Tiger Woods has won the Masters three times. Tiger Woods is coming to the GTE Byron Nelson Classic and the Mastercard Colonial. Tiger, Tiger, TIGER!!!!!!! What makes him so good? What can you learn from Tiger Woods? A lot! This article is going to concentrate on three main themes.
First, his golf swing. Tiger Woods’ golf swing is fundamentally sound. When Tiger’s father enlisted the help of Butch Harmon in Houston a few years back, Butch went to work on Tiger’s fundamentals and tuned up and toned up his swing.
What has Tiger done in the last year? Tiger and his PGA Professional instructor (Harmon) concentrated on fixing the clubface position in his golf swing. The result was more controllable shots and more distance control with each club.
What can you learn from this? It is never too early or late to have your swing checked and build strong reliable fundamentals into your golf game. Find a PGA Professional you respect and can help your game. Learn to trust him/her and give him/her your total attention in each and every lesson and trust that he/she is there to make your golf game better.
Secondly, Tiger has the utmost respect and admiration for his parents and honors them by respecting their opinions and relying on their guidance. This is the strongest bind and trust you can ever have in your life. It provides what the psychologists call balance, a healthy reliable sense of priorities in one’s life. If there is something lacking there, talk to your parents and work as a family to make it better.
From this love and respect and guidance Tiger’s parents have given him, Tiger has built a core within himself that he can and does rely on in tough times. He has done it in golf tournaments, his amateur wins as well as his professional wins. He has done it while he could not do anything but sit and watch while his Dad suffers through heart bypass surgery and the slow recovery process that comes with it. Tiger has his priorities straight. He has taken time off during this family crises to be there for his Dad like his Dad has always been there for him.
What can you learn from this? Learn what your priorities are by relying on your parents, listen to them, honor them and respect them and keep your ears open and learn all you can from them.
The third thing you can learn from Tiger, especially at the Masters, is a great attitude on the golf course. Learn from two areas here.
First, Tiger had a game plan and he never varied from it. Even when he started the tournament with 40 on his first nine holes he never abandoned his game plan. He hit the shots, starting on #10, according to his game plan, made some putts and was on his way to 22 under for the final 63 holes and a record 18 under for the Masters. He never tried a shot that would jeopardize a big score and he never let his emotions get in his way.
Secondly, he never thought about past errors (witness again the front nine 40 on Thursday), never thought about the result (score) he was hoping to shoot but only stayed focus on the present. It was evident, even on Sunday with a commanding nine shot lead that Tiger was focused on every shot. And he never abandoned his game plan.
What then can you learn from Tiger’s on course behavior? Bunches! Create a game plan and stick to it. Focus on the shot at hand, not on the last good, bad or three putt. Nor pay attention to future events and outcomes. Focus not only on the shot at hand but the process of hitting that shot. Golf is a lot like life. You focus on the process and the results will take care of themselves. Tiger stuck to the game plan, focused on the process and the result, his first major title and a record score, took care of themselves.
What can you learn from Tiger Woods. A lot. Watch, listen and learn. To your parents, as did Tiger, your trusted coach, as does Tiger, and yourself, as does Tiger. Not only are you on the way to being a better golfer, you are on your way to being a better person. Golf’s lessons can also be life’s lessons. Focus on the process of golf and life and the result of fun golf and a full life will become yours.
Good luck on a wonderful, adventure filled golf career and life!
