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How was Tiger Woods able to play golf for a year?
sciam.com — Tiger Woods revealed last week that he'd been playing golf on a bum left knee for nearly a year. And he hadn't been doing badly: Recently, he finished second at the Master's and won the U.S. Open after forcing a playoff last week.
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- OC73, on 06/28/2008, -28/+100It's golf, not ice hockey.
- Iztikeit, on 06/28/2008, -10/+17You've obviously never played through 18+ holes, let alone on a bad leg.
You do know the proper swing puts lots of pressure on your knees, right?- thatsmyaibo, on 06/28/2008, -18/+9You hit the ball and get driven to the next hole...I play ice hockey with 2 bad knees 2 times a week. The only reason I haven't got surgery yet is because I don't want it to interfere with playing.
- pmac23, on 06/28/2008, -2/+29Nope, in the pros, there is no driving around on the course.
Please have the surgery before you hurt your knees more. - mal1964, on 06/28/2008, -1/+3Most hockey players are great golfers, Swinging a golf club and shooting a puck use many of the same motor skills.
- halbanero, on 06/28/2008, -2/+1thatsmyalbo, unless you get paid to play you are one dumb sob.
- McFaggot, on 06/29/2008, -2/+3You've obviously never played hockey if you think 18 holes of golf is harder on you!
- Rhysaff, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2There is a reason it is the most popular sport of retirees and senior citizens :)
- Iztikeit, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0I never said it wasn't particularly difficult under normal circumstances. Tiger Woods had a bum leg and was forced to walk several miles over a few days.
Who said hockey was harder on anyone? No one. Senior citizens use transportation and don't usually play entire tournaments on bad knees.
- mjbk24, on 06/28/2008, -6/+7Right, you obviously don't play, so keep your mouth shut about something you don't know.
- OC73, on 06/29/2008, -0/+4Play both regularly. Lots of guys who play hockey also play golf. The way you swing through the ball is very similar to the way you step into a shot.
- McFaggot, on 06/29/2008, -1/+3OC73 is right, people who play hockey often play golf and first hand golf is not harder on your body than friggin hockey! Come on now...
- TheR3dMenace, on 06/28/2008, -3/+3Its hockey, not "ice hockey"
- deathsquadx, on 06/29/2008, -0/+4He just wants to make sure people don't think he's referring to roller hockey. Which is extremely easy on the knees.
- dan222555, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2Shame on him for playing a sport where you can actually make money.
- wTheOnew, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3He won on a broken leg. I want to see you do much of anything let alone do one of the most back on knee stressing activities in the world let alone at the level he does it at.
- Iztikeit, on 06/28/2008, -10/+17You've obviously never played through 18+ holes, let alone on a bad leg.
- theman8631, on 06/28/2008, -2/+12Tiger Woods is a golf demon.
- Garlik, on 06/28/2008, -7/+8And I'm bored, digg me up, PLEASE
and here's a word of caution: don't feed trolls - mal1964, on 06/28/2008, -1/+3After watching all the amazing shots he made at the open, And others that are too many to count over the years i am convinced he made a deal with the devil.
s/
- Garlik, on 06/28/2008, -7/+8And I'm bored, digg me up, PLEASE
- Xihix, on 06/28/2008, -20/+6It's a game where you stand, move your hand back, swing, and walk to where the ball you hit landed. Not much a physical sport, but I still have respect for Woods for doing what he did.
- buddysystem, on 06/28/2008, -1/+8Yeah, but the contortion required to get a good swing is taxing on the body. It's like any repeated stress injury, but one that affects the entire frame.
- Tyrghast, on 06/28/2008, -0/+27Have you seen Tiger's swing? His left leg stays completely still while his entire body turns into the swing. His uniquely perfect swing is one of the things he's known for, and the amount of torque he puts on that knee is unreal considering the number of years he's been golfing like that.
No it's not as physically demanding as say, football or soccer, but it requires a great deal more skill.- wTheOnew, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1It's been proven that golfers exert more stress on their body then professional linebackers.
