A new spin on Tiger....

[Chas]

That Tiger looks like he is that kid, fumbling around and pleading for help and sympathy from an adult.

Sorry but to me he just looks like the world's greatest golfer who right now is failing himself miserably. He said it all after his debacle last Sunday when he ended some remark or other with, "

and I'm supposed to be a zero handicap .... ". I don't buy the notion that he's doing it for sympathy, consciously or subconsciously. On the contrary, you could argue his present state gives pleasure to his harshest critics (the "bad karma" school ....) rather than engendering sympathy - not something that Tiger would want to see happen. No, he is suffering mentally under the enormous weight of what he has done and what he has lost and it is affecting his ability to concentrate on the track. Not at all surprising, especially given the extraordinary precision required of the game of golf played at his level, which I admit I find difficult to conceive. His mind right now is not in a place where he could even contemplate hitting out of a greenside bunker with backspin to hold a few feet beyond the hole on a fast, downsloping green with a pond lurking at the other side. That sort of vintage Tiger play isn't gonna happen again for a while I suspect, but I just don't see him losing that kind of amazing ability permanently. And this is no fan-boy saying that.

[iacas]

His mind right now is not in a place where he could even contemplate hitting out of a greenside bunker with backspin to hold a few feet beyond the hole on a fast, downsloping green with a pond lurking at the other side.

You do realize he's the only American to finish in the top 25 in all three majors, finished fairly high in two of them, just shot a round of 71 today, and had ONE bad tournament... right? I think you're over-reacting to his Bridgestone appearance.

[Chas]

Very true, and I am one of those predicting that he'll make it all the way back, not that he's lost it for good. To me it's a question of how long it takes to shake off what's happening off the track, very hard to predict IMO. My point was that winning in golf is probably more redemptive to him than an experience like Bridgestone.

[McGolf-Doggie]

Having had a major neck injury, recovery, and then flare ups and and ongoing problems with it, it's pretty simple to understand how it could be affecting his play:
-- aside from the pain, if it's C5 C6, you can also be dealing with muscle spasms in the neck, shoulder, arms, forearms,
other issues with muscles being in a continuous state of tension and irritation, numbness, burning feelings in parts of the triceps, biceps, fingers, all kinds of stuff. It can be near debilitating, depending on the severity.

If you have it bad in the cervical discs, it's almost nightmarish, and sleep can quickly become a rare and scattered commodity.

The worst part of it for a golfer is that your swing is no longer "free" as much (if at all, depending), there are now built in hitches to work around. Oxycodone didn't even work for me at one point. I never went on gabapentin, but did electrical acupuncture from a well-respected Chinese expert for 12 months. During which time my sole exercise was walking the dog and later, swimming.

I hope his isn't as serious. Because if it is, it can be a semi-permanent thing.

I am still dealing with it on and off, and have to take, days, weeks off golf here and there when it flares up.

Some get lucky with surgery, some get no relief. Electric acupuncture and/or time can help -- and we're talking 9 to 12 months to get 95 % recovered no guarantees.

Golf is one sport that gets my neck aggravated fairly easily because of the torque in the swing and the rotation around the spine axis while keeping the head somewhat still. Cycling, surfing, too get me -- most of my favorite things.

Most likely, I'd guess, he's not saying much about it. I wonder where Fred Couples would be in the game if his back wasn't so bad. Vijay has had his issues, too.

[Ole_Tom_Morris]

Having had a major neck injury, recovery, and then flare ups and and ongoing problems with it, it's pretty simple to understand how it could be affecting his play:

Which brings up an important question: Is practicing too much bad for you? I mean, those players on the tour who had a rep for practicing endlessly--are they doing their careers a disservice in the long run? I think Vijay practiced too much and wore out his body. Maybe Tiger has done the same. Hogan had the rep of practicing more than anyone else in his day, and he had to have shoulder surgery for calcium deposits that might have been related to his practicing instead of the collision.

In the old days, most golfers and even top golfers didn't practice much if any--or claimed they didn't, anyway. The long drive guys (and gals) who spend hours and hours at the driving range really tear themselves up; a long drive event is like visiting the walking wounded behind the lines in WWII. All bandages and back braces and pain-killers. Half the weight of the golf bags are meds. I've had two problems arising from the golf swing. One time a few years ago I was swinging really hard with a 50" driver and lost feeling in one leg for a couple of weeks. Two months ago I was swinging a lot and lost some sensation in the outer part of my left foot near the toes; likely a lumbar nerve impingement. I think we all need to ration our practicing. Practice smarter, not more.

[newtogolf]

I think we all need to ration our practicing. Practice smarter, not more.

Overall you have to be in tune with your body and listen to it when it talks to you. If your body is feeling worn and overtrained it's smart to take a break or it will eventually break down and force you to take one.

As a long distance runner I'm always adjusting my workouts to how my body feels and apply the same principles to my golf practice.