Dominant Intelligence:

Tiger Woods:

The man, the legend, the potential

By: Rick Koplin

EDP 180

“Given the year we just experienced in golf, it would be phenomenal if we see anything in 2001 that will even remotely compare. We witnessed an incredible season by the game’s most dominant player-in this era or any other. We saw how fans and players alike could respect the game in an international competition. And, we have seen the game’s visibility skyrocket” (Strange 20).

“Are you ready for me” (Kindred 232)? -Tiger Woods arriving on the tour with this famous television commercial that presented him not only as a talented golfer but also as an in your face crusader against racial discrimination.

These quotes make it clear of Tiger Woods’ impact on the game of golf and the entertainment world in general. But how did he get that way? Under Gardener’s Model, Woods fits in the bodily kinesthetic intelligence, but all professional athletes possess this trait. To be the greatest in the sport of golf, a player must possess multiple intelligences. Tiger Woods is great because he blends that with great intrapersonal, and interpersonal skills, and his minor intelligences of verbal linguistic, and scholastic achievement.

Childhood/ Origins of the Dominant Intelligence:

Eldrick “Tiger” Woods is obviously a master in the bodily kinesthetic intelligence. The part African American, part Asian golfer was born December 31, 1975 in Orange County California to Earl and Kultida Woods. Earl Woods introduced him to the game almost immediately, and by the age of two he was already a star, appearing on “CBS News” and the “Mike Douglas Show”, putting with the legendary Bob Hope. The next year he shot a 48 for nine holes at the Navy Golf Club in Cypress, California. At age five he appeared on “That’s Incredible”, and he made his first birdie at age six. Naturally, Tiger had no troubles being the most dominant player in Junior Golf. He won the Optimist International Junior World Championship six times at the age of eight, nine, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen. At age fourteen, he competed in a Tournament in Paris, France and was named the Southern California Player of the Year. At fifteen, he was the youngest ever to win the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship and repeated as champion the next two years, the only player to have accomplished this feat. That same year he won the AJGA player of the year award, the Golf Digest Player of the Year, the Titleist-Golfweek National Amateur of the Year, and was named a first team Rolex Junior All-American. At age sixteen he won many of these same awards, and participated in his first professional event, The Nissan Los Angeles Open, and won the first of his three successive Golf World Player of the Year Awards. At the age of 17 he won the Dial Award given to the top national high school male athlete for 1993. That year he also accepted a full scholarship to Stanford University, an honor reflecting not only his tremendous golfing ability but also his academic achievements.

The Adult Master:

Even in the highly competitive college atmosphere he met no competition. In his first event at Stanford he won the William Tucker Invitational. That year he also played in three PGA Tour events, won the Western Amateur, and became the youngest champion of the US Amateur, which is unquestionably the most significant tournament for an amateur. At the end of the year he was named the PAC-10 Player of the Year, a First Team All-American, and Stanford’s Male Freshmen of the Year for all sports. That summer he won his second US Amateur, and came back to school to win the Fred Haskins and Jack Nicklaus College Players of the Year awards. He even won the Al Master Award presented to an outstanding Stanford athlete for attaining the highest standards of athletic performance, leadership, and academic achievement. The next year when he won his third consecutive US Amateur, the question wasn’t whether was to go pro, but rather when will he go pro? Weeks later he debuted as a pro, and shortly after won his first professional event, The Las Vegas Invitational, and the next month won his second at the Walt Disney Golf Classic. He earned $932,244 to finish 25^th on the PGA Tour, second highest ever for a rookie, which is even more incredible because this was accomplished in half of the season. It was with this meteoric rise to the top that Tiger Woods established himself as one of the most popular athletes in the past century.

The next year at age 21, he won $2,440,832 in prize money, not to mention countless millions in endorsements with Nike, Titleist, and Buick. He won five worldwide tournaments including the Masters Tournament regarded as one of the four “major championships” of the golfing season in which he broke the scoring record. He became not only the youngest champion, but also the first to descend from African or Asian heritage. He set a record with five victories in his first 16 events as a professional, and became the second youngest ever to reach five victories. In these 16 events he also reached $2,000,000 in earnings faster than any person. In only his 42^nd week as a professional he became the youngest player to become number one in the world rankings. The next year he won $2,927,006 worldwide and won two more tournaments.

