The Swing Shift

Tiger Woods’ golf swing -- revered for years as a work of perfection in a notoriously imperfect sport -- is caught in an identity crisis that has his critics and defenders pointing fingers and trading insults over the suddenly human world’s No. 1 player.

In the “What’s wrong with Tiger?” controversy, two high-profile swing gurus -- including Woods’ former coach Butch Harmon -- contend that his swing has deteriorated under the influence of best friend and fellow touring pro Mark O’Meara and one of O’Meara’s coaches. Woods and O’Meara have denied that contention.

For months, the sight of Woods spraying drives 30 yards to the right of the intended fairway, or hooking the ball left, into the trees, has been dismissed by many -- including Woods himself -- as part of the capriciousness of the game.

But as the U.S. Open approaches, Woods’ swing has come under intense scrutiny, particularly after a string of tournaments in which his drives have missed their mark the vast majority of the time -- seemingly costing him at least two victories.

The analysis reached a crescendo when Florida-based teaching professional Jim McLean wrote in Golf World magazine in April what many had been thinking for some time: “Tiger’s golf swing has changed, and not for the better.”

Moreover, McLean places much of the responsibility for the problem with O’Meara and Texas teaching pro Hank Haney, who has coached O’Meara.

“I agree with what Jim said” in the Golf World article, Harmon told The Times last week.

“Tiger should get his old film out and take a look at [his swing] and get back to those type of motions,” Harmon said. “He would see how different his swing is now, and what a lack of control he has.”

Until now, Harmon had been reluctant to discuss Woods since the two parted ways professionally nearly two years ago.

The article and its aftermath have injected the air of a soap opera into the genteel, hushed world of golf, where anger is almost always directed at oneself and aggression only at the ball.

At the center of the storm is the 28-year-old Woods, one of the most recognizable figures in sports and winner of eight major championships and 53 professional tournaments since turning pro in late 1996. Still ranked No. 1 in the world, Woods has shrugged off questions about his swing, saying it’s “very close” to where he wants it to be.

Critics say statistics suggest otherwise. This year, Woods has driven the ball onto the fairway just 56.4% of the time, ranking him 161st on the PGA Tour. He has won just once so far this year -- the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. In 2000, he hit 71.2% of the fairways, for a ranking of 54th, and won 10 events, including three major championships.

McLean said he felt compelled to write the critique of Woods’ swing after reading “a very negative comment” in Sports Illustrated that Haney made about Harmon, who has been credited with much of Woods’ success.

Sports Illustrated “did a poll on whether Tiger should come back to me for help” with his swing, Harmon said. Haney’s answer to that question in the magazine was, “No way, Jose.”

“I thought that was very unprofessional,” Harmon said.

McLean’s reaction is more pointed. “I don’t want to get into criticizing another tour player or another teacher,” he said. “But

The reason Woods’ swing -- specifically with his driver -- is off, McLean said, is because he has adopted O’Meara’s swing pattern, which promotes a right-to-left “draw” on the ball.

“I’ve known Mark a long time,” McLean said. “He’s a friend, a good guy and very successful. [But] O’Meara doesn’t hit the ball like Tiger does, not as far or as straight, not in his dreams.”

Woods has conceded that he listens to ideas on the golf swing from O’Meara -- a two-time major champion -- Haney and other players and teachers. But both golfers have disputed the assertion that O’Meara and Haney have an undue influence on Woods’ current swing.

“Just like Tiger said, we’re friends,” Haney said. “I’m not teaching him.”

Woods could not be reached for comment. “There’s no need for ... Tiger to respond to what you’re writing,” said Mark Steinberg, his agent at the IMG management company.

McLean is one of a group of internationally known teachers who coach the game’s best players. His clients include Brad Faxon, Gary Player, Hal Sutton, Tom Kite, Sergio Garcia, Curtis Strange, Ben Crenshaw, Peter Jacobsen, Barnhard Langer, Steve Elkington and, McLean says, O’Meara himself.

It is not uncommon for a player to seek help from different coaches at different times in his or her career. Woods latest swing problems have prompted numerous observers to question why he doesn’t revisit Harmon, the man who helped propel him to the pinnacle in 2000-01, when he held all four major championships -- the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and the PGA Championship.

Harmon said he and Woods have not talked, adding: “I don’t plan on talking to him.”

Woods has since maintained his standing as the world’s best player. But within the last two years, his dominance has dwindled and he has seen the rest of the field narrow the gap.

In his two most recent tournaments, Woods lost after leading the field after two rounds -- something unheard of for him. In the EDS Byron Nelson Championship in mid-May, he hit only three fairways in his final round and missed a playoff by one stroke. Similarly, he lost by one stroke after leading the Wachovia Championship after two rounds the week before.

“Tiger is so mentally tough that he still almost won the last [two] tournaments” despite his poor fairway accuracy, McLean said.

Part of the reason for his recent problems, Tiger-watchers say, is logical: No one can expect him to repeat his magical achievements of 2000.

But, McLean said, there should not be “this much of a drop-off. Tiger’s game is not progressing -- that’s pretty clear. His mechanics are off.”

