US golfer Woods finds old habits hard to shake LA JOLLA, California (AFP) - – Golf fans and sponsors may be yearning to see the dominant player they call the "old" Tiger Woods resurface, but Woods himself says too much "old" Tiger is just his problem.
"The old motor patterns are still there," said Woods, lamenting the fact that his remodeled swing has yet to stand up consistently to tournament pressure.
"I'm going to have to fight through that. I've done it before, and there's no reason I can't do it again."
Woods, who undertook the changes with Canadian coach Sean Foley last year, appeared to have made real headway by the Chevron World Challenge unofficial event in December.
But
he finished tied for 44th - his worst US PGA Tour season-opener - with an erratic display at the Farmers Insurance Open last week.
He admitted he had expected more at Torrey Pines, where he had won his last five starts in a stretch that included his 2008 US Open triumph.
"I started out hitting it pretty good out here this week, I really did," said Woods, who opened with consecutive 69s before shooting 74-75 on the weekend. "It progressively got worse.
"I can do it on the range, but it's a little different when I've got to bring it out here and I've got to shape shots," Woods noted.
Woods, whose next scheduled tournament is the European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic which runs from February 10-13, has rebuilt his game before, with former coaches Butch Harmon and Hank Haney.
"It's tough. It's one of the things I struggled with when I worked with Hank, trying to relearn some new things and going away from what I did with Butch," Woods said.
The 14-time major champion, whose last victory was at the Australian Masters in November 2009, acknowledged it might be tempting to fall back on his old ways, but insists he's committed to the process of change.
"How else are you going to get better?" Woods said. "You've got to do it. It takes reps and it takes reps under competition. You can't be afraid to go ahead and try it."
How long it might be before Woods can shed his old swing habits and return to the habit of winning remains to be seen.
"It's one of those things where I don't know where the end is," Woods said. "You never know where the end is until you're done with your playing career."
http://old.sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/201102 ... b2fc3.html
It's all about "how much you made when you were right" & "how little you lost when you were wrong"
by winston » Wed Dec 01, 2010 8:36 pm 
