Watch More Videos from:

at

John Cook happens to be one of Tiger Woods‘ closest friends. So when he showed up on Thursday at a Champions Tour event and proclaimed Woods had finally figured out his new golf swing, people started to take notice.

"As of Monday, it clicked," Cook said, "it finally clicked to him on what exactly, where the face of the club needs to be at certain points, which really sounded to me like kind of old school Butch."

The last time things "clicked" for Woods was back in May 1999, when he called then-swing coach Butch Harmon from the Byron Nelson Classic and said, "I got it."

He went on to win eight of his next 12 tournaments, setting himself up for a 2000 season that many consider to be one of the greatest in golf history. After the way Woods owned Harmon’s swing, it’d be easy to believe Cook’s comments and wait with bated breath for a Woods resurgence at his next tournament.

But I’m not sure it’s that easy this time around. Even if Woods has figured out Sean Foley’s swing, he still has to deal with a far greater issue, and that’s regaining his confidence.

For Woods, refining his new swing was always going to be the easy part; his success with Haney and Harmon proved he had the talent to figure things out. The biggest difference between this time around and pre-Hydrant-gate is that Woods is in the midst of the worst victory drought of his career.

He failed to close out the Target World Challenge with a four-shot lead, and struggled in the few times he’s been near the top of the leaderboard on the weekend. 

His confidence is shot, and that’s ultimately the biggest reason he’s looked so normal of late. When he was winning at a record clip, he always seemed to be in the zone. Recently, he’s looked like a guy grasping for a light-switch in the dark. He knows he’s close, but he can’t seem to find a way to turn the switch back on.

He’ll find that switch when he regains some of the confidence that made him the most feared golfer on the planet.

There’s no doubt in my mind Woods will find his game again; he’s too good of a golfer not to win a handful of majors before the end of his career. But let’s be clear: his current struggles won’t be fixed with a grooved swing.

If Tiger really wants to get back to where he used to be, he needs to dig deep and find some confidence, not just in his swing, but in himself.

Related: Tiger Woods, John Cook

Follow Yahoo! Sports’ Devil Ball Golf on Facebook, and follow Jonathan Wall on Twitter at @jonathanrwall.

Read More Golf News from:

Watch More Videos from:

at

Watch More Videos from:

at

In Round 1 of the Northern Trust Open, Anthony Kim got a bad break. A very, very bad break. We’ve all flown greens before, we’ve all hit cart paths before. But it’s safe to say you’ve never had anything happen quite like this. As Geoff Shackelford helpfully points out in this video, things turned ugly for AK in a hurry:

Great job on the video, though it could’ve used more reenactment, like a ball rolling down the pavement. Spring for a ball, Shackelford!

Kim finished with a double-bogey 6 and a string of profanities that’s still floating somewhere out over the Pacific Ocean. His playing partner, Phil Mickelson, wisely stayed silent the entire time.

Read More Golf News from:

Rounding up a few of the week’s stories that didn’t quite merit the full-post treatment.

• Check out the LPGA’s new ad campaign, featuring Natalie Gulbis signing in strange areas …

• At the ACE Group Classic in Naples, Fla., John Cook reported that Tiger Woods‘ swing has finally "clicked," and that he should be back to his winning ways soon. We shall see, won’t we? [Press Tent]

• In Thailand, Michelle Wie and Yani Tseng sit just one stroke behind In-Kyung Kim, who shot a record-tying 63 on Thursday but, unfortunately, was 10 strokes worse on Friday. [Golfweek]

• Great video here from Golf Digest’s Dom Furore on golf in the Middle East. Well worth a watch for, as GD puts it, a "familiar game in an unfamiliar land." [Golf Digest]

• Donald Trump has offered his Trump National Club in Bedminster, N.J., as a potential U.S. Open backup site. (Also, be sure to listen to our interview with Trump right here on his new season of "Donald J. Trump’s Fabulous World of Golf.") [Golfweek]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up on Twitter at @jaybusbee, on Facebook right here, or by email at jay.busbee@yahoo.com.

Read More Golf News from:

Three things that you can always bank on; death, taxes, and Jim Gray getting into it with some athlete or coach.

The latest episode came on Thursday at Riviera, when Gray got in a heated argument with Dustin Johnson‘s caddie, to the point that The Golf Channel has removed Gray from its coverage this week from the Northern Trust Open.

