How will Tiger Woods play?

 

 

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — The new year in golf is consumed by an old topic, this time with a twist.

Instead of wondering when (or if) Tiger Woods will play, the question now is how will he play?

And here's another question: Who ever imagined a time when the guys he beat for so many years would be rooting for him to play better?

"I think we've proved that golf does not need Tiger to be successful," Brandt Snedekersaid last month in the Bahamas. "That being said, golf is better when Tiger is around. I don't think we need Tiger necessarily any more. We all want Tiger. I think golf is a better product, it's better TV and I want to see Tiger play again. It's fun. You see the crowds he brings and he still has an innate ability to do something only a couple of guys can do."

 

No one commands attention like Woods. The biggest problem for golf might be battling the perception that it matters only when Woods is playing.

Compared with last year, that's a nice problem to have.

There remains a battle for supremacy, minus any talk about a "Big Three." Europe has to face a Midwestern crowd, this time in the Solheim Cup. Two of the majors are going to courses that have never held one — Erin Hills for the U.S. Open, Quail Hollow for the PGA Championship.

TIGER WOODS

 

By most accounts, Woods made a successful return in the Bahamas, except for the one that matters. He finished in 15th place out of 17 players and 14 shots out of the lead. But it was a start, and a healthy one. The best bet is that Woods will return at Torrey Pines at the end of the month, and with each event, the measure will shift form his health to his score.

Jack Nicklaus is mostly curious about his motivation, and he speaks from experience. Nicklaus won his 16th and 17th majors at age 40, and he refers to his final major in the 1986 Masters as "an accident in many ways."

"It's really difficult when you've had as much success as I had over a long period of time to charge your batteries, day after day, and go back out and say, 'Man, I want to do this again.' That's what he's going to have to do," Nicklaus said. "Whether he can do that or not, I don't know. That's going to be the question."

source: USAtoday

Jason Day officially signs with Nike Golf for 2017

Jason Day and Nike announced on Sunday that the No. 1 golfer in the world will be wearing Nike apparel and shoes in a multi-year deal thought to be worth up to $10 million a year.

Day announced the news on Instagram, and Nike released several photos of the Australian in his new threads. Day will continue to play TaylorMade clubs as Nike is out of the equipment business.

"Joining Nike is a dream come true," Day said. "The brand is synonymous with the world's best athletes. I'm honored and can't wait to be part of the team and working closely with Nike to take my game, and the sport of golf, to even higher levels."

On the apparel side, Nike now boasts the top two players in the world (Day and Rory McIlroy) as well as four of the top 16 (Brooks Koepka and Paul Casey). Throw in Kevin Chappell, Jamie Lovemark, Tony Finau, Patrick Rodgers, Nick Watney and that Tiger Woods fellow, and it appears Nike has positioned itself nicely for a post-equipment marketplace.

source: CBSSports 

Obama vs. Trump: Who Is The Better Golf Player?

Donald Trump, who a year ago criticized President Barack Obama for playing “more golf than Tiger Woods,” returned to the golf course Saturday, ditching the press pool tailing the president-elect.

Trump actually joined golfing great Woods last week on the course, interrupting his schedule of transition meetings while at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. And, despite his upcoming inauguration next month, Trump was back swinging his clubs on Saturday at Trump National Golf Club Jupiter, situated near his resort, ditching his press pool in the process, reported the Associated Press.

But a year ago, Trump, then on the campaign trail, used Obama’s affection for golf to direct one of his many criticisms toward the current president. 

“He played more golf last year than Tiger Woods,” Trump said in December 2015. “We don’t have time for this. We have to work. I love golf, I think it’s one of the greats, but I don’t have time.”

Donald Trump plays a round of golf after the opening of The Trump International Golf Links Course, July 10, 2012 in Balmedie, Scotland. Photo: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Obama was also golfing this week, hitting the course in West Oahu on Wednesday during his family’s annual vacation in Hawaii. And the president has been a frequent golfer during his eight-year tenure in the White House.

While that is still some way short of Dwight Eisenhower, who is believed to have played 800 rounds while in office, it is thought to have been sufficient to significantly reduce his handicap. Reported to have been a 17-handicap when he took office in 2009, Obama revealed in August that he was an “honest 13.”

"I think my irons are good, my drive is straight but unimpressive in length, and my putting's decent, chipping is OK," Obama told the Golf Channel’s David Feherty. "My sand game is terrible.”

