Should Tiger go back to Butch Harmon?

Question

In the 2 year period between 1999-2001 Memorial, Tiger won 20 out of 40 PGA tour events, including 5 out 8 majors and played a level of Golf that had never been seen before or since. I doubt he will ever approach that level again unless he fires Hank Haney. There were signs last year that he was going to do it again he has now lost it. His current swing is inferior to the 1999-2001 version no matter what he or any of his die-hard fans say. Ofcourse he is going to say his current swing is better, but that doesn't mean it is better. He is in denial if he thinks his current swing is better.

He will break Jacks record, but we can forget about seeing Tiger do the following again:

52 consecutive rounds at par or better(2000 Byron Nelson classic - 2001 Phoenix Open)

35 consecutive tournaments at par or better(1999 PGA championship - 2001 Memorial tournament)

Double digit margin of victory in a major(2000 US Open)

4 majors in a row(2000 US Open- 2001 Masters)

Answer 1

Interesting question, although now that his nemesis, Phat Phil, is the prize pupil of Butchie, there's even less chance of him going back to him than before (when there was about 0% chance of that). I do agree with you that, at least from my perception, Tiger's golf swing was better pre-Haney. Less contrived somehow. I do think however that his release and follow through look more natural this week than I've seen them post-Haney so maybe he is actually making progress.

As you've no doubt heard him say, Tiger's all about improving - not standing still and certainly not regressing. Ultimately his opinion of course is the only one that matters and based on his past history of dealing with issues in a black and white way I can't see him sticking around long term if he doesn't see Hank helping him get to where he wants to be - friend or no friend. In any event, the chance of him going back to work with Butch Harmon is zero, zilch, nada. Too much water under the bridge. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Answer 2

I don't know if its about his swing being better, but rather about comfort. If he's not comfortable with his swing, he's not going to continue doing it. There may have been other factors besides swing mechanics that divided the two. Personally, I think his driver swing looks way too hard. What's another 10-15 yards if he can hit long irons better than anyone else in the game? That little dip he's got with the driver is screwing with his timing and impact. I do agree that when Tiger was with Butch, his tempo was very smooth. I just don't think that swing mechanically was easy to maintain and replicate.

Answer 3

Yeah poor tiger he is really stinking up the course. There is a lot of new young players that provide a little more competition than 5-6 years ago as well.

Do you really feel sorry for Tiger that he is not winning everything? Somehow I think he will still pay the mortgage and be able to eat out once in a while.

Answer 4

Butch is a great coach, I am not saying Hank is not doing a good job but golf is tough. Tiger have good day and some decent day but for us , it is more like decent and bad days. I dun understand a couple of times in the second round Turnberry, why he pulled out the fairway metal instead of his long iron, the one he used the most the last time he won the british open. He got into trouble with the fairway metal that day and can't find the fairway that lead to bogey.

Answer 5

I think it's a matter of time...maybe. Tiger is at the point that if he knows something is wrong with his swing...he can fix it himself. Personally I think his swing is better now than it was years ago. It is more fundamentally sound. If you watch his old swing...while nice...it would have worn his body out by late thirties/early forties. Not that I'm a pro or anything, but if there was ONE flaw in his swing right now it would be when his club is at the top of the swing...he has a tendancy to "squat" toward the ball forcing his arms to play catch up...when he does this he normally comes through it w/a slightly "open face." While it's a good power move...it costs in accuracy....just my 2 cents worth...

Answer 6

No. He realized that although winning his swing was flawed and that eventually as he aged he would no longer be able to compensate for his swing errors through physical contortions at impact. You ever see a great hitter in baseball who all-of-a-sudden can't hit anything when he passes thirty? It's typically a guy who had flawed fundamentals but relied on reflex and youthful dexterity to compensate. With age, the body tightens and the reflexes slow. It happens in golf too. Tiger didn't want to be one of those guys.

Answer 7

yes