Charlie Woods

[heavy_hitter]

16 hours ago, Yuck said:

Hard to project from that age to Tour Caliber.  As kid in the olden days, I played with several players who ultimately went on to win on tour.  Two of them are majors winners and were not even the best player in their respective high schools.  (Azinger, Janzen).  Another two were absolute prodigies, but one never sniffed Div 1 golf, and the other , Andy Bean, never won a major.

Don't disagree.  Just saying what the numbers are and there is a good correlation.  Might be a superstar, might not.  Fan Boy's need to stop with the ridiculousness because right now he isn't there.  Let the kid be the kid and stop forcing it just because of daddy.

[idrive]

How Charlie Woods saved the PNC Championship

 

Gary Player, Lee Trevino and defending champion John Daly should thank Charlie Woods for saving their “major

 

This week marks the 25^th playing of the PNC Championship, but this 36-hole team event, which pairs 20 winners of prestigious titles alongside a family member in a scramble competition, had just about run its course until Charlie got the golf itch.

Don’t believe me? This event wasn’t played from 2009-2011 due to a lack of sponsorship and wasn’t revived until IMG and Arnold Palmer convinced the good people at Pittsburgh-based PNC to breathe new life into it. The King played with grandson Will Wears in 2012, but then he passed the torch to Jack Nicklaus. Seeing The Golden Bear, who was usually paired with Lee Trevino, play 36 was worth the price of admission and carried TV ratings. But as Nicklaus neared his 80^th birthday – he last played in 2018 with grandson G.T. – IMG’s Alastair Johnston sensed his “baby” had outgrown its britches. He’d seen the same thing happen to the Skins Game, another event he helped bring into prominence as the once-proud king of Silly Season events.

“Once Tiger’s appetite for doing that went away and the money became so big that people didn’t have to play in it to make money, it lost its appeal,” Johnston once explained of the demise of the Skins Game, which was last played in 2008.

 

 

Tiger Woods and Charlie Woods react on the third green during the first round of the PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando on December 19, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Johnston remembers when the idea for the PNC Championship struck him. This was several years ago in the pre-cellphone days and he was at TPC Michigan, site of the 1994 Ford Senior Players Championship. There in the locker room were three major champions lined up at a bank of phones: Raymond Floyd, Dave Stockton and Nicklaus.

“They were all talking to their kids,” Johnston said. “It was far more important how their kids were playing than how they were doing and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could create a tournament where the fathers and sons could play together?’ ”

His brainchild has exceeded his wildest expectations.

 

“It’s the one event where nobody asks me about the prize money,” Johnston said. “The waiting list is perpetual. I could easily have 40 (teams) – without a doubt.”

“The biggest bonus no one talks about of winning a major is getting to play in the father-son,” two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen said.

And yet the event was headed for a certain death as the tournament’s biggest draws began to age out. No offense, but Janzen and 2013 champ Stewart Cink and ageless wonder Bernhard Langer, a four-time champion, don’t make golf fans push off their holiday shopping for another week to crowd around the TV.

That’s when Johnston had his next bright idea. Over the years, he had stretched the rules so Palmer, whose four daughters didn’t play golf competitively, could play with grandsons Sam Saunders and then Wears, Fuzzy Zoeller could play with daughter Gretchen, and Aaron Stewart, whose father, Payne, died in a plane crash, could play with Janzen and Paul Azinger. In 2017, Johnston added a new wrinkle: sons playing with fathers as Justin Leonard, the 1997 British Open champion, broke new ground playing with his dad, Larry. Jim Furyk and Matt Kuchar did the same a year later, which gave way to Justin Thomas, who won with dad Mike in 2020, and this year’s rookie, Jordan Spieth, who is playing with dad, Shawn. (Someday soon, four-time major winner and current World No. 1 Rory McIlroy and his dad Gerry would make a fine pairing until daughter Poppy is old enough to play.)

But the real salvation was Tiger and Charlie, who finished second as a team a year ago and are scheduled to play together this weekend at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando for the third time. It completed the hand-off from Arnold to Jack to Tiger as the top draw of the event. Some, including Padraig Harrington, would argue that Charlie is the bigger draw. As much as golf fans are desperate to see Tiger, who played just nine competitive rounds this year, it is watching the development of young Charlie’s game that is endlessly fascinating.

“This is the first tournament I’ve ever played in that Tiger Woods is playing in that he’s not the star of the show,” Harrington said.

And other than the four majors, it seems to be the one tournament circled on Tiger’s schedule – and it’s not just the golf cart that he can use since the event is played under the rules of PGA Tour Champions. Even last year where Tiger’s injuries from his car accident weren’t yet healed, he wouldn’t deprive Charlie of playing in the PNC. Plantar fasciitis this year? It kept Tiger out of the Hero World Challenge, the unofficial event earlier this month he hosts, but it’s not going to prevent Tiger from enjoying what has become one of his favorite weeks of the year.

