Why Is Tiger Woods So Great a Golfer?

Why Is Tiger Woods So Great a Golfer?

Article by David White

Many of those who follow professional golf have been asking “Why is Tiger Woods so great? How can he be so consistent in his game from tourney to tourney? What does Tiger Woods do differently than other golfers to make himself so successful?”. There are as many theories about why as there are questions. Some say it is all about his putting while others say his powerful drives are the key to his success. There those who claim his physicalstrength and power are responsible for his great play while still others say it is his incredible golf swing.These opinions may be right orthey may be wrong. How one answers these questions depends greatly on what kind of golfer the answerer is and from what viewpoint the answer comes. One thing all must admit, whether they want to or not, is that Tiger has the best golf swing around today. The reason I say it is the best golf swing is because if you watch him swing the golf club, you see great dexterity, strength, range of motion and flexibility. All of these elements combine to create a winning golf swing. If we analyze this, we can break down the 4 key elements of the full golf swing motion.These are the 4 key elements of Tiger Woods swing:1. At the start of his swing, Tiger uses the incredible flexibility he has to really reach way back. If you look,you will see he reaches farther back than any other golfer on the pro tour, an obvious advantage he has. He extends his range of motion to amaximum while keeping his torso lined up straight over his right leg.2. Because of this backswing, when he begins the downswing, Tiger has already built up some great clubhead speed and force. He accomplishes this by turning his torso rapidly and then pushing his right leg forward towardsthe swing direction. You also notice how little, if any, energy he wastes on the golf swing. He optimizes energy use by keeping a perfectly straight lineabove the ball. Aside from the velocity and the force from his shoulders and arms, he uses his upperbody strength in the swing as he pushes forward.3. Then Woods continues by driving the clubhead through the ball using maximum clubhead to ball contact in order to avoid the chance of slicing or chopping the ball. By using the force from his shoulders, wrists and hips, Tiger concentratesthe force of impact and produces a very high initial ball speed. His ball speed has been measured at over 175 miles per hour only 2-3 feet from the teewhich is 20-30 mph faster than the average pro.4. Most amateurs, including myself, overlook the importance of the follow-through; the after impact motion that further controls the ball and helps achieve full motion swing fluidity. Tiger Woods is the master of the follow through, allowing theclubhead’s momentum to lengthen his complete swing and keeping the force of the swing at a maximum level from start to finish of the swing. This culminates in a long and smooth rotation of the clubhead as it wraps far around his back.So there you have the 4 key elements of theTiger Woods golf swing. A swing that has produced more tour wins than any other pro in history.

About the Author

This article was originally published on http://golf-swing.progolfswing.infoThe author, David White, has been an avid student of the game of golf for over 30 years. He has consulted with golf professionals all over the US and offers a FREE book on improving your golf swing at his site: http://progolfswing.info