With Tiger Woods acknowledging yesterday that his recovery from knee surgery has been frustrating, adding that he hopes to be hitting balls by the beginning of the year, this letter from Texas physical therapist Randy Nutt is somewhat sobering. Nutt was reacting to the Jaime Diaz August-issue story on Woods' operation:

I liked the fact that that Hank Haney and others in the Woods camp are so positive about his eventual return to form...but truth be told, Tiger's in for a lot of work. Being a physical therapist that has rehabbed literally thousands of ACL reconstructed knees and have seen dozens of surgeries for reference, Tiger's future will be hard work--and lots of it. I'm sure he is aware of that fact and his mental attitude is legendary and he'll have the best of the best around him encouraging him for return, but coming back to full form frm that surgery is tenuous at best. Ernie Els has not been the same since his ACL reconstruction and I haven't even heard from Brad Faxon since his. The absolute truth is that this injury and repair is body altering and I pray that 'ole Tiger will be the odds (as he's proven he can do on dozens of venues) and return to form. But the odds are not in his favor and no sugarcoating from the Woods camp will change the fact that this injury has ended many a professional athlete and ended the dreams of those in the "could have been" category, of which I've seen hundreds!

Good luck, Tiger. If anyone can oversome and return to full force, it will be you.

Good luck, indeed. As one of my colleagues says, when Tiger has a knee problem, all of golf has a knee problem.

--Bob Carney

(Illustration by Bryan Christie)

It puzzles me, but there remains among you a fervent "Enough about Tiger!" bunch that thinks our coverage of the world's No. 1 (and everyone else's) is out of whack. Among these are fans who think we not only over-cover Tiger but pamper him as well. Tiger's U.S. Open victory and subsequent knee surgery has occasioned many, many letters on this theme. A sampling:

Golf media are hailing Tiger Woods to be the greatest hero ever for what he accomplished while dealing with a serious injury. Has everyone forgotten that Ben Hogan won 6 major championships with torn cartilege his right knee, a left leg that had had multiple fractures and was always in severe pain, a left shoulder that was permanently damaged and a left eye that would not focus. Mr. Woods is indeed strong willed but, his accomplishment pales compared to Hogan's.
Ross Jesswein
Grants Pass, OR

I don?t remember exactly how long I have been a subscriber to Golf World, but I believe it?s well over 30 years, and it has always been my favorite (in fact, now, my only) golf magazine. Now, I am thinking of letting my subscription lapse because of what I perceive as your overkill coverage of Tiger Woods. I no longer watch the Golf Channel, and soon, I will not be reading your magazine. Woods will probably end up as the greatest golfer ever, but unlike the great ones of the past, he does not have their class and humility.

I know in golf it is bad form to root against someone but I certainly do in Woods case, as do many at my club.
Alan Edwards
San Mateo/Half Moon Bay, CA

He is No. 1 in the world and everyone knows it , and we are all sorry for his injury that will keep him from the tour for a time. However, is there anyway you can stop the Tiger fist- pump photos? Only five in your June 20, 2008 issue.
Clyde England
Maggie Valley, NC

I have now finally received my copy of Golf World - 20th. June - U.S. Open Report. Talk about being biased. Reference made about Woods' knee - surgery, injury, pain etc - was mentioned at least 28 times throughout the magazine. Stuart Appleby's knee operation was mentioned once and no mention of Adam Scott's injured hand (small broken bone).

Maybe Appleby went off the boil on Saturday and Sunday because of his knee operation (being the leader after two rounds) as he was missing all sorts of putts and perhaps Scott's hand injury played up with him.
Then to boot, Johnny Miller made comments about Appleby's standard of play and not even considering his injury. He would not have made the same comments about Woods if he had gone bad. If Woods had gone bad, the knee business would probably have been mentioned 56 times. Please, be fair in your reporting.
Ron Field,
Morton, WA

I was introduced to this wonderful game over 50 years ago. During that time I can say we have never seen a player with the ability, both mentally and physically, of Tiger Woods. It is now more a question of when and not if he will surpass the major victories of Nicklaus.

Regardless of what happens in the future of our sport, I can honestly say that I miss the past and all it did to influence my future as a gentleman.
Jim French
Great Falls, MT

Ok.....let's give it a rest. How many articles could your people possibly write about Tiger? This game has been the ultimate test of man against nature for hundreds of years. There are SO many stories about golf or golfers around the world and yet once again I open your magazine and I am bombarded with "TIGER TIGER TIGER" So why in the world can't we read at least ONE article that does not mention Tiger Woods. Okay, okay...exaggeration I know, but the media has really blown this whole 'knee operation' thing out of proportion. I have been a skier for over 30 years and in that time I have known many people who have had the exact same operation and have gotten on the slopes after 2 months. And anyone who says that a golf swing is more torque on a knee than a skier's, is very uneducated. If Tiger wants to take a year off.....great for him and his family. I am surprised it's taken him that long. But for the media to sit and cry about how it just won't be the same without Tiger is insulting not just to the general public but also the players on the tour that actually play more than 16 or 17 tourneys a year.... If money is your biggest concern, have the PGA Tour step in and force these guys to play more events. I have no illusions that this will get published but boy did that feel good to get off my chest. And finally...No, I don't dislike Tiger. Don't even know the guy, but the media needs to broaden their horizons.
John P. LaCrosse
Golf Professional
Lake Arrowhead C.C.
California

Thank you for your letters.

I will agree with all of you on one thing. Golf is bigger than any of us, Tiger included. On the other hand, when you're living in the age of Babe Ruth, you tend to cover the heck out of him. And as a role model, well, Tiger's not bad. What do the rest of you think?

--Bob Carney

For those of you who have written to us about Tiger's knee, you'll be interested a piece by John Lauerman on Bloomberg.com today. Lauerman gets orthopedic surgeons to talk about Tiger's surgery and about the surgeon who did it. It turns out that Dr. Thomas Rosenberg, an innovative surgeon and an avid golfer himself, takes a significantly different approach to ACL surgery than most and probably took that approach with Woods:

While the doctor isn't saying what technique he used on Woods, Rosenberg is an early developer of the ``double-bundle'' reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL.

Most surgeons repair a damaged ACL, which Woods tore, with a single strand of tendon tissue, usually taken from the patient's knee or from a cadaver. Rosenberg pioneered replacing both of the two parts of the ACL. Some specialists believe it may preserve the finely tuned ``screw'' action of the knee as it hinges, said John Richmond, chairman of orthopedics at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston.

``The anterior cruciate ligament guides the knee joint,'' said Richmond. He says he uses both methods. ``The perceived advantage of double-bundle surgery is that it restores a more normal motion.''

Worth a read.

--Bob Carney