Rory McIlroy's recent rib injury is a hot topic of discussion. There are takes on takes on takes. If you are involved in golf in any manner, you are required to have an opinion on what McIlroy should do -- not just over the next few weeks but in the long term as well. Why this is the case, I do not know. But it was interesting to hear from some of McIlroy's peers at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship this week.
Rickie Fowler spoke first and defended his own (and other pro golfers') decisions to live life sort of however they want to live it (within reason).
"Everyone kind of has their own thing," said Fowler. "You don't really want to try and live too much in a bubble. Everyone's been injured doing plenty of different things. We do deal with a lot of injuries just from playing golf and the amount of stress we put on our bodies and how much we play and with the travel. Staying healthy is key.
"But yeah, you never know how you might get hurt. It might be from actually playing golf, swinging, sometimes it could be from working out. But I don't try and change my lifestyle too much. I don't ride dirt bikes really much at all anymore. I wish I could, but that's part of me trying to stay as healthy as possible to continue playing at the highest level. But part of rest and recovery is getting away and kind of freeing your mind and for me, I'm an adrenaline junkie, so that's one of the things I need to do."
I concur with what Fowler said, though I'm not sure it has much to do with McIlroy, who insinuated he hurt his rib by possibly testing one too many clubs. One of the elder statesmen in the game today, Henrik Stenson, warned about taking the long view when it comes to swings and injuries.
"I mean, you see how hard both Jason [Day] and Rory goes after it," said Stenson. "Not that I necessarily just pat it myself, but they really go after it. Of course, that's going to put a lot of pressure on knees and back and neck and so on. So yeah, you've got to watch it. I mean, they are working hard on their fitness, as we know.
"The advice I would give to the next generation coming out is just making sure that you work hard from the beginning on your fitness. A lot of guys do, not everyone, but ... it doesn't show up normally when you're 20, 25. It comes at a later stage. That's when you're paying for the wear and tear and a very one-sided motion that we do. But if you've got more injuries now, possibly a little bit more because of the way everyone tries to hit it and get it a far distance off the tee, of course that's going to give you the chances of being injured a little bit more."
This is the Tiger Woods Rule, right? Woods swung the club from age 20 to 30 like every rip might be his last. Now his body is tattered and torn. We're hopeful for just one or two good years in his 40s. Juxtapose that with Phil Mickelson whose movement has been easy and free for his entire career. He's hurtling towards age 50 with no apparent issues.
Both Stenson's and Fowler's viewpoints are smart. Don't change your lifestyle (within reason), but make sure your fitness level matches your swing (like Day and McIlroy have done) because otherwise, it could make for a short career.
