Every tour pro comes to know how difficult the game can be - swing coach Hank Haney said the other day that golf is a hard game Tiger Woods made look easy for a long time - and certainly Mike Weir, who turned 40 on May 12, is aware of that.
Weir has had but one top-10 finish in 11 tournaments this season, when he was sixth at the Bob Hope Classic in January. The native of Bright's Grove, Ont., missed the cut in three of 10 stroke-play tournaments, including the recent Players Championship. (Weir did not play in this week's Byron Nelson, but is scheduled to play the next two PGA Tour tournaments.)
His scoring average tells the tale of his troubles, and the regression of the numbers through the four rounds of recent tournaments indicates Weir is struggling with his swing. His first-round average is 69.9; second round 70.8; third round 73.0; fourth round 73.1. His overall scoring average is 71.42.
By way of comparison, consider his stats from 2003, when he won two early PGA Tour events and then the Masters. Weir's scoring average was 68.97 - a difference of about 10 shots for a full tournament.
What's the problem, then? I followed Weir at the Honda Classic in March, and during the Masters in April. A few rounds don't make a complete study, in the same way that statistics don't make a portrait. Still, it seems Weir is caught between swing theories.
Weir was working with Mike Wilson when he won the 2003 Masters, having first seen him in December of 1995. Weir and Wilson worked together until November of 2006 when the Canadian switched to Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer, who teach the stack-and-tilt approach (based on staying on the front foot, with almost no weight transferring back but rather shifting forward through the swing).
Weir reverted to Wilson a year ago, when he couldn't take Bennett's and Plummer's ideas to the course during tournaments. Wilson wants Weir to transfer weight during his backswing and to coil behind the ball.
The Canadian has often had what Woods calls a "two-way miss" - missing targets left and right results in Weir having to put more pressure on his putting.
Getting caught between swings may be causing him to miss fairways - he's getting off-plane in his downswing as he tries to self-correct, due to an inconsistent backswing. His club face is coming into the ball either closed or open, or square but too much from the inside or outside.
At the same time, he's had some splendid rounds that weren't dependent solely on great putting. Weir shot 69 in the first round of the Northern Trust Open in February, 64 in the second round at the Honda, 66 in the first round of the Verizon Heritage Classic in March. But he followed the 69 at Riviera with 77, and the 66 at Verizon with 73.
Weir has acknowledged there's still some stack and tilt in his swing, especially with his driver. His swing is speaking two languages simultaneously.
Nick Faldo won six majors, but then tried to change his swing and that was about it for him. Nick Price won three majors and, as he got into his mid-40s, tried to find more distance. That was about it for him on the PGA Tour.
Ian Baker-Finch and David Duval each won an Open Championship and later tried to change their swings. Each tried mightily to recapture his golfing instincts. Baker-Finch never did, while Duval shows excellent form from time to time, as when he finished second in last year's U.S. Open. But he continues to struggle.
At 40, Weir has time to right himself. He has to get to the point of playing golf, rather than playing golf swing. He'll feel free to do so if, and when, his body, having internalized mixed messages, obeys the commands of his mind.
If it does, Weir could win again. But if it doesn't, he won't.
Golf is a hard game, even for somebody who won the Masters not all that many years ago.