Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Chamblee slams Tiger, Woods fires back

   Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, never one to hold back his opinion, took a big swing at Tiger Woods Wednesday in a teleconference preceding The Players Championship and Woods swung back.
   On a call with Nick Faldo and Johnny Miller, Chamblee said Woods' extended struggles which included a missed cut at the Wells Fargo Championship last week in Charlotte, could be solved by a return to his former instructor Butch Harmon rather than his continuing to work with Sean Foley.
   "Simply, he needs to fire Sean, call Butch. I think that would get it done right there. Fire Sean, call Butch," Chamblee said.
  "And I know he'll never do that because he's letting his ego get in the way of common sense. He wants to prove to people he's right. He would rather prove to people he's right than be right.
   "He's going to ride this thing as long as he can and it's just sad to see."
  It's not the first time Chamblee has leveled criticism at Woods and his work with Foley but this time it earned a reaction from Tiger.
   "Well, I can understand that everyone has an opinion, and he's entitled to his. But he's no longer playing anymore, so, so be it," Woods said when asked specifically about Chamblee's comments at The Players Championship.
   Harmon now works with, among others, Phil Mickelson, long considered Woods' top rival. It's unlikely Harmon would consider working with Woods again given his allegiance to Mickelson, even if Woods were to approach him. Harmon pointed out to Mickelson some of the little things Woods had used to disrupt or distract Mickelson in their competitive rounds together and since then, Woods has not beaten Mickelson head to head.
   Woods said the process of changing his swing under Foley's tutelage is similar to what he went through when he hired Harmon in 1997 after his record-setting Masters victory and again when he hired Hank Haney nearly a decade ago. Woods said his progress has been slowed this time by injuries but he remains committed to Foley's direction.
  Chamblee believes Woods is making a great mistake.
   "The frustration that we've seen from Tiger Woods, I've never seen one
person try to incorporate the swing thoughts of the golf machine (theory), and that's essentially maybe a little
bit sort of an annexed version of the golf machine, is what he's trying to incorporate. I've never seen
one person try to incorporate those thoughts into their golf swing without getting frustrated, without
getting confused, without getting lost, because it's science.
   "He's literally lost the art of the game, and I think Butch could help him, one, have more fun; two, he would find the art in the game; three, he would find the rhythm in the game; and four, he would be back to playing the type of golf that we know he can play."
    If you saw Woods at Quail Hollow, you saw a very different player from the one who won here in 2007. Chamblee isn't the only one who wonders if we'll ever see that player again.

24 comments:

John said...

He didn't say much of anything that Nick Faldo didn't also discuss this past weekend on sports talk radio. Quite simply, Sean Foley is apparently trying to coach Tiger away from his natural tendencies... and it was those natural tendencies that made Tiger great! How can that possibly be in Tiger's best interest?

What's wrong with Tiger no swing coach can fix... it's mental. He needs to go back to what he does naturally!

Archiguy said...

Tiger has never handled criticism well, another thing that separates him from the greats who have come before. When he was on top he used to freeze journalists and commentators out who he thought didn't treat him with the proper reverence. He's got a much bigger set of targets now though, doesn't he?

Redlight said...

Chamlee is right on. Tiger looks so mechanical with his swing compared to the old Tiger.

He should dump Foley and just go out and play golf.

Anonymous said...

Hardly a slam, really.

Anonymous said...

What little things did Tiger do to Phil their matches?

John C said...

I love it when a television analyst breaks down the swing/psychological makeup/throwing motion of one of any of the games' greats: Trent Dilfer breaking down Peyton Manning's motion or Brandel Chamblee on Tiger. I googled Chamblee, one PGA win; the 1998 Greater Vancouver Open. Didn't see anything about Med School on his bio, but I'm sure he's qualified to breakdown Tiger's psyche.

As for "Chamblee isn't the only one who wonders if we'll ever see that player again;" this is only the eight time that Tiger has missed the cut as a professional...next closest is Phil at somewhere around 45 missed cuts. He's still one for seven in touraments won/entered this year...whether you love him or hate him...it's STILL Tiger v. the Field. I wouldn't bet against him.

