Tiger, Karma and His One Key to Redemption

My love for Tiger Woods ended the same week it began – the week in 1997 when he destroyed the field in the Masters. The same week he destroyed the career of one of golf’s best-loved characters, Fuzzy Zoller. All for a throwaway, alcohol-fueled remark that was supposed to be funny but wasn’t. Tiger could have instantly taken the high road and put the matter to rest with a single sentence such as, “Oh, Fuzzy, yeah, he’s a kidder!” Instead he, his father and his management team humiliated Fuzzy and seriously hurt his income and image. Sponsors like K-mart left, partly in response to Tiger’s lack of response to Fuzzy’s repeated attempts at an apology. The truth is, Tiger hung him out to dry!

Karma is a funny thing through ….you never quite know when the universe will come back to bite you!

I am no Tiger hater. While, for me, that incident was forever a mark against him, I can’t say enough about his talent or the boost he gave to the game. I have frequently rooted for him to win and I am sad at his decline, both for him and the rest of the industry!

I do often wonder, though, what kind of wry smile might be on Fuzzy’s face today at the humiliation Tiger has suffered in the last few years. First at his own hand as mistress after mistress came out of the closet to call “cheat”. Many talking about how cheap he was or how he worried constantly about money. To be fair, though, not one ever said he say he wasn’t a “Tiger in bed,” so at least he kept some shred of dignity for his male ego. The rest, as you know, disappeared in tabloid headlines, a broken tooth and a nine iron through the window of his SUV.

He Could Have Taken Charge

He could have stopped it right there. Apologizing to his family and telling everyone else it was none of their darn business how many mistresses he had and how he chose to fill his lonely nights on Tour. Perhaps even signing a new contract with Playboy and Trojan condoms just to put a STAMP on the matter and show he was in total control.

But of course he wasn’t…

First came the further humiliation of the lamest athlete press conference and apology of all time. Then he backed it up with perhaps the most tasteless ad of all time when Nike ran a commercial with the ghost of his dead father rebuking him.

What Tiger really lost from all this public humiliation was not his swing or his physically ability but his air of invincibility! A weapon far more powerful on his competitors than his 300-yard drives.

He has, of course, had his share of physical problems, far more than most top players. Personally I think he has always tried to hit the ball too hard, I mean why hit a six iron 240 when you can do it with far less effort with a five?

Then there are, of course, lingering rumors of steroid use backed by the rapid speed at which he gained significant weight and muscle mass. This was backed by the fact that he used Dr. Anthony Galeathe for treatment, the same doctor used by top athletes like Barry Bonds and who was later found guilty of numerous drugrelated crimes.

One of the side effects of NOT using steroids is apparently a significant increase in injury!

Meanwhile Golf World Argues Who Should be Tiger’s Next Coach

Should he call back Butch, reach out to Lead, reconcile with Haney or pick someone else with Tour pedigree like Rick Smith? They all have it wrong! Tiger doesn’t need a swing coach to fix his game, he could walk into Wal-Mart, take set of Chinese knock offs, off the shelve and beat most of the world on any given day, even now! With Tiger’s talent, he could still win golf tournaments swinging like Charles Barkley.

What Tiger needs is Tony Robbins to Awaken the Giant Within!

Tiger Woods seems to have made peace with his family and has a steady girlfriend who seems to be a positive influence on his life. We all deserve a second chance and Robbins may be just the person to give it to Tiger. Robbins has helped many top athletes Like the Williams sisters and Andre Agassi raise their game from the dead by helping them connect with the “PEAK STATE” feelings they had when winning. That more than anything else is Tiger’s issue, to reconnect with how he felt, when he felt invincible.

I’d love to see Tiger connect with Tony Robbins and start winning tournaments again. In fact the only thing I’d like to see more is an apology from Tiger to Fuzzy. Yes, Fuzzy was in the wrong for sure, but did those two lines, uttered in jest, after one too many drinks deserve the total destruction of his career? Personally I never thought so. All Tiger needs to say is; “Fuzzy you where wrong but so was I. I was young, I was stupid, I was listening to others, and I wish I had handled it differently.”

Then who knows the planets may just well align for Tiger Woods one more time at the Masters or the Open … like when the world was young!

For more on thinking like a champion read: http://traitsofchampions.com

Andrew Wood is CEO of Legendary Marketing, a Tampa/Orland-based ad agency. He is the world’s leading expert on golf, resort, destination and real estate marketing although his successes go far beyond these core industries. Author of over 20 books including; The Golf Marketing Bible, Cunningly Clever Marketing, Cunningly Clever Entrepreneur and Making Your Business The One They Choose! Andrew has spoken to thousands of audiences worldwide and was the top ranked speaker at 97.7% of the events where he spoke on sales, marketing, entrepreneurship or leadership. A pioneer in Internet marketing his creative talent, out of the box ideas and copywriting skills are at the core of his expertise. Regarded as one of the top marketing minds in the world for his ability to craft a winning strategy, generate leads and increase income!