After Surgery Tiger Woods Faces the Public Opinion

The Golf number one player Tiger Woods had to recently face a reconstructive knee surgery which he had postpone due to the US Open tournament. After the procedure Woods gave a public speech during which he mentioned he will be required the use of crutches for no less than three weeks. Woods was not certain regarding the time he will be out of the golf course as it could be from six to twelve months; it really depends on how fast he recovers.

"I really don't know," mentioned Woods during the conference call to promote his AT&T Tournament which takes place near Washington, D.C. and that he usually hosts but this time will not be able to attend. "We'll have to see how this thing heals and everyone heals at a different rate. Some six months, some at nine and some at 12. To be honest with you, no one really knows until we start the rehab process and see how this thing goes."

Last June 16th Tiger Woods won the US Open in Torrey Pines, San Diego but he had already planned to get this surgery months in advanced as it was a necessary procedure in order for him to continue his golf career. Woods’ ACL injury came after last year’s British Open; one day when he was jogging but despite the injury he was able to put off the surgery until the end of the year; Woods really struggled with the decision and even played well most part of the 2008 season; but all of a sudden the knee began to get worse.  Woods was then taken to the hospital a couple of days after his finishing second place in the Golf Master event.

"That was to get me through the rest of the '08 season," he said. "And then have it [reconstructive surgery] done after the '08 season. [But] I developed stress fractures and decided to bag it for the rest of the year."

While on rehab, Woods began to show problems with some stress fractures; therefore he was not able to attend the Memorial event. Basically he couldn’t practice for more than nine holes without dealing with the pain and that is why he decided to play the US Open and make that event his last one of the season.

The US Open was without a doubt a remarkable tournament for Woods; we can even say it was the best we have seemed of his previous 14 victories. Some days before the tournament Woods could barely walk and this prevented him from practicing daily but despite the tight situation he was able to move forward and get through such an important competition.

Woods did mention that he has been dealing with this problem for more than 12 years and he feels relieve that finally he will feel healthier without any kind of pain. Woods regrets the fact he will miss the British Open and the PGA Championship but he is certain to be part of these event next year when he is fully recovered. 

Golf - Tiger Woods To Play at the Australian Masters

Tiger Woods announced that he is going to participate in the Australian Masters that is going to be held at the Kingston Heath in the Melbourne area in November. This will be the first appearance of the golfer Down Under since 1998 and the fourth time that he participates on a tournament in Australia; the last time was in the 1998 Presidents Cup.

The first visit of Woods was during the Australian Open in 1996 on the Australian Course in Sydney, where he finished tied for fifth behind the winner of that time, Greg Norman. His next tournament was the Australian Masters in 1997 at Hungtingdale in Melbourne where he finished seven shots behind the winner in that moment, Peter Lonard.

His participation, according to the Victoria State premier John Brumby, has already been confirmed. Brumby also explained that the visit of the top ranked golfer will give a lot of benefits to the state of Victoria, including $12.54 million in economic earnings, covering the $2 million fee that Woods is charging just for the appearance in the tournament.

"We expect thousands of visitors from interstate and overseas will come to Melbourne to see the world's greatest golfer on one of Melbourne's world-class golf course," the premier said in the statement. "The event will boost tourism, create jobs for Victorians and beam Melbourne to millions of people through a worldwide television audience."

The Australian golfer Stuart Appleby, who regularly plays against Woods in the PGA Tour, explained that this is something important for the people that haven't seen him in person and that will be able to do it now. He also stated that not many people will understand why he is earning $2 million for just showing up, but they have take into account all the benefits he will bring with him, mostly economic. He added that Woods has been in Asia and Europe a couple of times and that is good to have him in Australia too.

The director of the Australasian Tour Tournament, Andrew Langford-Jones, has also backed up the investment of bringing Tiger Woods for the tournament because is worth it. He explained that a lot of people depend on the golf industry for their jobs and incomes. He also said that the accommodations for the crowds that are going to be assisting to the Kingston Heath would be stretch, since they are estimating between 70.000 and 100.000 people going to the tournament.

Tiger Woods has recently come back to the golf courts, after he spent eight months resting and recovering from the knee surgery he had back in 2008 after winning the US Open. Woods finished ninth at the World Golf Championship event in Miami four days ago and lost in the second round of the Accenture World Match Play in Arizona two weeks earlier, those were the first events in which he has taken part this year. Tiger seems to feel fine after this well deserved and needed rest and we hope the best for him in the future.

Why Tiger Woods has a Perfect Golf Swing

This last weekend, we once again had the pleasure of watching Tiger Woods playing in a Major Golf Tournament, the 2009 Masters. He injured his knee prior to the 2008 US Open, and the last we saw of him was winning that tournament in a lot of pain.

He may not have won this years Masters tournament but his swing truly is exceptional and it is alwyas worth taking a look at some video and snapshots of his swing to do some video analysis. So why does Tiger Woods have a perfect golf swing? The answer is TIMING.

