Friday, August 27, 1999
Tricks are all Woods' in Nike ad
By Brad Townsend
The Dallas Morning News
The commercial has been airing since June 16, but a lot of
golf fans still apparently don't believe what they're seeing.
Allow, then, Tiger Woods to set the record straight. Yes, that's
really him bouncing that golf ball off a pitching wedge. Yes,
he first held the club in front of him, then between his legs,
then behind his back, then back in front.
And, yes, he really did bounce the ball continuously for about
26 seconds before popping the ball high in the air, then swatting
it, baseball style.
According to Woods, there was no trick photography. No videotape
splicing. No artistic license was taken.
“It's real,” Woods said. “Trust me.”
Actually, a lot of golfers, pro and amateur alike, can perform
the trick to varying success. It's akin to soccer players juggling
a ball on their feet and head, and basketball players twirling
a ball on their fingers.
But Woods' Nike ad is so popular and clever that many TV watchers
apparently deem it too good to be true. At least that seems to
be the case, judging from the number of skeptics who have called
The Dallas Morning News to ask about the ad.
Even those who assumed the commercial is genuine may be surprised
by this fact: It took Woods only four takes.
“If you think about it, it's really not as hard as you
might think if you grew up playing baseball,” Woods said.
`(It's) hand-to-eye coordination. It's the same principle. The
ball's in the air and it's moving.”
Funny thing is, the commercial happened by accident. Woods
and the producers were taping another Nike commercial, the one
that shows Woods on a driving range with other golfers, hitting
shots in sequence.
Woods said it was a humid, 90-degree day. The taping was taking
hours because the production crew had to shoot the commercial
from numerous angles. Woods said that during one long wait, he
decided to entertain the other golfers with his wedge-and-ball
trick.
“I was basically putting on an exhibition, just trying
to pass the time,” Woods said. The director said, `You know,
why don't we just film this?'”
Woods was told that, for a 30-second commercial, his juggling
routine needed to be 28 seconds. But during each of the first
three takes, the director would interrupt with “You've got
10 seconds.” Each time, Woods said, “I'd shank it right
away.”
Before the fourth take, Woods told the director to wait until
five seconds remained to say anything. The fourth time was Woods'
charm, and the rest is golf commercial history.
(c) 1999, The Dallas Morning News.
Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at
http://www.dallasnews.com/
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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