According to USA Today’s Michael McCarthy, Johnson’s caddie went into a profanity-laced screaming match with Gray after he reported on The Golf Channel earlier that day that Johnson had landed a two-shot penalty for being late to the tee.

Johnson’s caddie, Bobby Brown, took most of the heat for the late tee-time arrival, with Dustin even commenting after the round that he doesn’t look at the time, leaving that up to the caddie.

Related: Golfer hits light pole twice on purpose

But Gray’s argument with Brown is far from the first time he’s been involved in a confrontation with athletes and coaches. Famously, Gray lambasted Pete Rose during Game 2 of the 1999 World Series, an interview so harsh that Rose concluded it by saying, "This is a prosecutor’s brief, not an interview, and I’m very surprised at you. I am, really."

More in the game of golf, Gray was involved in a spat with Corey Pavin over a captain’s pick at the 2010 Ryder Cup. Pavin went to Twitter to correct a report that Gray and The Golf Channel made, and it infuriated Gray to the point that he confronted Pavin, calling him a liar.

The Golf Channel’s decision to bench Gray this week is mainly to avoid any distractions with the coverage, but it brings up a deeper problem: Can certain journalists make themselves too much of a story? Gray has been around the block a long time, but when you’re getting in multiple arguments with people in the games you’re reporting, you really are becoming a nuisance, and nobody wants to deal with those types of people.

Who knows what was said to get Brown to flip out at Gray, but the caddie was already having a tough day, and the wrong thing could have pushed him over the edge. Is that the proper move for a journalist for a story, or overstepping your boundaries? For me, it’s the latter.

Follow Yahoo! Sports on Facebook and be the first to know about the most interesting stories of the day.

Other popular Yahoo! Sports stories:
• An extremely embarrassing on-air gaffe
• NBA star receives extremely sad news
• Female wrestler makes history because male forfeits

Read More Golf News from:

This is why you always, always read the rules.

Playing in the Avantha Masters in India, Thongchai Jaidee put his tee shot right off one of the giant light poles that line the course. He asked for a free drop and didn’t get it. Infuriated, he began whanging balls off the light pole. Yes, really. 

He belted two balls off the utility panel, both of which rebounded right back past his head, apparently trying to make some kind of point about how unfair the rule was.  Finally, he got up onto the green, but an on-course commentator informed him that players who hit the light posts get to tee off again … no penalty.

Whoops.

Jaidee went back to the tee to hit, and put that shot wide right. He ended the hole with a bogey 5. But it’s better than a DQ, which would have likely been the penalty had he failed to take that tee shot again.

It’s the latest in a long line of rules violations coming because players don’t know the local regulations. The burden is on the player and his caddy, of course, and while this one didn’t cost anyone a major championship like Dustin Johnson‘s PGA Championship blunder last year, it’s nonetheless an example of the virtues of just paying attention.

[Visor tip: Aussie Golfer]

Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee and follow Devil Ball Golf on Facebook by clicking here

Read More Golf News from:

Pass the Geritol and flip on the Golden Girls, because the old guys are taking over the Northern Trust Open.

Even with the bottleneck on the leader-board — there was a nine-way tie before play was called due to darkness — it was hard not to notice Fred Couples and Corey Pavin‘s names lurking near the top.

For a moment on Thursday, it felt like we were back in the early 90′s, when Pavin and Couples were in their prime.

Both former champions of the event, they know a thing or two about winning at famed Riviera. But their past success didn’t mean people were pegging them to make a run at this year’s event.

Pavin spent most of his early week interview time talking about his Ryder Cup experience, while Couples discussed his aching back.

Even with the little fanfare, here they are, sitting just couple shots off the lead. It just goes to show you that age doesn’t matter on the PGA Tour; it’s all about experience.

Having played the tournament 27 (Pavin) and 29 (Couples) times, respectively, it’s safe to say they have the local knowledge part down on a course where knowing the subtle nuiances can give you a distinct advantage.

While it’s still early, it looks like both could be in for great weeks. Even though the tour has passed both players by, it’s always great to see some of the marquee names that pushed the tour to new heights during the 90′s doing well.

So long as they pop a couple Advil and remember to get to bed by 9 p.m., don’t be surprised if you see one or both in contention on the weekend.

Read More Golf News from:

Watch More Videos from:

at