Tiger shows an almost perfect example of a concept we discussed in our last post with Andy Murray's serve. Tiger creates club head speed by perfectly sequencing and timing the movement of his knees, hips, shoulders, wrists and club. In golf this is known as the kinematic sequence. The kinematic sequence in a golf swing is a little different to that of a Tennis serve, but in the end the idea for both is to create club head speed or racquet head speed by storing and then transferring energy from hips to shoulders to club or racquet, with perfect timing.

Lets have a look at Tiger Woods' swing in slow motion from some YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHcP6X7dEUo . We have seen this video before, but it is a really good one. In this video we have a side on view of Tiger's swing (side on to the direction he will hit) and we can see the club throughout the swing. This makes it a great video to analyze. The video was also filmed with a high speed camera with a high shutter speed, which is why we can see the club so clearly in each frame even through ball impact.

OK lets analyse this swing by looking at the way Tiger stores and transfers energy to the ball through the golf club. If you stop the video at 0:33 seconds, you will see that Tiger is now at the top of his back swing. During his back swing he turned his hips and his shoulders away from the direction in which he will be hitting in order to store up energy for his swing.

Play the video from here and we will see how his hips start to move earlier and quicker than his upper body and that his shoulders are left behind. Tiger is starting his kinematic sequence by unwinding his back swing. The timing is important and he leads with his hips in order to create more separation between his hips and shoulders and therefore create more energy to be transferred.

His shoulders then follow and at ball strike we see that Tiger's hips are now facing the target while his shoulders are almost facing directly at the camera. This perfect timing has allowed him to transfer all the energy from his back swing, first to his hips and then from his hips to his shoulders.

Here are two images of Tiger at the top of his back swing and at ball strike, created with some free video analysis software and images of Tiger's swing.

Although these are 2 different swings, we can see how Tiger creates separation between his hips and shoulders in the image on the left and how his hips are turned toward the target at ball strike in the image on the right. The shoulders have rotated quickly as they follow in sequence from the hips, in fact they have caught up with the hips as energy was transferred from hips to shoulders and the hip rotation has slowed while the shoulder rotation has sped up. The angle between the hips and shoulders at ball strike is now much less than at the start of the down swing and we can see this in the images above.

Of course the golf swing does not end with the shoulders and there are still numerous places where the timing can be off and the golfer can lose club head speed. In the video above we can look at time 00:41 seconds and we can see that Tiger's wrists are still cocked. As we play forward from this point we will see the wrists release, transferring the energy from the shoulders and arms to the wrists and on to the club and club head at ball strike.

This last sequence happens very quickly and the golfers timing has to be perfect. Tiger Wood's is the master of this timing and we look forward to seeing more video of his swing now that he is back from injury Follow us at The Video Analysis of Sports (see link in bio), to see more video analysis of Tiger, golf and other sports.

Cheyenne, a Splinter Off Tiger Woods' Family Tree. Seniors Give Us a Lesson in Scoring Low and Stop Topping the Ball

Tiger Woods looked a bit like Phil Mickelson (and family) after his win at the Target World Challenge with grandma holding up baby Sam to receive a wet one while Elin proudly looked on. Perfect Kodak moment!





Now it's time for a six-week respite. Perhaps a holiday aboard the yacht, then Christmas with the relatives?





Or, maybe a powow with the lesser known side of the family? Cheyenne Woods signed a National Letter of Intent to play golf at Wake Forest University so a bit of catching up couldn't hurt, especially since Tiger and Cheyenne both share a common bond. Earl Woods Sr. gave his granddaughter her first set of golf clubs and, as Tiger remarked, "she started in the garage where I started. I'll never forget that day."





Besides the apparent similar features, Cheyenne, daughter of Earl Woods Jr., is becoming an accomplished golfer. But she lacks Tiger's humble nature, commenting in an interview earlier in the year that she doesn't just want to be known as "somebody's relative" making sure to mention that "other people tell me that I play a little bit better under pressure and that my composure on the course is Tiger-like." Perhaps there is a bit of sibling rivalry between Earl Jr. and Tiger? Still, they're not your typical family.





This week Golf for Beginners podcast discusses Cheyenne Woods, the Earl Woods legacy and the probability of defeating Michelle Wie in competitve golf.





We also have a bevy of golf tips including a discussion on how seniors can beat younger players on the course and easy ways to stop topping the ball.





P.S. Crybaby Rory Sabbatini may have escaped with $170,000 of last place payout under Tiger Woods' radar but I'm sure the only thing that bothered Woods about this issue was that the Foundation could have used the money. I'll bet that Sabbatini won't be asked to come back next year. (Hmmm, did Sabbatini pull a Michelle Wie or was he gracious enough to thank the host before he disappeared?)





Send your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@worldgolf.com.





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Tiger Woods Americas Greatest Golfer

Eldrick “Tiger�? Woods was born December 30, 1975. Currently the world’s #1 American professional golfer is ranked among the most successful golfers of all time.  He is also the highest paid athlete estimated worth $122 million in winnings and endorsements. It is also believed that he will be the first American athlete to surpass the $1 billion dollar earning estimate.

Tiger Woods began to play golf at the age of two. A “natural�? for the game of golf, he went on to win the Junior World Championships six times- an unprecedented accomplishment for such a young boy.