Anonymous said...

Screw that arrogant SOB Tiger Woods.

Anonymous said...

Where are all the great players Harmon has coached? Foley has the #5, #7, and #11 ranked players in the world. Criticizing Tiger, because he doesn't compare to the old Tiger is stupid. By that standard every golfer in the history of the sport should be criticized.

Anonymous said...

Where are the players Harmon has coached? Foley has the 5th, 7th, and 11th ranked players. The criticism of Tiger is ridiculous. No golfer can match what he did in the past. By that standard Rory, Luke, and Lee should be getting criticized also.

Anonymous said...

Chamblee who has played in 12 majors and missed the cut 8 times is giving Tiger advice. Who was Chamblee's coach?

Anonymous said...

We joked with Butch at the tourney that Tiger needed his help and the words form Butch Harmon's mouth was I want no part of that period!

dcboy60 said...

I have difficulty seeing Sean Foley as the problem. It appears to me that Sean Foley's ideas are fundamentally sound and pretty similar to some other coaches. As a couple of commenters pointed out he coaches the #5, 7, and 11 players in the world right now, so something in his teaching must be working for those guys. Hunter Mahan has a beautiful swing. I think the bigger problem for Tiger now is the mental side of the game. He has gone through such a tremendous change in his life it has to affect him mentally. I have read a small portion of Hank Haney's book on Tiger, and Tiger is one of these guys who is on the edge. He doesn't appear to me to be comparable to most of these golf greats in the past. He is much more like great stars in other sports such as Michael Jordan. I think one thing that Haney says that resonates for me is that Tiger has overdone the weight lifting, that is he too muscular now. That I think is indicative of Tiger's on the edge personality. You look at him when he was younger and he was pretty skinny. He could hit the ball a mile.

dcboy60 said...

I have difficulty seeing Sean Foley as the problem. It appears to me that Sean Foley's ideas are fundamentally sound and pretty similar to some other coaches. As a couple of commenters pointed out he coaches the #5, 7, and 11 players in the world right now, so something in his teaching must be working for those guys. Hunter Mahan has a beautiful swing. I think the bigger problem for Tiger now is the mental side of the game. He has gone through such a tremendous change in his life it has to affect him mentally. I have read a small portion of Hank Haney's book on Tiger, and Tiger is one of these guys who is on the edge. He doesn't appear to me to be comparable to most of these golf greats in the past. He is much more like great stars in other sports such as Michael Jordan. I think one thing that Haney says that resonates for me is that Tiger has overdone the weight lifting, that is he too muscular now. That I think is indicative of Tiger's on the edge personality. You look at him when he was younger and he was pretty skinny. He could hit the ball a mile.

Anonymous said...

Matter of time before he dumps Foley. Give it time, perhaps by the PGA if he throws up on himself in both Opens. For those who question Chamblee's record of accomplishments on tour, Chamblee has a keen eye for the golf swing and mechanics. Where's Foley's playing record for that matter? I agree with one poster, this is 95% mental with Tiger right now.

JimmyDee said...

I wish the press would realize that there are 125 other PGA players. Most of them are great ambassadors to the game, unlike Tigger. I am so tired of hearing about this arrogant has-been.

King Ward said...

There's something wrong when a player of this caliber needs a golf coach. It's ridiculous. It's like your surgeon needing a coach. How would that go over?

Anonymous said...

Glad I have a mute button when Tiger or anything about Tiger is on.

Clay Aiken said...

I found Tiger's reply rather mild, and find the media's total over reaction to them self serving and laughable.

Anonymous said...

Chamblee is a idiot and self absorbed. (consider the source) Tiger is one of the best golfers of all time. Albeit, do not understand why people still cheer and care about Tiger. Great golfer but the most selfish spoiled athlete of all time and does not deserve cheering.

size said...

Faldo and Chamlee....a used to be and a never was....who cares what they think? Tiger is the greatest golfer of all time....even if he never wins again. period.

Anonymous said...