In his article and in an interview, McLean detailed what he thinks are Woods’ mechanical problems. He also shed light on the cloistered existence of the professional golfer and on why perhaps the greatest player of all time would even think of changing his swing.

“Tiger’s had a great golf swing since he was 3 years old,” McLean said. “The kid’s just brilliant. [But] he’s on an absolute quest ... to get even better. He wants to erase all of [Jack] Nicklaus’ records.”

The quest is coupled with a golfer’s natural tendency to tinker with his swing. “Guys want to get better, but they also get bored [working on the same swing] every day -- it gets tedious,” he said. “Even Jack [Nicklaus] fiddled with his game. But he always had [teacher Jack Grout] through his whole career.”

In contrast, Woods is tinkering apparently without the consistent advice of Harmon or any other teacher. “Maybe he’s going to prove he can do this on his own,” McLean said. “I think he’s in a bit of a search mode right now.... I don’t know what Tiger’s doing.”

Woods’ search has led him to a swing, McLean said, that “is almost a carbon copy of O’Meara’s,” which is designed to “draw” the ball from right to left. This is in contrast to Woods’ prototypical swing of three or four years ago, which yielded a straight, long ball or a slight left-to-right fade. “Almost all of golf’s greatest drivers either hit the ball straight or play a fade,” McLean wrote in Golf World.

The problem is that two of Woods’ most valuable physical assets -- his strength and speed -- often work against trying to draw the ball, particularly on drives, according to McLean. Whereas O’Meara has a swing speed of 105 to 110 mph, Woods’ speed is about 130 mph, McLean said.

“A draw at a slower swing speed works pretty good,” McLean said. “But at faster speeds, the ball runs farther and goes faster. So Tiger misses shots a long ways off line.”

McLean and a colleague, Carl Welty, analyzed photos of Woods’ swings taken during practice rounds in 2000 and 2003-04.

They observed that Woods’ current swing takes a more inside-out path, which is consistent with an attempt to draw the ball. This difference, though perhaps imperceptible to the average viewer, is enough to throw off numerous components of the swing, they say. “It is different than what he used to do,” McLean wrote, “and in my opinion ... not quite as good.”

“In photos from 2000, Tiger was more athletic swinging the club and kept the clubhead on a more neutral path,” McLean and Welty wrote. “Tiger’s downswing and follow through were superior [in] 2000.... His left foot was much more stable and controlled. Today, the left foot is often out of control, affecting balance and rhythm.”

In addition, he says, the inside-out path forces Woods’ hands out away from his body after impact, further affecting direction and balance.

“If you look at his swing ... all the way back to 1992, it’s better than what he’s doing now,” McLean said.

Woods has repeatedly downplayed any swing problems he might have with his “I’m getting close” mantra. As for his relationship with O’Meara and Haney, Woods said at a news conference at the Byron Nelson tournament: “[Haney’s] my friend.... I love picking guys’ brains, whether it’s Hank or Butch [Harmon] or Lead [teacher David Leadbetter].”

O’Meara’s agent at IMG did not return phone calls or an e-mail this week requesting a response. But O’Meara said recently that the notion that Woods was trying to copy his swing was “a total misconception.”

“I wasn’t getting any credit when he was winning all those majors,” he told Golfweek.com. “ ... It’s not my fault he’s not playing well. Why would I do anything to hurt my friend?”

Woods also denies he is trying to go more toward a draw shot.

But McLean and Harmon say that Woods’ swing path has clearly changed to a flatter plane. The evidence, McLean says, is indisputable in then-and-now photos.

“If he does what I see in those pictures,” McLean said, the swing “isn’t going to work.” Moreover, he says, once a player strays too far from his usual swing, it may not be easy to recapture it.

“Some guys never come back,” McLean said. “Look at Ian Baker-Finch -- gone.”

A former British Open winner who tried to change his swing and never was able to regain a professional-level game, Baker-Finch is now a golf broadcaster.

Woods is nowhere close to those dire straits, McLean said, primarily because he is so “strong mentally.”

Harmon says that Woods can return to his old form quickly, if he would simply study it on film and make the appropriate corrections. “[Woods] is the most knowledgeable person I’ve ever been around,” Harmon said.

Woods could recover in time for the U.S. Open in two weeks at Shinnecock Hills and the other majors, Harmon added.

Asked whether Woods’ current swing can carry him to a win in the U.S. Open or the other two in any of the three remaining major championships this year, McLean said bluntly, “No.”

Woods is known for referring to his “A-game” when he’s in top form. According to McLean, that game is nowhere in sight. The only way Woods has a chance to win a major, he said, is “if he can get [up] to his C game.”

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In Motion

Whether it’s a change in his swing, or simply the game of golf finally catching up with him, there’s no doubt that Tiger Woods’ game from tee to green has suffered compared to recent seasons (rank on PGA Tour in parentheses):

*--* 2004 2003 2002 2001 Driving 300.6 (6th) 299.5 (11th) 293.3 (6th) 297.6 (3rd) Distance Driving 56.4% (161st) 62.7% (142nd) 67.5% (107th) 65.5% (145th) Accuracy Greens in 66.0% (60th) 68.6% (26th) 74.0% (1st) 71.9% (5th) Regulatio n

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