WE’VE stated before that our interest in Tiger Woods is as a golfer; we’ll leave all the personal morality judgements and critiques of the authenticity or otherwise of his highly publicised public apology to others.

What we are interested  in is when he plans to return to competitive golf.

Our two recent stories on that subject, firstly on talk that he might return for the WGC - Accenture Matchplay and secondly that we would know more after his public appearance on Saturday morning, proved to be hugely inaccurate.

So with the dust having settled on his televised apology and anyone and everyone having had their say on it, including most curiously the Dalai Lama, we’ll stick our neck out one more time.

But only so far as to postulate that although his speech was so obviously well planned and scripted (as it probably needed to be), he quite honestly doesn’t have a clue when he will be back.

Those that claim to know him well, or at least to know how he operates well, don’t think it will be this year.

This includes his (former) coach of ten years Butch Harmon and “confidant” Ian Baker-Finch.

“Mentally, obviously he’s hurting - and it’s going to be a long road back for him.” Harmon said this week.
“I don’t think any of us should expect to see him on a golf course any time soon because emotionally I don’t think he’ll be there. I personally do not think he will play this year.”

Baker-Finch, who first met Woods as a 15 year old, expressed a similar view: “I was hoping he’d be back for the Masters, but I read into (his statement) that his comeback’s not going to be any time soon.”

“My gut feeling is he doesn’t come back until he’s 100 per cent better, focused on golf and ready to win, and I don’t think it will be for the Majors. I can’t see any reason to come back (this year) if not for the Majors.”

What Woods actually said on the subject of his return is the following:

“I do plan to return to golf one day. I just don’t know when that day will be. I don’t rule out that it will be this year. When I do return, I need to make my behaviour more respectful of the game.”

Repeated there in black and white it couldn’t be more straightforward. Woods was going back into therapy the next day. How long the process takes? Who knows.

The last word should go to the Dalai Lama, who was asked about the Woods case on the tenuous basis that he is a fellow Buddhist.

To paraphrase the great Tibetan spiritual leader: “Who’s Tiger Woods?”

Whoever he is, golf will just have to do without him for the foreseeable future.

WE decided early on last year that we wouldn’t get involved in the whole Tiger Woods marital infidelity saga.

That’s why we haven’t published a word about it since the whole controversy began.

What we are pretty well exclusively interested in talking about here is golf, and delving into salacious details about private lives isn’t really part of that picture.

Of course, if you are doing a profile on a golfer, or you’re a fan of a golfer, or maybe just interested in how a particular golfer is performing and developing, you are interested in the whole person.

It is not just a machine attached to the end of a golf club.

Maybe we are disappointed in Woods’ infidelities, like we were disappointed, for instance, in hearing some of the incidents that have graced John Daly’s career, but there is a line there we do not want to cross.

Like we said, we want to concentrate on the golf, not a “tabloid” view of the industry.

Two new developments have spurred us to start writing about Tiger Woods again.

Throughout the whole sex addiction saga and his self imposed exile, I was always of the view that Woods would be back at least by the US Masters, held in the second week of April.

But making the Masters his first comeback appearance you would think would not be highly advisable.

Now there are suggestions Woods could be back to competitive golf in a fortnight – at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championships in Arizona.

The “whispers” are apparently backed by some inside knowledge and the suitability of this event for his return.

While we have no way of knowing the veracity of these reports, at least the thinking is creditable (and we don’t want to sound like one of those gossip magazines).

The stories go that Accenture Match Play is a favourite event for Woods, that the Dove Mountain course was where he made his comeback from knee surgery last year, and that the match play format would lessen his chances of being harassed.

Also, because it is match play if he puts in a bad performance he’s out and doesn’t have to stay in the spotlight as he would at a regular tour event.

Maybe not, but if not the Accenture there should be some movement shortly. Woods’ eye is still on those historic Major victories

Tom Watson comments

The other development involved some recent comments by golfing elder statesman Tom Watson.