Brandel " I missed 182 cuts & only have won 1 TIME" has no right to talk about Tiger Woods.. this dude doesn't know a single thing about a golf swing...... a loser shouldn't talk about one of the best golfers of all time.. sorry Chamblee.. maybe if you would have won maybe more than what? ONCE! and maybe if you didn't miss.. what? 182 CUTS! almost HALF OF THE EVENTS YOU PLAYED! now that's pathetic... = SLAMMED.

- TW FAN

Anonymous said...

How would Chamblee know anything.
He is a nobody that's never won anything.
He's a POS!

Ye Olde Tyme Gulfur said...

Chamblee is part of the old boys club and will hate on Tiger regardless of anything. He is a non-journalist and a sh-t commentator as he fails to ever look aside from his own self-absorbed agenda, this goes against Tiger and plenty others on tour.

By the way, today, Tiger won likely the most important and lucrative non-major, non-WGC tourney of the season, placing him atop of the FEDEX race and at least to 2 or 3 in the WGR. Tiger has been "back" since he won during the fall series and is the winningest golfer all season. Jordan retired to play AAA baseball and came back to win champsionships. Talent is talent and winning is about practice and competing reguarly.

Like another poster said, criticizing his up and down play while failing to acknowledge that THIS IS THE NATURE OF GOLF, is pointless.

Hank Haney is 15-minutes type of idiot with zero personality and the intellect (and writing ability) of a guy who watches Nancy Grace and thinks he's getting the day's news. His reality show is like watching public access reruns and frankly, he'd be nowhere without Tiger. But alas, we live in a society that feeds off of mongering in the name of fame and fortune.

Sean Foley has helped Tiger with a MAJOR swing change that will lessen impact on his knee so he can continue to play golf. Do people really think his knee problems are fake or something? Any seen how one Hunter Mahan is doing?

Obviously Foley is working as Tiger is not snap hooking as much and looks more stable off the tee in general. Four months ago Chamblee and several others said he would never win again. Whether they actually believed this or not is my question for them.

These guys (Faldo, Chamblee, Charlie Pierce) are the reason that caddies had to be black at Augusta until 1990, why Kobe Bryant was painted criminal when he was wrongly accused of rape. They would rather see Golf as a gentleman's tradition instead of a fun and exciting competition. No wonder Gary McCord gets no love.

Guess what dudes? Tiger is the best Golfer there is and maybe ever will be. He's in his mid-30s and has more than 40 more chances to win a handful of majors before the Champs Tour or retirement.

Let me also mention: the PGA TOUR, MLB, NBA, FIFA, MLS is infamous for making heroes out of old-money, degenerate gamblers, alcoholics, and dope fiends who cheat on their wives and girlfriends, act coldly toward fans, and have no sense of greater purpose other than next week's purse. Try chatting with a random pro golfer after a bad round and see what happens.

The scandal is the big excuse to make a mockery out of a great athlete who stands for much more than his mistakes. As time has already shown, they are making mockeries of their former careers by fueling Tiger's competitive fire and perpetuating the lack of tolerace and mutual respect that is ruining this country.

Charles Barkley said it time and time again. Athletes are regular people, not role models. They cuss and cheat and lie like the rest of us and they pay the consequences like the rest too.

Tiger lost his family and people still get a huge hard one because of it. Does any one of these people have the guts and self-knowledge to ask or admit why?

Give TW a break and enjoy his talents, or don't if that's your thing. However, anyone who really loves the game should at least RESPECT Woods, whether it's his talent and desire to win, the fan fare and accessibility he brings to the game, or the things he does to help young people stay in school and be physically active. I read recently that 98 percent of players on tour would rather play a round with Tiger than Phil. Do his peers really agree with the loud mouths of the golf channel? Does the public? Show of hands?

Anonymous said...

Chamblee just isn't the guy who should be criticizing Tigers game. He has a whole 1 PGA win. I would love to hear the reasons he was never any good. Maybe Butch could have helped him. I am thinking just about anyone would have been an improvement on his 1 win career.
I would love to hear him tell us why he was no good instead of him tearing the best golfers in the world games apart.