|
Gee, what $90million and a name won't buy. At least he's not whining prima dona!
Woods to swap golf spikes for Army boots
By Doug Ferguson, AP Golf Writer
Published March 23, 2004
ORLANDO, Fla. - Tiger Woods sometimes adds green to his wardrobe in April, but that
usually means a jacket from Augusta National - not fatigues from Fort Bragg.
The day after the Masters, the world's No. 1 golfer will swap his spikes for Army boots.
Instead of retreating to his lavish home in Isleworth, Woods will stay in the barracks at
Army Special Forces headquarters and spend a week in military training.
"If I was never introduced to golf, I would be doing something like that," Woods said.
"Hopefully, something in the Special Ops arena. It's the physical and mental
challenge of it all. We'll see what happens."
No one is more curious than his father, an ex-Green Beret who trained at Fort Bragg,
N.C., during the Vietnam War, and then taught his son to take no prisoners on the
golf course.
"He's a very independent individual, and he plays an individual sport," Earl Woods told
The Associated Press. "Quite frankly, he's not in the business of people telling him
what to do. This will be a broadening experience for him."
This is clearly a case where father knows best.
Earl Woods first trained at Fort Bragg in 1963 following a tour in Vietnam, and he was
assigned to a Special Forces unit at Fort Bragg before leaving for another tour in 1970.
He did not remember the years he was there, only the schedule he had to keep.
He was up every morning at 5:30 for inspection, where a single thread out of place on
the uniform meant push-ups. That was followed by physical training, including a run
in boots he had spent the night spit-shining for inspection. Then it was time to change
clothes, work all day until dinner at 7:30 p.m., and start over in the morning.
"He'll learn a lot more respect. He'll learn a little bit about dedication," Earl Woods said.
"And he'll learn an awful lot about himself, and how he can handle it. He'll come out a
lot stronger than he went in."
Why would the world's best golfer, who earns close to $90 million a year, sign up for this
working vacation?
Earl Woods only wonders what took him so long.
"He probably wants, in the recesses of his mind, to walk the steps I walked," the father
said. "He was always inquisitive about the training I put him through, the mental-toughness
training. He wanted to know where that came from. I equated it to experiences I've had
in the military, especially in Special Ops.
"Now, he wants to experience it."
Woods is to arrive at Fort Bragg on April 12, spend four days of training and conclude
his week by conducting a junior golf clinic for families at Fort Bragg.
Soldiers will train him in weapons and military tactics before sending him on a mission
as part of a Special Forces team, Bragg spokesman Lt. Col. Billy Buckner said. Also in
the works is a lesson in skydiving and a tandem jump with the Army's parachute team.
"I don't think they're going to put me through the wringer as what they would do," Woods
said. "But hopefully, it will be close."
Besides being the most physically fit among golfers, Woods' mental strength is what
separates him from the others.
He has a knack for playing his best under severe pressure, such as winning the Masters
in 2001 for an unprecedented fourth consecutive major. His record is 30-2 when he leads
going into the final round.
But this mental toughness did not come from any boot camp.
Earl Woods never put his son through sleep deprivation. He did not scream 2 inches from
his face. He did not make his son take 5-mile runs before going to kindergarten.
The training came in the form of gamesmanship.
"I tried to break him down mentally," Earl Woods said. "I tried to intimidate him verbally."
Even as Woods was collecting junior golf trophies, his father routinely laughed at his
mistakes.
During casual rounds, when Woods was at the top of his swing, his father would toss
a half-dozen balls at his feet, jangle coins in his pocket or call out to him, "Water on
the right. OB on the left."
"He would stop and look at me with the most evil look, but he wasn't permitted to say
anything," Earl Woods said. "He always had an escape word if it got to be too much,
but he never used it.
"One day, I did all my tricks, and Tiger looked at me and smiled. At the end of the round,
I made him a promise. I said, 'Tiger, you'll never run into another person as mentally tough
as you.'"He hasn't, and he won't."
Despite his mental fortitude, and his overwhelming success in golf, Tiger Woods knows
where to draw the line.
He's a golfer, not a soldier.
"There's no physical challenge in golf," he said. "We walk around for 4 1/2 hours. That's
not tough. Their mental toughness is what I would equate to how I used to train in cross
country, because it's more physical. These guys run miles upon miles carrying a
40-pound sack and two quarts of water and flannel and rifles. That's tough."
Earl Woods doesn't travel with his son as much as he used to, although he will be at the
Masters and accompany his son to Fort Bragg.
"But I will not be with him during his training exercises," the father said. "I've been through
them. I don't need to learn anything else. But I'll have plenty to talk to him about when he
finishes."
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press
"...government without arms is an inconsistency." James Logan (circa 1740)
_________________
\"Those who hammer their guns into plows
will plow for those who do not.\"
- Thomas Jefferson
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
