Tiger Woods' Swing Coach, Sean Foley, Says Criticism Out Of Hand

AUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 08: Tiger Woods of the United States hits a tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the 2012 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 8, 2012 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Tiger Woods' swing coach says criticism of his client is getting out of hand.

"I know everyone has a job to do, and I get it," Foley said this week on "Fairways of Life," a radio show hosted by Matt Adams on XM Sirius. "But if it is about the game of golf, Tiger Woods is an extremely important part of the game, and I think everyone understands that. It has just gotten to the point where the tearing down of Tiger as a person and a golfer has become just too much. I think it is just out of hand."

Woods has been under more scrutiny than any other golfer since he turned pro in 1996 when he was 20 and won twice in seven starts on the PGA Tour. The criticism has sharpened in the two years since Woods was exposed for extramarital affairs that cost him his marriage and impeccable image.

He tied for 40th at the Masters, yet most of the attention was on how Woods kicked his golf club after missing a tee shot on the 16th hole of the second round. He said the next day, "I'm frustrated at times and I apologize if I offended anybody that that."

Foley began working with Woods at the 2010 PGA Championship, and Woods has shown signs of getting back toward the top of his game. He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill last month for his first PGA Tour win since the scandal in his personal life unfolded the night of Thanksgiving 2009.

Foley has gone through his share of criticism, too, especially in the early stages of Woods learning a new swing.

"I realize it is 2012 and we have dotcoms, and you have to write five articles a day, and you run out of things to write about," Foley said. "But we should be in a position where we are trying to help and lift up and support a player like Tiger Woods instead of tearing him down, because everyone in the golf industry is better off because of his existence."

Foley's comments came at the end of a 20-minute interview, and he raised the issue without prompting.

"That is basically one thing I want to get out," Foley said. "Tiger is a wonderful person, and he is a good dude, and he lives a complex life. I think things have got to slow down, and it has got to stop, the daily referendums and the criticism."

Woods' performance in the Masters has kept him in conversations, however. It was his highest finish in a major as a pro – except for the three times he has missed the cut – and kicking his 9-iron became a lasting image of his week at Augusta National.

A few days after the Masters, former Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger said on Sirius XM Mad Dog Radio that Woods' antics were an "embarrassment to the game, to the membership at Augusta." The comments were startling because Azinger has long been a supporter of Woods.

"I was really disappointed to see him carry on that way," Azinger said. "He's not trying to endear himself to anybody. And after he won Bay Hill, I thought, `Here we go again, this is going to be Tiger just kicking butt and taking names.' I don't know. I thought he acted like the south end of a northbound mule."

Jack Nicklaus was asked Tuesday about Woods' game and said he didn't know what was going on.

"I don't know what goes (on) between his ears," Nicklaus said. "That's really the X factor. His golf game and his golf swing looks pretty similar to what I've been looking at and he hits a lot of great shots. But you never know what's going on in somebody's head."

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Comments

[butchcliff]

07:52 AM on 04/23/2012

Pressures/frustrations Tiger has are immense. Golf requires tremendous focus. He has to accept the good with the bad, as his life & game is in the public eye. Can't be crying in your milk

[repugnicansfearme]

09:03 PM on 04/22/2012

Has anyone seen my neighbor's cat? He got out, he is declawed, so he isn't the Tiger he used to be.
Are we being too hard? In a word, no. With the hype, the mouth, the attitude, the mega endorsements, not in the least. Look at how the press has beaten John Daly into oblivion. No way has anyone been too hard on the Tigger.

[Marie9]

06:34 PM on 04/21/2012

Foley is right, however, Tiger couldn't stay #1 forever, nothing works like that. Scandal or not he could not remain number one forever. Many sports champions have similar sandals.

Tiger gets the same criticisms as the President. A number one Black male will get that every time. It's the country we live in.

So many sports champions have similar scandals, they just move on quicker---appear to have a thicker skin. Maybe it's a gene that tells them --that's life, next.

[pkymarfo]

05:39 PM on 04/21/2012

The media is trying so hard for people to be.

