19th Hole

Tiger Woods breaks down his famous ‘Nine Window’ warm-up drill

Published

5 years ago

Nov 3, 2021

Tiger Woods is widely considered to be the best iron player of all time, and the magic behind his ‘Nine Window’ warm-up drill has long intrigued golf fans.

Related: Bryson DeChambeau reveals the secrets to his short game

In a video uploaded recently by TaylorMade, the 15-time major champion gave a fantastic in-depth breakdown of the routine to TM Rep Chris Trott.

In the vid, Woods demonstrates how he pulls off the shots, which comprises of three straight iron shots, three draws, and three fades, all with a low, mid and high trajectory.

Here are a few highlights, but make sure to check out the video in full below.

How to hit the ball low, medium and high (2:38)

TW: “Obviously, the easiest thing to do is play the ball back in your stance (for the low trajectory). That adds an element of a draw to it, so for me to hit a low-straight one like that, I move the ball maybe half a ball back in my stance. But I do stand closer to it to get me on top of the golf ball. And then, from there, I really concentrate on my follow-through to determine how high I want to hit it.

So my dad used to say, want to hit one low? Have your hands stop around rib high. Want to hit it a little higher? Have them stop about shoulder height. Want to hit the highest shot you possibly can? Make sure your hands finish above your head.”

On the shaped shots (3:55)

CT: “Do you ever manipulate handle position in relation to ball position? So, handle forward for draw, handle back for fade?”

TW: “Absolutely not. I do it all with my hands and my clubface. I’ve never even thought about hand and shaft angle and all that stuff; I don’t understand it.”

Tiger also stressed how each shot, regardless of whether it’s a draw or fade, is always center strike.

On Visualisation and how Nine Windows helps in competition (5:35)

CT: This is a range session, but the visualisation you will go through, I’ve heard you talk about red flag and turn it, we’re into the cut shots now, would you go middle of the green and turn it, and pick a start line and pick a defined finish line?

TW (Points to small ball on edge of green): “So I’ll start this golf ball at that little ball there and then cut it to the right palm tree.

When I get into a tournament situation, under the gun, I don’t think of anything but that (Nine windows). Now, do I do a hell of a lot of position work? Yes. In front of a mirror or on the range? Yes. But if I have to hit a shot now, to play this shot in a tournament, how I talked you through that little cut, where I need that ball to start off at that little ball and end at the tree, that’s all how I’m looking at this golf shot and feeling it.”

How the Nine Windows drill relates to his putting (8:04)

TW: “That’s how I putt. I put to the picture. All this information, I’m taking it into account, and then I’m putting to a picture, or I’m hitting my shot to my picture. So that gets rid of all mechanical thoughts. I just put all the information in, and the shot I want to hit, and how far I want it to go, what trajectory you want and then it’s all on my feel.”

Watch the full video below.

19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

2 months ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

2 months ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

2 months ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”