Less obvious than the shorter backswing with longer clubs is the amount Woods' hands now lead the clubhead into impact with the driver. "He's aways had a lot of that lag in his swing, but at Congressional, it's gotten extreme with the driver," says Birnbaum, who is based at Alpine Country Club in Demarest, NJ. "Based on what I've heard him say, I know it's something he and Sean are trying to do with his swing, but it's gotten out of hand. His body positions are almost identical, but his release point is completely different. You'd need to see TrackMan numbers to know exactly, but hitting down that much on the driver has to hurt his accuracy. It's probably hard for him to time."