Most would agree with Watson’s suggestion – as many others have repeated – that Woods needs to go public in an interview and apologise (You’d think Oprah W would be an ideal option). I’ll repeat those comments in a moment.

But perhaps more interesting were Watson’s thoughts that Woods, when he does return to competitive golf, needs to work on being a “better ambassador” for the game.

“I feel that he has not carried the same stature as the other great players that have come along like Jack (Nicklaus), Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan in the sense that there was (bad) language and club throwing on the golf course,” Watson said.

“You can grant that to somebody, a young person, that has not been out there for a while, but I think he needs to clean up his act there and show the respect for the game that the people before him have shown.”

I’m a little undecided on this. Are Woods’ occasional displays of anger/frustration out of line? Is he allowed to display some human emotions, or should he display an unflappable, inscrutable exterior?

Remaining equanimous whatever happens on the golf course is the ideal, but is it the reality?

Watson’s other comments were easier to support.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how he handles his return to public life,” Watson said.

“He messed up. He knows he messed up. The world knows he messed up. And he has to take ownership of that.

“He must get his personal life in order. I think that is what he is trying to do.

“And when he comes back he has to show some humility to the public in the sense that if I were him, it wouldn’t be at a golf tournament where I come out in public first.

“I would come out and I would do an interview with somebody and say, you know what, I screwed up. And I admit it. And I am going to change. I am trying to change.

“I want my wife and family back - I have to earn her trust back.”

You can just see a guest on Oprah’s couch confiding: “The key word for me this year is acceptance.”

But this isn’t the personal development movement we’re talking about here, it’s the US PGA Tour.

Sean O’Hair, who is a great golfer but is terrible at spelling his surname, was full of praise for his backing team after winning the Quail Hollow Championship on Sunday.

That included his swing coach Sean Foley and mental coach Bob Rotella.

No doubt spurred by recent events, the media asked after his win if he had worked on improving “recalibrating” after a bad putt or shot.

The 26 year old American replied: “Absolutely. You know,  Sean and Bob Rotella have been a huge part of that, just of — the word we use is acceptance, trying to — everything that happens to me, good, bad, whatever, I need to accept.”

“And I’ve done a really good job with that this year. Like yesterday I missed a 22-inch putt on 12 and then I birdied 13, 14 and 15. You know, I think that shows that — I think I’m doing a good job with that.

“Obviously there are a lot of things in life that happen that you have to accept.

“I mean, obviously after Bay Hill (when he blew a five stroke lead to allow Tiger Woods to win with a birdie putt on the 18th), a lot of writers wrote some pretty nasty things and a lot of people said some nasty things, and I can’t control what they say. They can believe what they want to believe, but I know who I am, I know what I’m capable of, and I just accept that. 

“There are a lot of things that you’ve got to do, and I think the key word for me this year is acceptance.”

ONE thing I love about the US Masters is how damn poetic the US television commentators get at its outset.

Before a ball is struck and as the field is just settling in they haven’t got much actual current golf to talk about to their huge international television audience so they wax lyrical basically on a formula of sporting tournament with rich history takes place in naturally beautiful setting.

So they have continuous montages of natural often (human) empty scenes of the admittedly stunningly beautiful course and say things like: “Augusta…where nature’s renewal meets golf’s quest for immortality.”

I didn’t have to make that quote up as it has been sitting in my notebook since last year waiting to get out.

I can remember watching the early stages of the event last year and thinking, basically, that I can’t believe the amount of waxing lyrical and woods and flowerbeds and the bridge over Amen Corner is going on here.

And if you think they get eloquently excited over the flowerbeds, wait till they start talking about that Tiger fellow and his new knee.

The good news is Southern Cross Ten will be televising the Masters live from all its centres as part of its normal free to air service.

You’d think that fact would be easy to discover, but amazingly, with the Masters teeing off in just over a week, it is not.

The amazing bit is that you’d think a television network would be good at communicating with people, especially its own viewers and potential viewers.

The reality seems to be they are only good at communicating with people when they feel like it.

