What to make of the rest of Tiger Woods’ career

These are the darkest days of Tiger Woods’ career. Since the end of the PGA Championship last August, fans and media types began to speculate about the future of Woods’ career. At that point he was clearly hurt, nursing another back injury in a series of injuries that have derailed his career for almost seven years now.

Fast forward to last weekend in the Arizona desert, when Woods shot a career-worst 82 and left TPC Scottsdale almost as quickly as he arrived. Woods’ physical problems took a backseat to an apparent mental issue. A lack of confidence and belief in his swing sent Woods’ tournament off the rails with a missed cut and last-place finish. Now, in addition to the constant health concerns, there were more questions about his future.

This week at Torrey Pines, those short game shambles were compounded with what looks like another significant back issue. Before he withdrew due to his glutes not “activating” and apparent back tightness, Woods was seen blading and shanking more chip shots again this week. Whether it’s the yips or a mechanical problem, he’s clearly got a crippling case of something that makes him unable to be even remotely competitive on the PGA Tour.

All of this, of course, has led to a parade of competing views on what’s wrong and what to make of the future of the greatest golfer of a generation. Everyone has an opinion as to what will happen to Woods this year and beyond. Here’s a rundown of some of them. (Note: these are not my takes necessarily, just some of the many that exist out there.)

Woods is mentally damaged and his career is done.

This is the most damning prediction. This theory stems from the fact that it appears Woods has the chipping yips. Subscribers to this theory contend there have been many golfers over the years who have contracted the dreaded yips and never recovered. Citing examples like David Duval, this take has Woods dead and buried. He will most likely never win again according to this theory.

Woods is too injured and his career is done.

A companion to the previous take, Woods’ back is so screwed up that he won’t be able to stay healthy anymore. Add in the fact that he appears to swing as hard as he can on every tee box in an effort to get more clubhead speed and you have a recipe for disaster. He has no idea how to swing a golf club that can keep him sustainably healthy.

Woods needs Butch Harmon.

This pipe-dream take is being pushed by Golf Channel’s Aaron Oberholser, among others. Those in this camp would like to see Woods go back to Harmon, with his tail between his legs, and beg him to fix his swing. Since Woods was so completely dominant with Harmon as his coach, obviously Harmon is the only one who can bring him back to that point. This neglects the reality that Woods will never go back to Harmon, and Harmon probably would never take him if he did.

Woods needs to be less technical.

This is a very popular theory from those that know the golf swing a lot better than I do. This theory claims that Woods is so focused on the technical aspects of the golf swing that he has forgotten about the feel part of golf. If Woods were to go back to trusting himself and his “feels” he could become a great golfer again. He’s been “over-engineered” as Paul Azinger noted this week, and now his mind is just a jumbled mess.

Woods needs to be the golfing robot he once was.

This is perhaps the toughest take on Woods and his personal life. If you have read Hank Haney’s book on Tiger Woods, you might recall that Haney witnessed Woods hit an obscene amount of golf balls. He would hit them for hours on end, in all weather conditions. He would work harder than anyone on the planet and that contributed to a lot of his success.

In 2015, it appears Woods has cut back on his practice time in order to have a relationship with Lindsey Vonn and to spend more time with his kids. In between all the nonsense about his “release patterns” affecting his chipping, Woods had an incredibly (for him) human answer during his press conference Wednesday.

I would say I practice much less now. One, I’ve been hurt, and two, I want to spend as much time as I can with my kids. I have split custody, so when I’m at home, I want to be home with them, take them to a soccer game or to school or to activities, whatever it is. I’m their dad.

[...]

I just have to manage my time practices differently. Over the years, especially now that they’re getting a little older where they’re getting more activities after school, that plays a role in my practice time and it’s just so, it’s just life. It’s just the way it is. I would much rather have it that way than not be able to see my kids.

This is why I say this might be the toughest take. Can you really blame the guy for wanting to watch his kids grow up?

Woods is too nice.

Where is the Woods who used to intimidate everyone? That’s what proponents of this critique are screaming. He seems too friendly with fellow players, even going so far as to seek chipping tips from inferiors like Billy Horschel and Pat Perez. He actually talks to the media and cracks jokes now. In order to get his game back, he needs to intimidate and overpower everyone again.

Woods is the greatest ever and he will dominate once again.

This is the other end of the doom and gloom spectrum. This is Tiger Woods, greatest golfer ever and he can always get it back. Even Thursday, he had an entirely different chipping motion from that ghastly blade on the first and sank a comparable shot on the second, just like the Woods of old.

So it’s still in there and Woods just needs a few things to go his way and he’ll be back on top. A few more reps and some time, and Woods can dominate again like he did 10 years ago. “Tiger will have the last laugh,” as Phil Mickelson noted this week.

Wherever you stand on Woods, it is obvious that several things are wrong as he nears 40 years old. Whether it’s physical, mental, or a combination of the two, we won’t find out much more about Woods until it’s almost March. If past seasons are any indication, we likely won’t see him again until the Honda Classic. After that, only the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill will remain before the Masters (he’s currently not qualified for Doral because of his tumble down the world rankings). Woods has been on record saying Augusta is foremost in his mind. He still wants to pass Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors, but with only two more tournaments between now and April, Woods won’t be getting the “reps” he needs.

As for all the takes and theories about the most famous golfer ever, whichever one of these categories you fall into, you could find a kernel of truth in all of them. He does appear to be mentally damaged. He doesn’t practice as much as he used to and his latest swing coach has yet to work a miracle. Now add in another injury and the future of Tiger Woods is the darkest it has even been.

If there were a spectrum between winning majors and never playing again, Woods would be closer to the latter. If there is something structurally wrong, it could be the end soon. If it is a tight lower back or misfiring glutes, then we may see Woods competitive again before summer arrives.

Either way, it appears Woods’ back and psyche are always going to be an issue either looming in the background or at the forefront. And that’s not to say he won’t come back, but this latest turn is both shocking and sad. He has now withdrawn from three of his last eight tournaments. If he does in fact need reps, he won’t get them sitting at home. If he needs another surgery, who knows when we will see him again.

For a player who was on the fast track to 20-plus majors a mere six years ago, this version of Tiger Woods is tough for fans to stomach. As a golf fan, I hope Woods can get back on track, or at the very least be competitive. The parking lot mob scenes and back clutching video clips we have seen in the past year have been hard to watch. If Woods is healthy, he would be wise to add another tournament in the next month. If he’s not healthy, I hope he recovers fully before coming back. Regardless, a healthy and relevant Tiger Woods is good for the PGA Tour. Let’s hope we haven’t seen the last of that.