- merlinxlr, on 06/28/2008, -0/+8"Obviously, you're not golfer"
- mjbk24, on 06/28/2008, -1/+6Have you ever played 72 holes in a weekend?, or 92 holes like tiger did on a torn acl and two stress fractures to win the hardest tournament in the sport? Do that and tell me it's not a athletic sport.
- senatorpjt, on 06/28/2008, -2/+3I have, but not with a ***** up knee. It's only athletic if you play it while injured. I'm not saying golf isn't a sport or doesn't take a lot of skill - it probably takes a lot more than almost any other sport - but when there are plenty of 80 year old men who can take most 25 year olds to town, it's not "athletic". I'm of course thinking of "athletic" as describing some requirement for strength/physical endurance. Golf is more like competition target shooting etc. (also something I enjoy).
- wTheOnew, on 06/29/2008, -0/+191 holes but other then that you're right on.
- dan222555, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2Try swinging a golf club at ~130mph and then tell me it's not physical.
- JamesMatt, on 06/28/2008, -8/+5Its all about the money!!
- Ninjao, on 06/28/2008, -0/+2...its all about the dum dum da da di dum
- RandoTheKing, on 06/28/2008, -0/+9It'd be a different story if he tried bowling.
- merlinxlr, on 06/28/2008, -0/+6Steve Williams is a lucky bastard.
- slifty, on 06/28/2008, -14/+3Seriously, golf is so boring. Most people can only take it for a week at most.
- Khast, on 06/28/2008, -1/+5I work at a Golf course. I agree, watching Golf on TV is mind numbingly boring. It is a little more fun to watch it in person. Personally, some of our regulars are pretty good, and I enjoy watching them have fun.
- mjbk24, on 06/28/2008, -1/+2Which is probably why you quit, because you suck and can't play for more than a week...
- dan222555, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1I've met few people who made an honest attempt at playing golf and didn't enjoy it. So you couldn't be more wrong. Most people who take up golf end up playing it for the rest of their life.
- slifty, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1Hehehe I poked a virtual bees' nest:D
- statix, on 06/28/2008, -15/+3because he's black?
/s - SouljaBoyGoDie, on 06/28/2008, -8/+1Tiger Woods is to golf as Michael Jordan is to basketball.
No one can stop them, not even this guy.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5jEb7F5o_AY - iammzac, on 06/28/2008, -0/+14Because it's tiger tiger woods ya'll.
- SoulSk8er74, on 06/28/2008, -3/+2Didn't you see the Gatorade commercial? When you drink Tiger's drink, you can do anything you want!
- choopie911, on 06/28/2008, -9/+10Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it's golf.
- dienaked, on 06/28/2008, -11/+2Q-"How was Tiger Woods able to play golf for a year?"
A-The same way NFL players play into their 40's: HGH and steroids.- curiousgrge, on 06/28/2008, -1/+2If you think that, you're on something yourself. Tiger Woods was one of the more outspoken people about testing players for drugs.
- gwhardyiv, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2I don't know why this comment is getting buried. All the signs are there - oversized melon, spontaneous and inappropriate yawps of bloodthirsty aggression, brittle bones (he has a stress fracture in his tibia from long seasons on the bone-jarring PGA Tour), superhuman ability to play despite injury... I know people look up to him, and I know he speaks out about doping. So does Barry Bonds. But come on, people. The guy is taking something. Maybe not steroids, maybe not HGH, but some performance enhancing drug.
- mjbk24, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1The stress fractures were from his rehab after the surgery in april. He doesn't have an oversized head. Theres nothing going on there. Just one of the hardest working athletes of our time.
- chapoec, on 06/28/2008, -8/+1Everyone knows golf is a sport for fat lazy old guys. And I am being nice by even calling it a sport. Come one its golf. You just swing at the ball.
- mjbk24, on 06/28/2008, -0/+3You have no idea.
