Tiger Woods blew a chance at victory at his own tournament because of a handsy hook, but most amateurs could learn from his miscue
Courtesy of NBC
By Brad Redding
One of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers
I have never seen Tiger Woods hit as poor a shot under pressure as the wild pull-hook he uncorked on the reachable par-5 16th hole on Sunday at the Target World Challenge. Having reduced Padraig Harrington's eight-stroke lead to just one shot, Woods yanked a three-iron second shot (above) deep into the woods and almost out of bounds. He salvaged a miracle par, but Harrington's two-putt birdie put the tournament out of reach. Woods's errant shot was born of excessive hand action, as he was trying to square the club face after having trapped the club behind his body on the downswing. For pros like Woods, with very high clubhead speeds, too much hand action leads to inconsistency. However, I believe amateurs, the majority of whom slice the ball, would benefit from using their hands more.
HAIRY SWING Harrington's idiosyncratic swing can also lead to big misses. His motion is a little "lifty," meaning he subtly raises his arms to reach the top of his backswing. To compensate he quickly fires his upper body through the ball and relies on perfect timing with his hands to square the club face. If his timing isn't right, the result will resemble his pulled approach on the 14th hole on Sunday, which went out-of-bounds and led to a double bogey that could have cost him the tournament.
TIGER, TALK Almost as shocking to me as Tiger's blunder on 16 was his refusal to be interviewed by NBC immediately after the tournament. This was his event, for crying out loud -- his silhouette was splashed all over the signage, and the Tiger Woods Foundation was the tournament's primary beneficiary. Yet Woods wouldn't grant the host network the courtesy of answering a few softball questions. Tiger needs to remember that the greatest athletes -- Ali, Jordan, Nicklaus -- were as gracious in defeat as they were in victory.
DIS-MAYED This is how fickle golf can be: Two years ago Bob May was one stroke shy of winning the PGA Championship and a five-year exemption on Tour. Next year he'll be haunting the Nationwide tour after having flunked last week's Q school. Another Q school victim was Tommy Tolles, who was one of the best players on Tour in 1996 and '97, finishing 16th and 27th on the money list, respectively.
Brad Redding is the director of instruction at Hartefeld National in Avondale, Pa., and one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 teachers.
Courtesy of NBC
