Tiger Woods gives first clinic for his foundation
By RON SIRAK
Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. - Tiny Crystal Hawkins sneaked a shy glance at
Tiger Woods, took the club back with determined concentration
and then slashed at the ball with all the might her 5-year-old
frame could muster.
Contact. Flight. Success.
Her face beamed as the ball sailed 80 yards before returning
to the ground. Crystal slapped a high-five with her hero, then
shifted her eyes from Woods to the ground and smiled a secret,
satisfied smile as shyness once again claimed her.
That one moment of youthful enthusiasm and spontaneous joy
mirrored dozens of similar scenes Sunday as Woods gave the first
golf clinic of the Tiger Woods Foundation in conjunction with
the National Minority Golf Foundation. Other clinics will follow
this year in Dallas, New York, Chicago, Memphis and Miami.
Fifty kids from the Orlando Minority Youth Golf Association
and the Urban Junior Golf program in Tampa were invited to Disney's
Wide World of Sports complex for a lesson on golf and life from
Woods.
The 21-year-old Woods, not much older than many of those he
taught, was impressive on what he taught about both.
"There you go," Woods said to Crystal has she got
another ball airborne. "Perfect."
Down the line he moved, taking time with each kid, most of
whom were black and ranged in age from 5 to mid-teens.
"Like this," he said as he changed the posture of
a teen-age boy. "What I like to say is stick your butt out."
The teen-ager and Woods made eye contact and laughed, the bond
established between them having more to do with age than race.
What Woods means to youth golf in this country - particularly
minority youth golf - was evident on this sunny day in the shadows
of Mickey's giant ears at the Disney complex.
"I expect it is just starting to swell," said T.J.
Dorsey, a bear of a middle-age black man with more salt than pepper
in his hair and mustache and black suspenders over his blue golf
shirt.
"He's generated excitement, lots of it," Dorsey said
about Woods.
If Woods has turned up the excitement knob, it is people like
Dorsey who placed that knob on the wall to begin with. The dentist
known to forget collecting on a bill now and then in needy cases
started the Orlando youth program six years ago with five kids.
Now he has more than 75 children swinging away and on Sunday
- because of Woods - Nike slipped Dr. Dorsey, as all the kids
call him, a $5,000 check, Titleist was donating balls and Woods
was connecting with the youngsters.
A shoestring program is suddenly a success.
Woods laughed with pure appreciation as 9-year-old Lauren Davis
swung at a ball with near-perfect form. Omar Hoilette, 8, was
almost too shy to talk to Woods when he bent over with a word
of advice.
Camille Jones, a 13-year-old who regularly breaks 100, brought
a huge smile from Woods and earned a hug when she sent a ball
flying on a perfect arc and watched as it hooked powerfully -
just like the pros do.
"It was like meeting the greatest," Camille said
as Woods moved on down the line. "Thanks to Dr. Dorsey I
got started three years ago," she said.
Woods, who worked with virtually each kid individually then
gave a stunning group demonstration in which he picked out targets
and hit shots shockingly close to them, made certain the message
was more than golf.
"Love is given," he said about the connection between
a child and the parent. "Respect and trust are earned."
He said the writings of abolitionist Frederick Douglas and
the autobiography of Charlie Sifford, the first black to play
on the PGA Tour, had major impacts on him.
"Golf," Woods said, "allows you to express yourself,
have a good time and compete. The No. 1 rule in golf is to always
have fun. And always play within the rules. The rules start with
you."
Then, as the three-hour session ended and he was mobbed by
kids trying to get him to sign their visors, Woods gave one last
lesson.
"Hey," he said, raising his voice. "This is
a perfect example of showing respect."
The kids quieted, a little surprised by his mini-outburst.
"I'll sign as many as I can," Woods said, "but
he respectful of those around you. No pushing, No shoving."
Paul Fregia, the executive director of the Tiger Woods Foundation,
heard Woods' words and knew they were also heard by the children.
"We're going to change the face of golf," Fregia
said. "And it starts right here."
It looks like Woods might be just as successful off the golf
course as he is on it.
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