By GREGG WYCHERLEY
What makes Tiger Woods so good?
The short answer: his swing is almost perfect, he putts like a Machine and his strength and athleticism mean he can hit the ball 50m further than his opponents.
Combine these physical skills with the mental discipline to train religiously and play under immense pressure, and you have a player who on his day is practically unbeatable.
Top resident teaching pro Rhys Bishop said Woods was the best parts of the best players in the world in one.
"He's Ballesteros over the sand iron, he's Greg Norman over the driver, Ben Crenshaw over the putter. There's not really a weakness."
Bishop, head pro at the Premier International Golf Range on the North Shore, was one of those who made the cut yesterday at the New Zealand Open.
He said that when Woods made his normal swing, the head of his driver moved at about 200 km/h, a good 25 km/h faster than the typical touring pro and about 50 km/h faster than the clubhead of an average amateur.
This "power swing"gave him the ability to consistently drive the ball 50m further than his opponents - an incredible advantage.
The key to his powerful swing, said Bishop, was his strength and flexibility, combined with a short, punchy backswing.
"It's a short backswing and very aggressive on the way through. It's very much like a short punch-type action rather than a long, flowing swing like Ernie Els.
"His posture and grounding is fantastic, and being so strong, he can have quite a short backswing."
The speed of his swing meant the ball had a flat, controlled trajectory, and spent little time hanging in the air.
"The ball just comes off like a rifle bullet, very low and very crisp."
Woods' ability to hit the ball so far meant he could use irons when other players were reaching for the less-accurate woods.
"He's going into par fives with a seven iron," said Bishop.
"I wouldn't miss too many greens either if I was going in with low clubs like that."
Woods had the kind of mental discipline that dragged him away from the temptations open to the mega-rich and on to the practice course every day.
"He realises that he's the ambassador of golf for the world at the moment and everywhere he's going he's spreading his fairy dust," said Bishop.
It was the mental discipline that was the real key to Woods' success.
"I think his putt is pretty underestimated. He putts unbelievably well under pressure."
Young players coming through the ranks wanted to learn to hit the ball like Woods, and teaching methods were changing to keep up, said Bishop.
Coaches used to tell their students to concentrate on hitting the ball straight rather than hard, and to "let the putter do the talking". Nowadays, it was a power game.
"Now we're saying you do have to hit it that far, so keep whacking it."
The Kiwi golfer is chasing the LPGA Tour season title and a huge payday.