1999 was a breakthrough year for Woods. He became only the second golfer (and the seventh person in history) to win the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year twice. He was voted as the PGA Player of the Year, and won the Byron Nelson Award and Vardon Trophy for having the lowest scoring average (68.43 strokes per round). He earned an astonishing $7,681,625 worldwide which was 100.2% more than the closest competitor. He won nine individual tournaments including four in a row, and set a record for career victories by any player by the age of 23. In 2000, he again finished first on the money list and won 9 more times, including the U.S Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship, which gave him victories in all four majors. In 2001, he was won seven more times in what many have regarded as an off year. His win at the Masters in April gave him the current possession of all four major trophies at the time.

The main word associated with Woods’ future is potential. The lowest recorded score in a PGA Tour match was an astounding 59 set by Al Geiberger in the 1970’s, and recently matched by David Duval. Tiger Woods has shot a 59 on his home course Isleworth in Orlando, but has yet to break 60 in a legitimate match. But the following Golf Digest interview with his swing coach Butch Harmon is an argument that it is inevitable:

Golf Digest: “Might he one day shoot, say, a 54?”

Harmon: “Could be better than that.”

Golf Digest: “OK, 50?”

Harmon: “Could be better…” (Kindred 78)

With 34 career victories including six majors already and assuming he stays healthy, Tiger makes Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships seem within reach.

Predecessors:

Without certain influences Tiger Woods would never be the person he is both on and off the course. Much like he lives a life on and off the course, both golfers and non-golfers alike influence him.

It started immediately with Earl Woods. He cut down one of his putters when Tiger was still in the cradle, and when he was ten months old sat him down in a swing as he hit golf balls into a net. As a former Green Beret, Earl taught Tiger discipline. He would not tolerate Tiger throwing clubs or pouting. He paid for Tiger to have lessons from highly ranked professionals and followed every tournament in person until recently when his health problems increased.

Another great influence is Lee Elder the first significant African-American to play professionally. Elder won four PGA Tournaments in the mid 1970’s, and in 1979 made the United States Ryder Cup Team. Most significantly, in 1975 he was the first person of color to play in the Masters Tournament. Although Elder is not mentioned among the all-time greats, he did help pave the way for Tiger Woods’ emergence.

As far as golfing achievement goes, no other man inspired Tiger more than Jack Nicklaus. Nicklaus won 70 PGA Tournaments and over 100 worldwide, but his most impressive statistic is his 18 victories in the four major championships. At the age of 61, he is still one of the game’s driving forces, and a candidate to win every time he tees it up on the Senior Tour. After watching Nicklaus dominate on television, a young Woods kept records of Nicklaus in his bedroom as a motivating factor.

A significant influence off the court influence is basketball legend Michael Jordan. In his prime, Jordan was the most dominant player not only in basketball but also in all sports, much like Woods is today. Both are some of the most easily recognizable factories in entertainment today, yet these two good friends share a trait that is not apparent to the casual fan. Despite being very focused, Woods and Jordan always seem to have a child like quality while in competition. After Jordan hits a critical jump shot, or Tiger makes a long birdie putt they always flash a boyish smile, showing their domains as what they are: games instead of businesses that other players assume. As a budding star like Jordan was in the 1980’s, the public has a desire to know every miniscule detail of his life. Woods has imitated Jordan’s way of keeping his personal life to himself under a smiling veil of privacy saying, “Some things have to be private” (Kindred 77).

