of the longest players in the field, had incredible short game and was putting like a crazy man. Now everyone is as long as he is, more accurate than he is, and putts as well if not better than he does. He's done.

[Grunthy]

Tiger was never the most accurate driving or hitting approaches. What separated him was his short game and clutch short game. Putting and chipping is more mental than any other point of golf. It is what separates a very good amateur, to small time pro, to top pro. He has lost his marbles. Will he get them back? who knows, but without them he won't come back.

[shafnutz05]

Physically at the top? No way

[shafnutz05]

I do have to give Tiger credit though. After the first question of his post-round presser, he responded "I'm just here so I won't get fined." Dude has definitely mellowed a lot, and has the look of someone that has finally realized his best days are long behind him, and I think he truly just wants to be competitive (read: not dominant) again.

[Rylan]

Tiger is done being a competitive golfer consistently. I wouldn't doubt he will put together a weekend and make a few runs at tournaments, but it won't happen often.

[Orlando Penguin]

I was in Phoenix for the tournament and I'll give Tiger credit for this much -- those press conferences on Tuesday and Friday were the best I've seen/heard him in a long long time...even when he's won tournaments. Perhaps, Lindsey's carefree nature is rubbing off on him a bit. I still don't believe his tooth story but at least he was less robotic than he usually is.

As for the golf, yikes. At the Hero in December, he was crushing it off the tee and was hitting it relatively straight, too. But he was all over the flippin desert on Thursday and Friday. But the chipping...geez. It's mental, it's the yips, it's not this 'release pattern' (drink) crap he keeps babbling about in press conferences. If he truly hit 1000s of chips as he claimed on Tuesday, then what happened on Friday shouldn't have happened. He has the same type of grass at home in Jupiter as they have at Scottsdale. It's only gonna get worse in San Diego this week because that kikuyu grass will grab the club even more. I mean, he hit pitches at Scottsdale that most 20-handicappers on this board wouldn't even hit. Not sure one can recover from this mental obstacle which again goes to what I've always thought that most golfers are mental midgets and Tiger, the biggest intimdiator ever, is falling into the same trap with all these swing changes, etc.

[columbia]

PGA Tour Sued By Golf Caddies For Pocketing Tens Of Millions Of Dollars
http://www.forbes.com/sites/darrenheitn ... f-dollars/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[count2infinity]

Awesome:

[youtube][/youtube]

[Orlando Penguin]

So...Tiger has a back issue...again. This isn't going according to plan.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

He should take a few years off, get fully healthy if possible and then come back. He really needs an extended break if he wants to do anythimg

[count2infinity]

He obviously needs to get fully healthy again, but I'm not even sure that's going to help. He's going to turn 40 late this year, and I'm sure he has great personal trainers and whatnot, but the as much as technology in golf advanced from the 70's or so up to the mid 90's, I think that's how much physical fitness and golf specific workouts have advanced from the 90's to now. When Tiger was on top, he was a beast physically (compared to his competitors), now most of the high end golfers (with a few exceptions) are ripped and physically fit. Even if he gets healthy, he's not going to be the strongest, he's not going to be the longest, he's never been the most accurate, he's gotta take care of the mental part of chipping and putting, but even that is easier if you're physically at your peak. I said it before, I'll say it again, he's done. I think the most we can hope for from here on out for his career is that he does really well the first couple days of a tourney, but then falls off on moving day and Sunday.

[shafnutz05]

It's just crazy, when you think about his fitness regimen, he's the last golfer you would have ever expected to deteriorate so quickly. This is pure conjecture, but I remember hearing the rumors about Woods' obsessive compulsion for extreme exercise. Wasn't there a rumor floating around that he wanted to be a Navy Seal or something and was doing special forces-type of workouts at home? If those rumors are true, it could kind of explain why he's breaking down.

[Staggy]

I'm one of Tiger's biggest fans but with all these injuries I have to wonder, are there any whispers in golf circles that he may not have been entirely natural in the early 2000's? I remember the rumors of him being connected to a shady Canadian doctor a couple years ago. It just seems so unlikely for the greatest pure athlete golf has ever seen to have suffered so many muscle, tendon, and ligament issues. I mean he just turned 40 and he's missed years of playing time already. Meanwhile Daly and Jimenez are sucking down 3 Cubans a round and they're still out there competing (using that word very loosely with Daly). I don't think Tiger used anything, as said above he is notorious for extreme physical workouts so that definitely could have played a role. It's still just sad to watch and hard to fathom that his body could break down so rapidly.

[shafnutz05]

That's another good point Staggy. Really think one of those two scenarios is likely.

[Letang Is The Truth]

Steroids

[Orlando Penguin]

I'm one of Tiger's biggest fans but with all these injuries I have to wonder, are there any whispers in golf circles that he may not have been entirely natural in the early 2000's? I remember the rumors of him being connected to a shady Canadian doctor a couple years ago. It just seems so unlikely for the greatest pure athlete golf has ever seen to have suffered so many muscle, tendon, and ligament issues. I mean he just turned 40 and he's missed years of playing time already. Meanwhile Daly and Jimenez are sucking down 3 Cubans a round and they're still out there competing (using that word very loosely with Daly). I don't think Tiger used anything, as said above he is notorious for extreme physical workouts so that definitely could have played a role. It's still just sad to watch and hard to fathom that his body could break down so rapidly.

Oh, there are whispers but nothing proven and I'm not sure there's any media entity out there that wants to take a chance of slitting their own throat when it comes to covering Tiger to take a run at further investigating it. He was connected to Dr. Galea (the Canadian doctor) who also was connected to A-Rod and suspected PED's. Tiger has always claimed that he went to Galea for the blood-spinning treatments that are done in Germany (Fred Couples has used that technique for his back), but are not quite approved in the US. Yes, he has done those SEAL-like exercises. He's an adrenaline junkie and has always admired the training regimen that SEALs and Special Forces put themselves through. He said that's what contributed to his knee and Achilles injuries in 2008. As for these recent back injuries...there have been players who have had the same microdiscectomy surgery that spent 8-12 MONTHS away from the game (Graham DeLaet being the most notable current player). Tiger pushed and came back too early. And for all his talk that he's healthy, the back isn't bothering me, etc., it's obviously still causing problems.

[Letang Is The Truth]

anyone ever play in jamaica? i have a free round at white witch or cinnamon hill

[OutofFoil]

Just don't smoke the grass.

[count2infinity]

With the warm weather coming I ordered my birthday present from the fall... New Bio Cell driver. Very excited as I've hit it before and can bomb the ball with that thing.

[shafnutz05]

Pretty big statement win for DJ at the WGC-Cadillac, given his personal turmoils over the last year or so (and his obvious substance abuse issues prior to that). Hopefully his strategy of sticking to wine and beer (as opposed to hard liquor) works for him...because it often doesn't for other folks.