Como Ça va?

Opinions are like....well, the discriminating reader will know how that one goes.  So let's check in on everyone's opinion of Tigers new swing coach consultant.  Hank Gola, writing in the Daily News, had this note of concern:

But according to a veteran caddie familiar with Como’s teaching methods, Woods, who

many feel got too technical and complicated under Foley, is headed down a similar path with Como. 

Como, said the caddie, is “way worse than Foley, way too technical. This guy will try to get Tiger a putting coach, a statistician, a green reading guy, etc. It’s his worse choice ever. He can turn a guy from an athlete into a golf geek.”

Hey buddy, I resemble that last remark!  And later in the piece, there was this:

Como, 37, two years younger than Woods, coaches Aaron Baddeley, Trevor Immelman and Jamie Lovemark. Baddeley, who credited Como with turning his game around in 2014, was the only one of the three to retain his PGA Tour card last year. Immelman is the only one of those who has a major, although he wasn’t working with Como when he won the Masters in 2008.

I guess that Baddely went to him after the Stack-and-Tilt nonsense didn't work out.  But the Immelman link is perfect, since they both, you know, last won a major in 2008.  I'll be here all week, folks...please don't forget to tip your waitress.  

James Corrigan digs a little deeper, though first gives us this telling tidbit:

Como is relatively unknown within the trade as shown by the fact that when Woods announced on Twitter that “Chris will consult and work with me during the year”, the rush to discover more about the 36-year-old from Texas caused his personal website to crash.

I hat when that happens...(if only).  But this is what I found of interest:

However, the most interesting aspect concerning Como is the master’s degree he is in process of completing and the identity of his teacher. According to Golf Digest, Dr Young-Hoo Kwon “is widely considered the foremost expert in golf biomechanics and ‘sport injury mechanism’.” 

Woods has suffered a catalogue of injuries over the years, the most recent being the back injury on which he required surgery in March and which has caused 2014 to be a write-off in his quest to overhaul Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors. It would be a huge positive to Woods and his chances of a prolonged career, if he could develop a swing which would not only win tournaments but also prevent stress to his back and knees. Woods turns 39 in December.

To say the least... Old buddy Tim Rosaforte files this profile of Como.  Here's the soft and fuzzy bit:

It wasn't long ago that Como was building his lesson book at Gleneagles CC in Plano, Texas, and taking night courses at Texas Women's University in North Dallas. Driving an old Chevy Trail Blazer, he was talking to Zambri at a light when the old SUV started smoking. When we spoke, Como laughed about driving a vehicle worth $1,000 with a $25,000 Track- Man in the back seat that he took out a loan to buy.

A sense of humor and perspective can't be a bad thing...necessary, certainly, though not necessarily sufficient.  

As for working with a rock star like Tiger, Como admitted to being nervous when they

started working together three weeks ago. After some meditation, he asked himself if he felt like the best person to help Tiger. He came away feeling, "I do." 

"I would say once we got in the mode of talking golf swing, that's my Zen, that's my world," Como said. "When I'm into that world, on the range, teaching, talking golf swings, that's sort of what I do."

To Como, it's all about using the science, using the teaching and always searching for ways to make the golfer autonomous. "The idea of having a person rely on a teacher is bad," Como said. "You have to know about yourself, rely on yourself."

I guess he's still a rock star.  Though one that for whom, pace Spinal Tap, his appeal has become increasingly selective.  Shack also had these comments from the Knights of the SI Roundtable:

SHIPNUCK: I wish Tiger would have resisted the temptation. He's maybe the most naturally gifted player ever; he doesn't need a coach -- especially one who's into biomechanics and neuroscience -- he needs to find it on his own. Success will be to win a couple of Tour events and contend at one or two majors. Anything beyond that is a home run. 

BAMBERGER: Woods doesn't have a new swing coach. He has, he said, a swing "consultant." I don't know a thing about Chris Como. But I find the language of this latest development, like the language of Woods' response to Jenkins, so needlessly self-important and pretentious, and for that I blame Woods. He's signing off on it.

For me, I just hope he can get his reps in so he can regain his golf feels, as well as his explosiveness.  Aw heck, by now you guys can play Tiger Woods Ad-Libs as well as I can...