Tiger Woods Learned This Valuable Life Lesson From His Father When He Was Just 4

Tiger Woods started out as a child prodigy. His father got him to play golf after spotting his talent, which translated into the rest of his career. The life lessons, however, started when Woods was just four-years-old.

During a throwback interview, Earl Woods was asked about an old lesson he taught his son. While it might feel too much for a young child, these lessons have laid the foundation for Woods’ career.

What lesson did a four-year-old Tiger Woods learn?

Back in 1997, Tiger Woods and his father appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show. The story Oprah asked about was from ‘Training a Tiger’, which was a book by Earl Woods, published in 1997. A young Woods apparently did not know where his clubs were, and Earl decided to teach Woods a lesson.

READ MORE: Tiger Woods Credits One Man for Making Him Get Into Golf and It’s Not His Dad

“So I said, “I’m not going to spend the rest of my life finding his clubs and carrying them,” Earl said. He told his wife to not mention anything, and his Woods’ clubs underneath a seat. As expected, Woods was clueless. about his clubs.

“When he came to me and he said, ‘Did you get my clubs, Daddy?’. I said look, ‘Look, not my job. Whose clubs are they?'”. 

Woods accepted that they were his clubs, and decided to take care of his clubs.

When Oprah repeated that Woods was only four back then, his father was undeterred: “That’s it. You gotta learn fast”.

Woods on his father at the Hall of Fame ceremony

Recently, Woods was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. In what was a celebration of his career, Woods made sure to credit his parents for his success. From second mortgages to dedicating their time to his career, Woods was thankful for their presence.

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Earl Woods, who was a constant presence in Woods’ life, passed away in 2006.

However, Woods has not let the memory of his father fade away, making sure to honor him when he can.