It’s going to be a while before Aaron Cockerill can swing a golf club again.
The professional golfer from Stony Mountain is back home in Manitoba and on the road to recovery after recently undergoing shoulder surgery for a torn labrum.
“It was in and out,” said Cockerill. “I had a little bit of an allergic reaction; I guess to some of the anesthesia stuff. So, I woke up with my eyes were past my forehead quite a bit.
“Yeah, painful a few days afterwards but I think he (doctor) said it went well and we’re slowly getting better, and more mobility and movement every day.”
Cockerill had to put his golf season on the DP World Tour on hold after being bothered by the injury for a couple of years. And when the injury started to affect his game, he knew it was time to get it taken care of.
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“I had stints where I went to physio and the rehab and it was improving,” he said. “And then I had stints where it was clunking and moving and painful. It was just kind of hit or miss, and it was becoming physical, mental. I did notice in the last two or three months I was starting to lose a little bit of club head speed as well.”
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Cockerill received a medical exemption from the DP World Tour, so he’ll regain his status once he’s healthy again with doctors telling him he’s looking at a five to six-month recovery before he can hit the fairways again.
“That seems optimistic to me right now, not being able to lift my arm,” said Cockerill. “But I’m planning to play events starting in the new year.”
Cockerill is still looking for his first victory after eight seasons on the tour. At his peak, he was the 190th-ranked golfer in the world, but after making the cut only six times in 12 tournaments this season while dealing with shoulder pain, he saw his ranking tumble to 542nd.
“I have had some swings over the last couple of years where it would click or pop or clunk on the downswing and I was just becoming not very confident in it,” he said.
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“I can think of one specifically downswing where you’re hitting the iron off the tee. It’s an easy shot and I remember it just kind of gave way, unstable, and I just kind of like chunked it into the water. Something that you shouldn’t be doing at the professional level.”
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Cockerill moved his wife and two young children to Dubai to be closer to tour events, but they felt it was best to leave in March shortly after the Iran war broke out.
“It would be a nice blue-sky day and you just kind of hear a poof in the distance and missiles were being intercepted,” Cockerill said. “It was a little strange, but our day-to-day life wasn’t really affected.”
He’ll be moving back to the United Arab Emirates in September following a much-needed break from golf after jetting all over the planet.
“I’ve never done this.” said Cockerill. “Just going to soccer practice and doing all those things and changing diapers and stuff. It’s been fun.
“I say that now, but who knows. Ask me in another two or three weeks; things could change. I don’t know.”
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