If Tom Brady’s absence alters the course of fantasy football season, then what does it mean when a game much further out on the fantasy fringe goes without the most dominant individual in all of sports?

Actually, it might not mean all that much.

Obviously, Tiger Woods — who returns this week for his first action in a little more than eight months — is the face and the meal ticket of golf. He’s so ubiquitous within his sport, however, that it likely ends up limiting his impact in most fantasy setups.

“You almost just have to have him in your lineup because so many other people will jump over you in the standings if he brings home the title, and there’s just too good a chance of that happening for you to risk leaving him out,” says CBS Sports’ Ross Devonport, the 2007 Fantasy Sports Writers Association golf writer of the year. “In my columns, I usually don’t even suggest picking Woods because anyone could write a column advising you to do that.”

Whereas fantasy football, baseball, basketball and hockey tend to lean more heavily on drafting to fill teams — meaning an athlete will only show up on one team in a given league — golf trends more toward the salary-cap style. Whether there’s an actual cap or not, competitors generally select from the same player pool.

So, although it probably doesn’t satisfy your thirst for a challenge to start a fantasy squad with the world’s best-known golfer, not doing so could put you at an immediate disadvantage. After all, we’re talking about a guy who missed just three cuts over the past four years and won more than a third of the tournaments in which he played.

“Tiger has a huge impact on fantasy golf, but not nearly as much as he does on the actual game,” says RotoWire’s Greg Vara, a 2008 finalist for the FSWA’s top golf writer award. “While his return to the real game is THE story this week, his return to the fantasy game will just be another plot line.”

Just because his actual fantasy impact doesn’t mirror his real value, though, doesn’t mean it’s not a big story. Even if his presence isn’t felt so much in the standings, it can only help the games themselves.

“Tiger being back on tour and part of the mix brings the fantasy baseball and football player into the fold who have not played fantasy golf before,” says RotoWire’s John McNamara, the 2008 FSWA golf writer of the year. “The average golfer who is not attracted to fantasy sports is made aware of his presence and will quite possibly be more inclined to join a league.”

How true that really is likely depends on the game, though. John Hohlen, co-founder of Pro Tour Fantasy Golf, says that Pro Tour’s format lessened the impact of Woods’ absence late last season when he didn’t play after the middle of June.

“Last year, some folks were saving Tiger for later in the season so they were disappointed when Tiger declared his season over after his dramatic U.S. Open win,” Hohlen said. “However, Tiger also had that consecutive tournament winning streak going in early 2008, so the majority of the people had already used him at least once or twice in many of our leagues.”

Do you run a fantasy golf game or play in a league? How has Tiger impacted your experience or your audience? Let us know either in the comments section or at FantasySportsBusiness@gmail.com.