A lot of these young golfers nowdays are ripped. They look like premier league soccer players. Better athletes than the old pudgy guys from the 60s, 70s and 80s.

Tiger brought that ripped conditioning to the game.
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Tiger had no competition. I think if he was in his prime right now he wouldnt win as many tournaments as he did. Or if he was in jacks era I dont think so either. He is easily a top 3 golfer of all time though and I would not argue with someone saying he is the greatest of all time either. Hes also fantastic for golf, on the course, off the course hes a pos but thats a different argument lol
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I really dont think being in peak shape really matters for golf. Reed probably cant even run a mile or bench press his own weight but hes still piping 340yard drives and hitting 9i's 170 yards. And physical shape doesnt matter at all for chipping or putting. I mean I doubt jordon or rickie can bp their own weight either, or squat
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The fitness has brought a new dimension to the game but its not that important. In the end the players who win consistently can putt and good around the greens plus keep it in the short grass. None of that had anything to do with fitness.
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It's more about core strength and flexibility. Not necessarily big bulky muscles.
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I failed to mention that I think Tiger was the best putter I ever seen. This is why Tiger dominated his generation. He could consistently drop putts under pressure. Drive for show putt for dough as the saying goes. Golf will never change in that aspect if your consistent on or around the green you will win. Sure every now and then a guy is so on with the irons he knocks it stiff through a tournament but that doesnt last gotta putt to be consistent.
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I do agree. While being fit helps, it doesn't help as much in golf as it does in any other sport. There are plenty of fat asses around your local muni or country club that are great sticks.

My whole point is, Tiger Woods influenced tons of young kids to start playing the game. Me included. Now all of these kids are 28-36, and in their prime. And there are more people playing golf than ever before. Combine that with the population being larger of the country, clearly there are more talented golfers than ever before.

The USA population in 1962 was 186 million.
It's 325 million today.

World population in 1962 was 3 billion.
World population is 7.6 billion today.

Much more of a talent pool.
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This is why Tiger will have trouble competing now. He has competition. In his prime, how many players did Tiger face that had won more than two majors each? On any given weekend, Nicklaus likely had to face at least two or more. BTW, Mark O'Meara, Fuzzy Zoeller, and David Duvall are nowhere near the talent level of guys like Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, or Lee Trevino...if they were, they would have won more majors, or even beat Tiger to win a few, but they did not.

The argument about more people playing increasing the talent pool has some merit....BUT only to explain why Tiger will have a tougher time competing now.
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Those days are over in the context of the Majors.

It's possible he could win another British (aka The Open), or a Masters.

He has no shot of ever winning another US Open or PGA.
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his best shot is a course that doesn't require driver to narrow fairways

he's played what 5 tournaments this year after a 2 year layoff.

already has a second and a 5th

finished 30th or so in the masters

already in the top 100 for the fedex cup with 1/2 the torunaments everybody else has

I wouldn't count him out of anything
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While Tiger still has moments where he looks like the 'old' Tiger, there is no escape from the ravages of time and injury.

It's hard to say how much difference technology has brought however I remember reading something about Adam Scott playing with old equipment and his drives were in the 240 range with that equipment.

I played with the old persimmon woods and non-cavity backed irons. Just for fun, I tried to play with the old set I played with in the 1980s. Very discouraging... almost every iron shot hurt and the woods seemed impossible to hit. So, for the average duffer, the equipment is drastically different now and allows us to ingrain our bad habits more than ever. For the tour player, I'm not sure that cavity backed irons and graphite shafts are what they play.

The old clubs were much heavier in the head than the new ones, too.
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Choke Woods at it again. Ties for the lead (when wind conditions are picking up for the field behind him) and then crumbles. Misses a birdie putt on 15, and then an easy par putt on 16. Bogey-Bogey-Bogey finish ahead.
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Misses another 50/50 putt and then yanks his 18th tee shot an inch away from out of bounds . Headcase
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Got to admit, it’s hard to argue with you on this one. We’ll see if he can save par and give himself a shot tomorrow. Bogey or worse and the leaderboard ahead of him starts to get real thick
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Before every tournament ESPN and all sports talk: "Tiger is back!!"

:-)
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