TW IGN Interview

Gxgolfer · October 16, 2006

Videogames, golf, and competing with Mike.

http://uk.sports.ign.com/articles/738/738870p1.html
by Jon Robinson

IGN Sports: For a stretch, you weren't hitting your drives as far as you once were. Did that help the rest of our game because you had to make up for the loss of yards in other areas?

Tiger Woods: I was struggling there for a while with my swing because I was in the process of changing it. I lost my driving a little bit, and eventually, that's the last thing to come about. Obviously, that's the hit that goes the furthest, and it takes the longest to get it dialed in. These past few months, it's finally coming back around now, and it's been nice to see that process finally come together. I've been working so hard at it, and it's nice to see some of that power return.

IGN Sports: Did it trip you out that all of a sudden there were guys out driving you pretty regularly?

Tiger Woods: Yeah, but it was technology. They all changed to a harder golf ball, so they gave up spinning on the greens. They all changed to longer drivers, bigger heads with hotter faces and lighter shafts. The problem is, the harder you hit it, the more control you lose. The dispersion pattern becomes greater. You give up the opportunity to hit more fairways, then again, if you are on, you're hitting it so much further, and statistics show, the closer you are to the green, the better you're going to score on the average, and the statistics are actually pretty dramatic. You can see why guys are trying to hit the ball further and further and further.

IGN Sports: So Tiger Proofing has transformed into not just changing the courses because of your power, but technology?

Tiger Woods: Exactly, it's not just me. There are guys on Tour who hit the ball further than me. I always thought it was important to have power, but more important to have power in reserve. Can you play a power game? Yeah, I can play a power game, but I also have the ability to step it up to another level and hit shots even further on call. You don't tap into that very often, but when you do, it's nice to have that. When you look at all of the great players who ever played the game, they all had that other gear that they could go to, and it makes a world of difference.