President Barack Obama lines up a putt on the first green at the Farm Neck Golf Club, Aug. 9, 2014 in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. Photo: Matthew Healey-Pool/Getty Images

But while Obama may be a big fan, he has nothing on Trump’s links to golf. Trump’s company owns 16 golf properties and 22 courses around the world, while he is also a regular player himself. On the campaign trail, he even boasted about winning numerous club championships

“I know how to win,” he said in March. “I’ve won . . . these people will tell you. Have I won many club championships? Does Trump know how to close? Winning is winning. It’s not easy to win club championships, believe me. And I’m not talking about with strokes. I’m talking with no strokes.”

Those claims appear to be accurate, which is not surprising given his handicap is reported by Golf Digest magazine to be an impressive 2.8. However, Trump’s methods of getting around the course have been called into question by numerous people. Both actor Samuel L. Jackson and boxing great Oscar De La Hoya have accused the Republican of bending the rules.

Asked in January whether he was a better golfer than Trump, Jackson replied simply, "Oh, I am, for sure — I don't cheat."

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/obama-vs-trump-who-better-golf-player-2468031

5 things to talk about with your buddies on the course this weekend

via Golf Digest

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From sports to TV to politics (OK, so mostly the first two), we offer five hot topics that are sure to liven up your round of golf:

1. Woods v. Jenkins: By now you've heard all about the article Tiger Woods wrote for Derek Jeter's website, The Players Tribune, in which he voices his complaint about Dan Jenkins' satirical Q&A in the December issue of Golf Digest. But the whole situation leaves us with a much more pressing question than who was right or wrong. We wonder which one of Jeter's senior editors -- Russell Wilson, Blake Griffin or Danica Patrick -- had to post Tiger's story?

Related: Tiger Woods' long list of enemies

2. Buffalo: SEVEN feet of snow? In TWO days? In NOVEMBER? We feel for . . . Buffaloans? Buffalites? (*checks Google*) Buffalonians. Seriously, this is awful as Buffalo is on pace to match its annual snowfall (93.6 inches) by the end of the week. Wherever else you live that's being affected by this brutal cold front, just remember, it could be worse.

3. Giancarlo Stanton: Two weeks ago, the Miami Marlins slugger turned 25. This week, he signed a 13-year contract for $325 MILLION. In case you've never seen Stanton destroy a baseball, watch this:

The contract is heavily backloaded to allow the team to sign other players and Stanton has an opt-out clause after the sixth year if he's not happy with the team at that point. But that would mean Stanton walking away from the final seven years and $218 MILLION. Yeah, that's not happening.

4. Oakland Raiders: So this happened near the end of Oakland's upset win over Kansas City. Here's the funniest take (via @Hokey_Wartooth on Twitter) on the couple bozos celebrating a Raiders sack instead of getting back on defense, playing off that recent Geico commercial with Ickey Woods:

 

 

Thank goodness for ex-Giant and two-time Super Bowl champion Justin Tuck (miss you on the Giants, Justin!) alertly calling a timeout before the Chiefs had a free play with an 11-to-9 player advantage. Then again, what should we expect from a team that had lost 16 straight games?

Related: NFL stars who love playing golf

5. Sexiest man alive: Chris Hemsworth? Really? The actor was chosen by People Magazine, which apparently forgot that Matthew McConaughey is still alive. Here is Hemsworth, who looks like a slightly manlier version of James Van Der Beek:

 

 

Sorry, don't see it. And here's Hemsworth with his actress/model wife, Elsa Pataky.

 

 

OK, so he must have something going for him.

 

MEDITAÇÃO

 

via Joris marengo | Mude o Mundo. Comece por Você! | Um Universo ...

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Uma reflexão sobre meditação por Joris Marengo

Meditar não é um ato de esforço

Mas de desistência.

Criamos padrões pré

Estabelecidos do que seja o

Estado meditativo e qualquer

experiência que não

reflita este padrão, mesmo a meditação,

é rejeitada por nós.

Nos esforçamos, prática após

prática, para nos

aproximarmos daquele padrão.

Que ginástica mental!

Nos aproximaremos mais da meditação,

quanto menos esforço fizermos.

Desistirmos enfim, de fazer tanta força.

