Capelle On Golf

Tiger Woods announced on his web site Tuesday that he won’t be swinging a golf club until 2009.

“As far as swinging a club, that’s not going to happen until next year,” Woods said in his monthly newsletter on Tuesday. “I just don’t have a choice.”

For once, it seems, Tiger is going to err on the side of caution, a decision both he and golf would have benefited from if he’d made it last summer when doctors recommended surgery. But the past is past, and Tiger must now deal with a new set of challenges if he is to resume his place at the top of the golf world.

His first challenge is to stay patient during his recovery – and evidently Tiger’s meeting that one quite nicely. According to Tiger, “I could putt right now but I’m not going to do it.” If he won’t even partake in a low or no stress activity like putting, you know he’s taking the recovery process seriously.

After undergoing his third surgery on his left knee two days after the Masters, Tiger spent about five weeks in rehab before engaging in extremely limited preparations for the US Open. He then played five full rounds at the US Open before hanging up the clubs again. So, let’s say if Tiger returns in mid January, he essentially will be coming off a nine month layoff. This means his swing will be caked in several layers of rust.

A mid January return will give Tiger only three months to get his swing and rebuilt knee ready for the Masters. Now we’ve seen Tiger do some amazing things, like winning the Open with a bum leg. But this time expect him to proceed with caution. And don’t be surprised if he delays his return a time or two as he waits until he’s absolutely sure his knee is up to lashing 330 yard drives and hacking the ball out of the deep stuff.

Hank Haney, Tiger’s head cheerleader and spin doctor, said in the September issue of Golf Digest that he expects Tiger to be better than ever.

“With a good leg to hit against, he’ll be able to move his weight forward toward the target. That’s more power and more accuracy.”

Maybe so, but history argues that getting to this point will exceed Haney and other’s improbably optimistic forecasts. After beginning to change his swing in March 2004, it took Woods another year to get to where he could trust Ranger Rick on the course. That was when he wasn’t worried about his knee destructing.

This time Tiger is fully aware of what’s at stake. If he injures his knee again, that could cost him another season – or worse. As a result, getting to where he can trust his swing is going to take time. If he’s on the fast track of a slow process, he might be ready to go full bore by the Masters. But let’s remember that it took Ernie Els far longer to regain trust in his knee after injuring it in 2005. So 2009 could be a rebuilding year as Tiger slowly but surely works his way back towards contending in the majors.

If 2009 mirrors 2004, then potential Tiger beaters Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson and others as yet to be named will have another four majors to strengthen their minds for the eventual return of the real Tiger Woods.