Tiger Woods
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“Tiger wasn’t just alone atop the world of golf. In a very literal sense, he was alone, period”
In March 2020, most of the Western world went into lockdown from the Corona Virus. While different people dealt with quarantine in different ways, certain topics were unavoidable through the pandemic. Tiger King, for instance, was the talk of the internet for a lot of April: but soon it was a new show that was making headlines. Enter The Last dance, making Michael Jordan relevant once more and re-sparking the North American ‘Who is the Greatest Athlete of All Time’ debate, with the typical inability to think outside the 4 major leagues that dominate the US sports pages, oblivious to the entire other world of sports that exist outside that landmass. Trying my best to ignore wild statements such as “he was the most famous human in the world,” I couldn’t help but draw comparisons between Jordan and a certain friend of his.
Tiger Woods by Jeff Benedict and Arman Keteyian has entirely changed how I look at 21st century greatness, happiness, loneliness and chronic pain.
We have all wanted to be unique; To be really good at something; To fulfill our potential. Tiger Woods has won 15 majors, has made over $1bn in revenue, and is considered to be the man that changed golf forever. Yet there will still be many people who say he never fulfilled his potential; That he should have won more; That he still owes us something.
One of those people may well be Tiger himself.
This book taught me the sacrifices it takes to be great. Throughout, it constantly references how Tiger was never normal. He appeared on TV at age 2 showing off his abilities. His mother giving Tiger a spoonful of food every time Earl (his father) made a chip into a hole in their garage, to imprint early on their son that it was a positive thing. He was listening to self-help books by age 10 and his father used psychological warfare techniques on him from an early age when he was young in order to make him tougher and more ruthless on the course. His father frequently told him, and the press, that Tiger was going to be the most important person in history — not ‘athlete in modern times’, the single most important person ever. Remember that, kids, next time your parents try to get your chemistry test results from a C to a B.
What followed for Tiger was the pursuit of greatness: To be the best at everything, all the time. Of course this is impossible, but for Tiger, admitting such was for the weak and that wasn’t him. He even talked about quitting golf and joining the Navy SEALS for many years, having had several training sessions with them.
Tiger was never content.
A now-infamous part of the Tiger story is the many extra-marital affairs. But these were not affairs of passion and romance, these were moments of self-loathing and addiction…of attempting to gain attention and acceptance. He was the child of a particularly disjointed affair turned marriage, and Tiger’s parents broke up his first relationship when he was in college by sending her a letter, addressed from him and against his wishes, as they feared she would distract him from golf, and from his greatness. His drive to crush his opponents meant that he had very few friends on tour, and his own mother’s coldness meant he had a deep mistrust of just about everyone, especially the media. For all the affairs Tiger had, he was always lonely.
I realized Tiger was never happy.
For all that he pushed his son to be, for all the money that his son made, Earl Woods’ remains are in a box somewhere in Manhattan, Kansas, in an unmarked grave. Death is the ultimate leveler. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you will not be remembered for the right reasons. Sometimes, you will not be remembered at all.
While many will find these lessons to be, well, kinda a bummer, I personally do not. I have found it quite freeing actually. The book ends in 2017, before Tiger’s win at The Masters in 2019. It is now very clear that Tiger Woods is a new man. His children, among other things, have changed his life and golf is no longer his be-all-end-all.
This was something that made me reconsider my mindset towards life, and towards those who are in that top 0.1%, like Woods. Think about how many people set out to be like Woods, or like Jordan, or so on, and didn’t quite come right — they’re probably pretty bummed. Yet here is a man that made it all…and he’s a lot less happy than many people I know who are probably not considered the ‘greatest of all time’ in just about anything.
It made me realize the price of what it takes to be the top of the top. When Tiger was on that pursuit, he would never be satisfied. It was an endless goal. He was always incomplete. Yet it was something as normal as having children that made him the most content.
There are a lot of ways to look at this, but I take a great deal of comfort in knowing that everyone goes through struggles and each is unique. That money, which I always thought would be one of the key measures of success, does not guarantee a complete life.
“So what? We just aim to achieve nothing, Phil? Is that your ‘top tip’ for success and happiness?!”
I can hear you cry, sharpening the pitchforks and getting lighters for the torches. Well, bear with me. I am not suggesting that we should all just blow off our goals and focus solely on being happy-clappy all the time like we’re characters from a beloved children’s TV show. It’s easy for Tiger to focus on his kids and his happiness now, when he has already achieved so much, and will never have financial difficulties — something not everyone can say. It’s important to feel important; to achieve and to compete. But just don’t let it be the single thing that defines you. Don’t be afraid to enjoy the little things along the way, because even the smallest piece is still part of the jigsaw.
There is more to life than the numbers attached to your name, whether it be the number on your bank statement, the number on the scoreboard after the buzzer, or the number of followers on your Instagram page.
In the modern world where everyone is always trying to be extraordinary and exceptional, maybe being normal isn’t all that bad.
This Executive Summary was contributed by Philip Donelly.
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