Tiger Woods talks recovery and future golf plans at 50 after major back surgery

Tiger Woods is back on the practice tee, but don’t expect the five-time Masters champion to storm the leaderboard anytime soon. At 50, the golf icon is taking measured steps toward returning to competition following his seventh back surgery in October 2025.

“I’ve been cleared to hit, basically, hit short irons and mid irons,” Woods told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt on Tuesday before his Jupiter Links GC team faced off against New York GC in a televised TGL match. “I haven’t gone any beyond that.”

© Megan Briggs/TGL

Though he wasn’t swinging clubs in competition, Woods was a fixture on the sidelines, offering intense focus and encouragement as his teammates played at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

“Whenever that time comes, when I start hitting drivers, and I start playing at home, and start doing all the different things, I will have been away from the game for a year and a half, so I’m gonna be pretty rusty,” he added.

At 50, Woods is officially eligible for the PGA Tour Champions, a circuit that allows players to use golf carts. The milestone, he said, comes with the necessity of patience and a recalibrated approach to training.

© Rich Storry/TGL

“My prep is gonna have to be a little bit different from my other procedures I’ve had in the past,” Woods explained. “I’ve had to stay a lot more patient with myself. I get sore faster, I guess, because I’m 50. And that happens.”

Woods hasn’t played four full rounds of golf since April 2024 at The Masters and most recently missed the cut at the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon by 12 strokes. His world ranking has tumbled to No. 2,626, and unless he competes before this year’s British Open, he will officially become unranked.

© Rich Storry/TGL

Even so, the swing he’s been cleared to take is a hopeful step toward a return. After recovering from major back surgery, the golf legend is easing into practice slowly, building confidence with each short and mid-iron swing before eventually working up to drivers.

In November, Woods made a rare public appearance, attending the Florida 1A state championship to support his son Charlie, 16, who led The Benjamin School to their fifth state title.

Woods and his ex-wife Elin Nordegren, with whom he also shares daughter Sam, 18, were photographed chatting and smiling as they watched the tournament.

© Megan Briggs/TGL

Woods has also been reflecting on the broader golf landscape. He weighed in on Brooks Koepka’s decision to leave LIV Golf and return to the PGA Tour, praising the move as a win for both fans and the game.

“I think it’s incredible for the tour. It’s incredible for all the fans and the fan initiative program that we did last year, what they wanted. They want to see the best play against the best,” Woods said.

“And for Brooks to want to come back a year early, and he was able to do that, and we worked through Christmas, and through their part of the year, with both boards, all the player directors, other players as well, to make sure that this is right. I know, there’s some punitive damages there. Um, but, uh, it’s a meritocracy."

© Megan Briggs/TGL

He continued, "That’s what makes our game so great. And he is gonna be playing full field events, and he has the ability to earn his way up to the signature events. If he’s good, he’s good. [If] He plays great, [he] plays great. [If he] wins tournaments, [he] wins tournaments. There’s no reason why we should hold him back.”

While his next steps will be slower than in past comebacks, Woods remains focused on patience and recovery. “I get sore faster, I guess, because I’m 50. And that happens,” he said, acknowledging the natural toll that decades of high-level golf, and multiple surgeries, have taken on his body.

His health update signals not just a return to golf, but a thoughtful navigation of life post-surgery, balancing ambition with the realities of age and recovery.