2016 Poll: Tiger's future - will he play/win again?

[jons1]

Even right now tiger can hit balls on the range. Problem is he can't truly rip the ball and is forced to swing easier. That's the problem in the first place. He just refuses to swing easier in competition. It's too bad, because he could win without it

[Shilgy]

Even right now tiger can hit balls on the range. Problem is he can't truly rip the ball and is forced to swing easier. That's the problem in the first place. He just refuses to swing easier in competition. It's too bad, because he could win without it

You might be correct-all I have seen is that he has not even played 18 as yet. Much less be on his feet for 6-7 hours straight 6 days in a row.

[pja]

Connecting the dots from what people in the know were saying early in the year (Notah especially) my guess is something happened in the last couple of months..either he had a physical setback or his short game yips have gotten worse. My two cents.

[pja]

A few weeks back I was having a beer with some of the US Ryder Cup representatives ( and someone asked whether Tiger will play in 2016 (not necessarily in the Ryder Cup, but in any event). The response is he won't because he has no interest in golf right now. The Ryder Cup team conveyed he is healthy but doesn't want to play.

 

Feel free to speculate why he doesn't want to play as that was never asked or offered.

Honestly I am not surprised. As a matter of fact I am surprised that there are not more aging highly accomplished athletes who feel this apathy. Think about it. He knows he will never be as good

as he once was, regardless of how much he can practice. Nobody who played a sport from an early age is better at 40+ then they were when they were 20 something. I guess most are able to forget this and carry on...maybe Tiger can't??

[AmazinBlue]

He talked several times before announcing he wouldn't play this year about not being in golf shape and not recovering fast enough. My guess is he is still unable to walk 18 holes and play and warm up and then get out of bed and do it a second time, much less four days in a row. I think his back can't handle the stress of his golf swing and the rigors of practice and play. If he survived a full week, he might need several weeks of to last a season. I doubt even Tiger could compete at the highest level like that. He would have no sustained rhythm, no flow. He couldn't compete with the talent on tour in today's game playing once a month.

[Joe85]

Are we talking about the same guy - the guy so many here have said was in such great shape?

 

 

He's not on the Champions Tour, he's a 40 year old PGA player.

 

 

As big as he got I wouldn't be surprised if Tiger did PED it up over the years.

[playa]

I think he can come back and win again but he needs to play a different kind of golf. I remember the week when he had the chipping yips in Phoenix after his first comeback he also had the longest average driving distance. That is insane. He needs to take it down a notch. 285/290 in the fairway still gives him a chance to win. I guess it just comes down to his ego. If he can accept reality, he can win again. If he can't, he is headed for more injuries.

If you look at tigers career, he has based his strategy around taking advantage of par 5s. 290 won't cut it for that stategy.

[ChillyDipper]

I think he can come back and win again but he needs to play a different kind of golf. I remember the week when he had the chipping yips in Phoenix after his first comeback he also had the longest average driving distance. That is insane. He needs to take it down a notch. 285/290 in the fairway still gives him a chance to win. I guess it just comes down to his ego. If he can accept reality, he can win again. If he can't, he is headed for more injuries.

If you look at tigers career, he has based his strategy around taking advantage of par 5s. 290 won't cut it for that stategy.

 

He mentioned on Charlie Rose that he can still carry the ball over 300, and his 3w 280. But he doesn't have 325-330 carry in the bag now.

[BillyZ2]

What actually amazes me about this thread is that there are those who think Tiger will break Jack Nicholas' major record! My vote was hovering between him never playing again, and him playing it again but never winning a single event. So I chose the latter and say that he will play again but will not win a tournament

[bscinstnct]

What actually amazes me about this thread is that there are those who think tiger will break Jack Nicholas is Major record! My vote was hovering between him never playing again, and him playing it again but never winning a single event. So I chose the latter and say that he will play again but will not win a tournament

 

Jack Nicholas is the GOTE!

[Marco]

I think he can come back and win again but he needs to play a different kind of golf. I remember the week when he had the chipping yips in Phoenix after his first comeback he also had the longest average driving distance. That is insane. He needs to take it down a notch. 285/290 in the fairway still gives him a chance to win. I guess it just comes down to his ego. If he can accept reality, he can win again. If he can't, he is headed for more injuries.

If you look at tigers career, he has based his strategy around taking advantage of par 5s. 290 won't cut it for that stategy.

 

He mentioned on Charlie Rose that he can still carry the ball over 300, and his 3w 280. But he doesn't have 325-330 carry in the bag now.

 

Only Dustin carries over 320 i think, no ?

