Unless you have been under a rock, you have seen the Tiger Woods golf swing progress video that was posted to Twitter on Sunday, November 21st, 2021. The first thing most people will notice is that Tiger is wearing shorts and has a full length black compression “sleeve” on his right leg. So, what does this do and why does he have it on his leg? More importantly, when will he be back on the PGA Tour?
Making progress pic.twitter.com/sVQkxEHJmq
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) November 21, 2021
As most golfers age, their bodies fall apart. If you have seen older gentlemen at your country club wearing an arm or leg sleeve, you know it is all in due time before their game falls completely apart. Will it be on the 14th hole, the 14th of this month or in the 14th round of the year? It is no different for Tiger Woods. While there is a good chance Tiger comes back and plays on the PGA Tour sometime in the next few years, he will never be the same. The right leg is the leg he has to resist with and “post on” on his backswing and he simply won’t be able to do that.
How is he going to “crease into the crease” of the right side on his backswing? While he will get away with a weak right leg and a right hip that will likely get active with his short irons and wedges, he will lose a significant amount of distance. He overpowered the game in his youth and now the other guys are blowing drives past him by 30 yards or more. He will be able to navigate around Augusta National or the courses in which he is familiar, but he won’t be able to get to the green in two on 600 yard par 5s like the other boys.
So, what does this black compression sleeve on his leg do? Like all compression sleeves, it keeps the tendons, ligaments, muscles and joints in place during a fluid motion. After his car accident it is likely the case that he could have torn an ACL, MCL or PCL and broke multiple bones. Bones can heal but tendons and ligaments will always feel the stress of pressure; especially on the golf swing.
It will be interesting to watch his comeback and to see the distances with his irons. If he is hitting a 7 iron from 165 yards, you know things are going downhill fast.
