PGA Championship 2010: Tiger Woods Needs More Than Just a Swing Coach

The 2010 season has been nothing short of disastrous for Tiger Woods. His swing coach, Hank Haney, resigned, and Woods has been awful on the course.

Following his opening round at the PGA Championship on Thursday, Woods was seen working with swing coach Sean Foley. While it was noted that Foley has not been officially signed as Woods’ coach, it is a sign that Tiger has acknowledged he needs help.

However, the help Tiger needs is off the course, not on the course. Forget about a swing coach and everything that has been going on with Woods’ golf game. Woods needs to forget about golf and take the rest of the year off.

Woods has blamed his golfing struggles on his inability to practice because of his ongoing issues. This is a legitimate excuse and shows exactly why Tiger Woods needs to take a break from golf, despite shooting a one-under-par in the first round of the PGA Championship.

Woods is absolutely correct when he says that family is most important to him and that he has bigger issues to deal with—issues more important than golf. Between divorce and custody battles, Tiger has a lot going on in his personal life. His golf game has clearly struggled, but it is understandable.

Taking a break from the golf course would allow Woods the opportunity to get his personal and family life in order as well as spare him from embarrassing himself on the golf course.

After struggling last week, Tiger walked off a green while a fan heckled, “You’re washed up, Tiger. Give it up.”

While I disagree with the premise that Woods is washed up and no longer able to golf, he is unable to golf at this point in time. His one-under first round at the PGA Championship shows he is still talented, but he is a professional athlete, and in order to sustain the level of success and dominance we all expect from Tiger, he needs to be able to practice.

When the fan told Woods to “give it up,” he was right. Woods should give up, but only for now. Taking a break from golf would help Tiger in multiple ways. Woods would be allowed to focus on his family, take a mental break from golf, and get out of the intense scrutiny of the public limelight.

Continuing to play without taking a break is only hurting Woods’ image. People want to see Tiger as the dominant golfer who sinks impossible puts then celebrates with the trademark fist pump. When thinking about golf, people do not think of Tiger Woods as a regular golfer but rather as the most dominant athlete in his sport.

By continuing to golf when there are much more important things going on in his life, Woods is setting himself up to be mocked and to be viewed as another athlete who kept playing and never knew when to quit.

Some athletes use their sport as a sanctuary and as a way to get away from the pressures of everyday life, but this is clearly not the case for Woods. Attempting to golf after all of his off-the-course incidents was probably a good idea in theory, as it could have potentially given him a place to clear his mind.

Unfortunately, this did not work out for Woods, as his is clearly distracted and unable to focus on golf. Tiger Woods needs to step out of the limelight and focus solely on his family for the next few months.