For Tiger Woods, the Demons Are Starting To Creep In

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past eight months, you’ll know Tiger Woods is in a world of trouble both on and off the golf course.

Off the course, he is going through a very difficult and costly divorce while trying to deal with the backlash of one of the most publicized scandals in modern history.

On the course he has not won a major championship since the 2008 U.S. Open, is yet to win a tournament this season, and most concerning of all, the demons are starting to creep in.

“Demons,” as it pertains to a golfer, is just another word for doubt, and doubt is a golfer’s worst enemy.

Self-doubt is far more devastating than any injury a golfer may suffer.

Self-doubt can transform a world-class player into a weekend hacker in a matter of minutes.

If it were a choice between the worst swing flaw imaginable or the slightest hint of self-doubt, a golfer would chose the swing flaw before you could even finish saying the word “doubt.”

Why has a player never won a major championship using a long putter?

That’s quite simple—players do not switch to a long putter unless they have some doubt in their putting stroke, and as we all know, it is next to impossible to win a major with even a hint of doubt in your putting stroke.

The demons have crept into Woods’s mind, and as a result, he now finds himself in the midst of the toughest battle he will ever face in his golfing career.

At the 2010 U.S. Open, Woods spent more time complaining about the greens than he did about trying to figure out why Graeme McDowell and Dustin Johnson were sinking putts while he wasn’t.

At last week’s Open Championship, Woods not only switched putters for the first time since 1999, but he once again spent a Thursday afternoon complaining about the greens rather than spending time trying to figure out why Rory McIlroy made everything he saw while he was either lipping out or downright misreading putts for most of the day.

Two years ago, you’d have a better chance of seeing the ghost of Bobby Jones show up on the first tee at a major than you would at hearing Woods complain about the conditions at a major championship venue.

The guy didn’t even whisper a word of complaint about playing with a broken leg on choppy Poa annua greens at Torrey Pines back in 2008.

Two years ago, Woods would have probably risked his own life to save his beloved Scotty Cameron putter that had won him 13 majors and more than $73 million.

The fact that Woods is now complaining about the quality of the greens and changing putters like John Daly goes through cigarettes is a clear indication the demons have indeed crept in.

Woods changed from his $73 million Scotty Cameron to a Nike putter prior to the Open Championship.

After struggling on the greens for three days, he switched back to the Scotty Cameron and still couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn on Sunday.

When asked what putter he would use at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Woods simply said, “I don’t know.”

Woods’s swing changes can be fixed and his personal life will eventually work itself out.

Demons, however, are a golfer’s worst nightmare.  Once they creep in, you can’t just call an exterminator to get rid of them.

Demons have ended the careers of more than a few players.  Not even Ben Hogan and Tom Watson—widely considered two of the greatest ball strikers of all time—could continue winning major championships after the demons had taken over their putting strokes.

If Woods has shown us anything over the years, it’s that he is as mentally tough as anyone who has ever played this game.  That being said, if Woods has any aspiration of breaking Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 major championships, he will need to rid his mind of these demons immediately…otherwise it’s off to David Duval land.

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