“Charlie will just hit all the shots and I’ll just get the putts out of the hole,” Tiger said at the Hero World Challenge.

Suddenly, the PNC has turned into must-see TV each December. Who could’ve seen this rebirth coming? Johnston, for one, always knew this day would come.

“You know what was the first thing I said to Tiger Woods when I saw him the week after he won the Masters in 1997?” Johnston said. “I told him, ‘The good news is you’ve now qualified for the Father-Son.’ ”

 

 

.

Edited December 15, 2022 by idrive

[BallerNate]

It'll be interesting to see how things end up evolving and working out long term for Charlie. Definitely Pros & Cons to being the GOAT's son. Growing up in the lap of luxury on a Multi-Million Dollar compound with every possible luxury would be nice, but the pressure and scrutiny he faces would be absolutely brutal to bear.

 

At least any pressure he faces doesn't seem like it's coming from his parents, so that's a huge positive.

 

I've never met him or Tiger unfortunately, but I feel like an uncle watching him from afar and I'll be rooting for him to be successful and happy whatever route he ends up going and whatever his goals are.

[GwrxMod]

A few posts removed. 

 

Cease the bickering. Warnings will be issued if we continue to get further reports. 

Edited December 16, 2022 by GwrxMod

[kekoa]

11 hours ago, BallerNate said:

It'll be interesting to see how things end up evolving and working out long term for Charlie. Definitely Pros & Cons to being the GOAT's son. Growing up in the lap of luxury on a Multi-Million Dollar compound with every possible luxury would be nice, but the pressure and scrutiny he faces would be absolutely brutal to bear.

 

At least any pressure he faces doesn't seem like it's coming from his parents, so that's a huge positive.

 

I've never met him or Tiger unfortunately, but I feel like an uncle watching him from afar and I'll be rooting for him to be successful and happy whatever route he ends up going and whatever his goals are.

I know a few kids who have met and played with Charlie.  They all say he's cool, down to earth and just like all the other kids on the circuit.  Oh except he has security following him most of the time.  LMAO.   

[MUNIGRIT]

On 12/13/2022 at 8:32 PM, Thayneil said:

Charlie was playing tees 150 yards forward until recently

 

when he gets a legit plus 4 off 7000 yard tees and or wins a  decent amateur  tournament let me know

 

There are dozens of guys in Asia  who  can beat him hands down

Charlie is playing the 13 year old tees. 

[BallerNate]

1 hour ago, kekoa said:

I know a few kids who have met and played with Charlie.  They all say he's cool, down to earth and just like all the other kids on the circuit.  Oh except he has security following him most of the time.  LMAO.   

That’s awesome, great to hear!

 

Yeah, only a few people on the planet could relate to growing up with parents in that stratosphere. The MJ’s kids (Jordan & Jackson), LeBron’s kids, and maybe Wayne Gretzky’s kids. Very small group for sure.

[Thayneil]

3 hours ago, MUNIGRIT said:

Charlie is playing the 13 year old tees. 

and 13 year olds in Asia playing the 7000 yard tees

 

legit scratch and plus handicaps

 

its scary

[idrive]

11 hours ago, MUNIGRIT said:

Charlie is playing the 13 year old tees. 

 

Tiger Woods' 13-year-old son Charlie has been moved forward a tee for this week's PNC Championship according to the Golf Channel's Todd Lewis.

null© Getty Images

Charlie was originally set to play the Ritz-Carlton Orlando from 'Tee #2', a course measuring 6,754 yards along with the likes of John Daly, Nelly Korda and Vijay Singh. However, he appears to have been moved forward to 'Tee #3', which is 300 yards shorter. Players to be hitting off the number 3 tees include Sir Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Annika Sorenstam.

The 6,450+ yard course is still longer than the one he played last year, where he was off the most forward tees at around 5,600 yards.

"The committee for the @PNCchampionship reconsidered and decided to move Charlie Woods to the tee markers designed for 65-72 yo male pros, LPGA pros over 50 & family members age 12-13 yo," Lewis wrote on Twitter. "Charlie is 13 and will now play at 6,452 yds instead of 6,754 yds as previously planned."

