I have to say, much of Tiger Woods’ previous success was due to his inner circle. The most important and forgotten person in that circle was his father, Earl Woods. Few people leave a mark on a young boy as much as his dad. This is certainly the case with Tiger. He owes his Dad for his focus, the foundation of his world-class swing, his motivation and that killer instinct. Earl’s most important contribution, though, could have been that swagger – his belief that there was nothing his son couldn’t accomplish, provided he put in the work. And as we’ve seen, Tiger isn’t afraid to make an effort. But with Tiger losing his father, this has carved a fissure in his golf game.
I recently wrote a book called Don’t Stop The Swagger: Preparing the Mind Body and Soul for Peak Performance, that identifies unique traits that peak performers possess. I think beyond those characteristics of mental toughness and perseverance , a peak performer must additionally have knowledge of self.
Anyone who wants to excel at a peak level in any arena must have a physical body that that is healthy, rid of toxins, and equipped to heal itself. Additionally, they need the mental characteristics discussed above. But beyond that they need the complete mind, body and soul composition , specifically the inner strength to continue on through tribulations when intellect and physical abilty have been depleated.
When considering Tiger, you can see he’s challenged somewhat with his circle, but he does have a few people worth mentioning. The second and now only real person in his inner circle is his mother, Tida Woods. Tiger has often joked that his mom was the disciplinarian when he was young. But Earl’s principles couldn’t have entirely been passed down to Tiger without Tida’s loving support and loyalty to Tiger and his father. A wise person once stated that a mother’s love is instinctual, unconditional and forever. I say a mother’s love is neither perfect nor imperfect, it’s simply always there. You need look no further than the nearest fairway at most athletic competitions. As most fathers know, it is very hard to nurture and raise a child to be successful in life without the mother’s support. Especially important is the ability to trust that the mother edifies the relationship the father has with that child.
Given that his father is now gone, Tiger is left with his mother’s love and limited experience when it comes to living life as a man. The remainder of Tiger’s inner circle comes down to an ex-wife with a 100 million dollar divorce and shared custody of two beautiful daughters, a brutal public separation with a caddy who apparently enjoys to take personal, public and disrespectful jabs at Tiger.
It began when this former caddy, Steve Williams, took jabs at Tiger when his new golf partner Adam Scott won the WGC Invitational over Tiger. Tiger didn’t really respond. But Williams comments really hit below the belt when he gave a speech at the Annual Caddie Awards dinner and very proudly stated his goal after Adam Scott’s victory in the Bridgestone Invitational at Akron. Regarding Tiger, he stated, “My aim was to shove it right up that black ass hole.” Tiger again gave little response and even defended Williams, saying that he is “In no way a racist.”
The one thing that is forgotten is, given Tiger’s comments in the past, he doesn’t even consider himself as black. Appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1997, Woods acknowledged that it bothered him when people called him an African-American. He said, “Growing up, I came up with this name. I’m a Cablasian.”
That name reminds me of the Dave Chappelle joke where Chappelle acts like a character he named Clayton Bigsby, a black skinned white supremacist. In one scene Clayton swears at a black person and yells, “Woogie Boogie, Blacky!” This makes me wonder if Woods and Williams had their own collection of black jokes shared between themselves.
Regardless of how Tiger or others categorizes him, or what people say in regards to him, as a man in this world you must be able to ignore the critics – whoever they are. And your response must be one of positive action. Focus on your task with an unwavering self belief.
Quite possiblysomething was lost following the death of Tiger’s father and he doesn’t exactly know who he is anymore. Maybe his father was the closest thing to providing him the foundation of his inner self.
The next in his so-called inner circle of paid loyalists is Hank Haney, who is now releasing a book highlighting the life and success of Tiger Woods. The rest of his circle consists of BUTCH HARMON, MARK O’MEARA, JOHN COOK, and specifically MICHAEL JORDAN and CHARLES BARKLEY, who never really handled success quite as gracefully as they are credited for. Many think those two benefitted from a time when the world wide web was almost non-existent, Twitter was still an idea and Facebook’s creator was just an infant . Tiger’s media scrutiny is huge compared to the Jordan day. This appeared to be true as Tiger was exposed in the Thanksgiving car crash fiasco and Charles darn near begged Tiger to call him on national television.
Excluding Tigers parents, he is left with a group of people he either pays or entertains. If the past few years of divorce, caddy jokes and swing issues have not taught him a little about his circle, I’m not sure what will. There is a wise saying that states, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Another proverb can be translated, “Wealth creates many friends; but the poor is hated by his by his neighbor.”
The bottom line is that the Tiger clique is a result of his wealth, not of him coming together with people because they relate on cultural similarities, cultural experiences, social backgrounds, religious beliefs and maybe even race. I’m not sure where to look for other Cablasians, but maybe Tiger knows. So as we know, Tiger has many friends available but finding a brother born through adversity may be more challenging. Unless, of course, he’s willing to pay for it.
When it’s all said and done, after you’ve depleated all the mental and physical ability available to you, the only thing that remains is that fire inside. The key to Tiger’s new road to golf success probably won’t be found in a stronger knee, a new golf swing, or more time spent on the treadmill, but somewhere deep within his mind, body and soul.
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