Tiger's "Inner Game" Out-of-Whack

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright February 13, 2011
All Rights Reserved.                                              

              Unable to resolve his “inner game,” golf’s former biggest star, 35-year-old Tiger Woods, can’t seem to get his game back on track to his winning ways.  When author Tim Gallwey’s "Inner Game of Tennis" hit the market in 1974, it launched the fledgling field of sports psychology, drawing athletes’ attention to the mental aspects of the game.  Gallwey was the first to deal with sports psychology, offering specific ways athletes could deal with emotions and stress affecting performance, especially for athletes where there’s little room for error.  Since returning to play the Masters April 17, 2010 after a six-month hiatus from golf, Tiger hasn’t won a single tournament.  Tiger withdrew from the PGA Tour after the National Enquirer broke a story Nov. 25, 2009 about a bizarre car accident stemming from a fight with his former wife Elin Nordregen, after she discovered he was having an affair.

            Since divorcing Elin Aug 23, 2010, Tiger’s game hasn’t bounced back, despite occasional flashes of his past brilliant self.  “I feel I can still win golf tournaments,” said Woods trying to explain his game’s collapse in the final round at Dubai Feb. 12, shooting a mediocre 75, finishing eight shots off the pace.  “I’m not that old.  I’ve still got some years ahead of me,” expressing the ongoing frustration since returning back to golf.  When news of Tiger’s affair with Las Vegas cocktail hostess Rachel Uchitel hit the tabloids, followed quickly by news of some 13 other alleged affairs, sport’s richest man watched his advertising empire crash-and-burn.  One by one, his biggest endorsers, including Accenture LLP, Gatorade, AT & T, etc., dropped Woods, viewing golf’s once biggest name as an advertising nightmare.  Tiger’s once impeccable image hit the proverbial skids.

            Of all professional sports, golf is perhaps the most mental, affected by attention, concentration and focus like no other game. After honing a gentlemen’s image and creating a billion-dollar advertising empire, Tiger was exposed as an imposter, making his return to championship form all but impossible.  Whether it’s fair or not, Tiger’s identity was crafted by Madison Ave. as an icon of decency and family values.  Learning of his serial affairs, before, during and after his Oct. 5, 2004 marriage and birth of his two children, soured many of Tiger’s fans and most advertisers, retaining only Nike’s exclusive gold club and gear endorsement.  Speaking at Dubai, Tiger spoke only about his golf swing.  “Yeah, very frustrating,” said Woods. “I got off to such a poor start.  I was in tow over through three early and just couldn’t make it up from there,” blaming his swing and windy desert conditions.

            When Gallwey talks in his “Inner Game” books, he’s referring to “relaxed concentration,” something akin to a kind of Zen meditation for sports.  While there’s nothing wrong with learning to relax, Tiger’s problems stem more from his own shattered identity, once considered the game’s best brand.  Exposing his multiple affairs split his image and identity, making it difficult for him to relate to a critical press.  Woods insisted he needed “more work and more practice” on his swing with his golf coach Sean Foley.  “As I said when I came in this week   I hit the ball pure, and that’s the thing,” blaming his collapse on his swing and the wind.  Tiger’s so focused on the technical parts of his golf swing that he misses piecing together his disintegrated personality.  While he spent a brief stint at Hattiesburg, Miss. dealing with his “sexual addiction,” he has much work to do building a personality. 

            .When the media exposed Tiger’s darker side Nov. ’09, his carefully honed façade fell apart.  His adoring public was exposed to his dirty little secret:  That the world’s most revered golfer was a phony with a split personality.  Had he not sold himself since turning pro in 1995 as an upstanding, family sort of guy, the revelations wouldn’t have been so shocking.  “I improved a lot considering where I was at Torrey Pines a couple of weeks ago,” said Tiger, not acknowledging that his collapse on the final 18 holes warranted more personal honesty.  Instead of focusing on his swing, Tiger should be spending his time on a shrink’s couch.  Only by a careful self-analysis of how his past relates to his current problems can Woods ever repair the damage done to his golf career.  Pretending that his golf swing has anything with his current problems ignores what must be done for his rehab.

            Tiger’s golf problems stem from his shattered identity, leaving him ill-prepared to face the media and himself.  Instead of obsessing about his swing, the 35-year-old golf phenom should welcome the chance of redemption on a shrink’s couch.  Pretending that there’s no psychology to the golf-game only delays Tiger’s return to championship form.  He desperately needs some competent psychotherapy aimed at stitching back his disintegrated personality.  “I know what I can do in the game and Sean and I are trying to get there,” said Woods showing the kind of inverted thinking that prevents him from succeeding.  Working with a qualified psychoanalyst should pay bigger dividends than Tiger’s swing coach.  More biopsies of Tiger’s swing won’t address the psychology of what’s wrong with his game.  Tiger’s shattered personality craves a shrink capable of piecing him back together.      

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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