In a career defined by conquering every imaginable peak, Tiger Woods is still haunted by a challenge he hasn’t had a chance to take on. It is something he has wanted to do over a decade now.

“It’s a cool place, and I’ve always, I know you know this, but one time a year they play it backwards. They play 1 to 17 green, 2 to 16 green, 3 to 15 green. I’ve always wanted to play it that way. And if you look at how the golf course is set up, it sets up for openings into all those holes,” Tiger Woods told Jordan Spiethon The Tiger Effect: 30 Years of Influence. “And so the golf course is very ingenious at how it’s set up.”

The 15x major winner is talking about the reverse routing at the Old Course at St. Andrews. The Old Course was played in both directions until 1870. That was when Old Tom Morris formalized the counterclockwise layout. After that, the reverse play persisted occasionally for locals until recently revived. Bunkers like the Cartgate (3rd hole) and Beardies (14th) make sense in reverse, too. They guard approaches directly, while shared greens and “The Loop” (holes 7-12) create unique challenges.

St. Andrews Links Trust launched “Old Course Reversed” in 2024. They did so to mark 50 years of their custodianship. Organizers originally planned it as a one-time event. But the significant appeal from fans and golfers made it an annual event. In 2024, the backward play was available from March 28 to April 2. Organizers staged the event on April 4, 5, and 7 in 2025, and they have scheduled it for April 17, 18, and 20 in 2026.

The reverse setup lets golfers play the course in either direction. So, golfers can play it from the 1st green to the 17th green, the 2nd green to the 16th green, the 3rd green to the 15th green, and so on. Since the tradition was not in effect from the 1870s to 2024, Tiger Woods never had the chance to play it in reverse. Thus, he expressed a desire to play St. Andrews backwards.

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The 15-time major champion visited the Home of Golf for his debut as an amateur in the 1995 Open. Five years later, he returned to complete the career Grand Slam. He managed to avoid every single bunker as he shot eight rounds in the 60s and stormed the field by eight shots. Fast forward to 2005, and Woods was lifting his second Claret Jug at St Andrews.

Woods has been talking up his dream of playing the Old Course in reverse for over 10 years now.

“It’s the Home of Golf,” he said ahead of the 2015 Open. “We all know that. But to me, it’s brilliant how you can play it so many different ways. I’ve always wanted to play it backwards, one time before I die.

“I think that would be just a blast because I can see how certain bunkers—why would they put that there? And then if you play it backwards, you see it. It’s very apparent. That’s totally in play. That one day would be a lot of fun to be able to do.”

That curiosity about playing unique setups is not the only thing keeping Woods talking these days. He also has keen eyes for unique shots. Even though his own playing future is uncertain because of health issues, his eye for elite shot-making has not faded.

Tiger Woods still sees the game differently

Jacob Bridgeman earned his breakthrough victory at the Tiger Woods-hosted 2026 Genesis Invitational. To rise to the victory, he played many excellent shots during his four rounds. However, the 7-wood shot on the par-5 11th during the third round caught the 82x PGA Tour winner’s eyes.

The Big Cat didn’t just notice the shot but actually praised it publicly. “I wish I could hit it like that,” he said in a conversation with Jim Nantz.

Post his 7th back surgery in October 2025, Tiger Woods is in recovery. While he has started playing golf again, he still cannot hit as well as he used to during his prime. Thus, when Nantz tried to compare his prime long-iron prowess, he laughed it off.

He has not played a PGA Tour event since missing the 2024 Open cut at Royal Troon. There’s also no confirmation that he will play at the 2026 Masters. However, there’s no telling what Tiger Woods’ next move will be. Fans are expecting to see him at Augusta National.