Tiger Woods explains why he often leaves no turf on his shots.
Youtube
Maybe you’re as confused as Scotty Scheffler, but when TaylorMade cameras caught him talking to Tiger Woods nearly two years ago, the 15-time major champion admitted a puzzling fact .
“When I rinse it, I don’t leave turf behind,” Woods told Scheffler on the practice range during TaylorMade’s commercial day. Scheffler found that there seemed to be barely any turf movement on Woods’ hitting surface, even though Woods was hitting many irons on the ground.
“What if I don’t have a draft?” Scheffler asked.
“Why do you need to remove the turf,” Woods responded.
“I don’t know, I’m asking you,” Scheffler said, desperate for an explanation.
Woods said that day that he was “picking it,” which ultimately led to the above quote. When he flushes it, he leaves no turf behind. Scheffler was confused. We are all confused. Since Woods rarely appears in public these days, it’s hard to truly understand what he means. Woods said that earlier in his career, he was more “zeroed out,” meaning he wasn’t chipping the ball as much and his attack wasn’t as steep. He said he was “too wide, too wide,” meaning he took a long backswing and finished extra wide through contact.
But even taking all of this into account, is it really possible that the best hardcore player of all time barely interacted with the turf? YouTube golfer Grant Horvat and his recent video with Woods. Finally, the follow-up we’ve been waiting for.
Horvat, a TaylorMade golfer, is enjoying one of the perks of the equipment deal: one-on-one contact with Woods, himself a TaylorMade employee. In the middle of a small tee course — where Horvat is working on improving the height of his woods and consistency with his driver — the two broached the topic of turf interaction.
“I think you confuse everybody a little bit when you say you don’t take the turf,” Horvat said in the video below.
“It depends on what ball I play,” Woods interjected.
“Well, you said that when you play your best, you leave no turf behind.”
“Well, it’s true,” Woods said. “It’s true. When I’m at full strength. But if I have to hit the ball, I’m going to hit the turf. I’m going to tilt the axis. I’m going to grab territory. Now, if I just flush it out here, there’s no wind , and no, I wouldn’t leave the turf…it depends on the wind conditions.
“Now, if I’m in that range, I’ll feel the wind gently blowing against me, and I’ll start relying on that. Now, if we don’t have the wind, and I just hit the ball with no consequence or distance – I just send it It – yeah, I don’t take up a lot of turf. I sweep it.
Finally, we’re all waiting for some background information. (Okay, maybe everyone else has moved on.) When Woods warms up and swings, without any real purpose other than making solid contact, he doesn’t take much action. This might be good advice for those amateurs who are endlessly focused on leaning the shaft forward and pinching the ball into the grass. There is a time and place for doing this, but probably not as often as you think.
Woods went on to say that his interactive moments on the turf were mostly chipping, not drawing, which makes sense. The two should be different because chipping involves a swing path from outside to inside, and the more “in” the swing path moves, the steeper the shot is likely to be and the more turf the club will necessarily intersect. Likewise, a hook swing path (inside to outside) provides a variety of room for club movement, allowing for a shallower angle of attack and not automatically catching the turf.
As you listen to Woods talk, one thing is clear: Every swing presents a unique opportunity, and each opportunity is filled with context that determines the impact he’s trying to create. On the range, even with the breeze blowing across his face, Woods’ brain goes into hitting mode. But if the wind isn’t strong, you might never know he’s there… flushing.
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