Charlie has followed in his father’s footsteps and spends a lot of his time on the golf course. The 13-year-old has shown real promise, and Tiger, too, is more than impressed with his skill. They’ve played in three PNC Championships together so far. Even though they have yet to win one, they are grateful for the memories they have created.
The 15-time major championship winner, in November 2021 sat down with Golf Digest and opened up about Charlie’s game. Woods revealed that on the course, Charlie often lost his temper after a bad shot. That anger, he said, would affect Charlie’s remaining game too.
Tiger believed that this was the biggest mistake anyone could make while playing the sport. He didn’t want his son to go down that path and said, “Son, I don’t care how mad you get.” Your head could blow off for all I care just as long as you’re 100 percent committed to the next shot.”
The 82-time PGA Tour winner wanted his son to learn the importance of focus in the game. He wanted Charlie to understand that with focus, he could achieve great heights. “That’s all that matters,” he explained to Charlie. He firmly explained to his son that letting one bad part of his game affect the rest of his game would only make things worse and that every shot needed to be played with conviction and concentration.
The gold-medal great went on to add to his lesson on focus and said, “That next shot should be the most important shot in your life.” He explained to Charlie that at that moment, nothing else should matter more than the shot he was playing—not the past nor the future.
“It should be more important than breathing,” Woods added, in an attempt to get his son to understand how strongly he meant his words. He also went on to tell him that once he did manage to get that concentration into his game, he would become much better.
Do you think Charlie now plays with this lesson in mind? And if so, will it help him achieve greatness like his father? Only time will tell.