It's the story which has created a worldwide media frenzy, but two of Ireland's leading public relations practitioners have hit out at Tiger Woods' handling of his extra-marital shenanigans, saying he has shown "arrogance" and "inconsistency".

Gerry Lundberg, who runs his own pr business, says there are certain methods a client must adhere to in order to "minimise the impact of the scandal".

Woods first hit the headlines nine days ago after a mysterious car crash on the grounds of his Florida mansion which prompted an emergency 2am 911 call by a neighbour.

"Very soon after this, although having the police involved may have made it problematic, Woods should have come out with an honest and clear statement", Lundberg said. "The most important thing was to be quick about getting the statement out. This wasn't what was done."

The day after the crash, Woods postponed his interview with the police, having already cancelled his appointment the day before. The next day he also refused to speak with police, but released a statement saying the incident was "embarrassing" but it was also a "private matter". Speculation began to grow as to whether there had been a row between Woods and his wife Elin. At the same time rumours were mounting about a possible affair with socialite Rachel Uchitel.

"It was here that Woods should have come out with the truth to the public. If the rumours about the affairs weren't true, he should have made reference saying so. If it was, he should have stood up and apologised for it early on, and in an open fashion. This way, the media would not have been so suspicious and the furore wouldn't have built to such a level," says Lundberg.

Woods withdrew from his charity tournament on Monday. Discussions around the incident began to focus on how one of America's most clean-cut athletes would deal with the brands he represented.

"It is very important for a client who represents so many brands and labels to immediately meet the heads of those companies to assure them of the situation, and moreover to be very honest so everyone knows where they stand. We advise our clients that it is always best to just tell the truth from the beginning, otherwise, as is the case with Tiger, it will come back to haunt the individual," Lundberg added.

Wednesday and Thursday saw the worst of the revelations for Woods, with three alleged separate affairs alleged. On Wednesday night, Woods released a statement saying he "regretted his transgressions" but didn't openly admit to cheating on his wife.

Lindsay Holmes who runs a PR business in Dublin says Woods has been inconsistent in how he has dealt with the public and media, and still has not been completely honest.

"Consistency is important. Tiger has been completely changeable and this is not the most successful way to handle this. When he released his statement admitting to the affairs, it was because he had no choice any more after media interest and world interest grew and grew. If he had done something sooner, the media impact would have been so much less," said Holmes.

She also says Woods has underestimated the media.

"The crux of the issue is that he under-estimated the press, and their ability to dig for a story. The press aren't stupid, and perhaps Tiger has been a little bit arrogant in that way. My advice to any of my celebrity clients who are in need of crisis management would always be not to underestimate the opposition, and in this case, the opposition is the press," she said.

"It should have been kept in mind that the internet has revolutionised the media. In the blink of an eye, the scandal was up all over the internet and papers around the world and that is why knowing how to deal with media and public is more important now than ever before," added Holmes.

Both Holmes and Lundberg say that all "other skeletons in the closet" must now come out, along with a full and honest statement before Woods can begin to recover.