[Ghost of Snead]

Lined up to see the GOATS and maybe even Charlie

 

[Carolina Golfer 2]

35 minutes ago, Ghost of Snead said:

Lined up to see the GOATS and maybe even Charlie

 

Yep, he's grown a bit since last year.   I'm looking forward to the event this year.  All eyes will be on Charlie, but I am one that is interested in seeing Tiger as well.   It's not often he's pushed into the background...ha

 

[leezer99]

On 12/14/2022 at 1:01 PM, heavy_hitter said:

I don't disagree with you.  I dislike these threads and social media posts about him.  The PGA Teaching Professionals and Instructors making posts critiquing him are out of line. I think it is over the top and unfair to the kid.  Unneeded attention and pressure rather than just letting him be him.

 

How's this any different than Jennifer Capriati, Mary Lou Retton, Tracy Austin, Martina Hingis, Nadia Comaneci, Pele and Agassi... all who came to be scrutinized by media by the time they were 16?

 

And let's not forget about the high school basketball kids like Zion, Kobe, the James boys, etc. that are filmed every minute they step on court.

 

If Tiger wanted to protect his kid from scrutiny or media attention then they'd be home playing COD together.

[bscinstnct]

21 minutes ago, leezer99 said:

 

How's this any different than Jennifer Capriati, Mary Lou Retton, Tracy Austin, Martina Hingis, Nadia Comaneci, Pele and Agassi... all who came to be scrutinized by media by the time they were 16?

 

And let's not forget about the high school basketball kids like Zion, Kobe, the James boys, etc. that are filmed every minute they step on court.

 

If Tiger wanted to protect his kid from scrutiny or media attention then they'd be home playing COD together.

 

I disagree, I think TW is doing a great job “scaling” CW into understanding life as the son of a global legend. No use hiding from it. There are positives in CW understand what he was “born into”, how to start to deal with the media/scrutiny that’s going to come whether or not he plays golf. 
 

The golf analysis and speculation about how good (pr not good) he is, I’d agree is misplaced and not ideal. Otoh, he has TW to keep his ego in check on how good he actually is.

 

All he has to do is take a look at Dads trophy room to see what golf success at his age really looks like lol
 

I don’t know for sure, of course, but I think TW would be just fine if CW didn’t play golf or want to play in the PNC. And it’s CW who is stoked to get out there to hang out with Dad and his friends. 

Edited December 16, 2022 by bscinstnct

[MK7Golf21]

1 minute ago, bscinstnct said:

 

I disagree, I think TW is doing a great job “scaling” CW into understanding life as the son of a global legend. No use hiding from it. There are positives in CW understand what he was “born into”, how to start to deal with the media/scrutiny that’s going to come whether or not he plays golf. 
 

The golf analysis and speculation about how good (pr not good) he is, I’d agree is misplaced and not ideal. Otoh, he has TW to keep his ego in check on how good he actually is.

 

All he has to do is take a look at Dads trophy room to see what golf success at his age really looks like lol
 

I don’t know for sure, of course, but I think TW would be just fine if CW didn’t play golf or want to play in the PNC. And it’s CW who is stoked to get out there to hang out with Dad and his friends. 

 

A big part of it is how good his swing is, it's really good. If he came out originally with some 15 handicap looking swing hitting it all over the place there wouldn't be as much attention even though he is Tigers son. I don't think Tiger ever had intentions of Charlie getting in the spotlight with golf but it just happened because of how well his swing developed.

[heavy_hitter]

8 minutes ago, MK7Golf21 said:

 

A big part of it is how good his swing is, it's really good. If he came out originally with some 15 handicap looking swing hitting it all over the place there wouldn't be as much attention even though he is Tigers son. I don't think Tiger ever had intentions of Charlie getting in the spotlight with golf but it just happened because of how well his swing developed.

It doesn't matter how good the swing looks.  The only thing that matter is finding the center of face at the bottom of the swing.  How you get there does not matter.

[heavy_hitter]

9 hours ago, Thayneil said:

and 13 year olds in Asia playing the 7000 yard tees

 

legit scratch and plus handicaps

 

its scary

The better 12-14 year olds in the states are playing 7000 yards.  

[MK7Golf21]

29 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

It doesn't matter how good the swing looks.  The only thing that matter is finding the center of face at the bottom of the swing.  How you get there does not matter.

 

right, but I have more of a trained eye I suppose. His swing is going to find the center of the face more often because of how good it is. Scoring average might be higher but he doesn't have much experience in the competitive golf world. 

Edited December 16, 2022 by MK7Golf21

[MK7Golf21]

I'll also say, he is hitting the middle of the fairway with most his drives in past years from the tv coverage, iron shots seem pretty good too so it's not like he is spraying it all over which I wouldn't expect from that swing. His short game looked pretty lackluster though, chips and putts. Add to the fact he has little experience in competitive golf and short game is lacking I think is where his tournament average isn't really up there with the really good juniors. Like I said, Charlie is kind of behind most of them in competitive golf experience, Tiger wasn't exactly throwing him out in the spot light and signing him up for tournaments at an early age.

