There are a lot of interesting takeaways from Tiger Woods' 12th-place finish at the Honda Classic last week, but chief among them might be what Woods noted after the tournament about his golf swing. During a two-week stretch in which Woods played six rounds at the Genesis Open and Honda Classic, we saw him contort his body in all manner of preposterous ways.

The most notable example was the ball he hit on the 12th hole at Riviera Country Club last week at the Genesis Open, but that wasn't the only crazy hack Woods took. He bent and flexed and rolled his body every direction you can think of (and even some you didn't think were possible for a golfer).

This is nothing new for Woods, of course. Big Cat has always been one of the stronger, better athletes on the PGA Tour. It is new for a version of Woods playing after four back surgeries, though. And it's something he discussed at length following his first top-15 finish since the end of 2015.

"I've had to get used to certain things," said Woods. "I can't do what I used to do. I can't hit the same shots, the same body positions. They are different. I'm getting used to it. I'm getting more accustomed to it and I'm very pleased about what has transpired, especially this week."

It sure looked to this untrained eye like Woods didn't have any trouble getting into those old positions, but he insisted that he's learning how to use his newly-fused back to get a similar outcome as before.

"I didn't really know what to expect for the year," added Woods. "I had not gone through this before. This is all new. I had to make some pretty big changes in my swing and my feels. My feels are different through the golf ball. And that's something that it's a reality. My new reality, my back's fused, and I can't create the same shots I used to be able to create. I can hit the same shots but I just have to do it in a different way."

The same shots in a different way. 

It's clear that Woods has figured out a way to leverage his 42-year-old body for the good of his golf game. His swing speed is higher than it was five years ago. While his iron swing does look different, it's clearly useful at this point in time.

I don't know if this counts as the sixth or seventh or whatever iteration of Woods' swing we're currently on, but it does seem to be encouraging for the future. If Woods is posting top-15 finishes with a swing he's still trying to get a handle on, what's he going to do six months or 16 months from now? 

The answer to that question will shape much of the golf landscape for the next half decade or more (barring a setback in the injury department), and it's going to be endlessly fascinating to watch unfold.