Written by “Making Progress”
These two words along with a simple 3 second video of a man hitting a golf ball were powerful enough to send ripples across the world of Twitter. Simply because the man hitting this golf ball was Tiger Woods, and this was the first time he’s been seen hitting balls since his devastating car accident in February 2021.
Tiger Woods is undoubtedly one of the most dominant athletes of all time. The run he went on throughout the 2000’s is unlike anything we have ever seen before and something we’ll probably never see again. But here we are, almost 20 years later, why was this video of him hitting at a driving range such a big deal?
Back in his prime people used to use the phrase ‘The Tiger Effect’ pretty often during golf tournaments. They were speaking to the fact that if Tiger was playing in an event, it automatically raised the level of play of the other players. If Tiger was going to win a tournament at -20, there was most likely going to be someone at -17. Tiger did have his runaway victories by 10, 12, even 15 strokes, but more times than not there was always someone right on Tiger’s tail.
Tiger was so dominant and so intimidating that he had an impact on every other player in the field. They all wanted to be able to say they beat Tiger, forcing them to play better than they ever had just to even come close. That impact, that ‘Tiger Effect’ is still felt- just in a little different way than it used to be.
With Tiger’s career seeming to be on the back 9, The Tiger Effect isn’t as prevalent as it once was. With compounding injuries, old age, and a slew of other factors impacting Tiger’s performance over the past few years, he hasn’t even been on the course much in 3 years, let alone winning while on the course. But this doesn’t mean his impact isn’t felt anymore.
Anytime Tiger is entered in a tournament, attendance goes up, tickets cost more, and television ratings skyrocket. These aren’t coincidences… Tiger moves the needle, it’s as simple as that. Whether you got the chance to watch Tiger dominate years ago or not, when you have the chance to see him play today, you’re going to take it.
After Tiger’s historic and unforgettable win at the 2019 Masters we all thought we had just witnessed the greatest comeback in the history of sports. It had been 11 years and multiple surgeries since his last Major Victory. No one thought Tiger could still do it, but just like always, he proved us wrong. It looked as if Tiger was finally healthy and ready to go on a tear reminiscent of that in the early 2000’s.
Then in February of 2021, tragedy struck again. Tiger was involved in a single-car accident leaving him seriously injured. From what we’ve learned, Tiger was lucky to even walk away from the crash. Tiger broke his right leg in multiple places and had damage to his foot and ankle as well. It was hard to believe that one of the greatest athletes of all time was once again injured and may never play golf again. But time went on, the world kept turning, and we all seemed to forget about Tiger and his road to recovery from the crash.
That was until November 21st when he tweeted out the now infamous ‘Making Progress’ video. At the drop of a hat Tiger was once again back in the spotlight. Sports twitter came to a screeching halt and all eyes turned to Woods. The outpouring of support and excitement was amazing to see. Tweets came from all ends of the Twitter-sphere including other golfers, his sponsors, other athletes, etc. You name it, they probably tweeted at Tiger. This was a ‘Grade-A’ example of the amount of influence a world renowned athlete like Tiger Woods has on people.
Since the ‘Making Progress’ tweet, Tiger also held his first press conference prior to the Hero World Challenge Golf Tournament that he hosts at one of his courses in the Bahamas. Where ESPN cut into their regularly scheduled programming to bring the press conference to their viewers live. Another example of the incredible pull Tiger Woods has on us ‘normal people’. I know I was guilty of dropping everything I was doing and tuning in!
In the interview Tiger elaborated on the accident itself, his recovery process, and what his potential future in golf looks like. If you’re any bit of a golf fan, I would highly recommend watching the full interview HERE.
Love him or hate him, the ‘Tiger Effect’ is still alive and well and I’m not sure it will ever go away!
In the 1990’s Tiger turned the game of golf on its head.
In the 2000’s Tiger took the world by storm and changed golf forever.
And now in 2021, Tiger Woods still has a stranglehold on the world of golf.
Whether Tiger ever wins another Major, or even plays golf again you can’t argue that the man is as transcendent of a figure as we’ve ever seen and his cultural impact on the world of golf will never be forgotten.