[jdmn17]

09:39 AM on 04/21/2012

My problem with TW is more about ESPN and Golf Channel's slobbering adoration of his game and the network TV's obsession to cover him in the present as well as the past - like the endless flashbacks to his playing a certain hole in 2000 something when he's not even in a tournament or is hacking it up today. He is so overexposed and the announcers are practically having orgasms on air and in print whenever they talk about him - which is most of the time. In other words, the rest of golf suffers when he plays and it's almost completely exclusionary when he does well. So am I hard on HIM? Yeah because the entire sport world reporting team tells me he's unbeatable and his complete and total domination of the rest of golf is coming so when he doesn't do well, I cheer loudly - not so much because I despise him but because I like to see the other golfers get the same level of coverage as he does when they are doing well.

[Clevelandinwi]

04:04 PM on 04/20/2012

Because he kept a stable of porn stars? Really?

[DevRock]

12:11 PM on 04/20/2012

I completely agree. The continued scrutiny and baiting by the media needs to stop. Yeah, the guy made some mistakes. But let him rebuild his life. It seems every single tournament someone has to poke the guy to get a nasty reaction out of him just for the sake of keeping these story lines going.

Leave the guy alone once and for all.

[SamEasy]

01:04 AM on 04/21/2012

Right, and when he is in a tournament he gets WAY to much attention, even when he's 8 back and struggling. Many people are tired of that and there seems to be a few great golfers out there that are winning tournaments while Tiger tries to get his Poop together.

And his on-course antics are un-professional and embarssing to the sport.

[coco58]

09:21 PM on 05/04/2012

Do you really think he has any control of media focusing on his every move on & off the course??? I THINK NOT..

[CANTHATBE]

10:55 AM on 04/20/2012

That is how the press always roll with black people. No white stars get the same treatment. Look at Mel Gibson, far worse.

Look at Romney he couldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it but is treated far better.

[DevRock]

12:12 PM on 04/20/2012

Gibson is a completely different story. Mel is very seriously mentally ill. He doesn't have character issues. He needs intense psychological treatment and medication.

Not that it makes that Tiger attacks any more justifiable. I think they need to leave the guy alone.

[1hotgolfer]

01:51 PM on 04/20/2012

Mel Gibson "doesn't have character issues"? I'm in agreement with all else, but seriously question that Mel's incidents are rooted in his character. His explosive events occur in time intervals that would seem to suggest the same. Unless he's mental illness is fleeting.

[Teejae Mclean]

02:48 PM on 04/20/2012

Mel made a mistake buy saying what most believe and know to be true. Since then he is paying for it now and will never get "work" in Hollywood again. Mel is being made out to be a mad man and to be discredited.

[oldsquare]

09:45 AM on 04/20/2012

Tiger deserves criticism for his behavior at the Masters. The game of golf has been exceptionally good to Woods. Obviously he is a talented and intense player. However, in my opinion, over the years, Woods has not been particularly notable for his giving back to the sport. He often skipped tournaments and focused on the majors. And his tendency to dwell on himself, his successes or failures suggests something more than just intensity. Even following the episode at the 16th in Augusta, his excuse was that it was his frustration with himself that led to what I see as poor sportsmanship and a lack of respect for the game. The comparison in behavior between Woods and Mickelson is a case in point. Mickelson's poor shot at the 4th may well have cost him the green jacket, yet he handled it with dignity and respect and at the end he was a gracious loser. I still adhere to the old saying that, "it matters not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game."

[Teejae Mclean]

02:59 PM on 04/20/2012

I'm sorry Oldsquare. Yes to say Tiger lost control of his emotions is fine. But the extend at which Tiger gets ripped is undeniably over the top. As kmtmmt states below in their post, the issue is for the decorum of the game. The only saying goes "cutting off your nose to spit your face" is what the golfing media is doing right now. The attempts to destroy the man go beyond just criticism and it's been almost 3 year since the Nov 2009 incident. Please note that Tiger Woods and his foundation have done great things 3 learning centers, scholarship programs. Maybe if Phil had a little more fire in his belly he would have won several more majors. As a professional it is about winning and losing no matter the sport, when you are an amateur then yes it is how you play the game.

[oldsquare]

01:01 PM on 04/22/2012

I'm sorry that you do not recognize the value and importance of sportsmanship and principles in professional sports. It is just such thinking that has led to steroids, cheating, bounty hunting... which has now tainted professional sports. As to Phil, I do not believe it is "fire in his belly" that has limited his winning; rather I believe it is his willingness to take chances, often foolish ones. But he has always been a sportsman.