 

I think he was into soccer prior to this? I remember Tiger talking about being able to attend Charlies soccer games.

Edited December 16, 2022 by MK7Golf21

[Titleist99]

46 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

The better 12-14 year olds in the states are playing 7000 yards.  

Based on your own words the kid has another year to play less than your barometer for better players, which is 7000 yds. 

 

Didn't the youngster just start to take the game seriously just before Covid?

[leezer99]

1 hour ago, bscinstnct said:

 

I disagree, I think TW is doing a great job “scaling” CW into understanding life as the son of a global legend. No use hiding from it. There are positives in CW understand what he was “born into”, how to start to deal with the media/scrutiny that’s going to come whether or not he plays golf. 
 

The golf analysis and speculation about how good (pr not good) he is, I’d agree is misplaced and not ideal. Otoh, he has TW to keep his ego in check on how good he actually is.

 

All he has to do is take a look at Dads trophy room to see what golf success at his age really looks like lol
 

I don’t know for sure, of course, but I think TW would be just fine if CW didn’t play golf or want to play in the PNC. And it’s CW who is stoked to get out there to hang out with Dad and his friends. 

Agreed, I was just pointing out that people getting mad about CW being featured have forgotten about all those other kids that went through the same and still ended up on Wheaties boxes. 

[Ghost of Snead]

4 hours ago, heavy_hitter said:

The better 12-14 year olds in the states are playing 7000 yards.  

 

I have no doubt Charlie could play from 7000 as well. 

 

Edit - 

 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Ghost of Snead

[mosesgolf]

CW is going to be a needle mover for quite some time.  He will likely play div 1 golf (hopefully Stanford) and will have throngs of fans for quite some time.  His swing is already ‘tour esque’.   Now if he can chip n putt then things will get very interesting.   Folks expecting a 13 yr old to play from 7000 yds is on the silly side.  When he gets to high school and fills out 7000 yard courses will be chip n putts.

 

 

[dmbolp]

He's even limping like his dad? 🙂

[golfortennis]

3 hours ago, leezer99 said:

 

How's this any different than Jennifer Capriati, Mary Lou Retton, Tracy Austin, Martina Hingis, Nadia Comaneci, Pele and Agassi... all who came to be scrutinized by media by the time they were 16?

 

And let's not forget about the high school basketball kids like Zion, Kobe, the James boys, etc. that are filmed every minute they step on court.

 

If Tiger wanted to protect his kid from scrutiny or media attention then they'd be home playing COD together.

 

Because they were the athletes in question.  If his last name is Stephens, does anyone care about him?  And be real honest.  Take his junior golf record and apply to any other kid and are you talking about him?

 

Capriati was facing Martina Navratilova in the finals of a top WTA event at his age.  If this kid was playing well enough to be playing in the final few groups of a major, then you might have an analogy.  But what you have is a kid who may be a decent golfer, but nothing about him suggests one should put a bet on him winning a major like some in this thread have admitted to doing.  

[kekoa]

59 minutes ago, dmbolp said:

He's even limping like his dad? 🙂

They said he rolled his ankle on the range. ughhh

[BallerNate]

2 hours ago, Ghost of Snead said:

 

I have no doubt Charlie could play from 7000 as well. 

 

 

Yeah, his swing is gorgeous.

I wish my swing looked that pretty, but I’ll never have that type of upper body flexibility unfortunately.

[Titleist99]

6 hours ago, Carolina Golfer 2 said:

Yep, he's grown a bit since last year.   I'm looking forward to the event this year.  All eyes will be on Charlie, but I am one that is interested in seeing Tiger as well.   It's not often he's pushed into the background...ha

 

You're putting it mildly.... the young Woods has been in the weight room. LOL!

[Barfolomew]

Unless Charlie ends up being a freak talent like pops, he should just play golf for fun and find other interests 🫖🍪

[Dutch1008]

11 minutes ago, Barfolomew said:

Unless Charlie ends up being a freak talent like pops, he should just play golf for fun and find other interests 🫖🍪

So GOAT or weekend hacker? That seems pretty excessive. I was a pretty good athlete growing up. By the time I was a Jr in HS I realized I probably wasn't getting a D1 scholarship and definitely wasn't a future pro. I'd be pretty full of regret if that realization led me to quit and find other interests. Most of my close friends came from playing sports.

 

Maybe Charlie wins a major or maybe he ends up be the 4th best player on a high school state runner up? Regardless, if the sport brings him joy that pursuit is worth it.      

[Hacker76]

Elin did a great job raising this kid. Kudos!