Tiger Woods was honest, unfortunately.
Near the end of his press conference Tuesday morning at the Hero World Challenge, which now doubles as the annual State of Tiger Woods address, he said this:
“I know I don’t really say much, but I try to say as much as I can.”
That response specifically followed a question about what the PGA Tour might look like soon, though it could also have come after he was asked about a possible return to play, the other topic that dominated the press. Given the supposed sensitivity of both topics, some vagueness was to be expected. Still, Woods is often guarded with his comments, knowing full well that the opinion of a 15-time major winner is likely to make headlines.
But give the man a chance to talk business, and he turns into a blogger. That has happened before, and when he opens up on the golf swing, we also get a look under the hood of his golf cart, so to speak.
On Tuesday, for example, Woods told us about some of his viewing habits.
The part of Scottie Scheffler’s game that Tiger Woods likes to watch
This came after a few questions. They are written in italics and Woods’ answers follow.
Over the past few years, or maybe a little longer, we’ve all been amazed at what Scottie has to do with its consistency, and the one word that keeps coming back is that it’s almost Tiger-esque. You’ve done it, you’ve been there. What is your appreciation for what Scottie has been able to do and what you really like about his style?
“Well, there’s nothing you can’t like about Scottie,” Woods said. “He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. What he does on the golf course is just incredible, the consistency day in and day out, the strategy with which he – how he attacks the golf course. It starts from – you can see him analyzing it from the back green where the flag is, where he wants to miss a tee shot, which club to hit, where the wind is, which side of the tee box to start on. It’s really amazing how thoughtful he is and how strategic he is throughout the entire round.
“And on top of that, he doesn’t have mistakes in a round like most players. He’s there, there for all 18 holes and all the shots played and that’s hard to do. To do that day in and day out with the grueling schedule that the Tour has and the players now playing in a more compact season, and the big events that he’s competing in. I mean, he’s won six times and they’re not small events. He’s beating the best fields. So that’s something that I can certainly appreciate and I think I hope that all others will also appreciate it, because you just don’t see this happening often.”
In all categories, Tiger, he leads – he was this year’s number 1. Is there a part of his game that you really enjoy watching? Part of the game?
“Of Scottie’s game? Yeah, I really love watching him hit the irons, the shaped shots he hits, the trajectory, the window changes he has, the distance control, the miss in the right spot, the right spin on certain pin locations,” Woods said. “These are all subtle things that mean a lot over the course of 72 holes. That’s impressive to me. If you don’t have trajectory control, you can’t have distance control. To see him move up and down in different windows, use wind, fight wind and control spin is fun to watch.”
The takeaway: There is endless curiosity about how players view other players. Part of that is because he sees the game differently than an average player; TV takes this idea into account when broadcasting hires professionals as analysts. There’s also a thought that when a colleague appreciates something specific about someone, it might be a glimpse into what he or she values most, or wants for themselves – or both.
Woods’ quotes can connect to these ideas, especially the “Windows” quote. What are the windows? He’s talked about it before – and did so at length in a video with TaylorMade, which you can watch here – but in short, it concerns nine zones (or windows) through which a ball can pass. Do amateurs see Scheffler moving the ball up, down, left and right? Maybe, maybe not. Do they have to? Certainly, especially in practice. After all, Woods was grateful.
Why pros are better at a younger age, according to Tiger Woods
Hero World Challenge 2025: TV schedule, streaming information, how to watch, start times
By means of:
Kevin Cunningham
It’s YouTube. Woods’ full response is below.
“I think the reason for this is that one of the big – in my view I think it has a lot to do with YouTube, seeing fluctuations.
“I used to have VHS tapes. I would record a weekend of golf and watch it – hoping the tracking worked right halfway through and trying to get a swing. Sometimes the swings didn’t even look right; I didn’t even know who that was.
“By seeing so many different swings over and over again and the level of instruction getting better, the curve needed to understand how to play the game has gotten faster. You didn’t necessarily have to go out and figure it out; now you can watch it on your cell phone and learn that way. It’s gotten faster and younger. Like all kids, they are sponges for information and can make changes as they go.”
The takeaway: The image of Woods plugging a VHS tape into a VCR and recording broadcasts is something, as is the image of him working the remote control.
Do you want to be good at golf? Just put in that level of dedication – and make sure your family doesn’t record your recording.
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