In 1996 he became a professional golfer and signed with Nike Inc. – an endorsement worth $40 million and with Titleist Inc. worth $20 million.  Woods was named Sports Illustrated 1996 Sportsman of the Year and PGA Rookie of the Year. Woods went on to win his first tournament The Masters in April, becoming the youngest Masters winner of African-American and Asian-American descent. Woods went on to win three PGA Tour events that same year.

The following season Woods continued dominating throughout all of the tournaments. Wood’s six professional major championships and three U.S amateur championship titles totaled nine major championships through age 25. He achieved No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking for the most rapid progression to that position ever recorded.

Throughout his career, Wood’s has established several charitable and youth projects which include; The Tiger Woods Foundation, In The City Golf Clinics and Festivals,  The Tiger Woods Learning Center, The Tiger World Challenge and Tiger Woods Foundation National Junior Golf Team.  In 2001 Wood’s wrote a-best selling golf instruction book “How I Play Golf�? and has written a golf instruction column for Golf Digest Magazine since 1997.

Tiger Woods major championships include 11 amateur wins, 65 PGA Tour wins, 7 European Tour wins and 17 other professional wins.  Woods career wins include;  The Masters in 1997, 2001, 2002,  PGA Championships in 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, US Open in 2000, 2002, 2008, The Open Championship in 2000, 2005, 2006.

Mickelson Answers Putting Question, Tiger Woods Tenaciously Scrambles. Also, Laura Davies Doubts Michelle Wie's Mental State. Odyssey Xg Putters

It’s easy to see why professional golfers become distracted when Tiger Woods is somewhere in the pack. If he’s only a few strokes back, chances are his resolve will carry him to victory. That is precisely what happened this weekend at the Dubai Desert Classic.





On the flip side, no one seems to be afraid of Phil Mickelson.





J.B. Holmes’ memories of a 2006 victory at the FBR Open was all he needed to maintain his purpose for this year’s event. And, the claim to fame that he beat Mickelson was also a good incentive.





Phil’s putter let him down once again claiming that a misread putt and a few that “slid by the edge�? contributed to a playoff. Although Butch Harmon has been working with Mickelson on his 150-yard approach shots, Lefty found that his golf ball wasn’t as close to the hole as was Na’s. That must have also frustrated him.





This week on our Golf for Beginners podcast we discuss Mickelson’s views from the putter. Is it better to keep your eyes over, or behind, the ball?





We also talk about how the amateur golfer can use Tiger Woods’ scrambling ability and tenacity to improve your own game.





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Michelle Wie takes center stage once again as she receives an exemption to the Fields Open. Has her physical injury healed? Has her mental game improved? All questions will be answered in two weeks.





Laura Davies believes that psychological damage that Michelle Wie endured from playing golf in men’s tournaments will take a year to heal. She also thinks that her own game is ready for the next level, affirming that this is her year to dominate the LPGA Tour..and that includes toppling Lorena Ochoa! At least Davies understands what it takes to win, but, at forty-four years old and with a plethora of new stars on the horizon as well as Annika Sorenstam back in form, the LET star is going to have her hands full.





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The Odyssey two-ball putter has become a mainstay on the PGA Tour. From professional golfers to amateurs, all gain assistance from the golfball-sized white discs on top of the clubface which help align a ball to its target.





Where the design was initially unusual, the technology which offered exceptional resiliency and performance also became the backbone of Odyssey’s line-up of putters. And, with the introduction of the elasticore multi layer insert technology, the advancements are noticeable.





With the introduction of the Divine Line of putters designed specifically for women, I wondered if I would notice a difference between the new White Hot XG and the Divine, or if one should rely on a putter’s performance predominantly based upon the length of its shaft?





This question, and more, are answered in this week's golf podcast.





Click here to listen.

Hank Haney Talks Tiger Woods

Imagine Tiger Woods’ instructor, Hank Haney, standing right in front of you, offering you advice on your golf game. That is exactly what happened to me at Chelsea Piers in New York in an event held in conjunction with The First Tee and FedEx.

I had the opportunity to stand within inches of one of the Top 100 instructors in the world, so what should I ask him? I thought most about my own game. Being a 14 handicap, I have alot of questions, ranging from help with basic fundamentals (for both myself and many of my listeners) right down to nitty-gritty questions about Tiger Woods.

Okay, so Mr. Haney didn’t help only me that day, his main focus was on the hundred or so kids that belong to the New York Metropolitan Chapter where he mentioned, “What could be better than to help the best player in the world and to help kids?�?

The few minutes that I taped with Mr. Haney is literally a gold-mine of information which will definitely assist both the beginner and advanced amateur golfer. And yes, there is even some commentary on Tiger Woods, his philosophy and how he’s faring during his forced rest.

Thanks to Mr. Haney for helping me with my game. Barry even learned a few things from my interview! And why not? Even Tiger Woods has a coach to assist him with his game and he’s the greatest golfer on the planet.

Also, thanks to the First Tee Program and FedEx for the invite.

Check out the live interview here: http://www.worldgolf.com/blogs/golf-for-beginners/2008/08/25/hank_haney_talks_tiger_woods_gives_easy_