Interpersonal:

As the first significant African American, Tiger Woods has done a tremendous job of drawing a new crowd to PGA Tour galleries. When he first turned pro at the Greater Milwaukee Open he is remembered for saying, “Hello World,” but little did anyone know how true that statement would be. In fact golf has become so popular that in 1999, Tiger and fellow golf superstar David Duval participated in the first golf match live in prime time at the Motorola Showdown at Sherwood in Thousand Oaks to which he won $1.1 million of which he gave $200,000 to charity. Tiger though usually focused on the course will usually spark the crowd with a fist pump or his trademark smile which has made him a hit in his popular Nike commercials where he bounces a ball repeatedly on his club and then hits it baseball style 150 yards. In the 1999 Memorial Tournament while in the intense heat of weekend competition, he hit two 2-iron shots on the green of a 539-yard par 5. While the crowd gasped in awe, he turned to them and cracked, “chicks dig the long ball.” The fact that he could say such a thing under tremendous pressure proves why he is marketing dream. In fact he feels that the PGA Tour cannot survive without him. Statistically this seems true. In 1995, the year before Woods turned pro, the tour’s annual prize money was $62.2 million. In the year 2000, it was $157 million, an increase of $94.8 million in just five short years. This is due almost single handedly due to Woods’ appearance in tournaments. For example, the 2000 PGA Championship in which he battled Sergio Garcia posted a 7.7 overnight Nielsen rating and an 18 share, the highest mark since 1986. It was a 26 percent increase over the 1999 tournament won by the lesser-known Vijay Singh. Basically when Tiger Woods is not lurking near the top of the leader board, the tournament is insignificant. In the year 2000, arguably his most successful, the PGA’s ratings went up another 9 percent, including 19 percent on Sundays, when other sports like baseball, football, and basketball deteriorated (medialifemagazine 1). Surprisingly, Woods will attract audiences even when he is not in contention in a tournament. Hiroshi Ishikawa of the Tokyo International News Service summed it up with a metaphor:

“We have a very expensive fish called tai. Most people can’t afford it. They have to eat cheaper fish, you understand? But after a couple days, raw fish is… spoiled. When tai is spoiled, people still want it more than cheap fish. This is like Tiger Woods. When not at his best Tiger is still ichiban, Number 1” (Garrity G6).

Part of why Woods has drawn such diverse crowds is his humbleness. At the beginning of his professional career he came across as arrogant, temperamental, and confrontational. He offended media and spectators with outbursts of profanity. He would irritate his colleagues by saying that he won without playing well, and once shunned two popular pros organizing a charity auction when asked if he would sign a golf ball. “I don’t sign balls,” he said (Kindred 232). Late in the 1998 season, a year where Woods only won twice, he grumbled to Butch Harmon about living his entire life under a microscope. Harmon gave him two choices. He could either retire to his millions of dollars, or deal with his life and have fun in the process.

Obviously he chose to deal with his life. He fired his longtime caddie and media star Mike “Fluff” Cowan and replaced him with the more passive Steve Williams, and replaced his agent. He turned from edgy commercials such as “I am Tiger Woods” and changed to friendly images of him bouncing a ball on his club like a hacky sack, and a smiling Woods driving Buick Sport Utility Vehicles. His agent Mark Steinberg said, “It seemed like Tiger was on an island by himself. We both agreed that wasn’t good for his image or for him as a person. My thinking was, ‘yes you’re a superhuman golfer, but we want people to know the 23 year old in you’” (Kindred 232). Not surprisingly, Woods’ game started to improve immensely.

Woods has also done a great deal of charity work through The Tiger Woods Foundation established in 1996. The Foundation “empowers young people to reach their highest potential by initiating and supporting community based programs that promote the health, education and welfare of all of America’s children.” Woods has interacted with over 85,000 kids through golf clinics, motivational speeches, and educational programs. Since its inception, the Tiger Woods Foundation has contributed to 132 youth programs in 68 cities throughout 30 states. Tiger Woods has made an old man’s game cool to younger generations, simply through his unselfishness and flashy grin.