Assim talvez, numa sexta-feira qualquer, sem esforço, sem pose, nos surja o estado meditativo, bem de repente.

about the author: Comece por Você!

 

5 things to talk about with your buddies on the course this weekend

via Golf Digest

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From sports to TV to politics (OK, so mostly the first two), we offer five hot topics that are sure to liven up your round of golf:

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: Remember when many cautioned this team and all its new pieces would get off to a slow start, referencing the Miami Heat's 9-8 record to begin its first season with LeBron? Well, apparently, everyone has quickly forgotten to take that approach after the Cavs' 1-3 record has everyone in full panic mode. Point guard Kyrie Irving taking 36 shots without handing out an assist (again, he's the team's point guard) is a bit alarming. So is the fact LeBron and Kyrie reportedly got a little heated in the locker room. But it's way too early to start worrying about this team. They might play 100 more games this season.

Related: LeBron tops Tiger as world's most valuable sports brand

2. Cleveland Browns: More surprising than the Cavs' rocky start is how well the city's football team is playing. A total embarrassment for most of the past two decades, the Browns moved to 6-3 after a blowout of the in-state rival Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football. With seven regular season games remaining, the six wins is already more than the team has had in any of the past six seasons. Imagine if star wide receiver Josh Gordon hadn't been suspended? Imagine if the team hadn't picked Johnny Manziel (not that you shouldn't check out his Golf Digest cover story!) in the first round? In any event, all this Cleveland talk has us thinking about the two greatest YouTube videos ever made: "Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video" and "Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video: 2nd Attempt." Enjoy. Unless you're from Cleveland.

3. Midterm elections: As expected, the Republicans took control of the Senate adding to their majority in the House of Representatives. What does it all mean? Having Congress work with President Barack Obama isn't going to get any easier. Just a friendly reminder to the ladies and gentlemen representing our interests in Washington D.C.: Like we've seen in Cleveland this past week, someone has to be the point guard and share the ball if things are going to get any better.

4. "Interstellar": I like Christopher Nolan movies. I LOVE Matthew McConaughey. So why am I not super stoked about this blockbuster coming out this weekend? Outer space. Sorry, I just can't get into it. But that's not going to stop millions of people from going to the movie theaters this weekend. Let me know what you think and I might reconsider my stance. I mean, it is Matthew McConaughey, after all. . .

 

 

Related: Our favorite golf movie scenes

5. "Eaten Alive": Another thing I don't plan on watching. Have you heard about this Discovery Channel special? About the guy who is going to let a huge anaconda snake EAT him?! Apparently, the guy, conservationist/lunatic Paul Rosolie, emerges from the snake's belly alive. Still, I can't, um, stomach it.

 

Find a release that squares the clubface at impact

 via GolfWRX - Golf news, equipment, reviews, classifieds and discussion

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The last time we discussed release, we defined it as the point of extension of the lead arm and the golf club. The other part of release we need to concern ourselves with is that of squaring the clubface, which is the impact condition that leads to straighter shots. This, too, is defined as part of the “release,” albeit somewhat ambiguously.

The extension of the lead arm and the golf club, which I discussed in my last story, is a result of what is known as ulnar and radial deviation. The squaring of the face, which I am going to discuss in this article, is a result of the pronation and supination of the hands and arms. Both are essential parts of the release. The first part achieves a consistent swing bottom, while the second part squares the club face.

At address, the face of the golf club is at a right angle to the target line and the plane on which the club is about to swing. To facilitate the up-and-around motion, there is a certain amount of rotation of the arms so that at the top of the swing the club face is no longer at right angles to the plane — it is actually lying on the plane.

This position is referred to as “square,” but it is in fact 90 degrees open to the target line. If it were “square” as it was at address it would not be lying on the plane; it would coming off it at a right angle. All you’d need to see this is to pull the club down with no rotation and it would be precisely 9o degrees open to the ball at impact. So because the club was rotated by the arms and turning of the torso on the way up, it must be “re-rotated” on the way down. I think of this as “releasing the face,” an essential movement in solid contact.

In Part 1 of the release, I suggested that golfers uncock their wrists at different points in the downswing depending on the path and plane on which they are swinging. This also holds true for rotation and roll of the arms and hands into the ball. The factors determining when and how the face is released are also allied to the path and plane on which the golf club is swinging into the ball.

