The talking heads in the sports world are active again following the latest Tiger Woods saga. Tiger barely started his latest tournament and then decided to withdraw from play with an injury. He claimed his back started to hurt again and mentioned that he was having back muscle spasms. The last tournament he shot a round of 82, 10 strokes over par, the worst round in his professional career. Tiger has now become an average golfer, no longer a superstar at golf.
Tiger Woods has probably lost his edge on two fronts, his physical skill at the game and his mental focus. The physical edge is understandable. He has had low back pain, knee problems and surgery. As an athlete, he always pushed himself to the extreme in his training. With the known injuries and the wear and tear of heavy workouts, it is likely that he has multiple regions of degeneration throughout his body. I would expect that he has multiple levels of degeneration in his spine and would not be surprised if he also had more knee issues and shoulder problems that he is not talking about. All these areas of the body are prone to degeneration and injury especially as a professional athlete.
A small amount of degeneration, possibly in one area of the body, may easily be overcome. However as we all age, especially athletes, and Tiger is now 39, the body has diffuse degeneration. 150 years ago, old age started around age 40, and it was common for people to die before 50. The body has been built structurally to only last this long, but modern medicine has allowed us to survive much longer. Tiger is now an old man. He is definitely past his physical peak of performance, and to expect him to dominate the younger competition is unrealistic. The ability to make the body work absolutely perfectly to be the best is almost impossible if the parts are not functioning correctly, and his back and knees are definitely damaged goods.
Mental Factor
Golf is not only a physical game, it is a mental challenge to concentrate and get the body to function correctly. It also is a challenge to ignore the pressure to perform and not be disturbed by all the surrounding distractions. Mentally, with a bit of pain from his back or his knees, the ability to concentrate is broken. When you add in other mental distractions like family issues, media attention and the eyes of everyone on the course, Tiger has more than his fair share of mental obstacles to overcome.
Tiger Woods has been a great golfer. He is the ultimate competitor, which has helped him get to the top of his game, but it may also be his downfall. He needs to take time off and get his body right. This could include surgery and would definitely include rest and physical therapy. The problem is that he’s so intent on playing in major tournaments (and preparing for those tournaments with smaller events) that is doesn’t seem like he’ll ever give his body enough time to heal as fully as possible. He’s withdrawn from seven of his last nine tournaments, which is unheard of in this day and age. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Tiger keeps pushing his body without letting it heal, and he continues to think he can make it through 72 holes, but in the end he usually withdraws. Why should we expect the cycle to change without intervention? We all suspect Tiger will play in the Masters, but he’s much more likely to miss the cut or withdraw mid-tournament than to bring home the Green Jacket.