Tigers back

[Deleted member 15344]

For me when Woods comes back it's the worst thing for a golfer viewer - rightly or wrongly the telly companies in the US focus on him regardless of what score he has or what his playing like - you could have an unknown 6 shots clear of him and they wouldn't be showing but will show Woods - and there are a lot of people who will watch because of Woods

But for me it spoils the viewing and I don't bother to watch the US golf then because I don't want to watch 5 hours of just Tiger Woods but there are people that do and telly companies satisfy them.

 

[njrose51]

Are we really expecting the Tiger of old to come back, destroying courses? unlikely. My guess is that, with the people he has around him, he's going to have to have adjusted his game to suit his playing style/protecting his back.

That raw power may have gone, and I think he'll be wrong to try and keep up with RM, Bubba, JD or DJ, but can he regain his touch around the green, the shape making shots, the putting stroke. can he grind players down and regain his focus? don't forget Jordan S is not that long compared to others and look at what he has won. Length and power is nothing without the final touch is it?

So lets see how his game has developed since he's been away, his strategy, his course management, how he plays before we judge.

The crowds would love to see him back. the sponsors want him back. I would hope that the other players want him back as well, in a strange way.

My only real hope is that if he can never emulate in some form or another what he had before, or if he cant compete at the highest levels, then he retires from the game gracefully and we remember him for star he was rather than what he became.

 

[freddielong]

A fit Tiger will win things, he may not win majors although I don't see why not if he is fit and healthy, I find it weird that people are writing him off so definitely.

I was going to cancel my sky sports after the Ryder Cup but I do think I will keep it to see how Tiger gets on in his first few events back.

 

[Alex1975]

A fit Tiger will win things, he may not win majors although I don't see why not if he is fit and healthy, I find it weird that people are writing him off so definitely.

I was going to cancel my sky sports after the Ryder Cup but I do think I will keep it to see how Tiger gets on in his first few events back.

And there it it.... hes already making people money.

 

[TheDiablo]

How am I contradicting myself? I said people will tune in to see him fail not to see him win. It is human nature, I'm assuming you have never been held up on a motorway because of people rubbernecking at a crash on the opposite carriageway?

Tiger is a spent force, he should concentrate his efforts where he can have success such as his foundation which has done tremendous work to get kids into golf.

On the one hand you say that people are only watching to see him fail, and on the other saying people love winners and will drop him when he does fail. But as he has already failed then why would they be so excited at his return? It's contradictory.

And yes, it's human nature, but that form of 'viewing' is watching a 10 second clip and laughing with your mates about how you could do better than Tiger. It isnt the type of viewing that attracts people to attend events, people to sign up to sports packages, sponsors coming in. Thinking people will tune in to watch Tiger for 5 hours, or buy a ticket you werent planning on just to follow Tiger around a course in the hope of seeing a duffed chip at some point isnt realistic.

I'm not saying that it wont blow up and this wont be a car crash - who knows what will happen. All I'm saying is that he is still undeniably the biggest draw in golf and his return is good for the game if it attracts people to attend tournaments and pick up some sticks. But people writing him off before he has even returned is laughable.

 

[TheDiablo]

If 'he wont reach previous heights', then he is past his best

By that logic, he was past his best in 2001 when he held all 4 Majors simultaneously but then didn't win one for the rest of the year. He never reached those heights again, but still won another 8!

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

But people writing him off before he has even returned is laughable.

And based on his last few performances, people thinking it is the return of the Messiah is just as laughable.

 

[Tongo]

It seems absolutely ridiculous that people are so ready to write him off.
Tom Watson nearly won the open at 59 in 2009. Bernhard Langer started this years Masters final round 2 shots off the lead, at 58.

If Tiger stays healthy, and doesn't try to out-drive DJ, Rory, Jason Day and Bubba every tee shot, and is just happy to be top half of the driving distances (which I'm fairly sure he still would be), he's got a good 10 years to have 4 good rounds in a row and he'll win things. He probably won't break Jack's 18 majors, but if he enters the next 40 major championships, fully healthy, he will win at least 1 of them.

Good to see some common sense amongst the dross.

 

[Robobum]

The G.O.A.T is back. I'll definitely be watching.

 

[Tongo]

Once the back has gone you're finished as a top golfer, lower back links the core to the quads/glutes so pro golfers put a huge amount of torque through it. Courses are longer and longer so you have to hit it hard and long to keep up. Golf action is unnatural and awkward and with TW having had multiple back and knee surgeries and being 40+ now I just can't see this working out for him. The years of crazy practice and gym work brought him majors but has cost him in terms of career longevity. Think he should quit while he's still ahead and get into more course design and philanthropic stuff. He's had a 20 yr very successful pro career which is not bad and if he did somehow miraculously bag one more major it won't make a significant difference as he can't catch Jack's 18. For me still the greatest player ever anyway, 18 or not.

