Why Tiger?

Honest question and one that I have always been curious of. What draws you to Tiger Woods? In general conversation with guys my age, which is 60+, I have never found a fan of Woods. Not sure why but that is why I ask you, what is the draw? My stepson is a huge Tiger fan. Plenty of young people on this forum are die hard Tiger fans. I'm truly interested in what draws you to Tiger so us older guys will have a clue what's going on.

I'm 29 and have been swinging the sticks for about 15 years, but hadn't played my first golf course before I was 20.

When I was younger, my demographic didn't watch golf and for the most part, didn't care for it. Tiger was the first electric athlete on golf with a great story behind him that brought people to the game. Watching him got me interested in golf and wanting to play. Part of it is smart marketing, but his work ethic and background resonated with me. He was young face in a typically older crowd.

ETA: he broke a major demographic barrier in golf and proved that it's a reachable sport for people. He made it super competitive with great energy that can be seen on the course. His Nike contract put him on the forefront and made him an ambassador to the world for golf. His young swagger made him an aspirational figure for many kids.
 
He is the reason why I started playing golf. I thought golf was extremely boring and he was the first guy that I thought showed some enthusiasm. Granted, I am sure there were some prior to him that did, but I started watching when I started seeing his highlights on ESPN.
 
I'm 29 and have been swinging the sticks for about 15 years, but hadn't played my first golf course before I was 20.

When I was younger, my demographic didn't watch golf and for the most part, didn't care for it. Tiger was the first electric athlete on golf with a great story behind him that brought people to the game. Watching him got me interested in golf and wanting to play. Part of it is smart marketing, but his work ethic and background resonated with me. He was young face in a typically older crowd.

ETA: he broke a major demographic barrier in golf and proved that it's a reachable sport for people. He made it super competitive with great energy that can be seen on the course. His Nike contract put him on the forefront and made him an ambassador to the world for golf. His young swagger made him an aspirational figure for many kids.

Good answer :thumb:
 
To me, Tiger made golf cool. I never thought of touching a golf club until I was 16 and saw Tiger play, 1996 I think. Not sure if his rise coincided with more media coverage, or better media coverage, but it just happened that way for me. I've been hooked ever since.
 
I was a fresh faced pro when he burst onto the scene as pro. I started following his career when he was a junior and marveled at his speed and knack to escape when he needed to. he dominated as an amateur and really appreciated it.

As a man of color I had an instant bond. Some may shake their heads and not understand that and that is ok. He wasn't the great hope for me it was just cool to see someone I felt would dominate. He did not disappoint.

I then watch him struggle and and tug usta before turning a pro but still felt he would do great things. After the '97 Masters I recieved a call from a friend asking me to put togther a team of pros to help teach inner city kids in Miami with Tiger. Myself and handful of pro joined Tiger at International Golf course for a few hours of teaching and clinic by TW.

Our paths crossed again while I was working at Pumpkin ridge as we shared a mutual friend. A few more encounters in orlando and at a few PGA events, we became freindly. Not buds by any means but we knew one another. I have been a fan because I felt he was good for the game and for the inner city youth to see a man of color rise to the top of a perceived white man's game. Basketball and football didn't have to be the only way out. I believe he affected change in this way and inspired a lot of youth world wide to take up the game I love.

I am fan and always will be. But I am also aware of his struggles. It's not my place to forgive but I won't forget. I hope this is the beginning of his rise to his top form, what ever that might be. The big smile, his joking and having fun is what I hope to see moving forward, mixed in with some wins. I'm a fan for personal reasons and don't see that changing.
It's like you took the words out of my mouth. Thumbs up.
 
Watching his first Masters win inspired me to pick up a golf club and I've been hooked ever since.
 
I golf today because of Tiger. He made "old man" golf cool for the masses. Golf to me was a bunch of old guys chasing a white ball. Tiger is like the Fab Five. He modernized golf apparel. He wears fitted polos and flat front pants. Dressing like Tiger works on the course and in the office. As others have mentioned, he is a winner. The things he has done will not be accomplished by any golfer in the near future. I witnessed first hand the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines. What an amazing performance on one leg. He was favorite to win and he did it. The Tiger Slam, winning for consecutive majors. The list goes on and on.

What he did to his wife was terrible and there is no excuse for that. I like him for what he accomplished on the course. I look past Tiger the person.
 
For me, he was the first superstar when I got interested in the game. His Masters win in 2004 was the time I got the super bug and passion for the game.


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I'm 51 and have been following Tiger since he was little. I was a big fan of his early on, I was already playing golf before he started the junior tournaments and loved keeping up with his progress from juniors to college to the pros. I think what I liked about him was his single focus on winning, at that time it seemed most touring pros were content on just making a good showing at a event and collecting a check ( not that there is anything wrong with that, I would trade my job for that) but when Tiger came on the scene and starting dominating, the rest of the guys had to step up there games. You could see in guys eyes when Tiger would make a run at them, they were finished. Golf was as exciting to watch then as its ever been and his play caused a lot of the better young athletes to look at golf instead of other sports.
As a family man, what Tiger did to his family was horrible, definitely soured me on him. I know his personal life is his business but its hard for me to look at him the same way anymore, I wouldn't mind seeing him contend again because it would be good for the game but I just don't pull for him like I once did.
 
So if Tiger had a true case of the yips and didn't make the cut this week, would you have stopped watching the Masters? :alien:
I just found this.

