You all know of my contempt for the concepts of Modern Golf, whether it’s calling a flying leading foot something like “creating vertical lift” or the other silly term “using the ground” as if some players are floating in the air during their swings.
Well, congratulations to Golf.com for a completely undecipherable article that asks how Tiger Woods creates his ball speed and answers, I’m not kidding, “Very Carefully.”
Well, that’s a relief because I thought I might actually get some mechanics discussion in the article, but nope – “Very Carefully” is the only answer you’re going to get.
Even worse, the original title judging by the wording in the URL seems to have had the answer “It’s Complicated” before substituting the “very carefully,” but that’s not any more use to the reader, is it?
First, let’s have a gander at some quotes in the article penned by Zephyr Melton:
Without the strength in his legs that he had in his prime, creating ground force reactions is a bit tricky. The tough part of that reality is that without using the ground, generating power becomes quite difficult. To make matters worse, when Woods relies too much on his core to create speed, he’s at risk of hurting his back.
“Before I would use the ground and push off and could be explosive,” Woods said. “I don’t have that ability anymore, so a lot of it’s just purely core strength but also being very careful because my back is fused.”
Woods shared that although these two power-generators are limited for him, he’s still able to use technique to get the speed he needs — but he does so very carefully.
So, it seems that before, Tiger would “use the ground” with his legs (I’ll have to look into that particular trick) and relied on his core to create speed.
Instead, with his damaged right leg and re-constructed back (thanks to Sean Foley for proving me correct when I called his swing model the “Back-Breaker before it actually happened to TW), he’s now creating ball speed by… using the ground and his core… but very carefully, this time.
Now, forgive me for pointing out the obvious – Tiger Woods was recovering from yet another back operation when he suffered the leg injury, and the last type of swinging we saw from him that caused the need for yet another back procedure had him looking like this at the top:
I’ve explained, and any medical doctor or physical trainer worth the education he received would also tell you that there is very little range of turn in the lower back (lumbar region):
You can actually get a little bit of natural twist out of the spine, which is perfectly OK when combined with the free motion of the hips and legs to create the pivot turn:
… but nowhere near the amount of twisting that goes into the Modern Golf Swing that makes one twist that spine like wringing out a dish towel.
It’s even been proven in studies, if you don’t trust the medical profession, that the Modern Golf “X-Factor” Swing of turning the shoulders against resisting hips is a back-killer.
Although, that’s sort of like conducting studies to see if water is wet and if ice is cold, but never mind.
If you all knew how many emails I’ve received from people who thought their playing days were numbered or even over, only to discover they could play and even swing better than ever with no back pain or injuries by switching to a mechanically-sound swing model…
So, TW’s still swinging exactly like this and getting the same 170-180 mph ball speed as he was before the leg injury:
… but rest assured, everyone – he’s doing it “carefully.”
That’s right, he was swinging in the 170s to 180s mph ball speed before his leg injury, and he’s still getting the same ball speed as before, when he apparently wasn’t swinging as “carefully” as he is now.
How exactly one twists their lower back into positions that it shouldn’t be in, ever, and exactly how one does this “carefully” is a mystery I will have to wait to see revealed.
The suspense is killing me.
WAX Golf 