Intrapersonal:

In the 1996 Texas Open, Tiger Woods spoke with shocking honesty. “I never play for second. The idea is to win the damn thing” (world.std.com 1). It is this mentality combined with his great physical talent that makes him the most prolific golf champion in the last twenty years. It’s also what makes the great Jack Nicklaus say things such as, “I don’t know if anybody can play the way he does.” This is remarkable for Woods to hear things like this because a young Woods kept records of Nicklaus in his bedroom as a motivating factor. In the 1999 Memorial, Tiger said, “I remember looking up to Jack, watching him hit those powerful shots. I hoped someday I could win as many titles as he did. I’ve tried to challenge myself to do the things he did” (texnews2). Realizing that Tiger was a special talent at age seven, Earl made him listen to subliminal tapes to prepare him for golf’s mental challenges. He also performed “psychological warfare” by coughing, laughing, yelling, screaming, moving, running, and jumping while Tiger was swinging to distract him.

According to former college teammate and fellow professional Notah Begay, Tiger was not a hard worker in college. Although he had superior physical skills, his mental game was not prepared for the challenges to hold a lead in the heat of competition. After losing the 1998 Quad City Classic to journeyman Ed Fiori after making a quadruple-bogey on the back nine, he was inspired to practice. Begay noted, “In college he practiced less than any of us, he was so good. Maybe it took that 40-something old man beating him to get his ass in gear” (Kindred 238).

Surprisingly in 1999, Woods made alterations in his swing despite the fact that he had great success his first few years on tour. “The changes I was making in my game were going to be beneficial down the long haul. Knowing that, I just had to be patient with it” (texnews 2). Despite the fact that large amounts of money can be won in a tournament, that’s not what motivates Tiger. “The driving force in my life is to get my game every time I tee it up so I have a chance on the back nine on Sunday to win.” More surprisingly, Woods even, while on top of his game, beats balls on the driving range for hours. After coming in the clubhouse with the lead in the 1997 Masters, he left a room full of eager reporters waiting for a news conference while he hit two bags of balls. “I can always get better. There were a couple of shots I hit out there that I didn’t like” (texnews 1).

Tiger Woods thrives under the intense scrutiny of the media. John Garrity of Sports Illustrated described the media coverage of Woods in 2001 by saying:

“This season, after all, we constantly prodded Tiger’s flesh with a finger while sniffing cautiously. He wasn’t the golfer he was in 2000, the irresistible force who won three major championships, two of them by huge margins; who won more than $9 million on the PGA Tour; who dominated nearly all the statistical categories. This year he was Slumping Tiger in the winter and Hidden Dragon in the summer, and he arrived in Asia in early November with one tour victory in five months, his lone top 10 finish in his last nine starts”(Garrity G6).

It is true that Woods’ 2001 season was not as great as 2000 but it was still one of the finest seasons in recent history. He was number one on the PGA Tour money list with $5,687,777 and had the lowest scoring average with 68.81 strokes per round. He won his sixth major championship at the Masters, and is a popular candidate for the Player of the Year award. Yet when he does not leave a tournament with a trophy he is criticized more than a local Saturday hacker on a municipal golf course. Instead of choosing to focus on his positive 2001 statistics, journalists such as Garrity choose to point out his low ranking in sand saves (80^th), driving accuracy (145^th), and putting (134^th). They often leave out the fact that competition on the professional circuit is improving. In 2001 the average driving distance increases by 6.2 yards, and the scoring average of the top 25 players improved, while Tiger’s went up an entire stroke.

Although he may not be the best in these statistical categories, he is number one in the new “scrambling” category, one that most displays mental tenacity. Scrambling implies that a player saves par after missing the green in regulation, meaning they not only have to hit an amazing recovery shot, but also have to hole out after one putt. However, Tiger’s 69.8% efficiency does not show the degree of difficulty of threading a seven iron shot through a thicket of pines, or his ability to hit a delicate flop shot out of thick greenside rough. But how does Woods rank 134^th in putts per round and first in scrambling? Tiger’s main competition, number two-ranked player David Duval, described his opponent’s secret in one word: putting. “You can hit it this close to the hole from out of the bunker every time, but if you don’t make the putt, you don’t save par. The statistics are misleading.” (Garrity G7).

But most important to his improved golf game is his newfound maturity. As an amateur Woods would often blow his chances by taking too many risks on low percentage shots but according to fellow tour pro Olin Browne, “Now it’s not all-out on every shot. He’s doing only what he has to do to win. That’s maturation” (Garrity G7).