Seve did alright with a bad back. Freddie's done quite well also.

 

[Tongo]

Some of the rhetoric is interesting. There seems to be some who just don't want him back for whatever reason (maybe just a dislike of the guy), those who think he shouldn't come back cos he wont be at his best (glad Jack didn't take that attitude in 86) and those hoping for a car crash. Interesting......

Woods playing well is decent for the game. Will he return and dominate? I don't think so. Will he be able to win? If his back is okay then why not. Is that a bad thing? Especially as the big three have not exactly done it (in terms of majors) this year.

It'll be interesting to see what Woods would deem success if he can play long-term. Maybe forgetting about 18 and just playing would help.

Ultimately it'll all be down to fitness. If his back doesn't hold up then everything else is irrelevant.

 

[Deleted member 1418]

Just noticed how ironic the title of this thread is!

What odds that after his return, this will relate to "Tigers back........is clearly knackered and he's retiring"!!

 

[hovis]

For me when Woods comes back it's the worst thing for a golfer viewer - rightly or wrongly the telly companies in the US focus on him regardless of what score he has or what his playing like - you could have an unknown 6 shots clear of him and they wouldn't be showing but will show Woods - and there are a lot of people who will watch because of Woods

But for me it spoils the viewing and I don't bother to watch the US golf then because I don't want to watch 5 hours of just Tiger Woods but there are people that do and telly companies satisfy them.

This

 

[User62651]

Seve did alright with a bad back. Freddie's done quite well also.

Seve was finished winning majors by 1988 when he was 31, back trouble did curtail his golf thereafter to the point where he quit.

Couples won one major back in 92 before his back was so bad and yes has had ongoing back trouble but I don't believe he's had any kind surgery on it, he managed to manipulate it as best he can but has missed a lot of tournaments.

Tiger's had repeated back and other surgeries and is old now (for a sportsperson).

He's done.

 

[Ross61]

For me when Woods comes back it's the worst thing for a golfer viewer - rightly or wrongly the telly companies in the US focus on him regardless of what score he has or what his playing like - you could have an unknown 6 shots clear of him and they wouldn't be showing but will show Woods - and there are a lot of people who will watch because of Woods

But for me it spoils the viewing and I don't bother to watch the US golf then because I don't want to watch 5 hours of just Tiger Woods but there are people that do and telly companies satisfy them.

Couldn't agree with you more. It has been much better seeing other players while he has been gone.

 

[TheDiablo]

For me when Woods comes back it's the worst thing for a golfer viewer - rightly or wrongly the telly companies in the US focus on him regardless of what score he has or what his playing like - you could have an unknown 6 shots clear of him and they wouldn't be showing but will show Woods - and there are a lot of people who will watch because of Woods

But for me it spoils the viewing and I don't bother to watch the US golf then because I don't want to watch 5 hours of just Tiger Woods but there are people that do and telly companies satisfy them.

Definitely agree with this, but I hope it's a thing of the past. I believe Sky have ownership over pictures they broadcast at nearly all PGA tour events now (certainly all the big ones). It's why we get a lot of Poulter, Gmac, Rose etc on our telly when they aren't necessarily at the very top. So you would hope Sky would continue to broadcast a good range with focus at the top (certainly once the initial hype of his return has settled down anyway)

 

[Deleted member 18588]

A fit Tiger will win things, he may not win majors although I don't see why not if he is fit and healthy, I find it weird that people are writing him off so definitely.

I was going to cancel my sky sports after the Ryder Cup but I do think I will keep it to see how Tiger gets on in his first few events back.

But then you are equally as guilty in stating that he will win things, majors or otherwise.

The truth is we none of us know . His most recent appearances suggested that he had problems with his previously incredible short game and that those difficulties were not fitness related.

We all need to wait and see.

 

[Norrin Radd]

I for one hope that Tiger will be good enough to compete with the big boys again ,and hopefully get back to maybe top twenty in the world .
a Tiger who is playing well is well worth watching .

 

[General Fade]

I remember Tiger being a manimal on the greens. His putting was superb and he dropped it in from lenghty breaking lines to get wins.

Personally I'd love to see that again.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

The thing is like it or not, TV still see him as box office and will continue to show him in swathes. Let's be fair, there a perverse fascination watching those car crash rounds he had before he stopped playing, almost disbelief that an icon of a generation could struggle so badly. Hence if/when he returns, that's what they will be showing.

Yes, it can detract from what you see of the other golfers but my understanding is that for the majority of US events, Sky are still receiving feeds from the host broadcaster, perhaps with their own camera on course as as well, but certainly not being used as the main coverage.

If he can get back to the top (and my own opinion is he may win a tour event but no more majors, not a hated, just an opinion) then it will still be compulsive viewing especially if the short game and putting are anything like they use to be