August 29 1996 – 10 Interesting facts about that day!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Tiger Woods’ first-ever press conference as a professional.
The start of an amazing career!
Twenty years ago today, Aug. 29, 1996, Tiger Woods, 20 at the time, made his professional debut at the Greater Milwaukee Open. It was a memorable week, notwithstanding his tying for 60th, and occasionally an amusing week. Here are 10 reasons why:
1. En route via a commercial airline from home in Orange County, Calif., to Portland, Ore., for his final amateur event, Woods turned to his father and said, “I’m never flying coach again.” Indeed, the day after his U.S. Amateur victory, he had a corporate jet standing by to take him to Milwaukee. Suffice it to say, he was right.
2. In Milwaukee, Woods paid for dinner one night with a gift certificate he had received upon his arrival. A day later, when Woods and his instructor Butch Harmon were driving to Brown Deer Park Golf Course in the Milwaukee suburb of Glendale, Butch asked him whether he had his checkbook, so he could pay the $100 entry fee. “Butch, I don’t have one-hundred dollars,” he said, despite having already signed a $40 million contract with Nike. Harmon floated him a loan. Later, Woods said, “I haven’t seen a penny yet. I haven’t seen any check in the mail yet. I’m still broke.”
A 10 year old in a Toy’s R Us store.
3. Nike sent Woods several bags stuffed with shirts and pants. At his locker at Brown Deer Park, he found four new Titleist golf gloves and three dozen Titleist Tour balata balls. He was giddy. “He was like a 10-year-old dropped into the middle of Toys ‘R’ Us,” Harmon said.
4. Woods’ agency, IMG, initially had a plan for Tiger to announce he was turning pro at Niketown in Chicago. Instead, he released a statement on that Tuesday that he was turning pro, then held his “Hello World” news conference on Wednesday. Among the media outlets on hand were People and Newsweek magazines and the television show “Extra,” a strong indication that a new higher-profile era in golf had begun.
5. The Woods family — Tiger, father Earl and mother Kultida — were sporting 27 Nike swooshes on its clothing and shoes on Wednesday. Although Kultida vowed not to give up the Reeboks that she had worn the week before. “They pay Tiger, they don’t pay me,” she said.
Its Canadian Open week – Let’s review one of the greatest shots EVER!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Tiger Woods’ shot on the 18th hole during the final round of the 2000 Canadian Open was one of the top 5 shots I have ever seen in my life. The main reason being that I have played that hole several times and know what kind of shot is needed to carry the water. When the announcer said Tiger was taking a 6 iron, I said to my wife, “This is going to be wet!” Wow, was I wrong! I literally jumped out of my chair with excitement! Thanks to the PGA Tour for this video reminding us of the genius that was Tiger Woods.
En route to victory in the final round of the 2000 Bell Canadian Open, Tiger Woods hit what many consider his greatest shot ever on the PGA TOUR, at the par-5, 18th hole.
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
If you remember, last year Sports Illustrated featured a poll that asked, “Who was the most overrated golf on Tour?”
The two most popular answers were Rickie Fowler and Ian Poulter. Rickie immediately stepped up to the plate and produced a string of victories throughout the world, including the Players Championship and the Scottish Open, to immediately silence the critics. Ian has had a “fair” year but has not won as much as Rickie, so the verdict is still out on him! This year the two biggest questions are “Will Tiger win again?” and “Who would you want by your side in a bar fight!” It seems Ernie Els fits the second question quite well! Thanks to Golf Step by Step and Sports Illustrated for this fun poll!
Sports Illustrated released their annual Anonymous Player Poll on Tuesday, but there wasn’t much Rickie Fowler-esque motivation to be gleaned from the 150 players’ answers. Last year, Fowler and Ian Poulter were pegged as the leading vote getters as to who were believed to be the most overrated players on Tour.
SI interviewed more than 150 players from the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions and LPGA Tour.
Here are some of the most interesting responses.
Will Tiger Woods win another PGA Tour event?
PGA TOUR
Yes 42%
No 27%
Don’t know 31%
Loose Lips: “I’m optimistic, but running out of reasons.”
CHAMPIONS
Yes 72%
No 23%
Don’t know 5%
Loose Lips: “I don’t even know if he’ll play again.”
LPGA
Yes 36%
No 64%
If you were to be in a bar fight, who would you want to have your back?
PGA TOUR
Ernie Els 15%
Keegan Bradley 9%
Ángel Cabrera 7%
Pat Perez 5%
Brooks Koepka 4%
No one out here 18%
Others 42%
Loose Lips: “I’ve heard some bar stories about Ernie.”
