Teeth of Tiger

We have taken the liberty to add friends with whom we wanted to share our newsletter. As with all transmissions these days, this one doesn't have to be in your inbox. If you prefer not to have it sent every two months, just let us know.
Also, we had a request from one reader that this be transmitted as a "blind copy" attachment via email, as a deterrent to email addresses being harvested by spammers. We think that is a very good idea. Thanks, CGM

December having given golfers the brief interlude known as the "Silly Season," we found a little time to reflect on one of the past year's trends. It's no news that the Tiger train had a different look and feel to it. No majors, but plenty of wins. It's hard to argue with 5 wins, two seconds and 12 top tens out of 18 starts. So far in 2004 he has a 4th and a 10th place finish.

There has been a rather constant chatter about whether Tiger is/was "losing" his touch or not. Certainly an argument either way will not be much better than some kind of opinion, even if calculated and supported by stats. A number of those who have commented to us, or questioned what we thought, wondered if Tiger is "losing ground," or if the field is "gaining" on him. Clearly his separation from "the field" seems to grow a little less as time goes along, if we accept the world rankings as an index, but what can we make of it?

Our eyes and ears at least give us some feedback. It may be extremely subtle, but Tiger appears to have "throttled back" more than the field has "throttled up." What is noticeable is that Tiger seemed, in 2003, to lack the finely tuned edge he showed for the previous three years. Even his start this year has been, for him, quiet. Without being able to speak to him (which is perhaps not quite fair), what our eyes see is some change in his way of doing the things that took him to the top. Some blame his putting, but he still makes the 5 and 6 footers. Looks more like he isn't giving himself as many chances at those putts as he did earlier. His distance control is still sharp, as is the rest of his short game, but his direction management, especially in putting, seems a little suspect. That can easily come from spending too much, or unnecessary, time on both swing and putting mechanics. If he, or anyone else, has precipitated even the tiniest suspicion that his putting is "off," it is likely that he will go to the first place all players tend to visit - the "mechanical" portfolio. One of the unanswered questions for every player is "Where does 'being sharp' go and what causes it to leave?"

Tiger just looks like his mind is working over time, at least much more than formerly. He seems to be "thinking," that is, in the sense of too much concern for, and attention to, the technical aspects of his game. Much of that shift in his attention may be coming from the good old Western world's way of being eternally rational and needing to be in what most believe to be "anti-knee-knocking" control. In other words, Tiger has not continued what always showed as his more calm, resolute, zen-like demeanor, which seemed to be maintaining his system's stability and harmony. Before last year, there was little hint of the excessive anxiety in him that invites errors in most players. More recently, he seems to be allowing his ears to pick up too much static from too many people, and those sounds are drowning out what has appeared to be his forte.

It does seem, however, that there is a slight forward thrust coming from other players, but it shows as less intense than Tiger's trickle down toward the rest of the field. Even at a subtle level, other players may be taking heart from all this. He will likely catch himself before others catch him, but the downturn may continue, at least briefly.

For awhile, we thought that Tiger might have nearly impregnable underpinnings passed on to him from his mother's "quiet" eastern influence, and the "hard nose" from his father. In other words, his birthright put him in possession of traits the rest of us would relish and keep searching for. We still think that is part of his fabric, but it is now being tested and perhaps even twisted by the constant bombardment from the media, the crowds, other players, and the industry itself. It is extraordinarily difficult, when all around you are screaming "No," for anyone to set forth a meaningfully stirring "Yes." After all, even Tiger is human. When everyone else is determined to depend on cognitive consciousness, any devotees of non conscious automatic action may easily be trampled into submission.

If there is one thing about humanity that is often hard to take, it is the degree to which the screams of the masses target those who appear to be different or, in some way act and deliver, especially at another, higher level. There's something about us that first puts "special" folks on a pedestal, and then shouts for them to stand down. How else can the crowd defend themselves against feeling "second-rate" in the face of a brand of competence and confidence such as what Tiger has shown in the past, and if you ignore the majors, he continues to show.

