After Andy’s thoughts last week, Steve Atherton follows up with his thoughts on the changes Sean Foley has made to Tiger’s golf swing.
Steve Atherton
GolfTEC VP of Research and Development
Looking at the changes Tiger Woods is making with his new swing coach, Sean Foley, I am not 100% convinced that they are moving down the right track. Tiger is an incredibly talented and motivated player. He can play really good golf with a number of different swing types as he has proven throughout his career. However, he has not played with the confidence or the skill that he showed in 2000 when he won 10 tournaments including 3 majors and a record-shattering 15-stroke victory at the US Open. That year Tiger’s swing was shorter, with less wrist hinge and lag at the top, and less upper body dive to start the downswing . Those moves, which he built into his swing while working with Hank Haney, appear to be something he and Foley are working on a little, but their focus seems to be elsewhere.
Foley, who is an advocate of the Stack and Tilt method introduced by Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer, seems to be getting Tiger’s hands a bit more inside during the takeaway with the clubhead more outside of the hands – which is no doubt a good thing for him. However, Tiger also appears to be working on a much more centered pivot around his spine, which I don’t believe is the best move for him. I think Tiger needs to work back toward the swing he made in 2000, with a standard shot shape so that he doesn’t feel the need to “work” the ball so much. A more shut-faced, reduced lag swing with less upper body dive would serve him very well.
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