TarheelsRule:
In terms of Woods, I believe that there are some health issues that will never allow him to come back as he was. His play in the last 5 years has been pretty average (well below that for him but not of a great quality).
I believe he has used PED's over the years, we all know that he has used the blood therapy techniques which might be technically legal but are on the line for sure. Whether that is true or not doesn't really matter in my opinion. What matters is that for an athlete who is 38 today, he is much older than was Jack Nicklaus when he won the Masters at age 46 in terms of his body. Tiger has been playing competitive golf since he was 12 (at least), he reminds me a little of Kobe Bryant, he seems young since he skipped college but the abuse of his body makes him old.
Tiger is the same as Kobe, he has played so long and so much that his body is old for his age. His swing (prior to the injuries) played havoc on his knees. When he was 22 I told a friend that Tiger's knees would never hold out till he was 35 if he didn't change his swing. I think we will see Tiger around and he might compete for another title, more likely a PGA or a Masters. I don't expect him to do well in the British or US Opens in the future. He might have 1 or 2 more majors in him but not 5 for sure.
I totally agree. I thought the same thing about his swing years ago. I don't care who you are, no ones knees, or back, can stand up to that much torque for long. Add to that his bulking up and you have a recipe for disaster.
There's no doubt in my mind he used PED's. Coming back as quickly as he did from earlier injuries is proof of that. Now that the PGA has testing in place he will fall apart
That just might be a good thing for him. Lose some of the muscle he put on, that tore him up, and get him back to his natural build.
I do think that one of his major problems began with his attempts at changing his swing. If it ain't broke don't fix it. But, being as so many coaches out there think they're the end all be all, none had the common sense to tell him to just tone it down some.
With todays equipment there is no need to swing as hard as you can.
And to this day I say he should still have Fluff on his bag!