Interesting Tiger Woods stories we all want to hear!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
There have been many stories circulated around about Tiger Woods and his quirky personality. Some of them are fabricated, and some of them true. Here are a few told by the people who were present at various times in Tiger’s life. His lunch with the Navy Seals was quite a shocker to me and bore truth to the story that Tiger is a tightwad for paying for group meals. Tiger stories will always hold our attention, no matter what, so read on! Thanks so much to Chris Chaney, Wrong Fairway, for this interesting story!
Twitter/@heraldsunsport
Every few months, ESPN the Magazine’s Wright Thompson finishes a longform deep dive into a subject. Whomever or whatever that subject is, fans of the person, place or team that he’s written about are much better informed because of Thompson’s work.
Tiger Woods was Thompson’s latest muse. In a piece entitled “The Secret History of Tiger Woods,” Thompson pulls back the curtain on a generation’s greatest golfer and explains how his relationship with his father, Earl, and Tiger’s yearning for a deeper connection following Earl’s death, brought him to exactly where he is now.
For being the most popular and recognizable athlete on the planet for the better part of a decade and the subsequent media throng that constantly followed him, Woods somehow seemed to stay shrouded in mystery. Part of that was by design and part of it was because of his inherent personality.
Here are some of the best snippets from the story…
Introverted Superstar
THEY’RE NOT WRONG, not exactly, but the SEALs are also viewing Tiger through their own pre-existing idea of how a superstar should act, so his behavior processes as arrogant and selfish. That reaction has colored Tiger’s relationships his entire life: People who meet him for 30 seconds love him, and people who spend several hours with him think he’s aloof and weird while people who hang around long enough to know him end up both loving him and being oddly protective. His truest self is shy, awkward and basically well-intentioned, as unsuited for life in public as he is suited for hitting a ball.
Then there’s the story of the lunch, which spread throughout the Naval Special Warfare community. Guys still tell it, almost a decade later. Tiger and a group of five or six went to a diner in La Posta. The waitress brought the check and the table went silent, according to two people there that day. Nobody said anything and neither did Tiger, and the other guys sort of looked at one another.
Finally one of the SEALs said, “Separate checks, please.”
The waitress walked away.
“We are all baffled,” says one SEAL, a veteran of numerous combat deployments. “We are sitting there with Tiger f—ing Woods, who probably makes more than all of us combined in a day. He’s shooting our ammo, taking our time. He’s a weird f—ing guy. That’s weird s—. Something’s wrong with you.”
6 of Tigers’ best shots ever – #3 is Tiger Wood’s pick!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
The “Best Shots Ever” category for Tiger Woods could fill a book as large as Atlas Shrugged! A collection of 6 shots by one of the finest shot creators in golf history has been compiled by Matthew Rudy of Golf Digest. Tiger himself rates #3 as his best shot ever. Personally, I would vote for #2. Having played Glen Abbey several times, I have played out of that bunker one time. I was watching that tournament live. And when I saw what he was attempting to do, I predicted a watery grave. The shot he pulled off (with a 6 iron from over 200 yards over water, no less) made me jump right out of my chair!
To commemorate Tiger Wood’s 40th birthday, Matt Rudy compiled some of the 14-time major winner’s best moments of his storied career, and explains how they can be of instructional use to your own game.
Probably the most famous shot Woods has ever hit, this hole-out is huge both for how hard it was — from a tight lie next to the collar to a landing area the size of a grapefruit — and for the circumstances surrounding it.
Woods was locked in a battle with Chris DiMarco, and the birdie gave him the two-shot cushion he would need to hang on and get into a playoff, which he eventually won. Woods said the key to the shot was picking a specific landing area for the delicate pitch—a slice of light between shadows thrown by tree branches.
You can practice the same technique by placing a tee in the practice green, hitting various short game shots in different trajectories, and landing as close to the tee as possible.
Generally considered Woods’ best-ever shot (non-major division), his 213-yard 6-iron from the bunker over water to a tiny target at the 2000 Canadian Open was a signature moment in a season of dominance.
For the average player, the addition of sand to the equation makes this a scary shot, but Woods had a perfect lie, which actually helped him produce more spin and land the shot in a smaller area. One way to promote a clean, high shot out of fairway sand is to swing to a full, high finish. Many players make the mistake of digging the club into the sand to blast the ball out.
At his peak, Woods was dominant off the tee and around the green. But many of his majors were won with superior recovery shots from seemingly impossible positions.