Regional golf viewers are understandably gun shy after getting such a shitty deal from the network in recent times.

Golf forums and other places are full of regional golf fans plaintively trying to find out for certain if the Masters will be televised.

I know for sure it will be because I happen to have some official SC 10 promotional material their sales people were handing out to potential advertisers here in the Illawarra.

It says the Masters will be telecast live from “All Centres” from Friday April 10 to Monday April 13 from 4am to 8.30am.

So if you are a potential advertiser who will maybe fork out a pile of money, you get a glossy brochure. If you’re just keenly interested in being a viewer, all you get is confusion. You’d think a simple internet search would solve the problem, but no (Until posts like this maybe). SC 10 doesn’t seem to be big on using this new fangled internet stuff to keep people informed.

Metropolitan viewers may wonder what all the fuss is about, but regional viewers are understandably put off.

It’s all to do with Channel 10’s initial HD digital sports coverage and their new ONE Sports Channel.

Regional viewers have been seeing ads on their televisions, for instance, that they will be getting live coverage of the Golf World Matchplay Championships.

When they sit down to watch it. Nothing. At least no golf. They check and see that it is available on both HD and SD digital television. They have a standard definition set top box, why won’t it work?

The problem is that Network Ten and Southern Cross Ten are separate beasts. SC 10 is an affiliate paying fees to broadcast Ch 10 programming.

What the screen is saying to the viewer watching in Sydney does not apply to the poor soul watching just an hour away in Wollongong.

And obviously it is not worth putting a disclaimer on the screen saying the service is not available on the SC 10 network. By their own claims, that only applies to a potential 5.7 million people.

When regional viewers say: “Okay, when will we be getting it?”, the plot only thickens.

The first answers were things like “the middle of last year”, then “later in 2008”, followed by “first part of 2009”. Currently, the answer can perhaps be roughly summed up as “we’re not sure”.

This is where SC 10’s genius for personal communication comes in. Just try it yourself.

The SC 10 website boasts:

“The company’s Network Ten affiliate stations operate in Victoria, southern and northern New South Wales and Queensland, with a potential reach of over 28% of the Australian population or 5.7 million people. The company has a presence in every major regional centre in the eastern states. The advertising market revenue available to Southern Cross Ten is approximately $505 million.”

I’m pretty sure, going by all the angry viewers in the ACT, that their coverage also includes a place called Canberra, which while it may geographically be in southern NSW, apparently is the national capital city.

There have been suggestions raised elsewhere that it is not any technical difficulties SC 10 has been having in rolling out ONE across its various local network centres, but in fine tuning the local advertising revenue systems. They often seem to be the only tuning in problems that matter.

Any questions or complaints? Just ring our handy 1 800 number for viewers or email us at his address……..sorry, can’t seem to find any. Who would want to put information like that on a website?

Crazy Phil has been helped along just slightly by Woods’ eight month lay off due to knee surgery but it is also his own good form this year that has put him in contention.

The gap between the two has dwindled to a mere 0.2 points and Woods needs to finish in the top two at the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week to keep Mickelson out of range.

If not, Crazy Phil will have a chance to topple Woods at the Houston Open next week. They are not competing head to head at either event.

The Arnold Palmer, an event defending champion Woods has won five times, is likely to be his last tournament before the US Masters beginning on April 6.

Woods has been World No.1 for the last 198 weeks, taking over from Vijay Singh, and for a total of 540 weeks in his career. Mickelson has never filled the top spot in the rankings.

Mickelson won his most recent tournament, the WGC CA Championship in Miami, in typical Crazy Phil style.

He had to overcome “illness and dehydration” to edge out fellow American Nick Watney by one stroke and dramatically visited a local hospital after the third round.

“I didn’t have enough energy to think about what others were doing and I fought hard all day,” Crazy Phil said.

“I was so worried about keeping my energy level high throughout the round. I haven’t eaten much in three days and yet I’ve been playing some of my best golf, so I’m very excited to finish it off.”