If you are a steep swinger, you need a conscious rolling of the forearms into the ball. That’s because the more vertical the club transitions, the more the face tends to open.

The flatter the swing arc into the ball, the less you need to roll your forearms into the ball. Your hands can be more “quiet” into impact. You still will need to square the clubface, but you can be more passive in doing so.

Here’s a great checklist if you’re struggling with hooks or slices

• Low snap hooks are the result of too much hand action from a flat arc.
• High, weak slices are the result of not enough hands from a steep arc.

It’s that simple.

If you tend to uncock the wrists early, this part of your swing may be in your golfing DNA. Don’t sweat the small stuff — simply play around it by making the necessary adjustments in your plane and path to facilitate it. The same goes for your freedom to release the club. If you’re coming in low on the swing plane, you can turn your body through and use less hands. If you’re high and steep coming down, let it roll, baby, roll. Any Doors fans still around today?

The best release drill I know is still one of the very first ones I learned: The Split Grip Drill. Simply split your grip so your left hand (for righties) is on the golf club normally. The position your right hand all the way down on the shaft below the handle. Now take some baseball swings; you’ll feel the roll-over, or the rotation. Do it several times. It helps.

For those of you who are regular followers of my writing and teaching, you see one consistent theme — work with what you already have in your swing. This is not a cop-out on my part as a teacher; I’m merely suggesting that certain motions are very difficult to change, but the good news is that you don’t have to.

What’s the problem with a flying elbow, a weak grip, a flat plane, bent left arm, across the line, laid off, etc.

Answer: Nothing. Qualification: Nothing in and of itself.

There are any number of golfers in the Hall of Fame who have swung the club with one or more of the positions I just described. How did they get away with it? They balanced their swing to arrive at impact correctly. That’s been the case since the first Scot slapped the first brassie from a mud peg and it remains the case today.

I can help anyone play better and become their own teacher if they are willing to make changes that are more compatible with their core move.

 

2014 Race To Dubai Obituary Notices: Who Lost Their Cards

via GolfCentralDaily

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For all the glitz and glamour of professional golf on the European Tour there is also the harsh reality of playing for your livelihood every week and losing your privileges should you not perform.  Follow @golfcentraldoc Here are the Race To Dubai Final "Bubble" standings following the Perth International with only the top 111 players retaining their cards.  However there are players appearing below that mark with exemptions from tournament wins. The list starts with unlucky Lee Slattery in 111th place. 

 

Step By Step: Greenside Bunker Shots

via Golf Digest

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Photograph by J.D. Cuban, taken at Concession Golf Club, Bradenton, Fla.

November 2014

Most golfers understand the concept of executing a basic greenside bunker shot: You want to swing through the sand under the ball. But when it's a longer bunker shot—say, 20 to 40 yards—the fatal mistake I see is swinging harder to try to hit the ball farther. Do that, and you usually end up taking too much sand and dumping the shot well short. Instead, follow this checklist.

David Leadbetter runs 26 golf academies worldwide.

Illustrations By Todd Detwiler

 

 

Ted Bishop Kicked Out As PGA President Of America Over Ian Poulter "Lil Girl" Tweet

 

via GolfCentralDaily

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Oh dear, I dont think even Ian Poulter saw this one coming (or even wanted it); his twitter repost to Ted Bishop's stop acting like a "Lil Girl" tweet has just resulted in the sacking of the President of The PGA America. 

The background to the story was that Bishop was pissed off by remarks Poulter made in his book about Nick Faldo's shambolic Ryder Cup Captaincy in 2008. Bishop, after doing a Golf Channel appearance alongside Faldo, called out Poults as being a "Lil Girl" compared to Sir Nick's playing record.

"Really? Sounds like a little school girl squealing during recess. C'MON MAN!" Bishop tweeted.

Rightly or wrongly the PGA of America board voted out of office with just one month left on his two year term.

"The board heard me out and then voted to impeach me," he said. "That is the due process and I respect that, as painful as it might be,"  Bishop said.

I feel dreadfully sorry for Ted Bishop; he certainly mean for this to happen. I can only imagine how Ian Poulter must feel, if he thought this was going to blow up in Bishop's face, I guarantee he would never have pursued it.

 

Tiger is hitting full shots again

via Compleat Golfer

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Tiger is hitting full shots again, according to USA Today.