At the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine, Woods faced a long approach shot from a sidehill lie in a fairway bunker. He hit a high hook with a 3-iron directly over trees in his path, ending 20 feet from the flag. A shot many observers called the best they’d ever seen.
Tiger talks about his past and his future in golf and life!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Tiger Woods has certainly changed for the better as he has aged. I’m not talking about his golf, but about his entire demeanor. Gone is the brash young man who wanted to conquer the world and break every record in the process. Instead, he puts family first and has come to terms with the fact that catching and beating Jack Nicklaus’s 18 Majors is now something that probably will not happen. In this introspective piece by Alex Myers of Golf Digest, Tiger discusses his past mistakes and where he is going forward.
Tiger’s recent back issues have caused him to leave the course in a golf cart several times.
We learned a lot from Tiger Woods’ Tuesday press conference.
The 14-time major winner has no timetable for a return, seems content with his career if this is it, and has gotten really good at video games. On Thursday, we learned even more from Woods through an interview he did with Lorne Rubenstein and Time Magazine. The usually guarded superstar was unusually candid discussing his life. The entire interview is fantastic and well worth your time, but here are some of the highlights:
Tiger hates watching golf on TV
“I can’t remember the last time I watched golf. I can’t stand it. Unless one of my friends has a chance to win, then I like watching it. I watched Jason [Day] win the PGA. But it was on mute. It’s always on mute and I have some other game on another TV.”
Woods also took a shot at the media, in particular those on TV. He said “there’s no accountability in what they say.” Curiously, Woods thinks the one exception is Ian Baker-Finch. He refers to him as “Finchy.” Obviously.
Tiger and Elin are BFFs
And this: “We’re like best friends. It’s fun. She talks to me about her life, I talk to her about my life. We try and help each other out on all occasions. And we work through it with the kids, the parenting program. She is one of my best friends now, and it’s all because of my kids.”
Speaking of his kids. . .
Tiger would choose them over golf
Woods tells Rubenstein that being able to be active in his kids’ lives is more important than his golf career. He says he values his time with them more than anything. “Now I know what my dad felt like when we’d go out there and play nine holes in the dark,” Woods said.
Tiger takes the blame for his divorce
“I’ve taken the initiative with the kids, and told them up front, ‘Guys, the reason why we’re not in the same house, why we don’t live under the same roof, Mommy and Daddy, is because Daddy made some mistakes.’ I just want them to understand before they get to Internet age and they log on to something or have their friends tell them something. I want it to come from me so that when they come of age, I’ll just tell them the real story. But meanwhile, it’s just, ‘Hey, Daddy made some mistakes. But it’s O.K. We’re all human. We all make mistakes. But look what happened at the end of it. Look at how great you are. You have two loving parents that love you no matter what.'”
Are golfers athletes – Question answered right here!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Having been a golf professional for almost 50 years, I can tell you that anybody who asks the question “Are golfers athletes?” does not know the game of golf. Decades ago when I used to play on the Sunshine Tour, I think the only person who worked out was Gary Player! The rest of us would meet for dinner and a few drinks after our round. Today. golf has become big business, with millions of dollars at stake every week.
The players on every Tour and Mini-Tour in the world, work out to improve strength and flexibility, and performance coaches guide them through the process. These coaches make sure the workout is technically correct to achieve maximum benefit for each individual. Check out the video below presented by the PGA Tour, to see just how much fitness plays in this game. Amateurs could definitely benefit from similar attention to their bodies to improve their golf game!
Pre Tiger Woods, golf was just a game. Now it’s an Olympic sport populated by athletes who work both on and off the course to be the best.
Tiger Woods’ First Golf Course Design in the USA is a Beauty!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
It has been a long time coming, but Tiger Woods’ first golf course design in the USA is officially open for play.
By the looks of it, it will be a traditional tree-lined course, similar to Augusta National where there is not a lot of rough. So if you stay out of the lakes you should be able to find your ball. I like that! Thanks to Back9Network for bringing this story to us!
Debuting in November, Bluejack National will be the first Tiger Woods-designed golf course to open in the United States. Tiger’s design update showcases the progress of Bluejack’s par-72 golf course and the “The Playgrounds,” a ten-hole short course. His course layout will accentuate the natural beauty of Bluejack’s undulating terrain, while offering a unique playability that will appeal to a wide range of players. Featuring a single cut of Zoysia grass, no rough, and a variety of shot-making options, Bluejack National will present an unmatched playing experience.
Tiger Woods’ first course design in the U.S. is now officially open for play.
