Tiger Woods: What's Next for His Short Game and His 2015 Schedule

In the next two months, Tiger Woods has some work to do on his game—particularly his short game.

In terms of his calendar for the next few months, he said, "It's a pretty full schedule." That doesn't necessarily mean "full" of golf.

Woods has other obligations, such as the ribbon-cutting for his golf course design at Diamante in Mexico slated for this upcoming week. The developer's website says it will open December 16.

There, Woods commented on the golf course:

"

I set up the golf strategy to make golfers think and make choices. Regardless of your handicap, there are going to be different ways to play every hole. Angles of approach are going to be very important and will dictate the type of shots you should consider. I love this kind of golf.

"

After Diamante opens, expect Woods to be working with sponsors and hopefully spending a lot of time in his back yard on what used to be the most amazing short game this side of Tom Watson.  

"I'll probably practice, maybe for the next week, and then I'll shut it down for the holidays and then get back up and do it," he said after the Hero World Challenge, which ended on December 7. "I like what I'm doing right now.  I just want to reinforce it before I take my break. Obviously there are some things that I can do with my short game that I definitely can work on."

He knows he needs the work, because short-game problems plagued him in his only tournament since August.

"My chipping is off. My putting is just a touch off," he said. "I got to get used to a different release pattern, a different release point."

While he believes it's a matter of practicing the release, he also said it was the grass.

"I just hadn't faced grain this thick around the greens. My short game area is very tight, and those shots I felt pretty comfortable. When it got a little stickier, longer grass, I hit terrible chips," he noted.

Others also had issues with chipping at Isleworth. No one expects a poor performance from Woods, but there's more to it than it seems to the non-pro.

"If I put my backswing in the same position that I used to have it in and then make this new—with this release pattern, I'm going to hit fat every time," he explained.

He believes it is the shorter yardages that are his current trouble spot. He said the critical distance is inside 40 yards.

"Anything inside of that, I got to get used to a new release pattern."

As far as the rest of his game, he believes he is on target for a good calendar-year 2015.

"I hadn't played in four months, and I'm in absolutely no pain, which is nice," he reiterated about his physical condition. "To be able to go out on some of these drives like I did this week really reinforces that what I'm doing is the right thing for my body. I've got my speed back now."

The most critical thing, however, was that Woods was able to hit the ball without flinching, worrying or feeling pain.  

That said, if he were to need any kind of break for treatment for any reason in 2015, he would still have a place to play.

As the all-time money leader in the history of the PGA Tour with 79 victories, he's exempt eight ways to Sunday. Those with 20 career victories get a lifetime exemption. He has that almost four times over. Woods passed 20 wins in 2000. So as long as he's physically able to hit the golf ball, he can tee it up.

Where will we see Woods next? It may depend on whether he plans any playing trips to the Middle East, where he has a new design contract at AKOYA Oxygen resort in Dubai. The course is set to open in 2017, but that still gives him ample time to come and go and get the course completed.

He does not necessarily have to be in the desert this winter. However, there are three tournaments in that part of the world in January and early February, even though one of them has said it will not pay an appearance fee for him to participate.

As far as Woods' U.S. schedule, don't expect to see him until February. His next golf tournament is likely to be the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego.

As the weeks progress, look for the hype to begin to see if Woods can capture his ninth pro victory at Torrey Pines, eight of them in the Farmers Insurance Open. The ninth, of course, was his last major, the 2008 U.S. Open.

Kathy Bissell is a Golf Writer for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand or from official interview materials from the USGA, PGA Tour, R&A or PGA of America.