Non-Dominant Intelligences:

It’s hard to believe a young Woods who hit golf balls until the sun set could have done anything else but play golf. Tiger was a diligent student who showed his scholastic intelligence by finishing in the top 15% in his high school class despite his rigorous playing schedule. This intelligence has paid off on the course because he rarely makes a mistake due to a bad decision.

Tiger is also fairly proficient in the verbal linguistic intelligence. He has appeared regularly as a guest writer for Golf Digest, writing advice columns on subjects like the golf swing, and playing intelligently. He also recently released a book entitled How I Play Golf, which tells his five secrets to success on the golf course.

Tiger also shows much intelligence in the bodily kinesthetic area outside his chosen sport of golf. Despite weighing only 170 pounds Tiger is a regular weight lifter and can reportedly bench press one and a half times more than his body weight. In 1999, he took batting practice twice with his friend Ken Griffey Jr., then of the Seattle Mariners, hitting two balls to the warning track just short of the homerun fence. Tiger was also a track star. His father, Earl, said that Tiger had “the perfect body for track and he really enjoyed it” (McDaniel 83). When asked how Tiger would have fared had he kept up with his favorite event, the 400-meter dash, Earl said, “He could have kicked Michael Johnson’s ass” (McDaniel 83).

Conclusion:

It is apparent that Tiger Woods fits perfectly under Gardner’s model. If his physical and mental health stays at the same level for the rest of his career, he will achieve his goal of toppling all of Jack Nicklaus’ records. A quote by his father sums up Tiger’s future perfectly:

“Tiger is driven to win for one thing. That’s to be the best. Not the best black golfer, or the best Asian golfer; he’s already that. He wants to be the best player-not just the best out there, but in the history of the game” (Kindred 232).

Tiger Woods’ Professional Victories (* indicates Major Championship):

1996:

Las Vegas Invitational

Walt Disney World Golf Classic

1997:

Mercedes Championship

Motorola Western Open

* Masters Tournament

GTE Byron Nelson Classic

1998:

Johnnie Walker Classic

BellSouth Classic

1999:

WGC-American Express Championship

Tour Championship

National Car Rental Golf Classic at Disney

WGC-NEC Invitational

* PGA Championship

Motorola Western Open

Memorial Tournament

Deutsche Bank-SAP Open TPC of Europe

Buick Invitational

2000:

Mercedes Championship

AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

Bay Hill Invitational

Memorial Tournament

* U.S. Open Championship

* British Open Championship

* PGA Championship

WGC- NEC Championship

Bell Canadian Open

2001:

Johnnie Walker Classic

Bay Hill Invitational

The Players Championship

* Masters Tournament

Deutsche Bank-SAP Open TPC of Europe

Memorial Tournament

WGC-NEC Invitational

Sources:

Andrisani, John. “How I Trained a Champion.” Maximum Golf April 2001: 54-58.

Garrity, John. “Spoiled by Success.” Sports Illustrated 26 November. 2001: G4-G8.

“Is Tiger Woods the Greatest Golfer Ever?” http://www.standrewsgolf.ws/tiger-woods 2000.

Kindred, Dave. “Tiger Woods Grows Up. Golf Digest April 2000: 77-78, 232-242.

McDaniel, Pete. “Take the Tiger Test.” Golf Digest April 2000: 80-83.

“PGA Championship Rating Jumps from Last Year.”

www.synchrocanada.com/99PGAChamp/aug16-pga.html. 1999.

Sherman, Ed. “Roots of success parked in garage.” www.chicagosports.com. 2001.

Spitzer, Gabriel. “Tiger, Tiger, burning bright-and costing big bucks.”

www.medialifemagazine.com. 2001.

Strange, Curtis. “An Eye on the Game.” Golf Magazine January 2001: 20.

Villiotte, Erin. “Williams World Challenge Presented by Target to Benefit Special

Charities.” www.twfound.org. 2001, Pgs. 1-2.