Jack Nicklaus: Woods will figure it out

Edited by Anand Datla

June 09, 2015: Seeing Tiger Woods struggle reminded Jack Nicklaus of his efforts to rebuild his game after he failed to win in 1979. It was Nicklaus’ first winless season as a professional. He touched his clubs just three times in the offseason — each time because of commitments — and began with the basics when he started preparing for the 1980 season. Nicklaus was speaking to the CBS in the aftermath of the 85 shot by Woods at the Memorial Tournament.

‘I started right from scratch. I went to (Jack) Grout and I said, ‘Let’s start with the grip,’” Nicklaus said on Sunday at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. “But it was never 20 things. It was never revamping my golf swing.”

The struggles of Nicklaus and Woods aren’t exactly the same. Nicklaus endured just one winless season, and even during his “off” year he finished fourth at the Masters and second at the Open Championship. He finished 71st on the money list in 1979, though, after ranking no worse than ninth since 1962. Woods’ struggles have been deeper and his body has undergone multiple surgeries.

Nicklaus’ backswing had become too steep in 1979. He worked on flattening it, but it was a change that was imperceptible to the naked eye, he said. It worked. He won both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in 1980.

His season got off to a slow start as he adjusted to the changes, though. His only top-10 in eight starts before June was a playoff loss at Doral. He decided to play the Atlanta Classic the week before the U.S. Open in order to get more preparation before Baltusrol.

He shot 78-67 to miss the cut at Atlanta Country Club, but it was a valuable week. “I had enough golf there that it allowed me to figure out what was going on with my golf swing to be able to … be better,” Nicklaus said. “When I went to Baltusrol in 1980, I actually just all of a sudden started playing.

“I think it will happen to Tiger somewhere. All of a sudden, a little thing will happen to click in and he will be done with it.” Woods shot 14-over 302 at Memorial, including a third-round 85 that was his worst score as a professional. He teed off alone in Sunday’s first tee time and shot 74. Woods was in last place by eight shots among players who made the 36-hole cut.

“You have moments where you go backwards and then you make big, major strides down the road. That’s just the way it goes,” Woods said. “You have to look at the big picture.”

Nicklaus said he felt “very bad” for Woods on Saturday. “I think he’s hit rock bottom a few times in the last couple years and I think he’s tired of finding a new low, and I could understand that,” Nicklaus said. “He’ll climb out of it.”

Nicklaus said he believes Woods’ head is dropping too much during his driver swing. Also, he used to be able to save himself by snapping his left leg to release his hips, but that is no longer an option because of injuries to that leg. This week, Woods was last in fairways hit (25 of 56), greens in regulation (35 of 72) and strokes gained: tee-to-green (-17.74).

“I am surprised he hasn’t (fixed it),” Nicklaus said. “But sometimes you can’t do what you want to do. You have to figure out how to do it. And that’s what he’ll do.” Nicklaus remains bullish on Woods, estimating that he’ll win multiple times once he can recover from his latest struggles. How will he get his game back? Nicklaus said he needs to figure it out himself.

Woods needs a “pair of eyes” to not necessarily instruct him, but to help him recover his swing. This help could come from a camera, consultant or friend, Nicklaus said. He had to rewind a an 8-millimeter tape to watch his swing; Woods can get instant replay on a camera or phone. Nicklaus’ wife Barbara wasn’t a golfer, but she would tell him if he made a “crooked backswing.” She couldn’t tell Jack why his swing looked off – that was for him to figure out – but she could let him know something had to be changed.

Chris Como’s title of swing consultant, instead of coach, may imply that Woods is taking greater ownership of his swing. Nicklaus developed his trademark upright swing because of what he called a “dysfunctional” right shoulder. When he tried to flatten his swing in 1980, Nicklaus had to figure out how he could accomplish that.

“The one thing (Jack Grout) taught me was to teach myself. … He told me, ‘This is what we need to do. You have to be able to figure out how to do it yourself,'” Nicklaus said. “Tiger has to figure out what he needs to do himself. And he will.”

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Reproduced from PGA TOUR Website