Lee Trevino, a Hall of Fame golfer, said today that he would urge Tiger Woods to tweak his swing _ at least slightly _ when the world’s top-ranked golfer returns to the PGA Tour. Woods has been sidelined since undergoing reconstructive surgery on his left knee in June.
Trevino said he would suggest that Woods find a way to slow his swing before impact if Woods plans to continue to lock his left knee during the backswing _ a move that helps the world’s top-ranked golfer generate a clubhead speed of 134 mph.
Using a speeding car as an analogy, Trevino said Woods’ knee serves as “his brake” when slowing his upper body after impact, a move that puts more stress on Woods’ knee than on the left knee of a typical golfer.
“If he doesn’t learn to slow the swing down or brake just a little bit before impact, he will blow this knee out again,” Trevino said. “If he does learn to slow his swing down or brake a little bit, he is going to be much straighter with the driver and the boys are in bigger trouble than they are now ... because they can’t beat this guy. There’s no weakness to him when it comes to the mind, bunker (play), chipping, flop shots, putting, pitch-and-runs, wedges, 9-irons, 2-irons. Even the 5-wood, he’s deadly with it. But that driver goes everywhere and the reason is the speed is so fast. I sent him a message and said, ‘Man, I’ll teach you how to hit a power fade.’ He never called me back.”
Trevino made his remarks at Colonial Country Club, where he served as the keynote speaker at a reunion of past champions of the Fort Worth City Junior Golf Championships. Trevino, a six-time major champion, also drew a parallel between Woods and Ben Hogan, the late golf legend from Fort Worth.
“Ben Hogan did not have a secret,” Trevino said. “He took it out of the ground. He practiced. He practiced. And when he was finished, he practiced some more. That is why Tiger Woods is so good. He’s got talent. But a lot of people with a lot of talent never accomplish what they should. Tiger’s got talent. He’s got the body. He’s got the mind. And he outpractices everybody.”
_ Jimmy Burch
Comments