- JulyZerg, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1Sounds like you're talking about Baseball... "you just swing at a ball"
Golf > Baseball
- greenroom628, on 06/28/2008, -0/+7i dunno, man. i've seen him play before and watching him swing is pretty fricking amazing. all the pros look cool when they swing, but when tiger does it, he blows them all out of the water.
- mecharabbit, on 06/28/2008, -1/+52That's nothing. In every round of golf I've played, I've had to deal with a debilitating case of suckiness.
- vsujohn2, on 06/28/2008, -0/+9That must really do a number on your balls
- mecharabbit, on 06/28/2008, -0/+14Yes, I have to wash them after every few strokes.
- vsujohn2, on 06/28/2008, -0/+9That must really do a number on your balls
- mal1964, on 06/28/2008, -0/+4It didn't bother him until after he made contact with the ball, And yes it was almost a year but maybe 10 tournament. And the most important factor, Just look at the guy he's an amazing athlete he probably can do many things good.
- pdx2bdl2rep, on 06/28/2008, -5/+1its the meniscus, that whitish cartilage; i got this injury 8 months ago, it sucks but it shouldnt affect a golf player, try playing some soccer, you can't
- mjbk24, on 06/28/2008, -0/+1It was a torn acl and two stress fractures which also affected the cartilage. Not just damage to the meniscus.
- Canadaa, on 06/28/2008, -5/+4in my opinion he's the most impressive athlete of our generation - i mean coming in first in 10 of the last 13 tournaments? (with a bad knee) that says something
- supermanly, on 06/28/2008, -6/+1Yea but he's still a tool.
Fist pumping (not very sportsmanlike)
Hating on another sport (he has no place to do so)
http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008/06/03/tiger-wo ...
He may be successful but real athletes have character.- dezholling, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2So because he doesn't like hockey and states an understandable hyperbole about its lack of viewers (which thousands of Americans have done before), and because he gets excited about good shots he makes, he's a tool?
Seriously, shallow judgment IMO. Please look up more news articles about him and see how he is loved among his fellow golfers, how he donates countless millions to his own and other charities, and how when he does have spare time (like he does now on injury break) he spends most of it with his new kid. Don't just throw out some random article about his lack of interest in hockey. I'm sure there are sports you don't give a damn about as well.
Fyi, most other golfers get quite animated with good shots as well (see: Woody Allen). Are they tools? Seriously, it's part of the golf culture today. Since it is an individual sport for the most part, most golfers cheer on the others (with the possible exception of the final round, final pairing).
And no, I don't give a damn about hockey either. Blame it on me being American I guess, just never been around friends who cared either.
- dezholling, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2So because he doesn't like hockey and states an understandable hyperbole about its lack of viewers (which thousands of Americans have done before), and because he gets excited about good shots he makes, he's a tool?
- Zervas, on 06/28/2008, -2/+1winning at pinball, donkey kong, bowling, etc, are all impressive. They require hand-eye coordination and other physical skills but they aren't sports. I would think the most impressive 'athlete' of our generation should be involved in some form of sport. You can be an athlete and play donkey kong, but your skills in donkey kong don't prove you are a good athlete.
- mjbk24, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0Are you really trying to compare donkey kong and pinball to golf? Seriously? You must have never played golf.
- supermanly, on 06/28/2008, -6/+1Yea but he's still a tool.
- thedogfatherx, on 06/28/2008, -0/+24By eating stem cells from dead babies.
- Nayson, on 06/28/2008, -4/+3Did Woods win the U.S. Open on one leg because he is so good, or because everybody else is so average?
- bretto, on 06/29/2008, -1/+1Actually there are some of the most skilled golfers to ever play playing now. Tiger is playing against tougher fields than anyone before him.
- Nayson, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1Tougher fields than the ones which contained Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player?
- Loopholes, on 06/28/2008, -6/+4Just a guess, but maybe he hits the ball with a club, and not his knee?
- Ex3poo, on 06/28/2008, -10/+2How do you get a bum knee,from playing golf?
