'Never seen anything like it’ Geoff Ogilvy reminisces on playing Tiger Woods in his prime

[@s18169ex3]

Tiger is why I got inspired to play at age 63

[@meangene8437]

We were so lucky as sports fans to have seen steps above greatness in Jordan and Woods. The greatest at their sport, sure poetry in motion. Tiger Woods did more than dominate his sport, he was the sport.

[@Stuart-gj1yd]

Jack's the goat in golf and Larry Bird in basketball

[@ChosenPlaysYT]

3:08 Tony Finau told a story about playing with Tiger on a Sunday. How he asked how the kids were to start a conversation, Tiger deep stared at him and just said “they’re fine” then kept walking. Tony said he got the message that he didn’t want to talk lol

[@ianmock2]

Not just a Sunday. It was the 2019 Masters win.

[@travels129]

Greatest ever golfer period!!!!!

[@chrisnussbaumer9516]

I'm sure this happened all the time, but I remember one time watching him set up for an approach, yet he backed away for no apparent reason. He noticed another player on an adjacent green about to putt and knew that the roars that would inevitably follow his shot would affect the player putting. Golf is hard, and I cannot imagine dealing with that aspect on top of everything else.

[@smilerpink]

I saw Tiger play in person a number of times starting when he was an amateur. Obvious crazy physical talent. What stood out was his focus. As Geoff said here, the pandemonium going on all around him affected him not at all. Calm at the center of the storm. Also a very stark physical transformation. As a teen amateur he was 6 feet and a willowy 160 pounds. Wiry strong for that weight with incredibly fast hips and hands. By his second year as a pro, he had built himself up to 185-190. I always wondered if carrying 25-30 extra pounds on a slight frame was a factor in his history of injuries to his left knee and his back. Not just the weight but the torque and power generated by that much more muscle.

[@MoMoMyPup10]

I used to struggle with the other 3 in the foursome watching me every shot, and I was pretty good. To imagine playing with that kind of noise, that many eyes, and that much on the line is mind boggling to me. And it's why so many crumble on Sunday. I loved pressure, but that is insane.

[@MarkSmithhhh]

That was probably his biggest asset...he had an inhuman ability to completely shut everything out except the task at hand

[@brucebogstrotter1796]

Steroids

[@Bd-ox4mi]

Me and my son watched every win of tigers career late Sunday nights and feel privileged to of watched him never mind played with him ..heartbreaking to think we will never see the game played like that again with all the hype around it too nothing came close ✌️

[@gdubbya804]

As a fan with a perrenial 10 to 15 handicap and watched golf on the TV, it was amazing to be pulling for Tiger to make THE shot,and then he would do it.

[@3dbadboy1]

Unreal to think about, he did it every time it mattered. I crumble when it matters lol.

[@breeze787]

Wow! Thanks for sharing.

[@peterkobayashi6755]

They used to say Arnold would walk up to the first tee, hitch up his trousers, and "count the house". Tiger walks up to the first tee and counts the TV audience. Golf is likely a declining demographic, but Tiger has kept it relevant. Interestingly, the only other golfer with anywhere near his appeal was John Daly. We were at the 2008 PGA at Oakland Hills and the split was probably 60-40 Tiger, even though he was in his prime and Daly was 13 years past his last major. Being Canadian I was also cheering for Mike Weir so it was an exciting day for me!

[@johningle1]

Geoff was a great player in his pwn right. Obviously Tiger was the most consistently great.

[@lovelife4110]

Met JO in Hertfordshire and Las Vegas years ago.Very nice guy.

[@michaelbiggart8128]

GO?

[@lovelife4110]

@@michaelbiggart8128 Geoff Ogilvy apologies typing error.

[@billywhippet]

It's great how all these professional golfers realise what Tiger did for the game. He just took it to a whole new level. The greatest by a country mile.

[@dcmitchell8008]

Tiger and Phil played with each other in the final round of the 2001 Masters.

[@Josehernandezpga]

And we know how that turned out

[@dcmitchell8008]

Yes we do. No doubt. I was there. Great day. I only posted that because when they were talking with Geoff about the '06 PGA, he said it was the first time Tiger and Phil played together in a major. He may have meant the first time they were paired together for the first two rounds.@@Josehernandezpga

[@vbeard5887]

I think the Thursday Friday was implied because there was no desire for anyone to correct that statement and the statement of "I dont know why they never did that before then" my guy.

[@dcmitchell8008]

@@vbeard5887 Fair enough

[@Syrin23]

What I don't understand is how he hit farther than everyone else when pretty much everyone now hits it as far as Tiger did or farther. The superior mental toughness I can understand, but he wasn't some physical freak of nature like Shaq.

[@16-bit-trip5]

It's because he didn't sway away from power like most guys on tour did before him. While there had always been long players (Nicklaus, Palmer, Norman, Daly, Love III) on tour pre-Tiger most guys were playing for control and shape (with the exception of Daly). The big reason for this was because the wound balata balls they used spun a lot more off the tee it swinging faster meant bigger risks for errant shots. Tiger was always a power player and while he occasionally dealt with bouts of being wild off the tee he definitely took full advantage of all the power his body had to offer him. One of the things that benefitted him the most was the introduction of the solid core multi layer ball. It allowed him to really go after it off the tee while paying a far small penalty for mishits. It also allowed to give up very little control with his wedge and irons When you couple his ability to swing fast with those solid core multi layer balls you have your explanation for why his distance was so crazy at the time. The crazy thing to think about is that he was using a steel shafted driver during HR first part of pro career. That steel shaft was basically the only thing consistent enough to handle h power.

