Tiger Woods may be done as a competitive golfer. He just underwent a subtalar fusion in NYC. The subtalar joint allows you to walk on uneven surfaces. I am not sure how he can play with only flexion/extension of the ankle being present. It's possible subtalar motion was already limited/absent and fusion will relieve pain , allowing him to to play a limited number of tournaments but you will not see him for at least 6 months
Tiger Woods OT
- Thread starter docrugby1
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1. His ankle was already fused. He had this exact surgery on the same ankle in 2021, so he already had no mobility, hence his extreme difficulty walking Augusta. Apparently it needed to be redone?
2. Whole hypothetically this surgery is no different than the one he had before, through which he relearned to swing a golf club with perfect effectiveness… given his age, the time off, and the fact that he has had to repeat this surgery, it makes it really hard to see how he is realistically competitive ever again. He doesn’t even intend to play more than a few tournaments a year, and the finesse parts of his game looked more rusty than his longer game at Augusta, probably partially from lack of playing. Never say never, Phil looked terrible for a couple years before winning the PGA (and doing well at Augusta) and he’s been written off before winning in 2019… but it’s already tough to see where he really becomes a factor to win again. Maybe we’ll have one magical weekend in a couple years on a flatter course.
2. Whole hypothetically this surgery is no different than the one he had before, through which he relearned to swing a golf club with perfect effectiveness… given his age, the time off, and the fact that he has had to repeat this surgery, it makes it really hard to see how he is realistically competitive ever again. He doesn’t even intend to play more than a few tournaments a year, and the finesse parts of his game looked more rusty than his longer game at Augusta, probably partially from lack of playing. Never say never, Phil looked terrible for a couple years before winning the PGA (and doing well at Augusta) and he’s been written off before winning in 2019… but it’s already tough to see where he really becomes a factor to win again. Maybe we’ll have one magical weekend in a couple years on a flatter course.
Are you saying he had an ankle fusion in the past or do you mean he had a previous subtalar fusion at the time of his treatment for auto accident injuries. In my opinion, there is no way he could have played golf with both an ankle and subtalar fusion(pantalar fusion)
Primarily through the abuse of various prescription pain medications resulting in accidents and serious injuries.
An 80 mph auto accident does not care about your fitness level. He may have suffered a pilon type fracture of the distal tibia involving the ankle joint. He may have also had a talar neck fracture(aviator's astragalus) that would have involved the subtalar joint that now necessitated the subtalar fusion. Fixation of the talar fracture would be the usual treatment of choice but if the head of the talus was extruded from the joint, it is possible a primary subtalar fusion may have been done, due to the high risk of avascular necrosis(bone death)
Aviator's astragalus refers to the frequency of talar fractures in the early years of aviation. Pilots involved in crashes had their foot on the rudder control bar, directing forces into the subtalar joint resulting in fractures or fracture dislocations of the talus
Well, damn, that's interesting stuff. When my wife and I get on a passenger plane in a couple of weeks, I'll give extra thought to the bodily sacrifices made by aviation pioneers so we can fly in comfort.
Thanks.
My dad got shot down flying in the Korean conflict and suffered an aviator's astralgus. Don't think the subtalar fusion was done back then -- or at least I'm pretty sure he didn't have one done. Wore a lift in the heel of his right shoe because that leg was slightly shorter, causing him back problems.
Didn't hurt his golf game. Finished 5th in the Phillipine Open in '50 or '51 (Porky Oliver finished close behind him). When he died in 1990 he still had a 6.3 index (and 6 months before he passed away he had a handicap card printed out with 19 scores in the 70s and 1 68).
I seem to remember Tiger starting to have health problems even before the accident. He had to have knee surgery two days after winning the U.S. Open in 2008.
