It wasn’t that long ago that we were all thinking  it wouldn’t be a matter of WILL Tiger Woods break Jack Nicklaus’ record Major Championship haul of titles but WHEN would he do so.

Now 6 years removed from his last Major victory at the 2008 US Open and with a 2014 campaign behind him of missed cuts- zero wins- injury troubles and a break up from his coach Sean Foley what can we look forward to in the upcoming years?

How can Woods reverse the trend and give himself the opportunity to again look at Jack’s records with a gleam in the eye and a grin on his chin rather than an inconsolate look of fear of the unknown.

The obvious question beckons….What should he do from here?

All things appear easier to solve from the outside looking in. In Tiger’s case the chicken or the egg applies to the n’th degree. How could possibly the most fearless strong minded individual to ever set foot on the golfing stage appear so lost at times out on the course?

Has he lost the passion?...I seriously doubt it.

Has his body given up on him?...... not necessarily

Has his concentration skills deserted him?... no we never forget those things- even though they may hibernate for a while

Has his short game slid to a lesser standard?...... slightly but that is more from the pressure of having to perform miracle recoveries far too often. You can only go to the well so many times before you have to drink.

Has his search for the perfect swing chipped away at all the amazing tools he possessed that once made is impenetrable? ….. absolutely.

While I am in strong agreement that Tiger Woods should now become his own source for the future as far as maintaining his swing - I also firmly believe Tiger now needs help more than ever to get him on the right track. Once his body and brain link up again with some sound advice then the road travelled will be a much smoother one. At this point in time however the mixed signals of what his senses feels he needs to do and what he has been told to do are crashing into one another and causing disarray right throughout his system- allowing for no fluency or dynamic movement- something he had in spades when he burst onto the scene and took all before him for the first dozen years of his professional career.

As a former player and now instructor of the game I would love the opportunity to make the changes necessary for Tiger Woods to continue his quest for Major Championship glory. All eyes would be on the next person who tries to reinstall the Tiger of old into the Tiger of now and it would be without doubt the most scrutinized player-coach relationship to date. It would not be an enviable task as getting results would be paramount but now more than ever Tiger needs a coach with a player’s perspective and I would relish the opportunity although it is highly unlikely as I am sure Tiger has someone in mind already to make such a move. But hey- crazier things have happened!!!

So what to do? What changes would I look at instilling to help showcase the ability of one Tiger Woods?

THE POWER SOURCE:

We all know the injury list. Knees, Achilles, Back- there is a long list of physical ailments that have slowed down the ascent. I however see these issues more swing related than body related. Tiger is larger and bulkier than he once was and does not have to use the power sources he once used in his swing to keep his distance level up with the younger players. He just needs to know what they are and how to motivate them into his larger frame.

It has been proven through extensive testing that the arms and hands only provide 15-20% of the power to the golf swing. That leaves 80-85% of the main power of the swing coming from the body- and the majority of that speed comes from using the body in a rotational manner. Tiger’s upper body has always tended to work up and down and under- but with the bulkier frame and heavier arms he can’t create as much speed from this source. He needs to learn more about using his body and forearms in a rotational manner and not so much in an up and down and under and up motion.

The less forearm range readily available to release into impact- the more the body gets pulled square and upwards- resulting in a stalling upper body, straightening legs and an arm/hand throw with the shoulders steepening whilst the hips are trying to clear. This creates a lot of pressure in the wrong areas of the body and the dynamic power sources of the swing are used in the wrong fashion.

 If Tiger could utilize the forearm and wrist strength he has built up during his workout regime and use it rotationally instead of up and down and laterally he would enhance that 15-20% arm/hand power to a greater degree by using the forearms rotationally to quicken the hands up into the strike and take some of the stress off his body. Having the body work up and down and under limits the rotational aspect. Therefore his body pattern is a mismatch of using the 80-85% body power source at only 65% and trying to use the 15-20% power source of the hands and arms as a 35% pattern. It is little wonder that his body is giving out as time goes by. Not because his body isn’t strong or it isn’t capable but more so because it isn’t being allowed to move in the dynamic fashion it should to move and control a club that is orbiting around the body with speed.

THE LEFT KNEE:

One of the most amazing things we may witness in our lifetime was Tiger Woods winning the 2008 US Open on one leg because of an anterior crucial ligament tear in his left knee. This was one of the first things I was interested in when Tiger switched coaches to Sean Foley towards the end of 2010.

How would Foley approach this left knee issue especially when it was touted that his swing logic was mainly formed around a Stack and Tilt concept of staying centered or more into the left leg throughout the swing.  As soon as I saw what the new Tiger swing was becoming I was lost. I actually wrote an article about what I was seeing firsthand in April 2011 (on my website http://bradleyhughesgolf.com/index.php/instructions/swing-myths ) and Tiger’s recent back problems substantiated my thoughts in that article.