- slaystench, on 06/28/2008, -0/+3By swinging as hard as ***** like he does?
- blackinthmiddle, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1And from running, which was mentioned in the article.
- bretto, on 06/29/2008, -0/+2You try twisting and straightening your leg at the speeds he does hundreds of times a day every day since you were 2 and see how it makes your knee feel. It's not any different than a pitcher tearing something in their arm from throwing a lot.
- slaystench, on 06/28/2008, -0/+3By swinging as hard as ***** like he does?
- b04155, on 06/28/2008, -7/+5I love golf. The concentration and muscle-memory required to consistently play well, not to mention reading the greens, hidden traps, etc. I also enjoy it for the open areas and greenery. When I do play I can get pretty competitive with my opponents if we're in the same skill range; having said that golf IS NOT a sport.
You can get sore muscles from playing golf the same way you can get sore muscles from hedge-clipping your yard for 4-5 hours. Competitive, yes. Skillful, yes. Sport, no.- staeiou, on 06/28/2008, -1/+4From the American Heritage Dictionary: Sport, noun, An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.
Golf is a sport, bowling is a sport, hunting is a sport (when you're doing it competitively), and so on. Competitive hedge clipping can even be a sport, if there were rules, competition, moving around, and skill. Just because there isn't much physical exertion doesn't mean there isn't any. "Sore muscles" isn't a good distinction anyway - my muscles don't get sore in a single tennis match. - MasterPain, on 06/28/2008, -1/+1Nascar is not a sport !
- mjbk24, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2That argument is stupid. There is no way you can play 18 holes, and actually compete in a tournament or in a way with anything on the line, and tell me it is not a sport. That being said. If you haven't competed and played golf on a regular basis, that might be easy to say. But ask anyone who has played regularly and actually competed, and they will tell you it is a sport.
- staeiou, on 06/28/2008, -1/+4From the American Heritage Dictionary: Sport, noun, An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.
- CurlyFoot, on 06/28/2008, -0/+3I tore my ACL and half my meniscus about a year and a half ago (workers comp: that's a cluster ***** and a half) and it hurt like a bitch for the first month, but now I can't tell the good knee from the bad. So, I could see how he has put it off for this long.
- 1234qwer, on 06/28/2008, -8/+0Article lamed, and so is Tiger Woods..
- Zervas, on 06/28/2008, -8/+3because it's golf
- visitmyblogplz, on 06/28/2008, -3/+2pain killers
- utexas112, on 06/28/2008, -2/+1How? Because it doesn't hurt that much.
I've had two knee surgeries, much like Tiger will. The first was to repair torn meniscus, or cartilage. By repair, I mean they scrape the damaged part out and leave you be. This is a arthroscopic surgery, so the recovery is really quick. I believe this was what Tiger was recovering from.
I went on to fully tear my ACL in the same knee while playing racquetball. I heard a pop, my knee "buckled" and I hit the floor. It was swollen and tender, but there was really not much pain other than that. I saw a doctor, determined it was torn, and planned to have reconstructive surgery when it was convenient, around 6 months later. In the meanwhile, I played racquetball, jogged, and even went skiing (albeit wearing a brace to prevent further cartilage damage). There is little to no pain from having a torn ACL. The only thing you have to watch out for is your knee "popping out" of place and damaging cartilage.
Don't get me wrong, Tiger is a bada**, but he probably wasn't in much pain.- dan222555, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1And where in your wonderful story did you go out and swing a golf club at ~130mph repeatedly?
- sizzzzlerz, on 06/28/2008, -0/+8Tiger could blow out the other knee, have two fingers on his left hand chopped off, get rickets, and still play better golf than the rest of the tour. He's like Jordan, Gretzky, and Montana: a phenom for the ages.
- ZachE84, on 06/28/2008, -7/+5Because it's not a sport...
- mjbk24, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1An easy comment to make...
- Dean177, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0Yes it is.
