DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- For the longest time, Tiger Woods searched for the ultimate golf swing -- regardless of the amount of success he had with the old one.
Now it doesn't matter how it looks.
"I swing away from pain," he said.
About to play his third tournament and seventh competitive round after a long layoff due to two back surgeries in 2015, the former No. 1 player in the world said after his pro-am round at Emirates Golf Club on Wednesday that finding a way to be effective without further injury is a major goal of his comeback.
"Whether my swing looks classical, rhythmical or it may look unorthodox, I don't care," said Woods, 41, who begins play Thursday (Wednesday night in the U.S.) at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. "As long as I don't feel that nerve pain again. Anyone in here who has ever had nerve pain in their back or anything in their spine, it's like hitting your funny bone a thousand times a day; it's just not fun. And I would much rather not have to go through that again."
Now ranked 666th in the world after missing the cut last week at the Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA Tour, Woods has traveled to the Middle East for the second of four tournaments in five weeks.
His return to official golf got off to a slow start at Torrey Pines with rounds of 76 and 72 to miss the cut by 4 strokes. Emirates Golf Club should be a bit more user-friendly than Torrey Pines, with warmer temperatures and wider fairways.
Woods could benefit from a solid start during the opening round because significant wind is in the forecast on Friday. He'll be grouped with Englishmen Matthew Fitzpatrick and Danny Willett, the reigning Masters champion. Willett is the defending champion of this European Tour event.
Woods has made significant swing changes in his career, some controversially, as he made alterations despite dominating the game. Three times since turning pro, under coaches Butch Harmon, Hank Haney and Sean Foley, Woods underwent changes, the results adding up to 79 PGA Tour victories and 14 major titles.
He also has eight European Tour titles outside of the majors and World Golf Championship events, including two here in Dubai.
The latest changes are out of necessity. Woods won five times in 2013 but began to experience back issues late that year when he was working with Foley. By the next spring, he had the first of three back surgeries. In late 2014, he switched coaches again to Chris Como, who has overseen the latest overhaul.
At times, Woods appears stiff, especially as he works through the bag on the driving range. Here, that could be because of jet lag, but even last week in California, he started slowly, finally finding some form during the second round, when it was too late.
The pro-am Wednesday offered more of the same: a slow start followed by progressively better swings and shots.
"For me, it's about preparation," Woods said. "If I can't prepare to win a golf tournament, I feel ill prepared to hit the shots and handle the shots down the stretch, and [if] I'm not able to pull them off at home, there's no reason why I would expect to be able to pull them off out here."
The 41-year-old hasn't won a major since 2008, but he's taking inspiration from 35-year-old Roger Federer, who claimed his 18th Grand Slam title on Sunday at the Australian Open, beating Rafael Nadal in the final in his first tournament following a six-month injury layoff.
"What Rog has done is he's been dominant for so long," Woods said. "To compete against (Novak Djokovic), to compete against Rafa, and now Andy (Murray) is playing well. He's had a litany of guys who have won slams. And no one wins slams at his age.
"And for him to come back, after having to take that much time off, and for him to get the timing, that's the hardest part."
Woods dismissed the idea that he has to accept lesser results as part of his comeback but did acknowledge again that his ambitious start to 2017 was conceived with a purpose.
"One of the reasons why I'm playing four out of five here is to get more competitive rounds so that come the first full week in April [the Masters], I'll have more rounds under my belt and know what it feels like to be ready," he said.
Watching Federer helped his process.
"As you get older, you change your game and you do things slightly differently, and he did that," Woods said.
"Am I going to do that? Yeah, I'm not going to be hitting balls like some of these guys, 340, out there," Woods said. "I watched Dustin (Johnson) carry a ball last week when it was cold, wet and damp and carried it 335. Jason (Day) and I just looked at each other going, `We don't have that."
After this tournament, Woods will have a week at home before heading to the Genesis Open near Los Angeles followed by the Honda Classic near his home in South Florida.
Woods tees off in the first round at 11:15 p.m. Wednesday (8:15 a.m. local time Thursday) and at 3:35 a.m. Friday (12:35 p.m. locally).
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.