An in-depth analysis of Tiger’s swing at the 2017 Hero World Challenge
Tiger Woods’ improved physical condition now enables him to turn through the golf ball and square the club face. Yes, he still has the patented squat move, but that increases power and has been his signature move his whole life. Overall, Woods showed tremendous strength and speed, and displayed a golf swing that will produce greater distance and accuracy than we’ve seen from him since 2013, when he was the PGA Tour Player of the Year.
Watch the video above to see my full analysis of Tiger’s new, post-back-fusion swing.
Kristoffer Reitan just won his first PGA Tour event at the 2026 Truist Championship. He is a Ping staff member and has a complete set of clubs from the brand. He did make a late driver switch this weekend that helped propel him to victory.
Driver: Ping G440 Max (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
7-wood: Ping G440 Max (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black 85 TX
Irons: Ping Blueprint S (4-9)
Shafts: KBS Tour X
Wedges: Ping S259
46-S
Shaft KBS Tour X
50-S
54-S
58-S
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Ping PLD Custom Ally Blue H (white finish)
Grips: Golf Pride MCC Midsize
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Videos
Finau’s unique long putter experiment, Webb’s WILD irons | Inside the Ropes | Truist Championship
In this week’s episode of Inside the Ropes from the Truist Championship, Alistair Cameron catches up with Tony Finau, who is in the midst of an interesting long-putter experiment, and Webb Simpson, whose irons must be seen to be believed. Also featuring: Sepp Straka, Ryan Gerard, and much more!
Right now, I am tied for first place in my league! Don’t worry, the wheels will fall off as we get further into the year, but let’s keep the train rolling with 14 brand new clubs this week. We are off on the back nine again, so the driver is back in, and the 7-wood is out, as the course dictates what clubs I tend not to use. Excited to get these New Level irons out there and see if I can catch some of that driver magic I had down at Pinehurst with the Wilson Dynapwr+.
Driver: Wilson Dynapwr Max+ (12 degrees @ 11)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6s
3-wood: Cobra OPTM Max (15.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VR-7s
Utility: PXG 0311 X Gen8
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI-85s Hybrid
Hybrid: Ping G440 4h (22 degrees @ 21)
Shaft: Ping Tour 2.0 Chrome 85s
Irons: New Level 702+ (5 & 6)
Shafts: Project X Red 6.0
Irons: New Level 702 CB (7-PW)
Shafts: Project X REd 6.0
Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM11 (50.12F)
Shaft: Nippon Modus Tour 105 S
Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM11 (56.14F)
Shaft: Nippon Modus Tour 105 S
Wedge: Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks (60V)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S200
Putter: PXG Hot Rod ZT
Ball: Titleist ProV1x Left Dash
Bag: Ghost GT-14 Patriot
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juliette
Dec 6, 2017 at 12:06 am
Thank you for your humble and keen observations. Mike Malaska–I think I’m representing his viewpoint accurately here–says that this lower body rotation is initiated by the (for a RH golfer) “throwing the club at the ball” action akin to skipping stones–by the right shoulder/arm/hand sequence. It’s that throwing sequence which causes the rotation of the lower body. Do you agree? I mean we’d all like to be able to get our lower bodies to rotate much less rotate at speed.
Andrew Cooper
Dec 6, 2017 at 6:10 am
Not to get side tracked from this excellent analysis of Tiger, but I think the key difference in what MM (and others) would say is that the lower body is moving in a more responsive and supportive way, rather than firing or driving the swing. I’d suggest MM is speaking more in terms of what a golfer should be feeling/thinking of doing, rather than what actually happens, if that makes sense? So, without knowing what was going through Tiger’s head, was his rotation better because he was consciously trying to clear harder, or is it simply because, free of injury, he was able to and it was happening reactively?
Dennis Clark
Dec 6, 2017 at 6:10 am
Well I can see that but in my experience I’ be seen the club thrown at the ball with less than active hips. In fact I’ve seen it thrown with little body Motion at all. That’s always been something I’ve wondered in my own mind as well. You bring up a good point and one for another discussion. Thx
juliette
Dec 6, 2017 at 1:11 pm
Ok thanks for the reply Dennis. It’s the sequence of the throw at the ball, the sequence of the throw of a rock to skip starting from the throwing shoulder through the bicep through the elbow the forearm the wrist etc. which seems to activate the hip. Anyway, chicken and egg kinda talk I guess but for those of us who would love to rotate our lower bodies better, it’d be great if there were an upper body part that catalyzed that lower body movement. For me, getting that sequence of the rock skip seems to do for me (avoid pulls and pull hooks) what the more active lower body Tiger movement is doing for him.
Bernard
Dec 5, 2017 at 5:53 pm
Good analysis. Really like where Tiger’s swing is at. Very solid and true to his form. Looks simpler and more efficient yet maintains leg power & great core rotation. I will be stupid enough to try to mimic the the right foot thing, not sure I ever seen a back right heel come off that early on anyone, even Greg Norman.
Dennis clark
Dec 5, 2017 at 8:45 pm
Yea if you look at 2000 it’s even earlier than that! But… He’s Tiger. And as David Faherty said: “there weren’t two of them on Noah’s Ark.
