Tiger Woods US Open

Tiger Woods’ U.S. Open secret weapon: Memory

Is Tiger Woods toast as a golfer? If you read the commentary leading up to the U.S. Open, which begins today, you might think so. The New York Times analysis from earlier this week sums up the general mood around the man:

At the point in the season when he was once the most focused, Woods is adrift, uncertain. He has taken to going on about how limited competitive exposure has put his game at an early-season stage while most players are in midseason form.

It’s all in the head … “Golf is a game of the mind — and Tiger’s ain’t there yet,” says San Francisco Chronicle’s Scott Jenkins. “I think Tiger will be losing the mental game this week, and for many weeks to come.”

Yes, it is mental. But that is Tiger’s secret weapon this week–a part of his mind that has been nothing but a nuisance until now–his memory. Ten years ago Tiger completely destroyed the competition to win the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, the same tournament and venue Woods will play this weekend. He ran away from the field by 15 strokes in what was arguably the greatest year of golf any individual ever played.

Yes, living up to the memory of that tournament might psych Tiger out, which is probably what most sports pundits are thinking will happen this weekend. But there’s another element of memory that’s less obvious. Not only is Pebble Beach a place where Woods dominated, it’s also a very distinctive course. It looks different than any other, the sounds and smells are unique. All of this implicit memory, the stuff we don’t consciously consider, can have a profound impact on athletes. A study in the late 1980s showed that athletes become athletically prepared (ie, their heart rates rise) when they see images connected to competition. Later studies concluded that athletes who conjure more vivid imagery perform better–Woods certainly can summon vivid images on this course.

But a key question this weekend is whether those memories spark “internal” imagery–remembering from the perspective of self–or “external” imagery. If Woods has been seeing himself through the eyes of others, it’s not hard to figure out why. Shame has that effect and it is generally considered a negative for athletes. Pebble Beach holds no such negatives for Woods. He has almost always played well there. It might even be a place he considers “safe,” which could encourage internal imagery.

If none of this turns out to be a help to Woods, then Jenkins could be right, he’s a wreck in his head. And perhaps that is what he should be as he reconstructs his life. But I have a suspicion Woods was looking towards this weekend all spring. Everything leading up to the Open, including the Masters, was about working out the kinks in his stroke. And by the way, he has not played all that poorly in most of the tournaments. But I think his real return begins now.