Years ago a friend of mine had a hernia surgery. His doctor told him after every visit which club he could hit. He went from wedges, 9 iron, 6 iron, 5 wood and finally released to full swing over the weeks of recovery. Good luck.

Jeff, let me relate my recent experience with the same procedure. Being a Midwesterner, I timed my surgery for the off-season: several days before Christmas. No activity for the first two weeks. Following my post-op appointment 1/11, I was cleared to start swinging a golf club. Basically, the direction was to ease back into exercise and golf using common sense. I started with easy swings and gradually increased reps. Four weeks post-op I resumed my regular exercise routines and have been building-up gradually, i.e. weights, reps, etc. I've been hitting range balls a couple times a week, and if the weather allowed, I've no doubt I'd be playing 18-holes now without restrictions. Bottom-line: follow your doc's direction and let your common sense be your guide. Good luck!

Sorry to hear that, sounds rough. I think you are correct in waiting to see what the doc says. I'm sure you can work on short game though, putting chipping ect. Best of luck in a speedy recovery!

Had hernia surgery, too, and I understand where you're coming from. From my experience, it's an awful lot better than you expect it to be, and the healing is very fast, too.
As to the golf part of it, I'm not a doctor, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I'd say the key is not to strain yourself, or make any abrupt or overextending moves for a while. Abdominal strength is probably key here, just go easy.
Best of luck with your surgery, I'm sure we're all rooting for you!

Thanks to everyone who replied and, especially, for the comments from those who have had this surgery and had excellent advice regarding the rehab process. Biggest frustration is I just purchased new 718 AP1 irons and will now have to delay fine tuning them for the coming golf season until rehab is finished. Thanks again and hit 'em straight!