Tiger Woods and Sean Foley

It looks like Tiger is about to make it official that Sean Foley is his new golf swing coach. I can understand that he is making this move after his split with Hank Haney. However, I felt that Hank certainly received a lot more criticism than he deserved. All you have to do is look at Tiger's track record from 2005 to 2009 and see that Hank made a difference for the better with Tiger. Tiger and his caddie Steve Williams acknowledged that his distance control and ability to shape shots certainly improved under Hank. After major knee surgery and a nine month layoff, Tiger won 7 times in 2009 with 17 top tens out of 19 events, and the Fedex Cup title. Obviously though, he tuned Hank out starting at Augusta, and I am convinced it is because his friends, Hunter Mahan and Sean O'Hair had gotten into his ear about Sean Foley while he was taking time off after his scandal.

But, here is my thinking. Coaches like Foley and the Stack and Tilt guys, and One Plane/Two Plane Swing coach Jim Hardy are simply just marketers. The general fundamentals of the golf swing are the same. Ultimately, it is up to the individual golfer to identify what works for them, and then take ownership of their golf swing.

I find it humorous that a guy like Hunter Mahan touts Foley's methods as "science." As if it were possible to turn a human being into a robot swinging a golf club! Mahan has all of three tour wins in his young career. He is almost 28. Tiger won four consecutive majors at the age of 24. Nicklaus had won quite a few majors before he was 28 as well. How many events has O'Hair won?

Sure, O'Hair, Mahan, Stephen Ames and Justin Rose, all Foley students, are pretty good golfers. But, I would take Mickelson, Westwood, Harrington, Els, etc., over these guys any day. Maybe they have a lot more wins in them under Foley, but it won't be because of the coach. Great players find a way to win even when they are not hitting it their best.

In this day and age, it is clear too many golfers are trying to find that magic potion. I equate this to my time trading in the financial markets. All the newbie traders and millionaire wannabes, myself included, were trying to find that Holy Grail of trading systems. Golfers are a similar breed.

Great golf takes hard work and practice. The great golfers all work extremely hard at their craft. Players like Woods, Vijay Singh and Ben Hogan are all known for their work ethic. You see that in all sports.

In golf, you must master some important fundamentals. After that, you can pretty much swing the golf club any way you like and be successful. While Ben Hogan had a beautiful swing, I recall that Lee Trevino had a pretty successful career as well. Same with Nicklaus, Player and Palmer, all of whom had very different golf swings.

The key is to find a swing that you make that results in a good solid golf shot, and learn to repeat it. That requires a good grip, solid balance, good lower body work, and the ability to get the club on a decent swing plane at impact. Learn how to do this and you will be on your way and it does not require some particular swing model or another.

Scott Cole
www.scottcolegolf.com
www.onlinegolfswingcoach.com