Hello World! Young Tiger Cub Dazzles in TV Debut

For the first time in his golfing life, Tiger Woods was not the center of attention when he teed it up in a golf tournament this past weekend. Rather, it was his 11-year-old son, Charlie, who was making his debut in front of a live television audience at the made-for-TV PNC Championship in Orlando, Fla.

While the young Tiger cub and his famous father with the 15 major championships didn’t win the scramble format event at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, they finished a very respectable seventh in the 20-team event at 20-under par. And with all due respect to the winning team of Justin Thomas and his father, Mike Thomas, the real winners this weekend were Team Woods, NBC and the future of golf, which might have witnessed the beginning of something very special with the young Woods.

The youngest person in a field featuring 20 former major champions and either a parent or child of theirs, Charlie put on a shotmaking and power display similar to his dad back in circa 1997 and 2000. On the par-5 third hole on Saturday, he made his first-ever eagle in competition, all on his own ball. He later walked in his own birdie putt on the ninth hole and continued his solid driving display on Sunday, nearly driving the green on the 245-yard 13^th hole. Charlie could frequently be seen giving his father the thumb’s-up signal after his drives, signaling to arguably the game’s most dominant player ever that his drives weren’t needed.

For more insight on Charlie’s televised tournament debut, we asked one of Golf Digest’s “Best Teachers” in the state of Florida, Mike Malizia, for his thoughts and a swing analysis/comparison between the younger and elder Woods. Here are his takeaways.

Q: What similarities do you see between Charlie and a young Tiger Woods?

Malizia: Charlie’s swing is built for power. You see a great initial loading into his trail leg in combination with tremendous right-arm width halfway into the backswing. That’s what Tiger had as a kid. Then when he gets to the top you see his weight shifting forward and down. That was another one of Tiger’s huge things. Charlie knows how to use the ground, which is something you see with a lot of junior players who are explosive and powerful. They haven’t developed yet from the waist up, so any time they have to move an object they have to overdo it with the lower body. You see that as he starts his downswing—the lowering and pressuring into the ground coupled by the upward rotation of the hips. At impact, you see the Tiger Woods from back in the day, and how fast those hips are rotating. You see the right foot popped way up because his hips are so fast. These are all things Tiger has changed, and are things Charlie will have to change eventually as he gets older and stronger in his upper body.

Q: You teach a number of juniors at the Mike Malizia Golf Academy at Banyan Creek Golf Club in Palm City, Fla. From a junior’s standpoint, what do you like about Charlie’s swing?

Malizia: I like that he’s using the ground correctly. At his young age, that comes from playing sports and using your body to create power and speed. That’s the only way you can do it, because you move your body through your feet. Your feet are only connection to the ground, so the harder you push into the ground, the harder the ground is going to push back on you and the more efficient and fast you can move your body. With Charlie, at impact, the toe on his right foot is the only thing that’s touching the ground. His right foot should be there at the finish, but you don’t take that away. Not from a junior. His balance at the finish is exceptional, too. He’s creating speed and power without sacrificing balance.

Q: Looking at his swing now, do you see a prodigy? A future pro like his pops?

Malizia: It’s hard to say what path he goes on, especially at that early age. Will he have the ability? Yes, because he already does. Will he have the advantage of being able to work with the best instructors, play at the best golf courses and pick the brains of the best golfers in the world, like a Justin Thomas? Absolutely. But at the end of the day there’s so much that goes into it. One of my closest friends growing up was Gary Nicklaus. With Gary, everything he did in golf he was compared to his dad. If he had gone into something else and built a business that his dad was not a part of then it wouldn’t have mattered. He would just be Jack Nicklaus’ son. But because he went into golf initially, everything he did was compared to his father. Charlie is going to have to go through those fights, whether he chooses to play golf or not. There are so many different fights he’s got to go through.