A half starved and hyped up Crazy Phil striding up to tee off at Augusta as World No 1 might be too much to bear.

Latest leading world rankings:-

1. Tiger Woods (USA) 8.86pts
2. Phil Mickelson (USA) 8.66
3. Sergio Garcia (ESP) 7.53
4. Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 6.36
5. Padraig Harrington (IRL) 5.91
6. Vijay Singh (FIJ) 5.86
7. Camilo Villegas (COL) 4.94
8. Robert Karlsson (SWE) 4.88
9. Henrik Stenson (SWE) 4.87
10 Kenny Perry (USA) 4.83.

Forget that you’re Tiger Woods and you have the added pressure of the eyes and cameras of the world on you, as you tee up your ball after being away for so long what are you thinking?

If you are Tiger Woods hitting of at the Accenture Match Play, what you are thinking is going to help you start back with a birdie, eagle on the first two holes, and to go on and comfortably win the match.

If you were a club golfer coming back after eight months with injury, with maybe just the pressure of a couple of mates watching, you’d be happy to just get that first shot on the fairway somewhere.

“I got off to probably an ideal start, birdie, eagle,” a laid back Woods said later at his post match press conference.

The media wanted to make much of how he felt when he was walking up to make his long awaited comeback. What his emotions were? How he reacted to the cheers? What it all meant to him? What he was thinking?

Unfortunately for the media’s visions of some grand themes and thoughts for their prose, Woods was very pragmatic.

Woods was thinking what any club golfer lining up to take a tee shot should be thinking, knee surgery and eight months layoff or not.

“Well, it felt like nothing had changed,” Woods said.

What he was thinking is that he was going to get his three wood out and hit a slight draw to a spot on the right side of the fairway that would give him the best angle into the flag.

Regrettably for his match play opponent, Aussie Brendan Jones, “it felt like business as usual”.

As Woods said: “I thought I would be more nervous on that first tee, but when it comes right down to it, it comes to placement off the tee, and hitting to the flag and second hole, hit it down the fairway, angle it. All different things that I – it just came back down to just playing the game again, and that felt good.”

Woods was pressed again later in the conference, surely he must have had all those human emotions that would make a better headline?

Q: We’re all human beings. Describe your emotions when you walk through up and to the first tee box and the adrenaline of actually striking the ball competitively for the first time and in the best part of the year.

Tiger Woods: Walking on the tee was just I was just in my own little world, just trying to make sure that I knew what the number was to the bunker, where the wind was coming from, slightly off left, am I going to hit a flat 3-wood, draw the ball, trying to decide what shot I want to hit. And that‘s basically how I am with every round going to the first tee. So that didn’t change. So over the tee shot it was just being able to hold a little draw up there and put it down the right side and give myself an angle at that flag, and I was able to do that.

Q: You make it sound as though it was just another shot.

Tiger Woods: Well, that‘s – it is. It really is when it comes down to it; it really is just another shot. Just because I’ve taken time off and away from a competitive environment doesn’t change the nature of how you execute a golf shot. At home or here, it doesn’t matter. It’s still a golf shot. And there’s a lot more pressure out here, granted, but still, it’s just when you tee it up, you make a swing and you go place it down the side of the fairway you want it to be on and go about your business.

Q: Did you learn anything new yourself today? Anything different that surprised you?

Tiger Woods: No.

Sorry media, same old boring golf stuff. Decide your best target. Decide which shot to play. Hit it. Walk up to ball. Repeat.

There must be some reason they all keep saying it.

IF IT is possible to focus too much on the modern golf swing then maybe Jeff Mann has done it.

Jeff is a retired doctor who has built an amazing resource at his website, Perfect Golf Swing.

As Jeff happily admits, his analysis of the golf swing is so detailed it is not for everyone.

But for those who are interested, it is fascinating stuff.

Even though Jeff set up the website entirely himself and it has a very simple, no frills design, it demonstrates the internet at its best.

The only problem is, if, like me, you start reading, viewing and absorbing and then look up and realise several hours have passed and you haven’t even reached the top of the backswing.

