Tiger is at the peak of his powers and closer than ever to getting hold of elusive Grand Slam, says John Huggan
IT'S a tradition. Every year about now, journalists across the globe sit down to speculate on just what golfing wonder Tiger Woods is likely to achieve over the following 12 months. It's impossible to know exactly, of course, but it's a safe bet t
hat the answer will be "more than anyone else". Actually, make that a lot more, such is the supremacy of the now 32-year-old Californian, who will make his first appearance of the new campaign in this week's Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines.
By any measure, the gap between Tiger and the rest is nothing short of ridiculous. One American magazine last week lumped together six so-called "challengers", all of them currently ranked inside the world's top 40. All aged between 26 and 30, Aaron Baddeley, Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Charles Howell, Justin Rose and Adam Scott have each competed in more than 100 PGA Tour events, yet between them they own a mere 17 victories. Woods has won a superhuman 17 of his last 36 starts on his home tour.
A quick look at the four major championships reveals a similar pattern of domination. Since Woods turned professional in 1996 – having "three-peated" as US Amateur champion – 44 Grand Slam titles have been contested. Only five golfers other than Tiger have lifted more than one of the game's most important events in that time: Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh have three victories and Ernie Els, Mark O'Meara and Retief Goosen each have two. Added together, that outwardly impressive quintet's major wins total 12, still one less than Tiger by himself.
Then there is the much-maligned world-ranking list. According to the computer, Tiger is worth but 0.1 of a point less than second-placed Phil Mickelson, third ranked Steve Stricker and the man in 19th spot, Trevor Immelman, added together. Or, put another way, Tiger is statistically as good as Europe's three best combined – Order of Merit "winner", Justin Rose, Open champion Padraig Harrington and Garcia – with former Scottish Open champion Tim Clark of South Africa thrown in for good measure.
Despite all of the above, there will no doubt still be those self-proclaimed experts who, every time Woods misses a fairway, will question the quality of his swing and, by extension, the expertise of his coach, Hank Haney. If the golf swing is the most over-analysed move in sport, Tiger's action is certainly the most over-analysed within his own sport.
If only the quantity of the over-hyped analysis were matched by its quality. But it isn't, not even close. Indeed, to label most of the hysterical bletherings uttered about the Woods swing "analysis" is a stretch (a fact that embarrassingly reflects just how much the average golf writer doesn't know about the golf swing). Truly, it is unbelievable how much rubbish is written on the action Woods has rebuilt twice in the time he has been a professional, albeit the latest incarnation constructed by Haney has come in for a lot more uninformed criticism than the motion developed alongside Tiger's previous instructor, Butch Harmon.
Take last year, when the world No.1, after a disappointing performance in the Open Championship at Carnoustie, suddenly found top form and was all but unbeatable for the rest of the season. In many quarters, this was put down to Tiger belatedly realising that his "Haney swing" wasn't up to snuff and that he would play better with a Haney/Harmon mix.
What nonsense.
Having taken more than two years to come up with a workable formula under Harmon, and about the same length of time to do something similar under Haney's watch, Woods was, according to the many authorities out there, spontaneously able to flick a switch that enabled him to immediately eliminate poor shots from his repertoire.
It was, if one follows such "logic" to its, well, logical conclusion, final confirmation that the man who may be the very best golfer the world has ever seen is, in fact, not human at all.
Sadly for those who live for the misfortune of others, the real truth is a little less sensational. What actually happened was that Tiger finally figured out how to take Haney's teaching from the practice range – where he has long been able to almost routinely produce an astonishing array of shots – to the golf course in tournament conditions. That is, for every Haney pupil, the final step. "My aim is to make every golfer his or her own best teacher," has long been his mantra.
"Tiger is so good that he can find a way to win even when he's uncomfortable with his swing," continues the Dallas-based coach. "But he kept getting more and more comfortable with each new move we added and gained more command, which led to confidence to trust without worrying about the bad shot. He's been at that point in practice rounds for a while now, but it's a whole other mental challenge under the gun."
The potentially dire implications for the best of the rest are obvious. Should Woods continue to play at anything like the level he showed over the last five months of 2007, then, chances are, he will run off with a calendar year Grand Slam of the four major titles over the coming months.
Even better, at least for the rest of us lucky enough to be alive as Woods moves into what should be his peak years – how scary is that? – is that we can expect to be treated to a succession of performances the like of which we have never seen before. If, as Haney contends, Woods has worked out how to play at his very best when we are all watching rather than when he is safely behind closed doors back home at Isleworth, then we are likely to see some mouth-watering shots and double-digit wins over the next decade or so.
Such a prospect comes, it must be said, as something of a relief. Many have grown tired of Tiger playing what amounts to safety-first golf and "grinding" out a stream of remarkably similar major victories. Of course, being able to consistently beat everyone else playing in such a relatively pedestrian fashion only made it harder for him to "let go" under the severest pressure. For all his success, only now is he able to fully trust his swing without the nagging fear of even occasionally "missing the world".
"Tiger knew he could use his management and strength from the rough and his recovery and short-game skills to get the ball around, birdie some par-5s and make a score," explains Haney. "What he knew he couldn't do is hit the ball out of play where he could make a big number, which felt more possible by committing to the same swings he could pull of with no pressure in practice.
"In other words, if he knew he had wiggle room, he would wiggle. Invariably, he would hit his best drives on holes where there was no bailout, and he was forced to make his 'good' swing. Gradually, he's had enough success with good swings that the fear is gone. As hard as he has worked, it still takes time."
Memorably to this observer, Woods made one of those "good" swings on the first tee at Oakmont during last year's US Open. On a fearsomely narrow hole, where the alternative to hitting the fairway was a mindless hack-out from long rough, Woods blasted a magnificent drive miles down the middle.
It was, amidst a succession of "steered" tee-shots from other contenders, like watching the world's tallest man play basketball with the seven dwarfs. And, one suspects, provided a brief glimpse into professional golf's immediate and long-term future.
Grand Slam, here he comes.
