After hiring Butch Harmon as his swing coach, it took Tiger Woods 18 months for the lessons to bear fruit. Five years later, when Woods switched to Hank Haney, it took another 18 months for him to resume his domination of golf.
Judging from his performance in the Chevron World Challenge, Woods is ahead of schedule with new coach Sean Foley, whom he has been with for less than four months.
Even though Woods lost a four-shot lead Sunday, falling as Graeme McDowell made back-to-back 20-foot putts on the 18th green, Woods’ play suggests he will be a contender in 2011.
Swinging more upright, with his arms closer to his body and with less lateral movement, Woods hit the ball farther and straighter off the tee throughout the tournament than he had all season.
With Harmon, Woods won seven of 11 majors from 1999 to 2003. Under Haney, Woods won six times in a span of 14 majors from 2005 to 2008.
During each down period, as Woods transitioned into a new swing, 10 majors were played without a Woods victory. That’s the current streak now on the table since his signature win at the 2008 U.S. Open.
If history is to repeat, Woods will capture the Masters in April and spark another major championship run. But if it takes a full 18 months for his new swing to produce major success, Woods will have to wait until 2012 to resume his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors.
