What makes the first 12 years of Tiger Woods’ professional career all the more remarkable is that there were two lengthy spells in that run where he failed to win a major.
Tiger Woods was a 14-time major champion by the time he was 33. It looked inevitable that he would overtake Jack Nicklaus‘ record – particularly after Woods had won the 2008 US Open on one leg.
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Obviously, he had some incredible runs between his Masters triumph in 1997 and that ridiculous performance at Torrey Pines 11 years later. The high point came when he won at Augusta National in 2001 and held all four major titles at the same time.
Woods twice went on a run of 10 majors without actually winning. It seems unfathomable now that he managed just two top 10s in the four biggest events of the year across 2003 and 2004.
But perhaps Woods only has himself to blame.
Lee Trevino suggested a mistake Tiger Woods made when he was at the peak of his powers
Woods could never be accused of complacency – despite three of his first four major wins coming by a margin of at least eight shots.
But it seems that desire to somehow improve further hurt him. Speaking to Golf Digest in 2018, Lee Trevino suggested that Woods always seeking more ultimately backfired.
“You have to respond to the target. During the swing, I look for the target in my subconscious mind. You can’t think when you swing. The more you think, the worse you’ll play. What’s happened, unfortunately, and I mean no disrespect by this, is that people who are teaching are getting way too crazy with too many little movements and muscles. You can’t let too many people mess with you. Mr Palmer had it right when he said: ‘Swing your swing’,” he said.
“Tiger outsmarted himself. He didn’t realise that if he just maintained, he would still be winning everything. Instead, he wanted to do something else. He got bored. He wasn’t satisfied winning by 15. He wasn’t satisfied by winning 30 per cent of his tournaments. It was too easy for him. He was actually too good, and it got in his way.”
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It is hard to imagine how Woods could have gone from winning The Masters by 12 shots to believing that he had a brilliant opportunity to transform his swing. It becomes even more absurd when you consider that he was just 21 years of age at the time.
Perhaps those swing changes did cost him the chance to overtake Nicklaus. Golf fans will never know the answer. But his bravery in making that decision shows just how high Woods’ IQ was from the very start of his career.
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Trevino was also someone who had an unbelievable understanding of the game – which led to some incredibly high praise from arguably the greatest player in the sport’s history.
“Here’s what Butch Harmon told me. I said: ‘Tiger?’ He said: ‘Lee, I can’t teach him anymore. He knows more than I do about the swing. You can’t believe what he knows about this thing’,” he added.
“Because Tiger dissected it like me. He knows why it happens this way when you do a certain thing. But like Butch said: ‘There are some guys that want somebody watching over them.’
“I didn’t. Jack told me one time: ‘You’re the smartest golfer I ever met.’ That was the best compliment I’ve ever had. Ever had.”
There is probably not a golfer on the planet who has not wished that they had a skill they previously lacked – whether that be the certain shot shape they simply cannot hit, or a type of chip shot that terrifies them.
Trevino may be talking about perhaps the most talented golfer who has ever lived, but the point is still relevant that most players would surely benefit from really focusing on utilising their strengths – whatever they are.
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