Saturday, June 3, 2000
Tiger gives kids a lesson they
won't forget
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Lois Jones kept
one eye on the ball and the other over her shoulder, watching
anxiously as the teacher made his way down the driving range.
The wait was worth it.
Before long, standing behind her was Tiger
Woods, arms crossed, sweat dripping from his brow on a scorching
Sunday afternoon at James E. Stewart Golf Course. She nervously
swatted a few balls and then locked her eyes on Woods as he offered
instruction.
After a few more swings, the 14-year-old
hit one pure and couldn't contain a smile. Woods watched her hit
a half-dozen more shots and smiled just as wide.
Satisfied with the results, he moved on
to the next student.
“When they hit a couple of good shots,
it puts a smile on their faces,” he said. “And that's
pretty neat to see.”
An hour before the clinic, Lois was fiddling
with her clubs. “I heard he likes kids. That's good,”
she said. “I think youth always thought golf was an old man's
sport.”
Oklahoma City was the 17th stop on Tiger's
Tour to teach kids in the inner cities about life through golf.
The message is simple: dream big; work hard.
Of the thousands of kids he has already
reached through the Tiger Woods Foundation junior golf clinics,
he estimates only about 5 percent will ever make a living as a
touring pro, a club pro, a superintendent or in some other aspect
of the game.
“But it introduces them to an opportunity
to make something of themselves and to chase after their dreams,”
Woods said. “A lot of kids from the inner city have a misconception
that golf is not for them. They don't have to play it for a living,
but they can be part of it.”
Woods is not the only PGA Tour player who
can work wonders in a clinic, but his reach his vast. In less
than four years, he has become the most dominant player in golf
and perhaps the most recognizable figure in sports.
“He opened a lot of people's eyes,”
said Leroy Richardson, a local golf leader who helped bring the
clinic to Oklahoma City. “He changed the views about what
and who Tiger Woods is. They found a warm, caring young man —
with tons and tons of talent.”
Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent at IMG, sees
that talent every time he goes to a clinic or exhibition, where
Woods will hit hooks and fades, a 2-iron that goes no higher than
10 feet and no less than 200 yards.
And yes, there is always time for Woods
to bounce a ball off the face of his wedge, between his legs and
behind his back, just as he does in the commercial.
But what struck Steinberg more than anything
was the kids' response. “There wasn't one person who took
his eyes off of anything he was going to do,” he said.
The first clinic, in March 1997, was a couple
of weeks before Woods became the first minority and youngest player
to win the Masters. Another was planned for Denver this weekend,
and clinics are scheduled for New Orleans and Norfolk, Va., later
this year.
The clinics are about more than hitting
balls or trying to be like Woods. They offer workshops on how
to interview for jobs, employment opportunities in golf, rules
and etiquette of the game, parental guidelines for competitive
junior golf.
Still, the focus is built around golf.
“The game itself teaches kids about
life,” said Earl Woods, the president of the Tiger Woods
Foundation who came up with the idea for junior clinics when Tiger
was 10. “What we want to do is improve these kids' chances
in life. They learn how to handle success, failure, integrity
and patience.”
A group of about two dozen kids got instruction
from Woods at the course in Oklahoma City. Some were black, some
Asian, some Indian, some white. One 8-year-old had a starter set
of clubs. A high school kid had just won a state championship.
Laura Benedix, a senior state champion from
rural Harrah, wanted to learn “that hip move he does”
so she could get more distance off the tee.
Jonathan Sanders, a 13-year-old with diamond
studs in his ears and a set of imitation Cobra clubs, wasn't so
specific. His grandfather got him interested in golf, and Woods
made it cool.
Lois' 15-year-old brother, Riley, agreed.
“I like the way he controls himself,
his poise,” Riley said. “He doesn't let it go to his
head and trip about it.”
Afterward, Woods pulled the kids together
for what he hopes is the most important lesson.
“People have no idea how many hours
I put into this game,” Woods said. “My dad always told
me, 'There are no short cuts.' These kids may not play golf. They
may not be what I am in a golfing sense. But they could be what
I am in a business field or a medical field.”
By the end of 2000, Woods will have conducted
20 junior clinics since turning pro, and there is fierce competition
to get them — 42 cities bid for a clinic this year. Oklahoma
City put up $25,000 in public money as part of its package, which
was spent on staging the clinic.
What they get in return is a chance for
hundreds of kids to see Woods up close — the player and the
person.
“What's the most important thing they
get out of it? Tiger's positive attitude and his will to win,”
Earl Woods said. “He preaches like I preached to him —
'I earned everything I have. No one gives you anything.' That's
the new element he's introducing to the inner cities.
“Because of Tiger, kids are willing
to earn their way out, rather than wanting someone to give them
a way out.”
Is it working? Richardson liked the immediate
results.
Every weekend, some 40 kids come to the
Oklahoma City course for free lessons. A week after Tiger's clinic,
the number of kids had nearly doubled.
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