"When I made contact, I had the sweetest feeling in golf" - Tiger Woods opens up about one of his best shots
Tiger Woods has persevered on his swings throughout his career by changing the style of it by training under multiple coaches to deliver the best strokes possible on the field. Of the numerous impeccable shots delivered by Woods, a few exceptional ones stand out.
One of them is the 3-wood on the 14th hole in the second round of the Open Championships at St Andrews in 2000. He went on to earn his title in the tournament by eight shots.
Following his winning swing, he said in the July 2001 edition of Golf Digest, which would change the game in the years to come:
"When I made contact, I had the sweetest feeling in golf. I felt absolutely nothing. The ball never left its line. Perfect swing, perfect shot, perfect result."
Tiger Woods' iconic swing at 2000 Open
Tiger Woods broke down his shot to make it more straightforward for readers. In his instructional manual, he said that he likes to keep the concept of the swing simple.
"I have a single swing thought," he wrote. "Make sure the bottom of my swing is where the ball is."
Tiger Woods, at impact, hitting a 3-wood in 2001
"I set up the same as for a driver, with the ball inside my left heel and my upper body slightly tilted behind the ball. I have a single swing thought: Make sure the bottom of my swing is where the ball is." https://t.co/3ofPOhL1bc
It sounds simple enough, but Tiger Woods makes sure his club head is more level with the ground, so that his swing suits his purpose.
Jim McLean, a venerated golfing instructor, recounted his first time watching the five-time Masters Champion deliver his swings on the green at the Buick Open in 1997.
"He was 17 and playing a friendly round with Brad Faxon—who was already a three-time winner in his own tour career at that point," said Mclean.
He continued:
"The first word that comes to mind is 'unreal.' He had this easy, fluid look—like a modern Sam Snead—and he hit it 100 yards past Brad. He just shrunk golf courses, and he was about to fundamentally change the way the game was played."
McLean chimed in his thoughts about the iconic driver swing by Woods at the 2000 Open Championship:
"The most amazing thing I've seen in all of my time as a teacher is a player getting to where Tiger was in 2000—which I consider to be the best swing of all time—and be willing to tear it down to get better. But even with all that change, every one of those versions of Tiger Woods could be hitting balls 200 yards away and you'd immediately know it was him. He's always been Tiger."