The answer is a resounding no. I watch the majors and the 5th major (Players) no matter who is in or out. Those are the history-makers, so to speak, and there are plenty of Phils and Rorys and Jordans and Patrick Reeds and Bubbas and .... well, you get the point, plenty of great golfers to watch. And that has always been the case with me, much more interested in those events, and two others - Pebble Beach and Riviera, where I love to watch because of the tracks. But when it comes to Firestone or Bay Hill or Memorial or Doral - well, I doubt I could describe a single hole on any of them, much less the other tracks the PGA plays, and the main thing that got me to watch those events was Tiger in the field, because it seems he just always had a knack for doing the astounding.
 
I will add this too, when he first burst on to the scene I hated him for making it hard for me to play. Before Tiger we would get to the course and almost tee off with out much of any wait, after Tiger those same courses started to become one to 2 hour waits. Back then there was no golf now or being able to make a tee time at the courses we would play on Long Island so for me I always respected what he was doing for the sport and hated it at the same time.
 
Honest question and one that I have always been curious of. What draws you to Tiger Woods? In general conversation with guys my age, which is 60+, I have never found a fan of Woods. Not sure why but that is why I ask you, what is the draw? My stepson is a huge Tiger fan. Plenty of young people on this forum are die hard Tiger fans. I'm truly interested in what draws you to Tiger so us older guys will have a clue what's going on. I had a guy ask me this very question at the golf course today and I could not give him a good answer. This is not a racist type thing at all. I love Henry Aaron and was with him all the way to passing Babe Ruth's record. And Hershel Walker (Go Dawgs), that dude was/is a stud from Heaven but seriously, what draws you to Tiger?

You mean just because in his prime he was the best player to have ever swung a golf club? Because showed his emotions on the course? Because he played shots that nobody had ever seen? Because he brought a new level of excitement to the game? A better question is why wouldn't you be drawn to him?

And by the way, I'm 68. I was a fan of Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino. A fan of Phil Mickelson. I'm a fan of Rory McIlroy. There are a dozen others from the last 40 years on that list too. I'm sure that I would have been a fan of Arnold Palmer, but I came in to the game in the 70's when he was about done. I expect that I'll even come around to Jordan Spieth. I like to watch good golf, but I like to see something that shows some personality too, not just after the round is over, but while they're playing. It doesn't have to be as overt as Tiger is, but the vanilla sameness of most Tour players today is pretty boring.
 
You mean just because in his prime he was the best player to have ever swung a golf club? Because showed his emotions on the course? Because he played shots that nobody had ever seen? Because he brought a new level of excitement to the game? A better question is why wouldn't you be drawn to him?

And by the way, I'm 68. I was a fan of Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino. A fan of Phil Mickelson. I'm a fan of Rory McIlroy. There are a dozen others from the last 40 years on that list too. I'm sure that I would have been a fan of Arnold Palmer, but I came in to the game in the 70's when he was about done. I expect that I'll even come around to Jordan Spieth. I like to watch good golf, but I like to see something that shows some personality too, not just after the round is over, but while they're playing. It doesn't have to be as overt as Tiger is, but the vanilla sameness of most Tour players today is pretty boring.

That needs to be a thread. I'd love to hear the responses. Pre-Scandal of course, because I've followed Tiger from the beginning and there was just as many people who didn't like him then as there are now.
 
I wonder how many on here realize that Bobby Jones had a temper in his younger days, threw clubs, got his backside handed to him by the old course at St. Andrews and quit the tournament. He got on top of it, however, and became one the ambassadors of the game we all love. I truly hope the same thing happens for Tiger. I wouldn't call myself a Tiger fanboy, but always admired his passion and fantastic ability to pull off some of the best shots I've ever seen, not unlike Jack did in his day. I admit that at first I was kind of annoyed that Tiger was on pace to beat Jacks record, because he was always my golf hero, but now I would like to see him get his game back and either beat it or at least come closer to doing so. I really don't like seeing him fall so far, and I'm hoping that maybe a big helping of humble pie might cause him to grow and be an even greater golfer than he already is, as well as become an ambassador for the game. I'm not condoning what he did to his wife and family by any means, that was despicable, but he has the same right to forgiveness as anyone else.
One thing I would like to see though, and maybe it already happened and I missed it, is that he would give some recognition to other minorities that helped pave the way for him i.e. Lee elder, Calvin Peete, Lee Trevino, and Chi Chi rodriguez, just to name a few.
 
No one is perfect. I've cussed after hitting blocking a drive into the water, and I have to learn how to just do it quietly. I've slammed my FW into the fairway after a lousy shot. I set the standard so high for myself. I think every one of us has misbehaved on the golf course.

I've watched Tiger's meltdowns on Youtube. I remember seeing them. I don't care about them. Tiger never was my golf hero, but I was a Tiger fan. I grew up watching Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Jack was better, but I liked Arnie.

I'd like to see Tiger win another major, but I don't think it's going to happen. He'll have some top 10 finishes. I think he'll win some tournaments, and then retire when he falls out of the top 20 consistently.
 
At worst he is the 2nd best professional golfer ever.
He always plays to win and shows it when he's excited about hitting a great shot or pissed off for hitting an ugly one.
I believe David Feherty said it best "Of the 10 best shots I've ever seen he has hit 12 of them" I'm sure the wording might be a little off but that's basically what he said.
 
Tiger has a magnetism about him that no.other player in my lifetime has had. When he was coming up, veterans would gather on the range to watch him. He had shots nobody else had. He could do things people hadn't seen before. He had a knack for big moments. I like Jordan Spieth, and he's a heck of a golfer. But he doesn't have that. Rory has shown flashes of it. Tiger was simply the most entertaining golfer I have ever seen.
 
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