As for Jeff, he has obviously spent countless hundreds of hours putting it all together – and the project is still ongoing.

The beauty of Jeff’s work – apart from the fact that it is all entirely free to access - is that he has drawn all the material together from the best teachers and resources from throughout golf’s history.

And because it is online every minute, gory aspect of the modern golf swing can be analysed not just with words, pictures, illustration and graphs, but with relevant video clips and links as well.

The amazing thing is that Jeff only started playing golf when he retired from practicing medicine in 2001.

Jeff looked around and noted there was no free online review of the full golf swing available. Sure, there are a myriad of sites offering free golf tips, but nothing detailed like this.

Jeff decided to approach it as he would a scholarly analysis of any educational subject and that’s why he decided on the no frills style of Perfect Golf Swing.

As in a scholarly review, every point is referenced to the original source, whether that is from a David Leadbetter book, a Ben Hogan video clip or an animated robot swinging at one of the modern golf clinics. And all of it is based entirely on traditional golf instructional teaching.

As an older golfer himself  - and with the benefit of his medical knowledge of human physiology - Jeff knows that most senior golfers are not going to be physically able to exactly replicate the perfect swing of a golf robot or even a young Aaron Baddeley. Allowances can be made.

And as Jeff freely admits, the review will not offer a developing golfer any secret formula that will magically enable them to instantly perfect their golf swing.

What it does do for those interested is provide the basis for a thorough and in-depth understanding of golf swing mechanics.

Read and absorb it and suddenly all those seemingly disparate and (often in reality) confusing golf tips in the magazines and websites will all make perfect sense. You’ll know exactly where they are coming from.

Visit Perfect Golf Swing here

(Illustration from Swing Like a Pro. Ralph Mann and Fred Griffin)

I bought some well known Windows software that, including shipping, cost me just over half of the price available locally.

And as well as saving me almost $50, the software was delivered to my door from the US in just six days.

I knew the same big savings were available on the huge range of golf books available through the ASG Bookshop and the purchase spurred me to make some actual price comparisons. What I found confirmed the great prices available.

But first, the Australian Senior Golfer Bookshop is an offshoot of Amazon.com and all sales and delivery are handled through their system based in the US.

People scanning through the titles and the prices quoted often can’t believe they are factual, which is understandable when you see books that you would be paying over $40 dollars for in an Australian bookshop advertised for around $10. But it’s true.

Add to that the fact that there are usually second hand books in good as new condition available in most titles, sometimes for just a few dollars. From my experience these second hand books are in top condition and if there are any imperfections or wear and tear this is clearly stated.

There are two things to bear in mind when browsing the cheap golf books in the ASG shop. The initial price you will see is usually in US dollars, (at time of writing add about AUD 55 cents per US $10) and you also pay for postage and handling.

The usual shipping cost for books from the US to Australia is around $11.

…you could pay around $22 for a new golf book delivered to your door that would cost you around $45 in an Australian bookshop

So in this example you could pay around $21 for a new book delivered to your door as opposed to $45 in an Australian bookshop, or add around $4 to $8 extra for delivery from a local online store.

Cheap Software

In my own software example, I was after the well known antivirus software Windows OneCare. The price for a direct download from Microsoft is $99.95 and that’s about the best price you will see in Australian stores. (I did see OneCare advertised during a major retailer’s sale for around $90 a few months back).

Through the ASG Bookshop it was on sale for $19.99. Shipping and handling was $35.98 (much higher than for book postage for some reason) but still a total of just $55.97, and it was delivered to my door before 9am six days later. No contest as far as I’m concerned.

Book Price Comparison

The first two popular golf book titles I tried to compare I had to abandon because they just weren’t readily available on the Australian online stores.

I settled on Tiger Woods How I Play Golf.

