"The way to combat it, in my opinion, is trees," Mark O'Meara said recently. "They keep taking these trees out, but trees are the equalizer. These kids are so strong they can play out of the rough, but you put trees in, big trees, all along the sides of the fairways, and make the course faster? They can't hit it through a tree."
At Muirfield Village Golf Club, the Jack Nicklaus and Desmond Muirhead design that hosts the Memorial in late May, trees are everywhere. Water also comes into play on 11 holes. (See satellite photos.)
Precision off the tee is paramount at Muirfield; not surprisingly, last year's winner of the Memorial, K.J. Choi, is considered one of the Tour's most automatic drivers. Woods tied for 15th place, and his decline at Muirfield looks a lot like Bay Hill.
When he was coached by Harmon, and hitting almost three out of every four fairways, Woods couldn't stop winning the Memorial. He won in 1999, a season when he hit 71.3% of all fairways. He repeated in 2000 (71.2%) and three-peated in 2001, despite having dipped to 65.5%. He hasn't won there since.
"Nicklaus was a lot better driver," Rosburg says. (The PGA Tour did not keep statistics for fairways hit in Nicklaus's prime.) "Tiger is an amazing man, so much strength. Hogan thought if you couldn't drive the ball, then you weren't much of a player, but Tiger is going to end up being maybe the best ever, certainly the best around the greens now, and the best putter we've ever seen."
Woods may or may not win again at Muirfield, but as O'Meara suggested, that type of course is on its way out, anyway. Cutting down trees gives courses a wide-open, links feel, and tree roots can rob putting greens of precious water.
Oakmont Country Club was shorn of about 4,000 trees between the 1994 U.S. Open and the 2007 Open and was almost unrecognizable. The result: Woods missed winning his first U.S. Open since 2002 by the roll of a ball. Chambers Bay, the new course in leafy Washington State that will host the 2010 U.S. Amateur and 2015 U.S. Open, has but a single tree. Torrey Pines, which will host the Open this June, has trees, but not as many as you might think given the course's name.
Meanwhile, courses are getting longer than ever, and big, broad-shouldered courses help Woods further separate himself from the field, since he is a peerless long-iron player. (Again, Torrey Pines is a prime example.)
By capitalizing on opportunities at courses with benign rough (Torrey, six wins), no trees (St. Andrews, two British Opens) and a pleasing combination of few trees and manageable rough (Doral, three wins in the last three years), Woods keeps pressing forward. He is moving ever closer to breaking golf's most hallowed record, Jack's 18 career majors, and, while he's at it, Sam Snead's 82 career wins.
His below-average driving statistics will be forgotten, and if he can start winning again at courses like Bay Hill and Muirfield, maybe they should be. It's possible that Woods has yet again moved into another dimension, where driving the ball accurately really isn't all that important.
Yes, he's benefited from modern equipment and course setups, but he has also made himself into the strongest and most skilled star in the game. Only Tiger Woods could dominate with 13 good clubs and a stick of dynamite, and he could do it again this week. As Rosburg says, "It's a different way of winning."
At Muirfield Village Golf Club, the Jack Nicklaus and Desmond Muirhead design that hosts the Memorial in late May, trees are everywhere. Water also comes into play on 11 holes. (See satellite photos.)
Precision off the tee is paramount at Muirfield; not surprisingly, last year's winner of the Memorial, K.J. Choi, is considered one of the Tour's most automatic drivers. Woods tied for 15th place, and his decline at Muirfield looks a lot like Bay Hill.
When he was coached by Harmon, and hitting almost three out of every four fairways, Woods couldn't stop winning the Memorial. He won in 1999, a season when he hit 71.3% of all fairways. He repeated in 2000 (71.2%) and three-peated in 2001, despite having dipped to 65.5%. He hasn't won there since.
"Nicklaus was a lot better driver," Rosburg says. (The PGA Tour did not keep statistics for fairways hit in Nicklaus's prime.) "Tiger is an amazing man, so much strength. Hogan thought if you couldn't drive the ball, then you weren't much of a player, but Tiger is going to end up being maybe the best ever, certainly the best around the greens now, and the best putter we've ever seen."
Woods may or may not win again at Muirfield, but as O'Meara suggested, that type of course is on its way out, anyway. Cutting down trees gives courses a wide-open, links feel, and tree roots can rob putting greens of precious water.
Oakmont Country Club was shorn of about 4,000 trees between the 1994 U.S. Open and the 2007 Open and was almost unrecognizable. The result: Woods missed winning his first U.S. Open since 2002 by the roll of a ball. Chambers Bay, the new course in leafy Washington State that will host the 2010 U.S. Amateur and 2015 U.S. Open, has but a single tree. Torrey Pines, which will host the Open this June, has trees, but not as many as you might think given the course's name.
Meanwhile, courses are getting longer than ever, and big, broad-shouldered courses help Woods further separate himself from the field, since he is a peerless long-iron player. (Again, Torrey Pines is a prime example.)
By capitalizing on opportunities at courses with benign rough (Torrey, six wins), no trees (St. Andrews, two British Opens) and a pleasing combination of few trees and manageable rough (Doral, three wins in the last three years), Woods keeps pressing forward. He is moving ever closer to breaking golf's most hallowed record, Jack's 18 career majors, and, while he's at it, Sam Snead's 82 career wins.
His below-average driving statistics will be forgotten, and if he can start winning again at courses like Bay Hill and Muirfield, maybe they should be. It's possible that Woods has yet again moved into another dimension, where driving the ball accurately really isn't all that important.
Yes, he's benefited from modern equipment and course setups, but he has also made himself into the strongest and most skilled star in the game. Only Tiger Woods could dominate with 13 good clubs and a stick of dynamite, and he could do it again this week. As Rosburg says, "It's a different way of winning."
