The question is everywhere in the golf world right now: what to make of Tiger Woods following his withdrawal from the Farmer’s Insurance Open citing lower back issues resulting from his non-firing or non-activating glutes? But before I offer up my own ideas on this, let take a look at what folks had been saying in the weeks leading up to the Phoenix Waste Management Open – a tournament that shocked folks at the sight of Tiger struggling so mightily with his game, most especially his short game:

Remember this? Tiger was going to be dusting off his old swing in preparation for his triumphant return. Throughout the holiday season and the weeks leading up to his appearance at the Phoenix Waste Management Open, golf websites were crackling with rumors of the “old Tiger” returning: his increased swing speed, his incredible new ball control, how he “looks like the old Tiger”, to the point where Golf Channel’s David Feherty predicted that by the end of 2015 Tiger would be #1 in the world again.

What a difference two weeks makes. Now, he’s swinging too hard, says former coach Butch Harmon. He’s missing that same old drive to excel, says former coach Hank Haney. He’s got multiple issues to deal with, says his pal Notah Begay.

Kyle Porter has a great read on this, pointing out just how far Woods’s fortunes have fallen just in the past year. It’s actually breathtaking when you think of it:

2014 Farmers Insurance Open: Missed 3rd-round cut
2014 Honda Classic: WD
2014 Cadillac Championship: T25
2014 Quicken Loans National: MC
2014 British Open: 69th
2014 Bridgestone Invitational: WD
2014 PGA Championship: MC
2015 Phoenix Open: MC
2015 Farmers Insurance Open: WD

Enter into the fact it has been – incredibly – 7 1/2 years since Woods won his last major during an iconic performance at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, it actually begs the question why networks like Golf Channel and others continue to cover his every exploit at the expense of so many other professional golfers.

I have Hank Haney’s “The Big Miss” and it is fascinating to read it again seeing what Tiger is going through. Tiger hated Hank telling him to stop dipping his head because as soon as he did that he’d get that weird spine angle in the downswing. And now that Hank is gone what is Tiger resorting to? An accentuated head dip and spine curve in the downswing that not only puts incredible pressure on his lower back, but the big miss out to the right. People can say what they want about Haney – he seems like a huckleberry to me – and Johnny Miller hated Tiger’s Hank swing from the start (which is OK, Johnny hates everything ?) but if Tiger had stayed with Hank he’s probably have 16 or 17 majors by now.

The biggest problem Tiger has is his arrogance: he’s 39 years old but refuses to accept the fact he’ll never out-drive all the new guys. He needs to radically – and I mean RADICALLY – change his swing and I don’t think he’s up to doing it. Were I him, I’d announce a sabbatical where he can take his time and on his own schedule get his game back to PGA Tour standards and tell the media and Gold Channel to go screw and allow him the timeand the privacy to get his game back in gear. If he doesn’t do that he’s living in denial.