Short Biography: Tiger Woods

What makes golf the phenomenal sport it is today? Is it the game itself? Some say golf started in fifteenth century Scotland by men hitting a pebble with a wooden stick. Currently, graphite drivers routinely send the ball soaring 300 yards. Perhaps it was the golfers who made the game great. Arnold Palmer brought golf to the masses in the 1950’s and Jack Nicklaus has set records that have yet to be broken. However, today sports commentators, pro golfers, and weekend duffers, generally agree the game of golf has been changed forever with the arrival of Tiger Woods. Eldrick “Tiger” Woods was born on the 30th of December 1975, the only child to biracial parents Earl, a retired lieutenant in the army, and Kultida a stay-at-home mother. Earl Woods was always the most influential person in Tiger’s life. At 10 months Tiger would sit in the garage watching his father repeatedly hit golf balls into a net for hours. It wasn’t long before Earl took Tiger out of the highchair and let him play with a small putter. “He picked up a putter, put a ball down, waggled, and hit the ball into the net. First time.” After that, Earl Woods would take his toddler son out on the practice green at the local military course, and eventually on the “eccentric-looking 18 hole course.” By four years of age, Tiger was hitting the ball perfectly; 70-yard shots that had a bit of a draw on them with a 2-½ wood. He could pop the ball up, hit it low, or hit it just with a normal trajectory, all with a 7-iron! “At four, he was like a shrunken 5-handicapper”, commented his coach Rudy Duran. Tiger had the gift for golf, he couldn’t tell you how he changed his swing at such a young age, all he could tell you was it was feel, pure and simple feel. The mental game of golf is the hardest part to control. Trying to regroup and come back with a good shot, after a bad shot often leads to continued poor shots for many players. It is also difficult for the average golfer to not get