Do Long Game Swing Issues Impact Short Game Technique?
A fascinating debate is in the offing over the coming months if Tiger Woods continues to chunk (and now blade) wedge shots as he did again Friday in the Hero World Challenge.
From Bob Harig's ESPN.com story on Tiger's 2-under-par 70 in the company of Patrick Reed, who posted 63.
The work in progress remains his short game, a good example occurring at the par-4 eighth hole Friday. It was his only bogey on the front side, but it was an ugly one, with a wedge-shot approach to the green coming up several yards short, followed by a bladed chip shot that went 40 feet past the pin. A day earlier, Woods chunked chip shots four times, so a natural compensation might be what occurred on the eighth hole.
Tiger later presented the 18th green surrounds with a huge divot similar to those of Thursday's round and again, on a shot where there was plenty of green to work with and no real fine line situation that might explain the kind of heavy shot he's hitting.
Woods said after the round that the long swing changes he's making are tied to the short game struggles. Will Gray reporting for GolfChannel.com:
“A chip shot is a smaller version (of the swing),” he said. “So this is a different path than I have been using, and it’s showing up. It’s not quite ready yet. Just going to take more time, more practice.”
Adam Schupak explored the topic of Tiger's swing changes, with complimentary remarks from Hank Haney on Twitter (“Clearly better, back on track. He wasted five years.”) and David Leadbetter, who is not seeing the direct correlation Woods and others see between swing mechanics and short game mechanics.
“Sure there is some correlation between the long game and the short game but basically it’s a pretty different approach,” Leadbetter said. “As good as a short game as he’s had during his career, why would he ever want to change that? I think he made a big mistake.”
Woods critic Brandel Chamblee on Golf Central has actually been endorsing the idea of a direct tie between Woods' swing and the embarrassing shots around the greens, saying a combination of the dip in Woods' swing, the changed release point and the setup/takeaway changes are all impacting Tiger's wedge shots around the green.
Maybe I haven't been paying enough attention to instruction over the last ten years, because I'm totally flummoxed by this notion. Though perhaps this explains why a shocking number of modern professionals are so mediocre around the greens compared to previous generations due to employing swing fundamentals for what are largely short feel shots around greens?
Here is Chamblee talking about these really difficult shots around Isleworth's greens where he says there is "nothing harder than chipping off of a tight light into the grain."
Friday, December 5, 2014 at 08:09 PM
Reader Comments (38)
In Tiger's case, with the Foley swing, he obviously changed his pitching technique to match that Stack & Tilt-type/Hardy One Plane swing. That swing is not conducive to proper pitching, if shortened. Remember Tiger's infamous wedge into Hole No. 15 at the Masters a couple years ago? The one that torpedoed off the flagstick into the lake? Sure, it was a bad break, but that wedge shot went flying into the green like a rocket, way too low, with too much force. When he was with Haney, his wedge shots floated into the greens and landed softly, and he didn't take huge divots with his pitches. (Haney contends that a pitch shot should be 90 percent carry, 10 percent roll, and I agree.)
So there's basically two schools of thought on this subject. Haney, in his book "The Only Golf Lesson You'll Ever Need," is of the Tiger thought (above). In fact, Haney starts his book out by describing his pitching technique, the only golf instruction book I've ever read to do that. Haney states that if you master his pitch shot, you'll effectively be practicing your full swing every time you practice your pitching.
Leadbetter, on the other hand, teaches a pitching technique that is a completely different approach than the full swing. He outlined this pitching technique in great detail in Golf Digest in January or February of 2006. It was one of those two months, I made photocopies of that section and kept it, but have since lost the magazine...and it's not available online, to my knowledge.
I've tried Haney's pitching technique (step by step from the book I mentioned) and have I found it to be incredibly effective. I also found Leadbetter's technique to be just as effective.
Going back to the question at hand, I think it's an individual thing. Personally, my pitching and chipping technique do not mirror or foreshadow my full swing at all, which is its own technique. For a guy like Tiger, it's obvious that his pitching has always emulated his full swing (and vice versa), so it only makes sense that he keeps it that way, because that's what he's comfortable with. One thing's for sure, he's on the right track now that he's ditched Foley. Tiger hit some of the most horrendous pitch shots I've seen when he used the Foley technique, and he was the best pitcher of the golf ball I've ever seen when he was with Haney.
Wow, I couldn't disagree more. Playing in the 90's, I feel like the current players are way better around the greens.
There were absolute geniuses like Seve, Trevino etc, but throughout the field, it is amazing to me how many solid pitchers and chippers there are these days.
This isn't between the ears at all, for a guy like Tiger it's 99 percent technique. Ditto for everyone else. Pitching the ball is all technique. Chipping requires some feel, putting requires feel, but Tiger will never lack feel. He may lose his nerves at some point (as most golfers do as they age), which will probably affect his putting down the road, but I don't think he's there yet. He might have to switch up how he putts somewhere down the road.
