Earl Woods started training his son, Eldrick, in the sport of golf at a very early age. Eldrick would become “Tiger” — a name given to him by Earl to honor Earl’s South Vietnamese compatriot from the Vietnam War.
Earl eventually authored a book: Training a Tiger: A Father’s Guide to Raising a Winner in Both Golf and Life, in which Earl shared the techniques he used in coaching his son.
Now it’s Tiger’s turn.
Woods has been working and playing with his young son Charlie, perhaps using those words that Earl spoke to him decades ago.
Woods told Jack Nicklaus at the Masters champions dinner about how much fun he’s having. Jack Nicklaus said Tiger told him he’d put Charlie in a set of blade irons because they are harder to hit and that they will improve his hand-eye coordination.
“He says, ‘I’m having more fun out with Charlie and Sam, and watching them do different things and be vulnerable,’” Nicklaus said.
Charlie has already shot under par for nine holes and has won junior events in South Florida. Charlie also has picked up some other things from his dad — like “trash talking” per Justin Thomas’ testimony recently.
“For some reason, Charlie just always wants to beat me, it doesn’t matter what it is,” Thomas said at the Mayakoba Golf Classic two weeks ago. “Although he’s never beaten me in golf or a putting contest, he still talks trash just like his dad.”
Tiger used time off during the COVID pandemic to spend more time on the golf course with Charlie.
“Because everything was shut down, the only thing that was available to us was golf,” Woods said. “He started to pick up golf, but this pandemic allowed us to play more golf and be with one another. And we just started playing a lot, and he started getting the bug for it, and so did I. It kept me competitive, kept me in it when we didn’t have any tournaments.
“But I had a tournament every day with him, and that was the fun part,” he added. “Was just like me growing up with my dad.”
Tiger has determined that Charlie is ready for the public eye as they are the feature attraction at this weekend’s PNC Championship in Orlando.
As for “trash talking” to J.T. — Tiger and son will be paired with Thomas and his father Mike, a PGA Professional.
No doubt there will be million of viewers for this one. Tiger draws that sort of attention but the debut of Charlie will be even more thought-provoking.
3 Comments
baxter cepeda
Tiger seems to be going about things very different from Earl. Both are fine but Tiger is clearly doing things his own way with his kids. Not Earls way.
Tom Edrington
I think Tiger knows Earl was pretty harsh at times; Difference between someone who has been in Special Forces and someone who has not been in the military.
baxter cepeda
Something like that. Not to mention tiger has all the generational money needed in this world. His kids can literally do whatever they want.
I’ve been more like Earl and never spent a day in the military. Make no mistake tiger will get tough.
The big difference is Tiger has been extremely patient, waiting for his kids to show interest on their own before starting.
Earl started right away.
It’s a fine line.
There is always a huge advantage for someone to find a passion like golf on their own. But someone focusing them early has become very important in golf.
Of course With his resources, tigers kids could start at 20 and still have a chance to succeed.