Tiger Woods issued some valuable advice to his son Charlie(Image: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Tiger Woods is regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time, but he’s made sure his son Charlie doesn’t follow in his footsteps when it comes to his swing
Golfing prodigy Charlie Woods appears to have listened to his dad Tiger Woods’ advice to “copy Rory McIlroy’s swing” instead of his own. The 16-year-old is already making waves in the sport, much like his 15-time major champion father did.
Charlie recently suffered the heartbreak of failing to qualify for the US Open for the second year running. He was among a record 10,202 entries for the tournament but was left seven shots short of those who advanced to the 36-hole final stage at Wellington Golf Club, Florida.
But the teenager bounced back spectacularly by clinching his first AJGA tournament win at the Team TaylorMade Invitational. He impressed with a final score of 15-under par, leaving four of the top-five ranked AJGA players in his wake.
Woods’ final round featured eight birdies and two bogeys, and he closed with four straight pars, winning the event by three strokes ahead of a three-way tie between fifth-ranked player Luke Colton, Willie Gordon and Phillip Dunham.
And it seems he has heeded his dad’s advice of drawing inspiration from recently-crowned Masters champion McIlroy, a move that is already paying off. Woods first made the comment that Charlie shouldn’t study his own swing during the 2022 Hero World Challenge.
Woods paid the ultimate tribute to McIlroy by saying: “I told [Charlie], ‘Don’t copy my swing. Copy Rory’s.’ Have you ever seen Rory off balance in a shot?
“Not ever. That’s one of the things my dad instilled in me, is that you should be able to balance and hold your finish until the ball rolls and stops. You can swing as hard as you want, but you need to have balance.”
Tiger’s own swing has evolved over time due to changing coaches and suffering injuries. That may provide an explanation as to why he would view the Northern Irishman’s swing as better than his own.
Australian golf pro Mark Allen echoed the same sentiment during a conversation with Nick O’Hern on the Talk Birdie to Me Podcast: “It’s funny, that advice that you give people, that’s exactly the advice that Tiger Woods gives his boy.
“So I’ve heard Tiger Woods say this a couple of times. ‘Don’t watch me, watch Rory.’ Because Rory hits it as hard as he can, as long as he middles it and as long as he finishes balanced, that’s the skill that I want you to develop.
“Every time I watch Tiger’s son Charlie swing the club, every time they put him on the telly or I see it on a post, he’s got a Rory McIlroy follow-through where it’s incredibly balanced.”