@Confused Again
I don't watch enough golf on TV to be able to comment, but it seems like today's players should have better short games, given the technology (a plethora of different wedges to choose from), better golf balls and there aren't any secrets about technique that are hidden. Phil penned a great book on the short game; any Tour pro today could benefit from that book, something that wasn't around in the 1990s. And although I find Pelz to be a little too much, there's no denying he's helped a generation of golfers sort out the short game.
https://vine.co/v/OvVvhFJHBMn
@Croz: You make some very good points. Agree...the best pitchers have the ability to make the ball fall "softly out of the air" so that a baby could even catch it.
IMO: Stan Utley would be a perfect guy with whom tiger could spend some afternoons hanging around on the pitching green with. Or invite him to the Jupiter Compound for a "pitch-shot&Popsicle" party?
Tight lies requires almost no margin of error, requiring a short game tested by tournament play. Tiger does not have that now.
A short sided tight lie to these Isleworth flags look pretty difficult. The other players have gone through a season of tough tournament play so their short game by this point is second nature.
For injury reasons and swing changes, Tiger does not have short game by "second nature." It will come.
I thought the whole point of this exercise was to stop going to game "gurus" so Tiger could own both his long and short game?
I disagree that the "Stack & Tilt-type/Hardy One Plane swing is not conducive to proper pitching, if shortened." The swing, whether long or shot, travels on an incline circle and the pitching technique mimics that geometry. It doesn't necessarily require taking big divots, and uses the bounce of the club like traditional concepts.
Whatever works for you works, but to say one is the right way and one is the wrong way not correct. Check out Martin Chuck's ("Tour Striker" inventor) two videos lllustrating the geometry and the technique below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJAhziJ-ZoU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6BITAfNMoM
THAT SAID, was I the only one who thought he walked off the tee a bit gingerly a few times? I dunno if he's fully healed despite what he says. I hope so, but he looked like he was a bit upright after swinging the club.
That chunked pitch on his last hole...that face was very delofted. You can see it on backswing, and he really really really turned that club from a sliding/skimmer tool into a shovel that dug in. You can't trap shots that need to land softly imo. Chipping...no problemo. Let the club open on backswing more, expose a tad more bounce. I like to teach kids how to pitch by getting old lofted clubs and actually having them let the club go at impact....it forces them to release it like a mini full-swing.
(Note: I am talking pitch shots...eg when the ball flies more than halfway to target with minimal roll...some of those shots Tiger appeared to duff he attempted to hit a chip when a pitch was needed and vice versa. At least that's what I saw. Probably just mental rust from not playing for real since Aug)
His full swing looks refreshingly "reactive to his ball flight" though...good sign. Better balance too. You can read his follow through more easily than former robo move.
Youngsters Speith and Reed are learning how to be dangerous...that's some good shooting! Best of luck to Tiger getting to 19 big ones.
But we also have to remember course conditioning at the tour-level has changed significantly. A great short-game player in the 1960's had less of an advantage because of softer, shaggier conditions. Today's conditions brutally reveal a lack of a great short-game.
Really? One of the greatest players, who at one time had one of the greatest short games, chunks and blades chips and pitches after doing nothing but practicing chips and pitches for the last 60 days, and it's 99 % technique? Sorry bud, no effing way. In the words of a few past posters here, this isn't the club championship and Tiger isn't a low-handicap player. This IS NOT about technique.
Courses were softer in the 60's?
If you don't look at Bubba from below mid thigh...his swing is Awsome. Easy power. Full release beauty!
The alignment he needs/uses is interesting. Mike Nicolette said his launch numbers are crazy. Like the club is coming UP from under the ground trench style. Much respect!
Rickie is def a sweeper. Short game needs polishing. Get his distance control a tad more predictable.
Great tv for swing nerds.
Jcz
YOU THINK ?
Round 1: 5
Round 2: 1
Round 3: 2
8 and counting. Sheesh!
Dear Tiger fans, don't worry he'll work it out.
Dear Tiger ill wishers, even flubbing a couple chips a round, he'll still be in the mix most weeks.
Round 1: Six back of Jason Day
Round 2: Seven back of Patrick Reed
Round 3: Two back of Billy Horschel
That cocky guy from Big Break Myrtle Beach is on line 2.
OMG...LOL...
Well, we just figured out who the one guy watching Big Break MB is?
@ Bob 'The issue of the back seems resolved so far'.
I dunno about that. Watching him walk off of a couple of tee's he looked very upright, as if holding himself. I agree, he#s swinging the club way better, but there was also a clip I saw of him walking down a slope by the 6th green, and he looked again like he was moving very carefully.
Once again, not a hater, want to see him back competing. Just not convinced that the guy who was hobbled in
I think the flubbed chips are technique. In retrospect, the guy has a home set-up perfect for chipping, can't be lack of practice. If it is, that points to more latent health issues, or a lack of desire. Paging Mark Roe, lobby phone.