SK
Dec 5, 2017 at 10:48 pm
“Objective view of the golf swing…” ….??!!!
No, your view is quite subjective because you don’t have Trackman #s or any other data on Tiger’s golfswing mechanics to back up your claim of objectivity.
Nevertheless, your spin is rather standard stuff. Just imagery and positions.
juliette
Dec 6, 2017 at 12:12 am
Well, in defense of the author he said he’s not a Tiger hater or lover, he’s objective—In That Way. You’ve taken “objective” out of context, don’t you think? Re-listen to it and you’ll see where “objective” comes in to his voice over.
As for needing Trackman #s or “other data on Tiger’s golf swing mechanics” why would an experienced teacher require that information to voice the opinion he has voiced here? It’d be great to see that his club face angle and his club path were under 2 degrees apart blah blah blah but the analysis could not ever have access to those stats. So are you saying that the author’s opinion without Trackman stats is bogus or is wrong or? As for “standard stuff” I hope to God that all of us could reduce our swings to “standard stuff”, we’d all be much better off.
Jim
Dec 6, 2017 at 12:23 pm
Agreed….
Not to mention Tiger became Tiger WITHOUT ANY Launch monitors…
I’d argue that folks messed him up by making changed to stuff that WASN’T hurting him – while NOT changing a couple of things that were tearing him up.
Tigers feel and ability to create and produce shots was something tracks will never give anyone – and yes, I have one and use it for (not all) lessons. Multiple high speed cameras and a few well chosen kinesthetic aids are way more beneficial for MOST students
juliette
Dec 6, 2017 at 1:17 pm
Thanks for your comment Jim, I spent hours trying to get my club path. and swing path numbers down to under 2 degrees and that really screwed me up. My natural swing—ie., a repeatable one–had those numbers up in the 5 degree area but they were both close to 5 degrees so the ball would generally end up where I intended. I’m sure Trackman launch angle etc. is very useful too but when I tried to get close to the “ideal” number I couldn’t hit water if I fell out of a boat. So there’s that to contend with for regular golfers (I am a 3 handicap)
Dennis Clark
Dec 7, 2017 at 7:20 pm
And Hogan became Hogan, and Jack became Jack, Jones became Jones etc. Youre correct we cannot discount the “human element” as Homer Kelly put it.
Huh?
Dec 6, 2017 at 1:28 pm
SK – I don’t believe that Trackman was ever billed as being some sort of definitive analyzer of golf swings. Trackman is nothing more than a bundle of algorithms attached to a doppler radar that spit out calculated “data” that if it could actually think, it would assume is calculated data related to a golf club and a golf ball, but it doesn’t actually “know” that. It’s just a machine that spits out algorithmically pre-determined “numbers” based on input from the radar and we humans determine wether or not they are “good numbers” or “bad numbers”. Trackman does not even have a clue as to who, what, or how the golf club or the golf ball was even set into motion. Trackman doesn’t know what the temperature is or which way the wind is blowing. There’s a lot of things that Trackman doesn’t know and the data that it provides has absolutely nothing to do with how one produces the appropriate golf swing for a desired result much less how old one is and/or how they feel that particular day. Trackman isn’t objective because it can’t be objective it is just a clueless machine that spits out numbers if and only if predetermined events happen in it’s presence while it is plugged in and positioned correctly.
The Antihipster Hippie
Dec 6, 2017 at 1:44 pm
You know, I can go to any forum dedicated to any subject on the internet and find comments exactly like this. It’s the sanctimonious “gotcha and I’m calling you out” comment that invariably focuses on some trivial semantic “infraction” that just must be dealt with. No value added, no real insight, just another little lapse in civility to brighten everyone’s day. It’s an insidious little piece of cultural poison. (And oddly I’ll probably be the one who gets censored for responding to it in kind)
juliette
Dec 6, 2017 at 7:35 pm
So well said. Wish I would have said that first instead of playing into his hands and actually trying to reason with him.
Bernard
Dec 6, 2017 at 1:44 am
I never picked up on the foot thing and always thought his 2000 swing may be one of the best ever built. Might end up liking this one even better. If Lebron James was a golfer….
Jim
Dec 6, 2017 at 12:11 pm
As long as he shifted into the downswing and his derogation is predominantly from his left hip, getting off the right foot releases extra torque from the lumbar/sacral area.
It’s actually kinda competitive after YEARS of recurrent injury & surgeries
Jim
Dec 6, 2017 at 12:25 pm
Agreed….
Not to mention Tiger became Tiger WITHOUT ANY Launch monitors…
I’d argue that folks messed him up by making changed to stuff that WASN’T hurting him – while NOT changing a couple of things that were tearing him up.
Tigers feel and ability to create and produce shots was something tracks will never give anyone – and yes, I have one and use it for (not all) lessons. Multiple high speed cameras and a few well chosen kinesthetic aids are way more beneficial for MOST students
Jim
Dec 6, 2017 at 12:32 pm
Sorry gang. No clue what happened with MULTIPLE auto corrects – that really messed up today…
*derogation
*not ‘competitive – should’ve read ‘encouraged’