Step back in time will see Tiger regain his stripes

It’s another seven years before the Chinese will be celebrating the Year of the Tiger.

Will golf fans be doing exactly that over the next 12 months?

It forms just some of the intrigue going into the New Year.

But one of the game’s most-respected voices believes we could see the former World No. 1 back to something like his old self.

The four rounds Woods played at his comeback tournament last month raised more questions than answers in many pundits minds.

On a course he was a member of for years with a handicap of plus 10, Woods hit an erratic drive out of bounds on the first hole, and proceeded to duff and thin chips all the way to a round of 77.

Many were saying: ‘Here we go again’.

But Brandel Chamblee, the Golf Channel’s long-time critic of the swing Tiger and his coach Sean Foley worked on for four years, saw nothing but positives, despite Woods’ performance ending dropping him to last place in the elite 18-man field.

“At first glance, you say Tiger’s swing is not much different,” says Chamblee.

“But you can see it is a little more upright, a little longer, and there is certainly a lot more freedom.

“He gutted it out, and yes, it was hard to watch, because he was physically sick and obviously struggling.

“But he is standing up and the hands are a little higher, although he does have some stuff that is hanging on from the last four years.”

As Chamblee points out, Woods has done swing makeovers before.

“It is really amazing when you consider that, as much as anything, his legacy is going to be how many golf swings he had, and the fact he took all of them to number one in the world.

“Now he is trying to resurrect an injured body and a career under the tutelage and swing coaching of Chris Como.

“But each time Tiger has made changes, he is a little bit older, or a piece of his body is in question, and the swing changes have taken a long time to bed in.

“This time he has a 39-year-old’s reality that Father Time is knocking at the door, and he does not have the luxury of time or going down some bizarre swing thoughts that are unproven.”

Woods is studying tapes of his swing when he was in his prime. And Chamblee believes the former World No. 1 is on the right track.

He says: “When he had that beautiful swing and was blowing fields away, he had the perfect body for golf, sinewy and quick.

“Then he went to the gym, and you can’t make fast-twitch muscles faster by making them stronger or bigger.

“Yes, there are guys that are working out and looking great. But it is about leverage and fast-twitch muscles and speed not strength that makes the difference.

“The longest hitter on Tour is Bubba Watson, and his biceps are as big all round as a No. 2 pencil!

“So the change Tiger has made is in the right direction, and I watched him hit a 300-yard drive dead centre with all the old bravado, so the signs are good.

“High hands and a long fluid swing is what wins Majors. That’s been proven many times over.”