Pump The Brakes: Tiger Woods Son, Charlie Woods, Has Plenty Of Time

We’ve seen it before with the son of the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus, not to mention Raymond Floyd, Craig Stadler, and countless other TOUR professional’s offspring over the years. Being the son of a PGA TOUR star, let alone a major champion seems to be more of a curse than a blessing for most in their pursuit of making it professionally.

Charlie Woods seems the latest to find his way into that “The Next” conversation. In fact, the Woods cub has been in that conversation ever since he debuted in his first PNC Championship with his Hall of Fame dad.

I am here today to say this, “Let’s pump the brakes on all of the keys to the kingdom chatter and let Charlie enjoy this point in his development.”

Look, as a long-time Tiger fanatic who is still holding on despite all of the baggage that the last decade-plus has brought with it, I would love nothing more than to see Charlie be the next great player in the game. I would love to see him break every record his dad set. I am rooting for him and for the Woods family dynasty to one day take shape. The excitement something like that would bring to golf would be off the charts.

However, as a long-time PGA Professional and respected youth golf coach, I am shouting from the rooftops to pump the breaks on the hype. Too much of this too soon will do more harm than good for Charlie and any potential he may have at making it as a professional.

Here are a few observations I have made in what is still the infancy stages of Charlie’s competitive development…

First, Charlie Woods is indeed good for his age but has a long way to go.

The 15-year-old has a +3 handicap index and a Junior Golf Scoreboard ranking of 1,304 as of today, February 23rd. In the 16 ranked events he has teed it up in, he has two wins and six other top 10s. Not too shabby at all. Charlie plays most of his individual events in South Florida PGA Section Junior events and Hurricane Junior Tour events.

Woods was part of his Benjamin School boys high school team as they clinched the Florida High School Athletic Association Class A state championship last fall, helping secure a fourth title for the school. Charlie went 78, 76 in the 36-hole event, which was the fourth-best score on the five-person squad.

For a 15-year-old Freshman who is part of the class of 2027, he is definitely off to a good start in his junior golf career but is far from the best of the best for his age group.

Second, Charlie Woods has a fantastic support system and endless resources.

Undoubtedly, if Charlie wants it, it’s there for the taking. I mean, the kid’s old man is arguably the GOAT and has been doing everything right in terms of guiding him along as both a golfer and someone in the spotlight.

He has shown tremendous growth over a short period, but fully developing in this game takes a lifetime. He needs to have days like he had this week, where he got kicked in the face in his attempt to pre-qualify for the PGA TOUR’s Cognizant Classic. For a kid who is developing as a competitive player, all experiences are good experiences, no matter the outcome. This was a great experience.

Third, Charlie Woods needs to stay away from the noise.

It’s unfortunate that a young man like Charlie Woods, who has a ton of potential, has so much noise thrown his way for just being who he is as the son of Tiger Woods. Pops gets it, more than anyone on this planet, and seems to be doing a fantastic job of shielding him from the noise…let’s hope for Charlie’s sake that it stays that way.

How about we let Charlie Woods develop his game without constant media coverage. Golf is mentally challenging enough without all the added eyeballs on him and pressure

— Paige Spiranac (@PaigeSpiranac) February 22, 2024