The way the best ball strikers moved into transition and the downswing for their assault into impact WAS NOT by getting into the left leg early. It may look that way and it may seem that way and we may hear it being stated by many players and instructors- however the naked truth is we GET LEFT by actually applying pressure down the right leg and foot.

As soon as I witnessed Tiger progressing down this “get left and stay left” path I was convinced it was a recipe for disaster- not only with his golf game but also with either the left knee being damaged again or worse still another region of his body being damaged because of the restrictive nature of trying to do such a thing.

The highlight reel will show an erroneous array of shots from such a talented player- pop up drives- snap hooks and push blocks from the tee sometimes 40 yards or more off target- deep divot gorges and a much greater difficulty with distance control judgment with the iron play. Getting left to promote a downward strike the way it is being taught is so far off the mark it is scary. I will show you below in the pictures why this is so wrong and a misguided understanding. It just doesn’t happen this way..

I often use the above sequence to show my students how transition really occurs. The top row is Sean Foley demonstrating his take on the transition and downswing move. The bottom sequence is 5 time British Open Champion and renowned ballstriker Peter Thomson.

The key to getting left or bumping laterally in transition is to exert pressure straight down the right leg and through the right ankle- It is NOT by getting straight down into the left leg or foot as being exhibited in the upper frames.

Thomson’s swing was described as a metronome of effortless consistency. Why? Because he used the pressuring of the right leg and ankle to bump his hips laterally forward thus allowing his upper body to stay tilted and closed with a range of motion to allow him to then push and hit with his entire right side into and beyond impact. From here he eventually ended up on his left side. No posting into it. No pulling the head or spine ahead or on top of the ball. He covered the ball by the rotational aspect of using forearm & wrist range and body range pressuring into the strike from around himself and not up and down. The downward strike happens this way. It need not be forced or even considered.

If you are already into the left side how can you pressure toward the target with dynamic motion? You simply can’t!!!! You have to stall the body because it is already on top of the ball. You have to sling the arms and hands because they have to now work independently of the body. The arms then run away from the core beyond impact and put distress into the lower back and hamstring area and hip region as the farther the hands and arms and club run away the more those body areas have to stop to try and stabilize balance.

Take note of the push down Thomson’s right leg that puts the lateral bump into his hips. He basically opens up the downswing slot with this one move. The pressures in his feet work into the left heel and inside of the right foot (in a braced position ready to push and drive)…instead of being into the ball of the left foot and up on the right toe as exhibited by Foley.

The Foley notion has every natural bodily balance tool fighting other parts in an effort to stop and stay centered to let the hands and arms sling through.  Thomson’s shoulders are working from closed and around with spine tilt intact to again drive through the hit with EVERYTHING striking and moving together. No stress. No pain. No wild timing move of stopping something to make something catch up.

Staying off the already impaired left knee and not using it as a post to work around by utilizing the right leg more would help reduce farther damage to many areas of the body and also point him back to something he did growing up. Tiger would just end up into his left knee near his finish by the movement of the body.

As a kid Tiger knew what this was like. It isn’t a foreign feeling. It is what our body knows and suggests be done to brace itself and move efficiently. Want proof? Take a look at the Sam Snead and 5 year old Tiger Woods comparison I made a while ago. This is right leg loading to open the slot by keeping the top half behind and back as the lower half bumps forward. This sets the entire club and body up to work through and unwind all together. We also have Arnold Palmer showing all the right moves compared to another player who has been instructed to go left. One is dynamic precision. The other is imbalanced and void of cohesion to unleash much of anything except the hands and arms as the body is already locked out of its driving capabilities.

This "getting centered left" is why Tiger has become so steep on the strike. He has to stop his body and the arms run away and move laterally through the strike. This is a hold on move with excessive shaft lean that turns into a thrusting right arm and ultimate hand flip at times.  Once the body stalls the only power source you can ultimately use is the hands and arms- because it is much easier to get them to speed up again than it is to speed up an entire slowed down body. And as we know from early on in this article the hands and arms provide only a quarter of the power- so as shown his power sources and dynamics are wrong.

His brain knows this. His body knows this. However he has been told to do something entirely different to what his senses are telling him- therefore we are back at the chicken or the egg.

We can see here how Tiger has to steepen his shoulders through the strike as the hips open and the arms run away from the core and down the target line- putting imense pressure on his knees and back. He is limiting the rotational speed aspects of the swing and using the weaker arms and hands to weild the club. Hogan's hips and shoulders rotate at the same rate. Hogan was never injured from playing golf and it couldn't even take a bus crashing into his car to stop him from continuing his path to greatness.

CONCLUSION:

Tiger Woods MAY end up just fine and COULD still end up breaking all the records. The truth is no matter how much he should do it alone and become his own best source of swing information- he needs to embrace the correct logic and fundamentals to allow him to do such a thing before that will happen.

Here’s hoping for a phone call……….soon