[bscinstnct]

I think he can come back and win again but he needs to play a different kind of golf. I remember the week when he had the chipping yips in Phoenix after his first comeback he also had the longest average driving distance. That is insane. He needs to take it down a notch. 285/290 in the fairway still gives him a chance to win. I guess it just comes down to his ego. If he can accept reality, he can win again. If he can't, he is headed for more injuries.

If you look at tigers career, he has based his strategy around taking advantage of par 5s. 290 won't cut it for that stategy.

 

He mentioned on Charlie Rose that he can still carry the ball over 300, and his 3w 280. But he doesn't have 325-330 carry in the bag now.

 

Only Dustin carries over 320 i think, no ?

 

JB is the biggest hitter

 

#1 2016

 

http://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.101.2016.html

 

I remember a playing lessons where he said he used to carry 330+

 

Before he went to a cut ; )

 

[ChillyDipper]

I think he can come back and win again but he needs to play a different kind of golf. I remember the week when he had the chipping yips in Phoenix after his first comeback he also had the longest average driving distance. That is insane. He needs to take it down a notch. 285/290 in the fairway still gives him a chance to win. I guess it just comes down to his ego. If he can accept reality, he can win again. If he can't, he is headed for more injuries.

If you look at tigers career, he has based his strategy around taking advantage of par 5s. 290 won't cut it for that stategy.

 

He mentioned on Charlie Rose that he can still carry the ball over 300, and his 3w 280. But he doesn't have 325-330 carry in the bag now.

 

Only Dustin carries over 320 i think, no ?

 

 

On average, I doubt DJ even carries it that far. Guys who could find a 320 carry in them, if they needed: DJ, Rory, JD, Woodland, Holmes, Bubba, Fowler maybe, Stenson with the big stick, and a few others I'm sure.

[Valtiel]

I know this thread was necro'd and has been discussed to death, but heres my .02 anyway, and this is from a lifelong Tiger fan.

 

First off though I think the people that say he'll never tee it up again are just as delusional as the ones that think he'll break Jack's record. That said I think there are two pretty distinct possibilities:

 

- He comes back swinging as hard as he has always and hangs it up after a season. Maybe sniffs at a few wins, maybe even gets one.

 

- He comes back with some ACTUAL adjustments to accommodate his back and stops swinging like the ball owes him money. Then I think he can have a bit of staying power and hopefully surpass the all time wins record. He was trending in a great direction before the last time he went down and that is something he can build on.

 

Aside from the inability to practice as much as he used to, I think the biggest concern is this seeming fixation on "I used to be long, but now the big guys carry it 320+". It seems that little voice in the back of his head is the thing that keeps him swinging 10% harder off of every tee and I think if that keeps up, he's done.

[Marco]

He mostly means that relative to the field he isnt as long, from the best players the ones that hit it that far is DJ and Rory

[bscinstnct]

I know this thread was necro'd and has been discussed to death, but heres my .02 anyway, and this is from a lifelong Tiger fan.

 

First off though I think the people that say he'll never tee it up again are just as delusional as the ones that think he'll break Jack's record. That said I think there are two pretty distinct possibilities:

 

- He comes back swinging as hard as he has always and hangs it up after a season. Maybe sniffs at a few wins, maybe even gets one.

 

- He comes back with some ACTUAL adjustments to accommodate his back and stops swinging like the ball owes him money. Then I think he can have a bit of staying power and hopefully surpass the all time wins record. He was trending in a great direction before the last time he went down and that is something he can build on.

 

Aside from the inability to practice as much as he used to, I think the biggest concern is this seeming fixation on "I used to be long, but now the big guys carry it 320+". It seems that little voice in the back of his head is the thing that keeps him swinging 10% harder off of every tee and I think if that keeps up, he's done.

 

It possible the back is fine and he can work his @ss off.

 

If this is the case, the "fields" are no better than he has faced in the past and ready to be challenged.

 

4 *first time Major winners this year*.

 

 

[Marco]

But the fields are sooooo deeeeeep now Bsc ahah

[ChillyDipper]

I know this thread was necro'd and has been discussed to death, but heres my .02 anyway, and this is from a lifelong Tiger fan.

 

First off though I think the people that say he'll never tee it up again are just as delusional as the ones that think he'll break Jack's record. That said I think there are two pretty distinct possibilities:

 

- He comes back swinging as hard as he has always and hangs it up after a season. Maybe sniffs at a few wins, maybe even gets one.

 

- He comes back with some ACTUAL adjustments to accommodate his back and stops swinging like the ball owes him money. Then I think he can have a bit of staying power and hopefully surpass the all time wins record. He was trending in a great direction before the last time he went down and that is something he can build on.

 

Aside from the inability to practice as much as he used to, I think the biggest concern is this seeming fixation on "I used to be long, but now the big guys carry it 320+". It seems that little voice in the back of his head is the thing that keeps him swinging 10% harder off of every tee and I think if that keeps up, he's done.

