Tiger Woods shot a career-worst 82 last week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open as he is undergoing yet another overhaul of his swing. Fellow golfer Phil Mickelson believes the former No. 1 player in the world will rebound and return to form.
Woods especially struggled with his short game in the two rounds on Thursday and Friday before missing his 13th career cut. He was hitting shots fat and thin and could not seem to get the ball at all close to the hole while he struggled with his mechanics entirely. This is fourth go-around changing his swing with his fourth coach.
"I think that Tiger's going to have the last laugh,'' Mickelson said, via Bob Harig of ESPN. "I think that his short game, historically, is one of the best of all time. I think his golf game is probably the best of all the time."
"It's happened to me a number of times where I have gone through spells where I had trouble chipping the ball close, chipping it solid,'' he added. "But it comes back. It's not like it's a big concern."
Actually, Chris Como is known as Woods' "consultant," so it's incorrect to call him his fourth "coach." Como is finishing up his master's degree in biomechanics and previously taught lessons at Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, Texas before working with Woods. Como's focus is "sport injury mechanism," which is how sports movements impact the body. In suffering countless injuries over the past few years, Woods' decision to choose Como likely reflects concern for his health and longevity as he continues to chase Jack Nicklaus' major record.
"It's a good bet that Como, Woods and Kwon 3D (a swing analysis software package) will be spending some quality time together this offseason, taking apart the most famous swing puzzle in golf and trying to put it back together in a way that works for Tiger's age, mileage and fragile back," writes Matthew Rudy of Golf Digest.
Woods has changed his swing under coaches Butch Harmon, Hank Haney and Sean Foley, but this time it's different. Como's approach is scientific and his role is different than Woods' previous coaches - he is referred to as a "swing consultant" and is not a "method teacher." He says it's all about using science and finding a way to make the golfer autonomous.
"The idea of having a person rely on a teacher is bad," Como said. "You have to know about yourself, rely on yourself."
Woods says he's working hard with Como to fix his issues and work through the struggles because he's "in between patterns." Right now his goal is to prepare for Augusta and he's going to use the rounds in between to work on getting used to his latest mechanics, because as a golfer, the only way to improve is to get out there and play competitively.
"When I get out here and I have to hit a shot, I'm caught right in between," Woods said via Harig. "I'm battling through that, battling through those times and trying to come with feel, even if I do happen to make a bad swing, I know what the fix is, but could I save it during the swing itself. My good is really good. Unfortunately, my bad is really bad."
