It may be an approach shot from a fairway bunker that soars over trees and water to within three yards of a pin tucked into the corner of a green 200 yards away. It could be a spectacularly difficult chip-in from 60 feet at the Masters. Or it may be a 30-foot curling putt on the 72nd hole of a tournament that snatches victory from another of the hapless pretenders.

And on such occasions, one question will always come to the fore. “How does Tiger Woods do that?” Apart from an extraordinary natural talent and a colossal work ethic in which practice is beginning to make perfect, we were given a small insight into what makes the world No1 tick on the eve of the WGC-CA Championship that starts here today at the Doral Golf Resort.

Woods, who has won this World Championship event six times in eight starts and has arrived on the back of seven victories on the trot, is expected to win again. He knows the game is too fickle to take anything for granted, but was nonetheless prepared to share some of reasons why he is so far ahead of everybody else.

In reality, it was merely scratching at the surface. But in his own words, here are some of the secrets to Woods's success:

Technique “You have got to have nine basic shots,” he said, a combination of straight, right-to-left, left-to-right; low, regular and high trajectories. “But there's an infinite number [of shots] in between. Each and every day is different, each and every lie is different. You have got to be able to call upon all of those shots at any time and have complete confidence you can pull it off.”

Equipment “I like to be aggressive around the greens, so I told the guys at Nike, ‘Build me a ball that spins and it'll be my responsibility to take it off [when I need to]. That's my job.'” Woods says that he can alter the amount the ball spins by using more club or altering the way he releases it through impact. How often do you see him hit shots to the greens and get the ball to release towards the hole when others suck the ball too far backwards? That is pure technique.

Mechanics He has such a deep understanding of the mechanics of his swing that he can change tack midway through the round. “I've learnt how to fix [problems] on the fly.”

Psychology “I don't know if I'm in their heads or not,” Woods said of his main rivals. He is.

For the record, since beating Woods head-to-head at the Deutsche Bank Championship last September, Phil Mickelson, the world No2, has been conspicuous by his absence when in the same field as his nemesis. Much the same can be said of Ernie Els, who blew his chance to beat Woods at the Dubai Desert Classic last month by dumping the ball into water at the 18th hole on the final day - something he had done two years earlier when up against Woods in a play-off. Vijay Singh has fared no better.

The bookies agree. Woods has come down to 8-1 to win the grand slam of four major professional championships in 2008, which is crazily low odds when you consider that Mickelson is being quoted at 16-1 to win this week alone and Els is 25-1.

Which means Woods is regarded as twice as likely to win the grand slam as Mickelson is to win at Doral.

“We've set an artificially low price because we're scared,” a Ladbrokes spokesman said.

Perspective Woods has more important thoughts than continuing his winning streak. “You don't really get remembered for the number of wins in a career, it's the major championships[]. Whatever I've done in the past few weeks is inconsequential. It doesn't count for this week.” Nine wins, including one major championship, would be regarded as a successful career. That is what he has achieved in his past ten events.

Luck As anyone who has played the game understands, luck plays an important part. “I've never played an event without having one break go my way. It may be the first hole Thursday, it may be the 72nd hole.”

Honesty “You must not be afraid to tell the truth. People have a hard time admitting when they've hit a bad shot. I don't have a problem with that.”

Trust He Is celebrating his tenth year in partnership with Steve Williams, his New Zealander caddie, and has faith in his advice. “I love that he's not afraid to give me the info. He'll call me off a shot if the wind changes and not too many guys out here would have the guts to do that.”

So there you have it. What Woods has left out of the equation, however, is that his efforts are almost superhuman. Does he, after all, have wires and levers underneath his skin? At times, it is hard to believe that he does not.