Practically every new twist in the shocking tale of Tiger Woods includes an aerial view of his Florida home where his troubles began, when he pulled his SUV out of the driveway and drove it into a tree.

More questions arise when one surveys the expanse of grass across the street _ the practice range at Isleworth.

Perhaps the most pressing: When will Woods slip into his spikes, step out of his house and hit golf balls again?

There is no telling when the world's No. 1 player will choose to return to the PGA Tour and the massive galleries that, most certainly, will not gaze upon him quite the way they did at his previous 253 tour events.

Woods has been out of the public eye since the car crash and subsequent allegations of extramarital affairs took Tigermania into startling new territory during Thanksgiving weekend. He went 13 years without a hint of scandal, the first $1 billion athlete with barely a blemish, guarded with the media even in good times. That's not likely to change now.

"I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family," Woods said while confessing to "transgressions" on his Web site last week. "Those feelings should be shared by us alone."

The greater mystery is his future.

"I think he's held at a different standard than everybody else out there," Kenny Perry said Friday at the Chevron World Challenge. "This will be interesting to see how he handles this, though. This is a totally different knock on him when he gets out there and plays next year."

Until the crash in the wee hours of Nov. 27, anticipation about 2010 in golf was geared toward Woods' pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' record in the majors, especially a year with Pebble Beach (U.S. Open) and St. Andrews (British Open) in the rotation.

That has been replaced by uncertainty and uneasiness.

A sport that promoted its wholesome image as its biggest asset now has a tawdry mess on its hands because of its star player, who happens to be among the most famous athletes in the world.

"What's interesting to me about this situation is that while its bad in the short term, for golf, on a global basis, it has moved from being a sport to having iconic, celebrity status, and a whole host of other people are now interested," said John Rowady, president of rEvolution, a Chicago-based sports marketing and media agency.

"And it may be a sport that is not prepared for that kind of publicity."

The timing was not the greatest. The PGA Tour is struggling to find title sponsors at four tournaments and renew deals with at least a half dozen others. It also will start negotiations on a network TV deal that ends in 2012.