[@Syrin23]

@@16-bit-trip5 WOW! I had no idea. That's a great explanation! Thanks a ton

[@brucebogstrotter1796]

Steroids just like Bryce and Rahm and Rory.

[@ayrreal3678]

Rory & 75

[@BAE51C]

says a lot when another pro player says that he always hit the shot that mattered...

[@federationspace5264]

tiger is a top 3 golfer who was dominant during a very weak era. i wonder how he would do now if he were in his prime. might win 7 majors total.

[@JadeJeftha-t9u]

This is a wild comment sir. A "week era"? The era that Tiger comes from had a contingent called the big 5. I don't know if you lived through that sir. Tiger is the reason Ernie Els doesn't have more majors. Tiger made Phil Mikelson bitter and in the grander scheme of things need to recoup money lost due to Tiger, now on the Liv Tour. I don't need to make mention of Vijay Singh and how they dueled. There were Australians and South Africans that would differ in this comment you just made...

[@federationspace5264]

@user-dy6uo8qs9v it was a weak era. All tiger had to do was beat 4-6 guys. Today, you gotta beat 25-30 absolute killers.

[@Mav0011]

@@federationspace5264false

[@peterperfect1525]

@@federationspace5264 He would dominate this era as easily as he dominated his own era. No current day player has the scoring averages that Tiger regularly produced from year-to-year. The guy regularly averaged better than 69 per round. He holds the top 6 all time yearly scoring averages per round, and is the only guy to better an average of 68.5, (which he did 6 times). From 150 yards in, no-one comes close to Tiger Woods. His ability to scramble is probably only bettered by Seve Ballesteros. Most current day players are mediocre all-round golfers at best. They rely on driving the ball long distances. None, Mickelson aside, have the flair or imagination, (let alone the skill), to play the way Tiger played. You have maybe 4 moderately decent players who'd hold their own.

[@federationspace5264]

@@peterperfect1525 your comment, sir, is ridiculous. the courses have gotten longer and harder so the scoring averages can't carry over precisely. now, are you seriously going to claim that only 4 players would hold their own? i am happy to list the crop to top talent in the early 2000s versus now. that sounds like a fun avenue to explore. it's going to be something like 5 then versus 25-30 now. this clearly pains people to who love tiger to acknowledge but the game has gotten much more skilled and athletic than it was in 2001 for instance.

[@Steven-kl6lh]

I love that interview... BUT, back the truck up just a little...compare Tiger's major record with Jack's...not just wins, but second and third place finishes ...not even close. (I loved watching Tiger... fantastic, exciting)

[@tomspencer4371]

Jack record of second place in majors is his greatest record IMO.

[@rjm656]

Tiger’s got him on total wins though. And with a shorter career. Just dominant.

[@Whoopdido777]

We all know that Jack has 3 more major wins than Tiger. That goes without saying, but honestly who really cares about how many times each of them finished 2nd or third? For example, off the top of your head do you know who finished second and third in let’s just say the 2006 PGA Championship and do you really care?

[@rmoultonrmoulton145]

While I understand it's not the easiest to do, the eras are SOOOO different and it's quite inarguable that the talent pool in golf increased exponentially during Tiger's era. As prize money went up so did the amount of talent. The competition Jack faced was much shallower because there just wasn't near as much money and the talent pool wasn't near as worldwide. I'd equate it to what Jordan faced in his era vs what Lebron has gone against the last decade plus in the NBA. Jordan/Jack...there was a Grand Canyon between them and the 2nd best player of their time but also the difference between them and rest of the field was a galaxy. For Lebron and Tiger, there was still a Grand Canyon between them and number 2, but the overall talent of the rest of the field was SUBSTANTIALLY better.

[@Whoopdido777]

@@rmoultonrmoulton145 I don’t think there was actually a ranking system in place during Jack’s time, but there was a period of time while Tiger was ranked #1 in the world and the difference in points between him and the guy ranked #2 at the time was more than than the difference between the #2 ranked guy and the guy ranked like 1000th. Don’t quote me on the exact number, but it was an insane number like that. The gap between #1 and #2 was massive.

[@braydenboyko8525]

It’s so lazy to sit in a chair for a podcast , and have your hands in your hoodie pockets 😂

[@Jeebizz101]

very strange observation, but now I cant unsee it lol

He does it in case that quadruple chin of his falls off that way he can catch it

[@braydenboyko8525]

@@Jeebizz101 it’s like when katt Williams called Cedric the entertainer a walrus when he was on the Shannon sharpe show before him and he was so tubby that he couldn’t get his hands off his belly

[@travels129]

Greatest ever golfer period!!!!!

[@travels129]

Greatest ever golfer period!!!!!

[@travels129]

Greatest ever golfer period!!!!!