Case Study: Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods has been a top contender in every tournament for almost 20 years. What makes him such a fierce competitor?

Tiger Woods is one of golf's biggest stars. Since turning professional in 1996, Tiger has built an unprecedented competitive career. His achievements on the course–106 worldwide wins and 15 majors–have mirrored his success off the course as well.

Let's take a look at his fundamentally sound swing and learn more about what makes him so consistent and powerful.

What does this mean?  Our Sportsbox Sports Science team dives into Tiger's technically proficient and powerful swing. 

1. Pelvis Lift: Tiger's strength is his verticals; his pelvis drops and lifts into impact are excellent (3.6" and 3.7"). Pelvis drop is measured as the maximum amount that the pelvis has dropped during the downswing from where it was at address. Pelvis lift into impact is the amount the pelvis has lifted into impact from the lowest pelvis drop. Tiger’s pelvic drop and lift into impact are ranked highly with respect to his peers in the 90th and 79th percentile, respectively.

2. Slide in Transition: Tiger's slide in transition is excellent for both his chest and pelvis (1.5" and 2.5"). Slide in transition is measured from max sway value in backswing to the sway position at top. We have found that all elite golfers are moving toward the target by the top of backswing. His pelvis slide is ranked in the 89th percentile compared to his peers .

3. Transfer of Speed: Tiger has excellent transfer of speed from the arm to his club shaft, which compensates for his low lead arm maximum swing speed .This is reflected in a high Wrist Speed Gain Factor of 2.55. This gives him good shaft swing speed (2353 d/s) which in turn converts to a club head speed of 119 mph.