It’s the viral video that’s divided the golf world – but which side are you on?
Footage of Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, hitting a shot on the range has got some golf commentators fuming. Two of our writers are on either side of the debate
A video of Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, hitting a shot at a junior tournament near their home in Jupiter, Florida, has split the opinion of the golf world. First of all, if you haven’t seen it, sort that out this instant? Then read what two of our writers have to say about it all…
‘We would have all done the same’
Golf Twitter is a wonderful place to not only observe but to be involved, writes Alex Perry, and it’s at its absolute best when something like this comes along.
In one corner we’ve got those giddy with he’s-going-to-win-more-majors-than-his-dad excitement, while in the other corner they already think the game is ruined for a 10-year-old.
It’s fascinating to watch these sorts of things unfold. There’s the initial buzz, then a well-respected member of Golf Twitter will call it something like a “gross invasion of privacy” – Twitter is so woke – and we all feel bad, then another well-respected member of Golf Twitter will tell us it’s OK to feel excited by it and point out that, in fact, we are all saying nice things about Woods Jr.
We don’t know the story behind the video. Was it a creep-shot? Or just someone walking by and thinking “Holy cow there’s Tiger Woods!” and looking for a few Instagram likes? Probably a bit of both, but what I do know is that 99% of us would have whipped out our phones and shot the same clip.
And while I like to think my moral compass would have stopped me at posting it online, perhaps we need to chill out. After all, it is just a clip of Tiger’s son hitting a golf ball. No one actually thinks Charlie is going to win more majors than his dad, it’s all said in jest. If you’re upset by it, maybe the internet isn’t for you…
‘It shows the worst side of social media’
It would have been great had the big lad with the umbrella on his trolley timed his walk just a little better to block out the swing completely, writes Mark Townsend.
For me this is the worst side of social media, someone lurking in some bushes and sending the golf world ‘crazy’ with a blurry video of a 10-year-old swinging a club.
Had he been thrust on to some terrible chat show and asked to hit a few shots then fair enough, given he’s playing in a junior competition and nobody has (presumably) asked for it to be filmed then keep your beak shut and your phone in your pocket.
Now it seems, even though I’ve never even heard Charlie Woods speak a word, that we know quite a lot about about him. For the record he shot +5 over nine holes though it’s unclear whether he can hit the stinger or has perfected the right-thumb club twirl.
If that was my child then I’d hate the world for sharing and commenting on this. Then again I also wouldn’t want any of my children to have me and my negative thoughts overwhelming them as their caddie.
The most interesting part of all this is that GolfTV have put it on Twitter, and they do plenty with Tiger, so I don’t suppose Woods has much of a problem with all this which would have been unthinkable a few years ago.
So, which side of the fence are you on? Let us know in the comments below or you can tweet us.
Alex Perry
Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.
