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I met Tiger Woods exactly one time. I was at a junior golf fundraising event in the early ‘90s. The charity was heavily supported by Callaway and old Ely had already spotted a teenaged phenom named Eldrick Woods and was even then wooing him to join their team when he turned pro. So, he arranged to fly Tiger and his dad down to Florida to do a clinic for the kids in the area.
Tiger was a gawky kid – maybe 15 or 16 – and still wore those goofy glasses. Not exactly the handsome, ripped stud we’ve come to know. He did a great job with the clinic and everyone was duly impressed with his demeanor and personality. I was amazed at how “together” he seemed for his age and how comfortable and polite he was around both grown-ups and small kids.
After the clinic, they put us into courtesy carts to head out to our respective holes for the scramble and I found myself sitting next to young Mr. Woods on the rear bench seat. We chatted for a minute and then it got quiet for a second or two. So, Tiger turned to me and said, “Do you like jokes?” I said sure…fire away.
At that moment Tiger Woods proceeded to tell me one of the dirtiest jokes I’d ever heard.
I wish to god I could remember the actual joke, but I was so shocked and bemused that it went in one ear and out the other. But the point is that, even then, I had an inkling that there was more to him than met the eye.
And now, of course, we all know that other side of him. Hey, the personal stuff is personal and I sincerely hope he and his wife work it out. But, the business impact of his admitted indiscretions is beginning to ripple through our happy little industry…and it ain’t good.
First, he’s taking an indefinite leave from playing Tour events. I doubt he’ll skip the Masters, but having Tiger in the field for late winter/early spring events creates pre-season buzz and interest in the game. Witness the fact that TV viewership of a golf event increases by 40+ percent every time he’s in the field. At a time when even good, solid events are struggling with finances, having Tiger hiding out at Isleworth is bad news.
Second, the man has more money than the treasuries of many small countries, but when sponsors like Accenture and Gillette bail out on him, it sends a message to others that golf isn’t as good of a marketing investment as they may have thought.
Finally, Tiger was our poster boy for both kids and the globalization of golf. Whatever gain we may have gotten from having golf named an Olympic sport is probably offset by the damage caused by his inability to keep his fly zipped.
Hey, think about Kobe, A-Rod and others who’ve been through this and managed to survive and thrive once the damage is done. He’ll come back, but he will be different. Tiger 1.0 is gone…the question is what Tiger 2.0 will look like and how that new model will represent our business.