The 2nd Cut Newsletter: Edition #29

Tiger and Nike Split, Speed Training, Alignment, and Breaking 100

The 2nd Cut

Jan 10, 2024

“The more I practice, the luckier I get.” - Gary Player

📰 Edition #29 📰

Welcome back to The 2nd Cut Newsletter!

📫 In today’s Newsletter: Tiger and Nike Split, Speed Training, Alignment, and Breaking 100

If you’re new here, this newsletter is designed to provide valuable insights, tips, and ideas from around the internet to improve your golf game.

What you get:

1 - Newsletter every Wednesday
1 - Deep dive every Friday

Tiger and Nike Split 🐅

Tiger and Nike have officially split. Tiger released the statement below, which confirms the end.

As you know from past posts, I thought things were heading this way, but seeing the end of such an iconic partnership is still a bit shocking.

Nike’s financials have fallen short of expectations* for some time now, so this could be part of the refocusing of the brand. They famously discontinued their golf equipment line years ago, and golf has never been much of a money maker. But Nike has always been about branding and having the BEST.

*For more details on Nike’s financials, check out my favorite paid investment newsletter, TSOH Investment Research Service: “Nike: Falling Short”

The almost 30-year relationship was surely a lucrative one for Tiger. Below is the breakdown of his Nike earnings, which are mind-boggling.

This isn’t an original thought, but I don’t know how Nike never created a Tiger brand with him doing the iconic fist pump, ala the “Air Jordan” logo. They had the TW logo (which Tiger owns, btw), but that never got to iconic status.

So where will he go from here? I don’t know. Maybe he will start a new Tiger line for Taylor Made, which is rumored to be making a bigger push into apparel.

Or maybe he goes with Greyson? They sponsor his buddy Justin Thomas, and Tiger’s son Charlie Woods was just announced as a partner.

I could see him going with a smaller company, ala Rodger Federer or Tom Brady, and taking an equity stake in the deal.

Regardless of what Tiger does, I’ll miss those iconic Nike commercials. And, of course, the chip-in at the 2005 Masters will go down as probably the most iconic brand moment in sports history. In your life…

🐦 Tweets of the Week 🐦

Just your annual reminder: THE KEY TO LOW SCORES IS NOT MORE BIRDIES!

Lou Stagner knows what’s up. Check out my piece, Avoiding Double Bogeys, for more detail on the math behind this.

I’ve talked about speed training a few times before. I said this in my deep dive “Longer Drives” regarding The Stack System:

I’m a big fan of The Stack system developed by Sasho MacKenzie. It’s a loadable weighted rod paired with various training programs on the Stack App. I highly recommend this if you are looking to gain swing speed. It simply works, and the app makes everything extremely easy to follow.

In the tweet below, Pro Golfer Michael Kim talks about his experience with speed training and one of the biggest misconceptions that amateurs have.

I had the same misconception. I was worried that my accuracy would drop and possibly ruin my tempo. That didn’t happen. I stayed around the same from an accuracy standpoint, and if anything, I felt like my tempo improved.

It’s not magic. Speed training is just like lifting weights. It takes time and effort. If you stop, you’ll probably lose some gains over time. But if you keep it up, you’ll slowly add sustainable speed to your swing and yards to your drives.

I rarely swing like I do with my Stack. What speed training does is elevate your “cruising” speed. So, my 90% effort swing is faster now, but I’m still swinging with 90% effort. I’m never 100% all out.

📺 💻 T2C Media 📺 💻

This video is from Paddy Harrington, one of my favorite YouTube follows. He has a ton of great content and goes into incredible detail. If you struggle with alignment, check this one out.

Below is a short video on breaking 90 or 100. The creator’s name is Bryce Cope, and I think he hits the nail on what you should focus on if you are trying to break through these levels.

Driver off the tee (avoid trouble!)
Go to shots from 30 to 100 yards
Putting (inside 4 feet and outside 30 feet)

@brycecopegolf If you’re looking to break 90 or 100 this year these are the 3 areas where I would prioritize your practice. This is not saying to just play better, this is going to allow you to get the most out of your practice time. Trying to get better at everything at once isn’t necessarily the way I would approach it. If you only have a few hours a week to practice these 3 areas will reward you more than practicing long irons, fairway woods, etc. #golf #golftiktok #golftok #golftips

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It sounds simple, but these three things are low-hanging fruit. You might practice each aspect some, but you need to emphasize them even more. Please don’t waste any time outside of it; you can focus on other areas once you improve.