“No one had ever seen speed like that before”: Tiger Woods’ insane swing speed in the 1990s as recollected by Sam Reeves

When it comes to Tiger Woods, there are plenty of stories to tell. Some are legendary, while others are quite interesting. Sam Reeves' story is about how Tiger Woods changed the perception of speed and power -- using shoelaces.

Sam Reeves played a lot of golf during his time, and even had the courtesy of being best friends Butch Harmon, one of the greatest golf coaches of all time. Recently, he spoke about this particular story on the "Any Given Monday" podcast.

Harmon and Reeves discussed Woods' committment to swing speed. Speaking about the time he remembers Woods coaching with Harmon, he said:

“I was there at Lochinvar when Tiger came. See, no one had ever seen speed like that before. The mantra was ‘Slow it down and hit it easier, blah blah blah. Keep your head down.’ No one had ever seen Tiger speed."

Butch Harmon was the first one who noticed any kind of speed in Tiger Woods. He was, in fact, so powerful that Reeves remembers him popping off his shoelaces when he hit from the ground.

"I was there. He was so powerful with his feet, he popped the shoelaces in his shoes one time, hitting from the ground. He had broken the shoelaces on his shoes. Now, Michael. The force of doing that."

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Tiger Woods' swing was so powerful that it popped his shoelaces

Butch Harmon, Woods' coach, had never seen a swing as powerful as his. He had seen a similar unwind in Ben Hogan, but Woods outdid that too. At the age of just 16, Woods caught Harmon's eye.

“Then I saw this young, 16-, 17-year-old kid that whipped that body. An interesting thing of what Sam is saying. I said to [Tiger] one time, during the course of the first day. I spent two days with him way back then. August 23 and 24 of 1993…”

When he asked Tiger Woods if he had a shot that he used when he absolutely had to drive a shot down a fairway, Woods replied that he did not.

"I’m thinking to myself, ‘Well, there is an arrogant S.O.B.’ But the more I got to know him, that was the way he played. I wasn’t going to take that away from him."

Needless to say, Woods' style of play and dominance remains unmatched, as the 15-time major winner certainly made his mark on history.