Tiger's Q & A in New Orleans
As part of the Tiger Woods Foundation Junior Golf Clinic and Exhibition in New Orleans, Tiger fielded questions from kids who took part in the event.
Showing a remarkable amount of humor, modesty and poise, Tiger spent nearly an hour to answer questions from a few of his biggest fans. Here are some of the best!
Q. "Tiger, how does it feel to win a Grand Slam at such a young age?"
Tiger: "A couple good shots, a couple good putts….seriously though, I put in a lot of hard work to get to this point, I've always been described as an overachiever, but luck definitely factors in. I got some good breaks and was able to capitalize on them."
Q. "Do you ever get tired of traveling?"
Tiger: "Boy do I ever! It's a tough thing and a great thing about our sport. Most of the season is spent on the road and it takes a lot out of your mind and body. The great thing is all the cultures and people I experience. It's remarkable and I feel very fortunate. The fun part is making friends and going back to visit them."
Q. "How old were you when you first started playing golf?"
Tiger: "Well, my mom said I couldn't wait, I was born two weeks early in fact! But I was 9 months old when I started, and I played my first tournament at 3."
Q."Do you spend all your free time practicing golf?"
Tiger: "No, no, no, no, no! You gotta have a life! Golf is my job, it's one thing in my life, but not the only thing. The key to life is moderation. When I have free time I love fishing, playing videogames and just hanging out with my friends."
Q. "What motivates you?"
Tiger: "There is no substitute for the thrill of victory. I go into every tournament playing to win.
Q. "How were you able to mix athletics with schoolwork?"
Tiger: "Golf taught me how to concentrate, how to focus for long periods of time. I was able to take that lesson into the classroom. I was able to close everything else out to study and complete the task at hand. Patience, accepting a tough situation, prioritizing - all these things I learned from golf and was able to apply to school.
Q. "How does it feel to make a hole in one?"
Tiger: "Pretty good! Actually I have some funny stories about a couple of them. I made my first hole in one when I was 8. It was a 120-yard par 3, which I hit with my driver. Unfortunately I was too short to see in go in, but when we heard all the yelling my partner held me up to see that there was no ball on the green!"
Q. "How do you feel when you lose?"
Tiger: "Sometimes I feel good because I know I gave a good performance, other times I feel bad because I know I blew it. Either way I know I haven't accomplished my goal and I can learn something from each and every experience. Success cannot happen without failures and I try to turn a negative situation into something positive."
Q. "Do you still get nervous in tournaments?"
Tiger: "Yes, every time. Nervous is good, it means you care. I want to play the person who says he's not nervous because I know I can beat him. It's all in how you handle your nervousness. I had to learn to control and harness it in a positive way to help me focus and play better. Golf is a great game because it teaches you to control your emotions and I'm a better person because of it."
Q."Do you speak any other languages?"
Tiger: "My mom, who is Thai, tried to teach me when I was young, but we found out I had a learning disability that caused me to stutter. It was hard, friends would make fun of me, but I had to get over it. I went to a special school and learned how to speak again and was able to conquer my fears.
Q. "Do you think girls have a hard time in golf?"
Tiger: "I feel that everyone should have the opportunity to play where they want regardless of race, sex, or religion, but that's not a reality yet. Golf needs to be more inclusive, but that takes time. My advice is to keep fighting for what's right, and keep playing because the better you play the more they let you in!"
Q. "We know about your Dad playing golf, but does your Mom play too?"
Tiger: "Yes, my mom played until I was about 10 and I started beating her regularly! But what she did for me, which I hated at the time, but now love her for was a rule she had. I could not go out and play golf, or with my friends unless all my homework was done. This was until high school when she told me I had proven to her I was responsible and she trusted me to do the right thing. Boy, talk about pressure, the last thing you want to do is let your parents down when they say something like that, but I maintained a 4.3 average in high school. I learned from her to prioritize, which is getting the right thing done at the right time.
Q. "How did you do the trick of bouncing the ball off your club for the Nike ad?
Tiger: "Well, I was taking a break during the shooting of that commercial, doing a clinic on the side, and I started bouncing the ball on my club. The director walked by and saw it by accident and asked if I could do it for 30 seconds straight. I said, sure, I think so. Well, the trick was that I had to make contact at exactly 28 seconds. The director counting down from 10 seconds, and I kept dropping the ball take after take. Finally I told him to try counting down from five seconds. I hit the ball on the first try and that's the spot you see on TV."
Q. "Tiger, how long will you keep playing golf?"
Tiger: "If all goes well, until the day I die!"
| 