From the ASG Bookshop, in Hardcover, this title is listed as AUD $14.98 plus $11 shipping and handling. Total = $25.98

Angus & Robertson

Same title in Hardcover was $62.99 plus $3.50 delivery (site says it “Usually ships in 10 days”.) Total = $66.49

Collins

Same title, in Paperback, $45 plus $6.95, ships in 10 to 15 days. Total = $51.95

Dymocks

Same title, again in paperback, $45, postage to Sydney Metro area $6.50, $7.95 elsewhere in Australia.

Total = $51.50

Booktopia

Paperback edition $40.50 plus $6.50 postage. (Title “needs to be ordered from overseas supplier and can take up to 10 days”).

Total = $47

In my local shopping centre Angus & Robertson the Tiger Woods How I Play Golf in paperback was $45.

So the same hardback edition best price found available locally was a whopping $40.51 extra. Even most paperback editions found were still around twice the price.

That’s why it is well worth checking out the Australian Senior Golfer Bookshop and seeing for yourself.

There is the added benefit over a physical bookshop that you not only get a full product description, but there are also often editorial book reviews as well as customer reviews.

As one television commentator untidily put it: “Norman has been up in Scotland practising with his new wife.”

I think if the commentator had his chance over he would rephrase that slightly, but at least we all know what he meant in general terms.

Back in May, Norman was playing in a couple of USPGA and Champions Tour events and talking about how his relationships with then fiancée Chris Evert and son Gregory had given him a new vigour for golf and life.

“I’ve been a bit absent for a while, about five years now,” Norman said at the time. “I haven’t really focused a lot of attention on wanting to get out there and play, and now I feel I just want to get out there.”

He was certainly getting “out there” at Royal Birkdale and was looking right at home on the big stage - his first major in three years.

Still, Norman wasn’t getting carried away about his overall chances after finishing on par and one shot behind co-leaders Robert Allenby (great to see him doing well), US Open star Rocco Mediate and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell.

Norman was sharing second spot with Adam Scott, who had led all the way before succumbing to two late bogies. (Let’s hope Adam doesn’t let the slip get to him and comes back and fully realises his huge potential.)

At 53, Norman admitted no one was more surprised than he over his great start in what were very difficult but improving conditions. (The wind and rain made it absolutely atrocious when Craig Parry led the tournament off earlier in the day.)

“It probably surprised me as much as anyone,” Norman said. “I don’t play that much, and I don’t practice that much. I probably practice more tennis than I do golf.

“But at the same time there’s something about this event that stimulates you. The feeling you get coming down 18 after five and a half hours of golf and the way people receive you. You don’t get that anywhere else in the world. It is a phenomenal experience and you have a little more juice that you normally would.”

Norman credits his marriage to tennis great Chris Evert in the Bahamas last month with rebalancing his life in a way that has spin-off benefits for his golf.

“I wouldn’t say getting married to Chrissy has revitalised my golf game, I think it has just revitalised my life,” he said.

Norman was full of praise for the set-up of the course and acknowledged he and the other later starters had enjoyed by far the best of the conditions.

“I wouldn’t say getting married to Chrissy has revitalised my golf game, I think it has just revitalised my life,” he said.

Norman was full of praise for the set-up of the course and acknowledged he and the other later starters had enjoyed by far the best of the conditions.

“I think it’s the best Open I’ve ever played in. The course has been set up the fairest and toughest I’ve ever seen. It’s very balanced and gives the opportunity to someone like me to get a good score on the board,” he said.

“These conditions are an equaliser. Maybe some of these young players have not experienced it before.”

“When somebody asked me the toughest conditions I’d played in and said Turnberry 1986. Some of these kids might not have been born then.”
Norman did not play in the last two Opens through injury and admitted he had no wish to return to a full competitive schedule.

“The mind still wants to play but the body doesn’t want to practise,” he said.

“It’s gone through enough pain and surgery and I just don’t want to do it any more. I still enjoy playing but I don’t enjoy standing on the range for four hours a day.”

“The other side of my life is fantastic. I have the most beautiful balance I have ever had. When it was golf, golf, golf everything else was second. Now golf is second behind everything else.”

Greg Norman’s new lease of (golfing) life