Tips for watching Tiger Woods

This article is for you Tiger Woods fans that are thinking about going to a tournament to watch Tiger play. A couple months ago I went to my first ever golf tournament which was the 1997 Pebble Beach Pro-Am and thought I'd share some advice about my first time out. I hope you enjoy it.

-Danny 5.14.97

Tiger Tips

Featured Article by Danny Banks

Edited by Sylvia J. Martínez

Do not follow Tiger Woods for a full 18 holes! If you do, bring a small chair or something. When I went to see Tiger play at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, a friend and I followed him and Kevin Costner for the entire day. All 18 holes. All 5 1/2 hours. I'm in pretty good shape and my friend is actually a minor league baseball player, but 5 1/2 hours of walking the terrain of SpyGlass was no match for either one of us. We couldn't believe the pain we suffered in our feet and backs. Now I know why people have their lawn chairs and other relaxing material. I'm doing the same thing next time out. The best thing that I saw most people do is actually scope out a couple holes and prepare to watch Tiger to the fullest on those specific holes rather than trying to follow him all day. Of course the recommended holes are the par 3's (you never know when Tiger is gonna ace it and start the patented fist pumping) and the par 5's which are high probability birdie or eagle holes, so they are always fun to watch. While most people prefer to watch Tiger as he tees off or while he is putting, I actually noticed that there are some other good places where you can get up close and personal with Tiger.

I feel that the two best places to see Tiger are in the middle (sort of) of the fairway and when he's walking to the next tee box. Here's what you do. Right before Tiger tees off, go about 300 yards down the side of the fairway and wait. Seventy-five percent of the time Tiger will hit his ball right down the middle of the fairway, which actually is good and still has it's possible close-up moments. Other times, Tiger might hit his ball right or left and therefore into the gallery. This is the opportune time to see Tiger because the marshalls only clear the gallery back a little, so you get a chance to see Tiger up close. This is great because now you get to watch Tiger discuss his next shot with his caddie Fluff and listen to the great advice that Fluff gives him, and then see what club Tiger chooses. The other good point about this spot is that Tiger can be there for an extended amount of time because he is longer that most players and therefore is usually last to hit his approach shot to the green. Note: Don't ask for autographs at this time! I couldn't believe it, but I actually saw some guy trying to walk up to Tiger while we was preparing for his next shot and ask him for his autograph. Fluff instantly blocked his path. It was unbelievable.

The other spot to see Tiger up close is after he has finished a hole and is walking to the next tee box. In most cases, he must walk through the crowd which is only slightly roped off, so once again you can get really close to him. Unfortunately, just like the situation with hoping to see him in the fairway, it doesn't always have the best results. On the other hand, the percent of getting a close look at him in this location is probably higher, but it's only for a couple of seconds. So as they say in Monday Night Football, "You make the call." At this location here's the situation. Most of the time Tiger will be walking to the next tee box after making birdie or par or just after making a nice putt.. In these cases, Tiger will be happy and smiling and have his head up while walking through the crowd and even give some lucky fans a high five. Remember: please don't be bummed if you didn't get a high five because obviously Tiger can't get to everyone. Other times (very few), Tiger might have made a bad par or bogey on a hole and therefore is not so happy and will walk to the next tee with what I call his "Do Not Disturb Signals." Tiger basically has three "Do Not Disturb Signals." They are very subtle but do the trick. Here's what to look out for, because if you see these signals, "Sorry, you made the wrong call."

1) He will take off his hat and fix his hair and wipe his face. Obviously by doing this, he simply occupies himself and therefore has no time for high fives because his hands are also occupied.

2) He gets his glove out of his back pocket and starts putting it on early while walking through the crowd. Once again, this obviously occupies him and also has no hands free to give high fives.

3) He simply keeps his head down and walks quickly through the crowd. Simply tactic. No eye contact allows him to ignore what's going on around him and lets him concentrate on his upcoming tee shot.

Another "Do Not Disturb Signal" is when he pulls out his score card and starts marking down his score while walking through the crowd. It doesn't matter how he did while putting. He does this at any time when he simply wants to keep to himself while preparing for his next tee shot.

So, those are some quick Tiger Tips for all you first time golf tournament goers, myself being one of them. It's an interesting experience in general, but of course I prefer to play the game rather than to watch it.

I hope that your golfing and golf tournament experiences are good ones.

-danny

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