We've heard other gossip, too, that Tiger may have lost his edge to a woman, which is nothing more than adolescent rationale - with such speculation coming even from those who have at least enough age to be approaching some kind of maturity. It seems that covetousness is not limited to Biblical characters and references. Such is the content of media "spam" which is so speculative as to deserve no comment other than to notice its presence. Beyond that, the rumor mill continues to second guess with such as "the instructor did it," "his hunger is gone," "he only wants majors," and a few dozen other benign pieces of creative writing.

Tiger may have misplaced something in his repertoire, but it is doubtful that anything is "lost." I for one would not expect to get very far trying to grab the Tiger by the "tale."

In case you missed the first report, here is another link for the saga of Clay Smith and the $250,000 field goal on "clear key," at the Atlanta Peach Bowl in January. This leads to an article by Scott Brown, sports reporter for the "Florida Today" newspaper. One golf professional who has taught with clear keys for nearly 15 years, put it this way:

"It's one giant kick for clear keys, automatic," said Mike Warobick, who owns U.S. 1 Golf Center in Rockledge, who teaches with clear keys and has been Clay's primary instructor for several years.

New books that are consequential surface only infrequently where golf is concerned. At least, that's our take, and we read a lot. Chuck Evans, one of only a handful of certified Golf Instructors that have full competence in making use of the extensive range of knowledge left to us by Homer Kelley, the author of The Golfing Machine," has just released a new eBook: "How to Build YOUR Golf Swing." This is one that we can highly recommend. Many a player has heard about TGM and paused to look inside the book. Then a portion of these have run away from what seemed to them like the over complication of the century. Fact is, we've all been mesmerized by golf instruction books that promised "perfection," but Homer's book is not an instruction book. It's an "encyclopedia" of every possible combination of movements that enter into any and all golf swings. The effect of such a compendium is that it may be complex, but it has every golf swing ever made contained in it, and that statement is not made lightly.

What Chuck's book does is to lift out the elements that can be organized most simply for a player who wishes to learn or improve a golf swing. It is his approach to helping the learner using TGM as a solid, authoritative resource, just as you and I might use a dictionary to help us spell correctly. Homer's book is chock full of basic principles that are transferable into any golf swing you have ever seen, owned or ever will be put to work. That means that Chuck"s book is built on principles that one can understand and apply straightforwardly.

You can find more information of Chuck's website, as well as the download link for the eBook.

Our second announcement is for a new golf eZine, which is making it's debut. You can read Golfing Weekly Magazine online or download it to read later (.pdf format).

Andy Smith, the editor and publisher, says "Our first FREE weekly issue will be published on that day [Feb. 16] and every Monday thereafter. As a subscriber, you will be notified how to obtain your copy as soon as it is available to download. We have obtained a VALUABLE FREE GIFT for everyone who subscribes prior to the launch date. So, reserve your copy now and claim your free gift while it's still available." The first issue will be ready on February 16, 2004 and will be followed by new issues each Monday.

We appreciate his reference for subscribers to the "Valuable Free Gift," which happens to be our little eBook on Putting, but he says that for any of our newsletter group who already have the Putting Book, he will provide an alternative for those who email him. Even though it says "prior to the launch date," I'm sure he has in mind continuing that procedure. The sign up is simple. Name and email address. Link below.

Finally, an announcement, left in "pending" for more than year, which has now been called up. The introductory program for our Double Connexion book must now give way to the original, permanent plan. That means a pricing change. Beginning March 8, 2004, as the book goes into circulation under its ISBN number, it will be listed, as originally planned, at 39.95, though still available through our website for download at 37.00. We are passing this on to our readers, solely to allow any who may wish to take advantage of the "old" pricing, to do so. The personal/playing profile will continue to accompany the book, and there will also be an announcement forthcoming concerning stand alone profiling, which was discontinued for the introductory period.

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