From a buried lie in a fairway bunker, Tiger Woods once produced a shot with such force that his lifelong best friend says he’s never heard a golf ball struck like it before or since. That’s the claim Notah Begay III, a four-time PGA Tour winner whose full-time playing career ended in the early 2010s because of back injuries and who has since built a second career as one of golf’s most recognizable broadcasters, made recently on the Vanity Index podcast: that among everything Woods has accomplished in the sport, this one shot stands alone, and Begay III is the only person who ever saw it happen.

“It was about a 245 front edge. It’s a par 5. And he was in the fairway bunker,” Begay III said. “And the ball, as you can get from time to time, was sitting down about a quarter of it was below the sand. I swear, I’ve never seen, and I’ve never heard to this day, a golf ball being struck that hard. The only way I can characterize it to people, and I told the story, it was like the hand of God was smacking the back of the ball. Because the force that he hit, that he generated on that 2-iron to get the ball up and out. And he carried about 230. And then it rolled up on the front edge.”

Sand under a ball eats up clubhead speed before it even reaches contact, which is why most golfers facing a buried lie in a fairway bunker settle for just getting back to the fairway, let alone attacking a flag from 200-plus yards. Pulling a 2-iron in that spot only adds risk: miss it slightly and the club catches sand first, and the ball never leaves the bunker. Woods built his reputation on exactly this kind of shot, wringing speed out of lies that would leave most pros bailing out.

83% of our readers couldn't break par yesterday

Changing winds, tricky bunkers, and quirky breaks test every shot. Beat par, compare scores, and return tomorrow for a new challenge.

TEE OFF HERE↗

The combination of a 245-yard approach and a partially buried lie in a fairway bunker gave Woods’ college teammate every reason to believe he’d win the hole. After all, Begay III was safely in the fairway and had already hit his approach just short of the green. But that’s when Woods did what only he seemed capable of doing.

From a buried bunker lie, he unleashed a shot with such incredible force that Begay III later admitted he had never seen, or even heard, a golf ball struck that hard.

Later, as Begay III sat alone in his car, the reality sank in. He admitted to himself that he simply wasn’t good enough. And it wasn’t just a comparison to his own game. He believed no golfer in history had ever struck a ball with that much power.

“I don’t know there’s anybody in the world, possibly maybe a buddy in the history of our game from all the early historical accounts we have of golfers and their strength,” Begay III recalled. “I don’t know if there’s anyone [who] could have hit that shot like he did.”

This, however, isn’t the only incredible shot Tiger Woods has taken. During the final round of the 2005 Masters, he produced a moment of pure magic from a tough lie on the fringe left of the 16th green. He holed a near-impossible chip that rolled down the slope, hung on the lip of the cup for nearly two agonizing seconds, and finally dropped for birdie.

It was one of the most dramatic shots in tournament history that helped secure his fourth Green Jacket in a playoff over Chris DiMarco. In the meantime, there’s an upgrade regarding Woods’ potential return to the sport. 

Begay’s story is about what Woods’ body used to do. Ernie Els is more interested in what it can still do, just not necessarily against the same competition.

Ernie Els will continue to try to get Tiger Woods back in the sport

Woods hasn’t competed in an official event since the 2024 Open Championship. And after missing all four major championships for the second straight year in 2026, questions continue to surround whether he will ever return to competitive golf. While Woods remains occupied with his recovery, PGA Tour responsibilities, and an ongoing legal case, Ernie Els believes there is still hope.

The four-time major champion revealed that he has been encouraging Woods to consider playing on the PGA Tour Champions, where he became eligible after turning 50 last year.

“We had the discussion about the Champions Tour, and he asked me about it, and he started warming to it,” Els said. 

He also acknowledged Woods’ commitments away from the game, adding, “He’s a busy guy; he’s got a lot of responsibility.”

Despite everything on Woods’ plate, Els isn’t giving up on the idea of seeing him compete again. “I’ll keep knocking on his door,” he said.

The same physical gifts that made Begay swear off ever seeing a golf ball hit that hard are what Els is now trying to bring back to a golf course, just on a more forgiving stage. Whether that happens on the PGA Tour Champions in the coming months, or Woods keeps testing himself against a body that has needed seven back surgeries, will decide whether stories like Begay’s stay in the past or get a new chapter.