Been a rough Summer. I sprained my knee badly and discovered I need not one, but both knees replaced. I have heard good things but checking in here for any feedback, positive or negative as to how impacted a player’s golf game
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My neighbor had both knees replaced (just a few weeks apart!) and says he knees are as good as new. Unfortunately he’s not a golfer, so I can’t help there.
There is a +2 at my golf club that is getting a knee replaced this fall, but hasn’t been done yet.
I had my right knee replaced in 1981 and was playing again in 6 weeks. However, my replacement restricted my bend to ~ 70 degs plus it had minimal stability L & R. As a result, I had to alter my swing and found that I lost a good deal of distance, but could still drive 200 - 220 yds. Now at 83 other health reasons have cut my tee ball distance to 170-180, but I still play 2 times per week.
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56 here. I had my knee replaced in January of 2022. I played golf that May for the first time. And I’ve been playing regularly ever since. I was a 16 HCI at that time and have whittled it down to an 11 as of today. As far as I can tell, it hasn’t really affected my game over the past year. 90% of rounds, I walk and I think that helps. The recovery was rough for me, but I kept at it (think Jon’s “incremental progress”) and now I hardly even notice that it’s been replaced. Keep up your PT, walk a lot (if your PT and doc say so), and don’t lose hope! If I can do it, I’m sure you can.
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I’m 55 and had my left replaced six years ago. Surgery in January and was playing in April. No more knee braces. No more Advil. If it’s been a while since you’ve lived pain free, you’re in for a pleasant surprise.
Get a good physical therapist. Don’t just use who the doctor says, but see if you can get a personal recommendation from someone in your area or see if you can talk to former patients of your doctor’s recommendation. I got a referral from my chiropractor and I’m really glad I did. I’ve heard the quality of a PT can vary a lot. It’s a lot of work trying to find a good one, but worth it. And then do all the exercises religiously no matter how painful and/or boring it is.
As for golf, I’ve had a bad knee for a while. Shifting my weight properly to the left side never happened and it limited how good I was going to get. I bounce between a 7 and a 10. After six years, I’m finally getting the weight shift down, although it’s still a work in progress. It takes a long time to undo 20 years of habits. Although my handicap hasn’t improved, I feel my swing is substantially better and it’s a matter of time before it shows up in the scores.
Good luck.
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That’s very encouraging. MY swing has become stiff with little to no weight shift and a lot of that is related my knees (and age)
I have heard from good sources that the replacement knees have improved a lot with respect to lateral bend.
I was playing pretty high level senior league baseball when I was 50 or so. This would have been mid-90s. I had to have my right knee drained multiple times. MY ortho was a sports medicine guy affiliated with the Marlins, He said “you are going to need a knee replacement but wait, if you can, until you’re 60 because they will be so .improved by then”. Well, I made it to almost 76 and from what I’m hearing, that well be the case.
Excellent point. My knee is a late 70s model when installed in 81. I think you’ll do much better. I tried for an upgrade in 03 when I needed to replace it, but the surgeon (same as 81) vetoed that for technical reasons.