Daniel Berger suffered a back injury and subsequently missed 18 months. He weighed in on what part of his game took the longest to return.
After missing the cut at the 2022 U.S. Open at Brookline, Daniel Berger did not make a PGA Tour start for nearly 18 months. A back injury debilitated him for this period, during which he labored through the ‘worst six months of his life.’
He returned to competition at last year’s American Express in the Coachella Valley, where he tied for 39th — a solid result considering the circumstances. The former Florida State Seminole went on to play 26 more times and made 15 cuts in 2024, showing flashes of brilliance that earned him a spot on the 2021 Ryder Cup team.
But it took him a while to find his groove and regain every aspect of his game. He finally feels 100 percent healthy, and his recent form reflects that. Berger arrives at this week’s Cognizant Classic at the Palm Beaches fresh off a T-2 finish at the WM Phoenix Open and a solo 12th at the Genesis Invitational.
Before the first round, Berger spoke with the media and revealed which part of his game took the longest come back.
“I would say definitely club head speed,” Berger said Wednesday.
“Over a year ago, I was swinging like 106 miles an hour, which doesn’t translate into long drives. That took me probably eight or nine months to get back up to the high 119 and 120s. So now I feel like I can compete with the other guys. It’s a huge advantage to hit the ball — I’m not long by any means, but to get into that 300 carry number was huge for me, and being able to take some bunkers out of play that six months ago I wasn’t able to do, now I’m hitting a ton of fairways. I think statistically, I’ve been pretty high up there the last couple of years in driving accuracy and total driving, so playing out of the fairway has been huge for me in the last year.”
Berger averaged 298 yards off the tee last year, good for 118th on the PGA Tour.
This year is a different story. He has already added nine yards, averaging 307 yards off the tee in the five events he has played this season. His driving distance average currently ranks 62nd on the PGA Tour, a stark improvement from last year. He explained that taking a different approach to his training is also a significant reason why he has regained his speed.
“I hired a new strength and conditioning coach with a ton of experience in that. I train completely differently than I did before. I never really liked working out. It was never really something that I enjoyed doing. Now I realize how important it is for my health and for my overall golf game,” Berger explained.
“I do a lot less heavy lifting, and I do a lot more speed training where I’m actively trying to move fast and fire quickly, and I think even just practicing hitting balls hard, I never used to go to the driving range and tee up 10 balls and hit them as hard as I could. You get up to a par-5 and go, ‘I’m going to hit this as hard as I can,’ but if you’ve never done that before, you don’t have that muscle memory and that fast-twitch in your brain to fire at that speed. So just doing that more often has translated.”
If you are a golfer and ever sustain a back injury like Berger, patience is required first and foremost. It will take time to rediscover every nuance of your swing, but the last thing to return will undoubtedly be your distance, which makes all the sense in the world.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