 

Dang, son. I couldn't have put it better myself. He needs to transition his game from the physical to the mental.

[Roadking2003]

Aside from the inability to practice as much as he used to, I think the biggest concern is this seeming fixation on "I used to be long, but now the big guys carry it 320+". It seems that little voice in the back of his head is the thing that keeps him swinging 10% harder off of every tee and I think if that keeps up, he's done.

 

I think his mental state is the big issue. He was yipping chips the last few outings. I doubt he ever yipped a chip in the thousands of rounds he played before last year. That's harder to fix than his back.

[GeorgeHWB]

First off though I think the people that say he'll never tee it up again are just as delusional as the ones that think he'll break Jack's record.

 

I think there's a chance he can't get his head and body right enough to want to subject himself to the attention of playing in a tournament. I absolutely could see him retire rather than embarrass himself.

 

That said, I don't think it's likely. But it's much more likely than winning 5 more majors.

[AztecGold]

First off though I think the people that say he'll never tee it up again are just as delusional as the ones that think he'll break Jack's record.

 

I think there's a chance he can't get his head and body right enough to want to subject himself to the attention of playing in a tournament. I absolutely could see him retire rather than embarrass himself.

 

That said, I don't think it's likely. But it's much more likely than winning 5 more majors.

 

Totally agree.

[Lodestone]

Anyone who really believes Tiger will break Jack's record is delusional.

Period.

[bscinstnct]

Anyone who really believes Tiger will break Jack's record is delusional.

Period.

 

Never know. All kinds of delusional things can happen ; )

 

[doublehans]

Right, the odds very much against Tiger getting to 18, but he's a guy that has shown in the past that when he gets it all together he can have stretches where he puts up lots of major wins quickly, there's definitely a real chance he gets healthy enough and does it. what is that number, is it 5%, 10%, 15%, etc. people will disagree, but Tiger in his prime played arguably the best golf ever played, so while its not a 50/50 proposition or anything, its certainly a significant non-zero chance. He might have to change his approach to the game and his golf swing, yes, and that's often tricky for golfers, but Tiger probably more than anyone has shown in the past that he can do that. Never would bet on it happening, but its miles away from impossible.

[BillyZ2]

Anyone who really believes Tiger will break Jack's record is delusional.

Period.

 

Never know. All kinds of delusional things can happen ; )

 

two totally different people, two totally different Lifestyles, and two totally different bodies. Jack aged much more gracefully than tiger and was able to pick up a late Masters victory. Tiger has had health issues for a long. Of time now and has been out of the game. I can't see him coming back and making any significant difference. To think that he might win a major, I think it's just out of the question.

[stinger_gc]

I predict Tiger will be President.

 

Rickie Fowler will be Vice President.

 

Phil will be Attorney General.

 

Briny Baird will be ambassador to China.

 

Haha!

 

Bubba for Secretary of State?

No Bubba will be ambassador to France.

[Lodestone]

Anyone who really believes Tiger will break Jack's record is delusional.

Period.

 

Never know. All kinds of delusional things can happen ; )

 

 

You just keep on believing that. We'll check back in 10 years.

[bscinstnct]

Anyone who really believes Tiger will break Jack's record is delusional.

Period.

 

Never know. All kinds of delusional things can happen ; )

 

 

You just keep on believing that. We'll check back in 10 years.

 

What's your p®oblem?

[Shilgy]

Funny thing is that in 1979 Jack had already been written off as being a further contender. He finished far firm the money list.** Then he won two majors in 80 after getting help from Grout and Rodgers and the Masters in 86.

 

** Written off might be a bit strong but there were a lot of articles theorizing that he was done. Sounds familiar.

[jmck]

Funny thing is that in 1979 Jack had already been written off as being a further contender. He finished far firm the money list.** Then he won two majors in 80 after getting help from Grout and Rodgers and the Masters in 86.

 

** Written off might be a bit strong but there were a lot of articles theorizing that he was done. Sounds familiar.

 

That's all well and good, but in '79 Jack was physically able to play golf. Jack in '80 and TW today are pretty much the same age, but with vastly different medical histories. Let's see some proof that TW is physically able to play 72 holes a week + practice before we start awarding to him what Jack did from age 40-46.

 

Also, while we're at it, in '78 Jack won several times on tour, plus the British, and then he finished 4th at the Masters in '79, plus had top 10s at the US and British Opens. '79 was a "down" year, but it's not like he dropped to ~700 or whatever in the world rankings. Meanwhile, TW hasn't won anything in almost 4 years, hasn't won a major in eight plus years, and hasn't finished 72 holes of tournament golf in almost a year and a half.

 

Yeah, so, long story short, apples to oranges.