The former world No 1, whose last competitive round came in the PGA Championship in August, got the nod from his doctors last week and has been camping out on the range ever since. He reportedly has been chipping and putting for at least a few weeks now.

“The doctors said he could hit golf balls again, and he’s listening to his doctors and to his body,” Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, told USA TODAY Sports on Monday. “He will keep listening to his doctors and body.”

“…He’s feeling pretty good.”

After Woods withdrew from the PGA, he said he needed to work on strengthening his core.

“Obviously by playing, you can’t burn the candle at both ends,” he said. “I need to get stronger physically and be back to where I was.”

The 38-year-old, who won five times in 2013 and started the season as the world No 1 (he is now No 17), hopes to make his return to competitive golf in the Hero World Challenge from 5 – 8 December. At a recent press conference to promote the tournament, Woods said he had not yet touched a club. He was enthusiastic, however, about the gains from his gym work.

“We have our goals and benchmarks, but it’s also day‑to‑day,” Woods said. “Some days I’m making bigger gains than others. Some days I’m backing off a little bit. But, we’re pretty much past the strength phase now, and I’ve got my strength where I want to have it, now I just need to get my fast twitch going and get my speed back, and that’s going to take a little bit of time.

“That’s part of our second phase of training, and that’s coming up now.”

 

Ian Poulter Joins Titleist. Official Confirmation On Twitter

via GolfCentralDaily

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Don't say I didn't tell you a few days ago  that Titleist were favourite to sign Ian Poulter after he announced earlier this week he was leaving Cobra Puma.

Poults tweeted earlier 

Seriously pleased to announce I will be a full staff @Titleist @FootJoy staff player for 2015 season. So excited. 

 And posted this pic of his new Titleist bag.

Join the GolfCentralDaily community on Twitter for loads more comment on and off the course.

 

Leaked: Cobra’s new Fly-Z Pro irons

via GolfWRX - Golf news, equipment, reviews, classifieds and discussion

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by Zak Kozuchowski   |   October 22, 2014

Check out the photos of Cobra’s new Fly-Z Pro irons that were leaked on our forum. The biggest change from their predecessor, Cobra’s AMP Cell Pro irons, is the addition of tungsten to their toes to boost forgiveness.

 

 

 

How TaylorMade’s marketing slayed Callaway and saved golfers money

 via GolfWRX - Golf news, equipment, reviews, classifieds and discussion

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I’m going to start this one with a disclaimer. Understand that I have no motive outside pr

Presenting an accurate historical accounting.

Back in March of 2012, TaylorMade-adidas purchased Adams Golf. At the time, Adams was a public company and the decision to sell had been made by a sufficient number of shareholders that a positive vote to a good offer was decided in advance. At the time I was a minor shareholder, so my votes had no impact on the decision and I voted with the majority. Further, I had no relationship with TaylorMade and to this day I have never met any executive within their organization.

Now the story.

Back in the early 1980′s, the golf equipment industry was all about Ping. The company had effectively replaced the old guard — Wilson, McGregor, Spalding and Powerbilt — as the hot brand. Ping’s EYE-2 irons became the best-selling iron in the industry and the introduction of investment in casting and perimeter weighting led the way for thinking about designs far advanced of blade irons and persimmon woods.

In the mid 1980′s, a marketer with a passion for golf by the name of Ely Callaway acquired a company called Hickory Sticks, which in 1988 became Callaway Golf. He attracted investors, brought out irons with no hosels and eventually released an oversize titanium driver called the “Big Bertha” after the famous German howitzer.

Here’s a bit of insider history. When tested, the first Berthas didn’t perform as well as hoped. They tended to go low and right (not unlike the infamous oversized Bridgestone “J” driver designed for Jumbo Ozaki) when folks finally got them. The Callaway folks noticed that their 11-degree driver worked fine; it was the 9-degree model that was giving golfers problems. The fix? When the clubs made it into production, the 9-degree driver actually had about 11 degrees of loft and the 11 degree had about 13 degrees of loft. Aided by strong marketing, the clubs were a huge success spawning line extensions that went on for years.

Here’s another digression: The reason the 9-degree Big Bertha driver (and the J driver) didn’t perform very well was that its center of gravity (CG) was too close to the face. That made it very low spinning compared to what golfers were used to and also very hard for average golfers to square the face. Does the low-spin, high-loft story sound familiar in today’s marketplace?

