Tiger Woods has been the face of golf for a couple of decades now. The 15-time Major champion has seen many highs and lows throughout his career, but the fact remains that he is one of the most coveted players in sports history. In some ways, this was always on the cards, when Tiger exhibited his unnatural talent from a very young age. His first regular coach, Rudy Duran, knew it all and spilled the beans on what set the prodigy apart.

How did Duran meet Tiger Woods?

Duran was speaking on the Bunkered Golf Podcast, where he was asked about the inevitable experience of coaching Tiger Woods. Duran went on to describe the first time he saw Woods, and how he enrolled under his tutelage.

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“Well, Tida and Earl Woods were looking for a coach to help Tiger and they reached out to a friend of theirs who was a golf pro but a retired golf pro,” Duran said. “He advised Earl to come see me because I’d had a junior program and we had a lot of success with my junior program. And so this person told Tiger, you know, like, maybe go see me.”

Duran further mentioned how Tiger’s mother, Tida Woods, brought Tiger as a 4-year-old to his pro shop. She sought Duran’s help to help Tiger with his game, for which Duran agreed, but on one condition – he wanted to see Tiger first-hand on a golf course.

“Hard to believe how good he was that young,”: Rudy Duran

At that time, Duran had a thriving junior golf program, in which more than 100 kids had unlimited access to the course, free of charge. Most of the kids in his program were 9-year-olds or 10-year-olds, so Duran felt he needed to see Tiger at the course first to make an opinion on the prodigy’s game.

Duran mentions how he teed up Tiger with three balls in a row. The results were overwhelming. “He hit these you want these three perfect tee shots in a row. And I said, Whoa, said I would love to help you with your game. And you can play anytime you want,” Duran joyfully revealed.

Duran also divulged into Tiger’s golf attributes during that period. “He couldn’t hit the ball very far. So his scores weren’t all that good. But, you know, he was playing really, really well. Great instinct for playing golf,” he mentioned on the podcast.

The coach also divulged why Tiger’s capabilities were better than most pros on the Tour, and how his age was the restraining factor. “He was able to hit the shot he’s capable of high percent of the time, which is what we need to be as an adult player. You know, a lot of players can hit great shots. Well, can you do it, 90 out of a 90?”

“And so the skill of being able to do what you’re capable of in all environments is what I believe Tiger’s real gift is,” concluded Duran. It’s fair to say that Duran had a massive talent on his hands during his program, and he furnished it properly for the player we all know today as Tiger Woods.

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