In golf, patience is a virtue ... just ask Tiger
By Chris Wallace
It was an incredible Sunday show that Tiger Woods put on at the Memorial en route to his 73rd PGA title.
Certainly we’ve seen that sort of performance on more than one occasion from the man in the red shirt, but it had been a while since we saw one like that.
The debate will now rage on at golf courses and in offices across the country as to whether or not Tiger is “back” and whether or not he will ultimately break Jack Nicklaus’ record by winning 19 career professional majors, a mark he’s five short of at present with his next chance coming next week at the U.S. Open.
But for the sake of this column, we’re going in another direction …
The harsh reality is that no matter how hard you try, you’ll never, probably not even for a day, play the game like Tiger Woods. He’s just that good.
There is a lot, however, that you can learn from Woods, especially if you are like so many golfers and trying to change your swing and improve your game, be it with the help of a coach or even on your own.
Change takes time folks, there’s simply no way around it. And if the best player on the planet needs months and months to engrain changes to his golf swing, does it really make sense for you to think you can see dramatic results in the course of a range session?
It’s easy for us as golf fans to not want to accept that reality when it comes to Tiger because we’ve all seen what he can do and what he’s capable of when he’s on top of his game.
For the average weekend warrior, however, patience is an absolute must when it comes to changing your golf swing.
Find a teaching professional you like and trust and put your swing in their hands, the way Woods has done with Sean Foley.
Create and commit to a plan, put in the work, remain patient and stay the course - if you do, the improvement you’re looking for will come, guaranteed. If you don’t, your best hope is to find one band-aid after another to keep your game somewhat manageable, an approach that also comes with considerable frustration.
Regardless of what happens with Tiger at Olympic Club next week, we all need to keep in mind, hard as it might be at times, that the man is immensely patient and he knows what he’s doing when it comes to his golf game.
And everyone should take a page from that book and apply it to their golf games