I started in the golf equipment business in 1987 and registered somewhere below obscurity until a club called “Tight Lies” became popular in the late 1990′s. Along the way, I got to know Ely Callaway. In fact, we had an informal exchange of phone calls on Friday afternoons.

Ely told me that when he entered the golf industry he was not impressed with the marketing he saw. Further, he discerned that more distance was the great elixir to the public and that a combination of a strong tour staff, creative marketing and innovative product would allow his company to dominate. And boy did it ever. All respect to Ping (one of my all-time favorite companies), it became an also-ran with everyone else as Callaway set new standards for sales volume at previously unheard of high retail prices, generating margins held in envy. Cleveland and Cobra had some good numbers, but nothing close to Callaway.

Now ask yourself a question. You have just been given the CEO job at a competing company. Your dream comes true. You face this 400-pound gorilla called Callaway that has more money, huge market momentum and unheard of market acceptance. How do you compete? Do not say that you’ll make great product and sell it cheaper. The product can’t be just cheaper. It will have to be much cheaper — like half — and you’ll have to spend a ton of marketing money to convince the public that it’s as good. That’s not exactly a thrilling message. This is a recipe for going broke, as history teaches.

That CEO’s name was Mark King. He was the vice president of golf ball sales for Callaway and he got recruited to TaylorMade as CEO. He had Adidas money behind him and a seemingly impossible challenge. He came up with a unique strategy — speeding up the new product release cycle — and figured that Callaway couldn’t react to his speed, or at least by the time Callaway did TaylorMade would have already shifted momentum. He got Addidas to underwrite a huge presence on Tour because without it, no strategy would have worked. It takes big money as it becomes a bidding process for faces on television.

The strategy succeeded beyond most people’s dreams, maybe even King’s. He not only disrupted Callaway; he disrupted all the companies. The low-price market disappeared, and consumers could now buy discounted product that was only a few months old. This was highly preferable to buying products from low-price brands. TaylorMade became the volume and innovative leader and along the way attracted millions of loyal customers. You see, without this strategy everything would probably still be full retail price like it was before.

The problem is that the strategy can’t endure forever. Every year, the market inventories increased and along came the storm. We have to realize that since 2000 golf has lost some 40 percent of the folks who pay 71 percent of all expenses including equipment. Retailers sniffed the impending adjustment and dumped inventories, cut back personnel and reduced buys. Some decided golf equipment was a lousy business and looked to other products.

Momentum shifted, business magazines wrote stories about the fall of the golf industry and nobody was optimistic. They still aren’t.

And you, Mark King, took heat as TaylorMade’s sales dropped significantly and got “promoted” upstairs. Members of the golf community including consumers and internet readers made you out to be a bad guy. The truth? One can argue that the speeded up cycle had to crash that there was no other way to stop it. Maybe, maybe not, but King did a great job fighting the Callaway juggernaut and saving consumers money along the way.

For those who complain about equipment prices, here’s a bit more history. In 1995, three woods and nine irons from Callaway retailed for $2325! Now assume that King hadn’t been successful with his strategy, factor in normal price increases and consider what golf equipment retail would be like today. The long-term strategy may have been flawed and the drop in play hurt, but over the years Mark King saved consumers a lot of money.

 

Tiger back to hitting full shots

 via GolfWRX - Golf news, equipment, reviews, classifieds and discussion

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by Zak Kozuchowski   |   October 20, 2014

Tiger Woods is on the mend and has resumed hitting full shots, according a story from USA Today.

“The doctors said he could hit golf balls again, and he’s listening to his doctors and to his body,” Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, told USA Today Sports on Monday. “He will keep listening to his doctors and body.”

According to reports, Woods has been chipping and putting for at least the last several weeks. He last hit a golf shot in competition at the PGA Championship in August, where he played through pain on the way to a missed cut. It was the end of a disappointing 2014 for Woods, which saw him undergo back surgery on March 31. That caused him to missm the first two major championships of the year, The Masters and the U.S. Open.

Woods returned from back surgery in late June, but continued to struggle through poor play and pain before removing himself from consideration for the Ryder Cup and deciding to skip the rest of the 2013 PGA Tour season. According to Steinberg, the former No. 1 golfer hopes to play in the Hero World Golf Championship at Isleworth in Orlando on Dec. 4-7, which benefits his foundation.