“Learning a New Body”: Tiger Woods Still Has a Steep Hill Left to Climb Despite the Horrors of Augusta Being “Absolutely Gone”

Tiger Woods feels he is relearning his body. Not something you would expect to hear from a jacked-up 47-year-old golfer. Certainly, not a 15x Major winner. But that’s how it is. The veteran golfer limped out of the Masters in April, courtesy of a niggling ankle injury that eventually fell the 6’, 185 lbs giant. 

His body has undergone many “arthritic changes” since then and Woods has to learn to ‘swing’ that fits his body now. Unbelievable as it may sound, surgeries have removed the pain, but have left some indelible marks on his game. The veteran golfer has to adapt to the new realities accepting the limitations.  

An uphill task for Tiger Woods

How is Tiger Woods adapting to the game post-surgery? Speaking at the Another Golf Podcast, the 15x Major winner admitted he had some limitations. His ankle is “semi-frozen.” So, he truly has limited mobilities even now, as he said in the 2022 Masters. As a result, his swing “doesn’t go quite as far.”

But Woods is no stranger to major body changes. His lower back fusion has taught him a crucial lesson. The pain from the main area goes away, but the surrounding areas have to bear the brunt of that. “(T)he surrounding areas that have to make up for the range of motion, those get more sore, it’s just, this is no different. It’s moving up the chain, I’m getting a bit more sore up the chain.

However, the former World No.1 is not back at square one, but the hard graft is learning his body movements once again. The veteran golfer had to make some modifications to his game. His swing will go through some major changes. On top of that, he can’t twist as he used to earlier. “Now I’ve had to make some adaptations in my golf swing, trying to figure it out.”

For Woods, this is a process of relearning his body. Figuring out what works best for the movements. “It’s like learning a new body just like I did in 17, when I came back from a fusion, trying to learn a new swing and a new body what my limitations are.” But compared to the pain he felt at Augusta, this is a major improvement.

April was the cruelest month for Woods

Augusta was a hallowed ground for Tiger Woods. Five Masters victory has been written there. Moreover, Augusta is where Woods made his fitting return to glory. But this year, it was nothing short of a living nightmare. He was struggling “bone on bone.” The 47-year-old recounts what transpired in April “It was my ankle pretty sore. The weather was not helpful. But then what I was struggling with was bone on bone.” 

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Woods resisted surgery as long as he could. But in the end, he had to give up. The 47-year-old had his ankle fused to stop the pain. He had to have “metal put in there, so it’s perfectly fused, it doesn’t move.” The pain is gone. But the hard task at hand is Tiger Woods has to find out the best possible way to revert to his A-game with multiple hurdles blocking his way. “As I get more comfortable and understanding (sic) what my limitations are, and what my max point is, then I’ll start starting a little bit better.” Even though Woods is back on the golf course, it appears there is a long journey ahead for the 82-time PGA Tour champion to regain his glorious form.

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