What becomes of Tiger Woods and I??

The ever revolving, evolving world of Tiger Woods, love him, hate him or be indifferent, the guy is intriguing.  No human is perfect and Tiger has definitely proven that.  The intent of this blog, will Tiger be the Tiger of old in his golf game?  Does Tiger have any magic left?  What do he, I and the 80's Gen X'ers have in common?  Bad backs.

I will say we haven't seen the last of Tiger on the top of the leaderboard.  We will not see it near as much or often. 

Obstacles

1) Age and injury-  Plain and simple Tiger Woods fights the same father time we all do, the ferocity of his swing has taken it's toll on his back, knees and joints.  More specifically his inter vertebral back discs where he required two microdiscectomies (back surgery) and degenerative disc disease (DDD).  Having the pleasure of DDD I will find extremely hard for Tiger to gain consistency with such an injury.  The nerve pain and muscle spasm that comes with such an ailment are hard too stave off on a steady basis.   This will in turn effect his practice time and the volume of swings he can take.  Most pros practice an enormous amount, around 6 hours a day and up to thousands of swings per day.  

What is DDD?  In simple terms your back discs are like tires on a car, eventually they're going to wear out.  As tires and back discs age they become worn and more brittle.  When brand new, tires are pliable, forgiving to wear, soft and grip the road for a nice smooth ride.  As the tires age, they become harder, you can see cracks that form, show wear, lose more air and are greater risk for blow out.  The harder you turn, faster you drive, the quality of the tire and the mileage you put on all effect the longevity.

DDD is much the same, as we age our discs wear out.  Being a golfer, Tiger has obviously turned hard, fast and put a tremendous amount of mileage on his back.  He operated his tires/back like a NASCAR, he went hard, fast and burned bright while he lasted.  Unfortunately his tires blew out and humans can't quite yet stop in for new tires at a pit stop or tire shop.  Although medicine is becoming more advanced with stem cell therapy and artificial disc replacements,  I don't see them being perfected for another 10-20 years. 

We can repair our backs to a degree but when your disc is worn, it just can't take the stress it once used to.  For Tiger this will mean more pain, more wear and damage as the miles increase.  The reality will set in that with this condition he will be lucky to play 1-2 events per month as he progresses into his 40's and eventually may turn into 1 event every 4-6 weeks.  

30 years of hitting a baseball set this amateur athlete's back ahead about 5 years in the ageing department and my playing days are over.  As far as golfing, well I'm a regular hack and couldn't golf 3 days in a row even if I wanted to.

What he has going for him:

1) Talent- Tiger has enough talent where he will at times be able to play good golf in streaks

2) Prior practice-  Tiger has put in the years of practice so there will always be some muscle memory in his game

3)  Modern medicine-  If he is near a leaderboard, nerve pain blocks can provide temporary wonders for muscles but will come at a cost for those discs (more recovery)  Spinal degeneration is an inevitable part of aging. Although aging and degeneration cannot be avoided, there is evidence that maintaining an active lifestyle including exercise on a regular basis is very helpful in avoiding ongoing symptoms. The treatment of patients suffering from degenerative problems is carefully tailored on an individual basis. Tiger assuredly will get the best care available as his body is his financial empire.

In conclusion and reality, in my opinion, Tiger has about 7-8 years of competitive PGA golf ahead of him.  He'll play the 4 majors and probably another 6-12 events a year if he's healthy enough.  8 years x a 10 event average equals 80 tournaments.  I will say Tiger will win 5% of them so around 4 or 5 more wins.  Where and when I am not sure??  I will say the Masters at least 1 more time as it provides the most familiarity and memory for him.  As for when the magic comes back besides that, father time and fairy dust will have to determine that.  Love him, hate him or be indifferent but for sports fans like me it will be fun for the Gen Xers to pull for greatest golfer of our generation as all our backs lose air, crack and let some air out.

UPDATE 12-2-2015 from 

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/golf-devil-ball-golf/tiger-woods-says-there-is--no-timetable--for-his-return-195044021-golf.html

Tiger Woods doesn't know when he'll be able to return to professional golf. Speaking Tuesday at his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, Woods couldn't offer a timeline for his recovery from a pair of back surgeries this fall. "I have no answer to that, and neither do my surgeon or physios," Woods said with an air of dejection. "There is no timetable."

Woods underwent a second microdiscectomy procedure on his back in September, 18 months after an initial procedure on the same place in his back in March 2014. Six weeks after the September surgery in Utah, Woods has a follow-up procedure done to alleviate some complications.

The September surgery came weeks after he finished his PGA Tour season at the Wyndham Championship, coming up short in an 11th-hour bid to make the FedEx Cup playoffs. That week in Greensboro, N.C., Woods complained of hip pain. In a follow-up visit with surgeon Dr. Charles Rich, it was discovered a nerve problem in his back was the source of the pain. Woods chose surgery rather than try rest and rehabilitation alone.

Woods said the nature of the ailment frustrates him. Unlike his prior injuries and surgeries, including the many on his knees over the years, this problem doesn't have a clear timetable for recovery.  "That's the hardest part for me, is that there's really nothing I can look forward to, or build towards," he said. "It's literally just taking it day-by-day, week-by-week, time-by-time."

Woods said he has not started any kind of rehab and hasn't hit a golf ball -- a left-handed chip shot -- in two months. He said he misses golf, but is more worried about regaining the basic functionality that would let him be an active dad before concerning himself with playing golf. "I miss being able to play soccer with [my kids]," he said. He added, "I want to be a part of my kids' lives physically, not as a cheerleader."

The tone in Woods' voice invited questions of different kinds insinuating his playing days might be over sooner than later -- an almost unprecedented notion in a sport where its legends have to be practically dragged off the stage. However, Woods has clearly considered the possibility of the end, and he seems at peace with the prospect of never adding to his incredible resume, including 79 PGA Tour wins and 14 major titles.

"I've passed Jack on the all-time win list," Woods said. "I'm just shy of Sam. I passed Sam basically a decade ago in major championships. I'm still shy of Jack's. I've had a pretty good career in my 20s and 30s. In my 20 years, I've accomplished a lot. "If that's all that entails, then it's been a pretty good run."