- Garlik, on 06/29/2008, -2/+1This is Batman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrmPehlHK3w&feature ... - pandikukka, on 06/29/2008, -1/+0NIKE??!?
- smotpoker1, on 06/29/2008, -4/+2Wow am I suppose to be impressed? It's golf 80 year old play it.Hell you can have both legs blown off and still play a good game of golf.It's leisure sport not contact sports or extreme sports.The author of this article is a closet fan
- mjbk24, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1Right....
- bretto, on 06/29/2008, -0/+3Sounds like you've never played either...
- wTheOnew, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1You know you're right. There are actually quite a few elderly people winning on the PGA Tour.
- NeoHomer, on 06/29/2008, -3/+6That's easy. It's called 'intestinal fortitude' I.E.: Balls. A lost concept by many of our young adults.
- innocentsinner, on 06/29/2008, -0/+6intestinal fortitude is guts
testicular fortitude is balls - yagotmeseruchi, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0As is grammar.
- innocentsinner, on 06/29/2008, -0/+6intestinal fortitude is guts
- juicycutlets, on 06/29/2008, -1/+2i played hockey and snowboarded for 6 years with a torn ACL. gimme a break.
- mjbk24, on 06/29/2008, -1/+3I can't believe all you people saying golf isn't a sport and that its easy and all this bull. You have obviously never competitively played golf, and you know very little about what golf actually is. Tiger won the hardest (or one of the hardest tournaments) against the best players in the world after 92 holes with two stress fractures and a torn acl. No one can say that wasn't hard. You can't imagine the mental and physical fatigue after that much competition. If you haven't done it, you can't understand.
- Rhysaff, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0If you think Golf is a physically demanding sport then you have obviously never played any competitive sports OTHER than golf :)
I will say that golf can be physically demanding compared to walking for example, but when you compare it to almost any other sport out there, it ranks down around lawn bowling or maybe shuffleboard. Does it require great amounts of finesse, skill, and mental effort? Yes of course it does. But physical effort? Not so much..
The very fact that Tiger would play that tournament with 2 stress fractures and a torn acl when aggravating those injuries could have permanently affected his entire future career shows that he doesn't think it is too physically demanding either (whether he will admit it or not). If his future career had been in any real jeopardy, he would never have played the tournament.- mjbk24, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0In high school i ran cross country, played basketball and golf. So you have no idea what you are talking about. He was aggravating those injuries the entire time but the doctors told him there was not much further damage he could do. In essence his knee was already *****. I still maintain you have no idea what you are talking about regarding the physicality of golf. Golf uses every major muscle group in your body. I'm not comparing it to sprinting, but its no ***** walk in the park.
- Rhysaff, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0If you think Golf is a physically demanding sport then you have obviously never played any competitive sports OTHER than golf :)
- bigsteve3OOO, on 06/29/2008, -2/+0Just goes to show he can't go the distance like Nicholas
- wTheOnew, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1He on his way to blow anything Nicholas has done out of the water. Besides, Tiger is a nice guy, Nicholas is an ass.
- dpowre, on 06/29/2008, -1/+1lots of athletes play with this type of injury.
- jcorn1, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1With a spouse who had knee issues, I can tell you it isn't easy. It may be golf but a knee injury can take a toll, especially with an intense schedule and practice time.
- kiffar, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1How is this news?
- DJTre, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0Steroids....did anyone even think about testing him?
- DJTre, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0btw, I played golf in one of those walking boot things once...its pretty sketchy.
But I had a cart. :D - Danny21, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0You can still walk around with a torn ACL and Menicus, Just a matter of how much pain he can withstand. Plus, as mentioned above , he is playing golf, not running the bases, jumping for a rebound, running to catch a pass, etc...... Its Golf. Many people who love golf as a hobby would play through painful injuries, unless they are bound to a wheelchair or something major like that.
- URnotheonly1, on 06/29/2008, -0/+1Told you it was Tiger that took down Bldg 7
- dennisnajee, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0It just adds to the legend which is Tiger.
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