Few careers in golf can rival that of Tiger Woods. But reaching such extraordinary heights was no easy feat. While fans watched him dominate tournaments and rewrite record books, few witnessed the grueling training sessions behind the scenes. His former swing coach, Sean Foley, recently offered a glimpse into just how demanding those training sessions could be.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“One of my favorite Tiger stories is when I went down to Jupiter, and it [was] right before the British Open,” Foley said in a conversation on the Short Game Chef podcast. “And it is 100° out, humidity is 100%. [Still,] the big man’s at the corner of the range hitting balls in rain gear.”
Foley added that during one session, after analyzing Woods’ swing, Woods asked him to remind him at the British Open to slightly unweight his left foot with longer clubs, which would let him complete his backswing more effectively. When the tournament finally arrived, it rained on the opening day, just as it had during the session.
“So [we] get to the British Open and listen to everyone teeing off on Thursday in the rain complain that they can’t swing in rain gear. I mean, that’s just a little tiny thing. It doesn’t sound crazy, but he knew he doesn’t like rain. Who actually likes playing golf in the rain or the cold? But everyone else is just [complaining about the rain and the gear],” Foley continued.
“[Yet], the big man’s just out there lifting his left heel up, and everything stays the same.”
Coming from Foley, who coached Woods between 2010 and 2014, the account offers a revealing insight into the lengths the golf legend went to in pursuit of perfection. That relentless dedication helped Woods win eight PGA Tour events during their partnership, although a major championship eluded him during this period.
Still, such demanding practice was nothing new for Woods. His previous swing coach, Hank Haney, who worked with him from 2004 to 2010, had witnessed similar dedication. In a conversation with Golf Digest in April 2012, Haney revealed that Woods routinely put himself through training days lasting up to 13 hours.
According to Haney, Woods would begin his day at 6 a.m. with a workout before heading to the driving range for two hours of swing and short-game practice. He would then play nine holes, break for lunch, return to the range, and play another nine holes before continuing to sharpen different aspects of his game. Even after finishing at the course around 6 p.m., Woods would sometimes squeeze in another workout before dinner.
Haney recalled that Woods was often “chomping at the bit” to resume practicing, even during the offseason. But one may wonder why Woods would put himself through such a grind. Haney believed this work ethic gave Woods a significant psychological advantage over his competitors.
“He knew he was paying a price that not many people would pay, and that gives you an edge mentally,” Haney explained.
This proved true, as Woods won 31 PGA Tour tournaments, including six major championships. All the training and wins aside, however, Foley has also acknowledged that he made mistakes while coaching Tiger Woods. In a November 2021 interview on Off Course with Claude Harmon, Foley said he was “too methodological” and “too arrogant” in his approach.
He underestimated the state Woods was in after the personal turmoil of 2009. Foley pointed out that Woods had gone from winning five of his final six tournaments in 2009 to struggling to break par by mid-2010, despite retaining essentially the same swing and short game. Foley described the transition from being seemingly invincible to suddenly vulnerable as particularly difficult.
“I think I over-coached him,” he admitted, explaining that he had mistaken deeper struggles for technical problems. That said, after separating from Foley in 2014, Woods started working with Chris Como as his swing consultant. The two began working together in November 2014 and parted ways in December 2017. Despite the change, Woods didn’t win a major during that period.
After that split, he didn’t hire a full-time swing coach, instead choosing to work independently and rely on his own feel. He later consulted putting coach Matt Killen in 2019 to work on his stroke. And in that year, Tiger Woods won his first major in 11 years.