Tiger Woods' Recovery Will Be More Difficult Than Most Believe

During a conference call about his Chevron World Challenge, which is scheduled to take place in December, Tiger Woods told the press that he still could not hit a golf ball and would be unable to do so until early January. 

Woods also went on to explain how it will likely take two years for his knee to fully heal, a statement that reflects those of other athletes such as Ernie Els, who have undergone similar reconstructive ACL surgery. 

Only days removed from the Tour Championship, which marks the end of the season for much of the PGA Tour, fans, writers, television network executives and most of all, the PGA Tour is anxiously looking forward to next season.

In Tiger Woods’ absence, we have seen the emergence of several young superstars such as Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas, who many believe could finally present Tiger with a legitimate challenge upon his return. 

Golf fans are first and foremost looking forward to just seeing Woods back on the golf course, but many are also looking forward to seeing Woods face off against his newfound competition.

Fans have trouble sleeping at night and zone out at work just pondering the thought of a Woods-Kim showdown on Sunday at the Masters. 

But, the fact of the matter is that we will likely have to wait until the 2010 season to see the Tiger Woods we have become accustomed to seeing over the past decade. 

Sure, Tiger Woods can begin hitting golf balls in just a few months, but that is only the first step in a very long recovery process.

First of all, Woods will have to get over the mental stress that every athlete deals with while recovering from a major injury.  That mental stress will involve Woods regaining the confidence to put a full range of stress on his recently repaired knee. 

Tiger has been sitting around watching the PGA Tour go on without him.  He has watched Padraig Harrington win two majors, the Americans regain the Ryder Cup for the first time in nearly a decade, and Vijay Singh run away with the FedEx Cup title. 

For a competitor of Woods’ nature, watching all of this go on while being physically unable to participate would have been a form of torture he would never like to experience again. 

For that reason, it will take Tiger some time to develop the confidence to go back and swing the club in a way that puts a full range of force on the knee that caused him to have to sit out and watch two majors and half of the season pass him by. 

Once Tiger develops the confidence to attack the ball as he did prior to his surgery, he will then have to undergo a complete revamp of his swing; a swing that played a major role in his injury. 

Tiger Woods swings with club head speeds of up to 130 mph.  Club head speed of this magnitude generates a tremendous amount of force going through the impact zone, which is why Tiger is one of the longest hitters on tour.

But, immediately following impact, this tremendous force is transferred over to Tiger’s left leg and his surgically repaired knee. 

This basic motion is common in most golf swings, but it is even more prevalent in Woods swing. He has developed a swing with a lightning-fast hip rotation combined with a complete locking of his left leg.  The way Woods’ left knee locks and absorbs 130 mph of force has played a major role in the damage he has sustained. 

If Woods wants to continue playing golf at a high level for the next 10-15 years, he will undoubtedly need to modify his swing to reduce the amount of pressure on that left knee.   

Even for the best player on the planet, a complete revamp of one’s golf swing will take some time to perfect.  The last time Woods modified his swing back in 2002, it took him two to three years to fully adjust.

Woods’ adjustment to his swing back in 2002 would have been pale in comparison to the modifications he will now need to make to take some of the pressure off of his knee.

The inconstancy that inevitably comes with a major swing change could outlast even the pain Woods will continue to experience for some time upon his return to the tour.

Tiger Woods’ intensive workout and practice regime has been widely publicized.  We have heard about his 7-mile runs, his rigorous early morning workouts and his 10-hour-a-day practice sessions.  This is how Woods has prepared for golf tournaments for the past ten years and how he has molded himself into arguably the most dominant player to have ever picked up a golf club. 

Woods’ well-known practice routines have transformed the game of golf.  Whereas golfers and the weight room used to be as common as a Wall Street Executive parting ways with his umbrella package for the good of the company, now a day most players undertake some form of a physical fitness program. 

Woods has also transformed the way players approach their standard practice routines.  Players used to spend their downtime relaxing and hanging out with their families while spending a couple of hours here and there on the range or putting green. 

Since Tiger’s long practice routines have become well-known, the rest of the PGA Tour have also begun to undertake far more rigorous practice routines to enable them to at least have a chance at competing with Woods. 

Tigers’ next challenge will be his inability to undertake the same rigorous workout and practice routine that has molded him into the best player in the world.

How will that affect Woods' performance? 

No one knows. 

You see, over the next year, Woods will not only still be recovering from his reconstructive knee surgery, he will also be adjusting to a major swing change and a complete transformation of a routine he has relied upon to prepare himself for tournament play for the past decade. 

If you believe that Woods is going to come back early next year and be the exact same dominant player we have seen over the past 12 years, you are probably dreaming a little too large.  

Will Woods return to his pre-surgery form? 

Most doctors agree that after his knee has been given sufficient time to heal, that it will not in any way affect his ability to play golf. 

It would be a big surprise, not to mention one of sport's greatest tragedies, if Woods is for some reason unable to fully recover from this injury and return to his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major victories. 

Will Woods come back and immediately return to his pre-surgery form in 2009? 

The logical answer to that question is "No," but, if we have learned anything over the past 12 years and particularly this past July at Torrey Pines, it is never wise to bet against Tiger Woods.