[lewis merrick]

04:31 AM on 04/21/2012

tiger has been better for golf than any one seem to remember, look at the thousands buying tickets and watching on tv who never would have before. the money paid to players has tripled because of you know who!!!

[oldsquare]

11:22 AM on 04/21/2012

Couldn't agree more. That is part of my point. I would expect him to give more to the sport as an ambassador. As to his giving by golf's increased revenues, he himself has benefited financially more than anyone so that is close to a wash. There are tour players who toil every week, who do not discriminate by limiting their appearance to only the "big" events and who, even though less talented represent the principles and essence of golf better than Tiger.

[hrc04]

09:02 AM on 04/20/2012

Huge Tiger fan. I don't think the public is too hard on Tiger; in fact, I think the public wants Tiger to succeed more than the media shows. And I'm talking less about the traditional sports media than I am the tabloid media that suddenly discovered Tiger after the scandal broke. (And that includes HP)

[1hotgolfer]

02:03 PM on 04/20/2012

Absolutely...it's not the public. I was at The Masters, and the patrons there demonstrated outstanding support...the "roars" for his par-saving putts were far louder than those for others who made birdies. The "real golfing public" wants his success...the tabloid media, those faux sport journalist, have to produce something five time a day, so they regurgitate and extend.

But Tiger, of whom I am a huge fan, is 36 years old now and must find different outlets for his frustration. He is the role model for his kids, who are old enough to follow him...so becoming a good example on and off the course is paramount!!

[hrc04]

04:03 PM on 04/20/2012

I get that, and I would rather not see the kicking of clubs. But I love the ferocious fist pumps and incredible celebration at the US Open on a broken leg, and I understand that the same fiery emotion and intensity that produces those moments can also swing across to the profane, club slamming side as well. And those pious members of the tour that lined their pockets with that revenue the fist pump image generated need to check their hypocrisy at the door.

[shawman65]

08:46 AM on 04/20/2012

We analyze his game too much for sure. The announcers at the Masters saying he needs to tear down his game and rebuild are insane. he just got done winning Bay Hill!! His score at the Masters? I don't hear people saying Rory needs to rebuild and he shot a whole lot worse...

[Rightlygay]

03:51 PM on 04/20/2012

They tied.....

[JamNew44]

08:42 AM on 04/20/2012

Yes, we are too hard on Tiger. We treat Tiger like he was a mass murderer instead of someone who cheated on his wife. Infidelity is so rampant in this country that Tiger is the whipping boy for other cheaters. America needs to stop making sports stars into heroes. Heroes are people who sacrafice something.

[jefferson0467]

07:34 AM on 04/20/2012

His behavior on the course is inappropriate and deserving of criticism. I don't care what he does off the course but on the course he's a disgrace. All the cursing, throwing clubs, etc. doesn't belong in golf. If he started handling himself on the course with dignity and class, a lot of the criticism would go away and he might even play better too.

I get frustrated at my job but I can't act out like a child, why does Tiger think he can?

[Reggie Licious]

02:14 PM on 04/20/2012

The cursing, throwing clubs, etc. is not exclusive to Tiger Woods. Not by a long shot. 99% of all amateurs curse a lot and throw clubs once in a while. Bobby Jones famously did, too. While that doesn't make things better, it certainyl puts things in perspective.

All the other pros curse, too, and they throw clubs once in a while, they just usually don't have cameras following them around all the time.

[Fred Mayes]

07:21 AM on 04/20/2012

Some people and some sports seem more amenable to long layoffs than others. The Olympic shooting team claims that with a 2-week layoff, they don't stand a chance of hitting a target. On the other hand, baseball hitters have been known to pick up where they left off after months out of the lineup.
Woods has taken a lot of time off, twice: once for personal reasons and once for injury. Perhaps his inability to return to form is simply that he missed too many practice swings and now, at his age, it's difficult to recover near-perfection. Clearly he is strong. Clearly he hits shots as great as he ever did. Perhaps his putting isn't quite as good, but that's not the sole reason for his demise. He simply occasionally hits a bad shot. A great sports psychologist said that the three steps to mastering any part of any sport are, "see it, feel it, trust it." Maybe Woods gets the first two but not the third.

[altongrimes]

12:22 AM on 04/20/2012

outrageous the way the press sees fit to be in Tiger's bedroom and all the self righteous disparaging comments from "professional golfers" who wish they were that good....