Golf will be just one of many activities on offer at Bluejack National, which sits about an hour outside of Houston in Montgomery, Texas.
The plan was to create a course “unlike any other in the Houston area. And our goal is for it to be among the best in the nation,” Woods says. The course takes advantage of the natural topography, which isn’t as flat as Woods imagined when he previously thought of Texas. He says it actually resembles the pinelands of Georgia and the Carolinas.
This makes the private, resort-style community an attractive destination for non-golfers. They will be able enjoy fishing, hiking, paddle boarding, and even zip lining.
To build anticipation for the opening, Bluejack National was been releasing a series of videos giving viewers a behind the scenes of the making of Bluejack.
Here’s one of the first videos that were published last year:
Bluejack National, the exceptional private club and community currently in development north of Houston, in Montgomery, Texas. They have released the first in a series of videos entitled “The Making of Bluejack”.
The first installment introduces the formative partners. Showcases the lush beauty of the property and provides a first look at the Bluejack National vision.
Features include interviews with course designer Tiger Woods. Beacon Land Development President Michael Abbott, Bluejack National President Casey Paulson and Lantern Asset Management President Andy Mitchell.
Bluejack National ambassador and World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Mark O’Meara is also featured. This opening piece is the preface to the ever evolving story of Bluejack National.
Woods and Mickelson are still the Top Brands in any Sport!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
The latest Forbes Magazine release of their “Fab 40” top athletic brands has Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson as #1 and #2!
That is impressive when you see the names on the list. It is a veritable compilation of who’s who in the field of individual sport! Thanks to back9network.com and Chris Chaney of Wrong Fairway for sharing this story!
LeBron James, Roger Federer, Usain Bolt, Kevin Durant and Cristiano Ronaldo. What do all five of those global superstars have in common? Their “brands” aren’t as valuable as Tiger Woods’ or Phil Mickelson’s, according to Forbes.
The business magazine released its annual “Fab 40: The Most Valuable Athlete Brands” and Woods and Mickelson came in first and second, respectively, although this list is one time we doubt Phil cares about coming in second. Rory McIlroy came in ninth among the 10 individual athletes featured. Forbes defines an athlete’s brand value as “their endorsement income, less the average endorsement income of the top 10 athletes in same the sport.”
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Brandel Chamblee on the Golf Channel talking Presidents Cup!
When Brandel Chamblee first came to the Golf Channel I enjoyed his fresh approach to the commentary and his insights as a former player.
But as he went along, his ego became bigger and bigger and now he thinks he is the expert in everything, including who will and will not be a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup captain.
This by a man who has only won once on the PGA Tour! Best finish in the Masters T18 (the only time he was invited) US Open T44, British Open T62, and PGA Championship played 4 times, missed the cut 4 times! And yet according to an article by Luke Kerr-Dineen writing for USA Today Brandel is saying Tiger (and Phil) do not deserve to EVER be Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup Captains! Wow, what a HUGE put-down of two of golf’s best from someone who has no resume to speak of compared to the two players he is putting down.
Reports emerged during the Presidents Cup last week that Tiger Woods, who looks unlikely to make next year’s Ryder Cup team, expressed interest in becoming an assistant captain at Hazeltine National Golf Club.
According to Golf Digest: “[Woods] was talking about all the things he thought we needed to do, and he had a lot of ideas …”
Love said the next task for him is naming assistant captains. Woods is a candidate, among many, if he doesn’t qualify for the U.S. team. “But we’re not waiting around for that. We’ve already been doing a lot of planning,”
Love said. “And Tiger is just as interested as the rest of us to get going.”
So, Tiger wants to be an assistant captain next year if he doesn’t make the team? Probably a good idea. But not according to Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee.
Chamblee said that both Tiger and Phil Mickelson don’t “deserve” the roles because: “I don’t really think it’s appropriate to give players leadership roles in an event they didn’t show interest or passion for when they were competitors.”
It’s hardly surprising given that Chamblee generally rips Tiger whenever he can. On Tiger specifically, Chamblee said that the former World No. 1 doesn’t deserve to be a captain because he didn’t show “interest or passion” in the competition earlier in his career. If he had, Chamblee claims, Tiger would have finished with a record better than his current 13-17-3 career Ryder Cup record.
Twitter/@heraldsunsport
LeBron James, Roger Federer, Usain Bolt, Kevin Durant and Cristiano Ronaldo. What do all five of those global superstars have in common? Their “brands” aren’t as valuable as Tiger Woods’ or Phil Mickelson’s, according to 
