Tiger's legacy is so much more than golf

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Strength of will: Tiger Woods is on a mission to save youngsters

At the Target World Challenge event recently, I asked Tiger Woods what he regarded as his greatest achievement during his first 10 years as a pro.

He made no mention of becoming the first player to win four professional majors in a row, or his phenomenal record of 12 by the age of 30. Nor 54 titles in his first 200 starts on the U.S Tour, or winning the Masters by 12, the U.S Open by 15, or The Open by eight shots.

Without hesitation, he pointed me two hours south of the venue for the Target tournament to a shiny modern building that just happens to have the address: 1, Tiger Woods Way, Anaheim, California.

"What you'll find in that building is far, far bigger than anything I've achieved in golf," he said. "The golf has been great because it has allowed me to create it."

At the Tiger Woods Learning Center you'll find a miniature eight hole course in magnificent condition and a wonderful practice facility. But the last thing this place is about is golf.

"It is about five per cent of what we do here," Executive Director Katherine Bihr said.

Rising out of one of the poorest areas of one of the richest cities on earth, the learning centre is about hope and giving kids from low-income families a chance in life. Spend two hours there and you leave with a lump in your throat and a warm glow around your heart.

"The overwhelming majority of the kids that come through this centre come from families who earn less than $25,000 a year," Bihr, a former school principal in the area, said. "A lot will have just one parent or be brought up by grandparents and many come here with no confidence. A lot have never travelled further than the block on which they were born.

"Tiger's vision was to build something here to nurture their confidence, and show them that it doesn't matter what background you come from, that if you've got the skills you can achieve anything."

The kids come here after school or during holidays. The initial plan was for 5,000 to pass through the doors but they're up to 8,000 in the first year already.

There's practical demonstrations of more than 35 careers for those who are in their teens. Here they learn how school subjects like maths, languages, and science apply to job possibilities. There's everything from rocket science, and the chance to make a bottle rocket, to plumbing and mending a sink.

The surroundings are sumptuous. All the equipment is top of the range. There's even a 230 seat, state of the art auditorium.

Bihr is showing me a forensic science class for some of the younger children when 11-year-old Omar takes it upon himself to rise from his desk and proudly show me his work. Nothing will distract him until he has taken me through the whole process, from the unique composition of fingerprints to establishing DNA. It was one of those poignant moments that stay with you for a long time afterwards.

Like many of the children here, Omar hadn't a clue who Tiger Woods was when he signed on for the learning centre. But whatever problems he had in his life to this point, he's clearly found some confidence now.

Woods dreamed up the learning centre in the aftermath of September 11th.

"I was driving back from St Louis, where we had gone to play a tournament that couldn't be played," he recalled. "It took a couple of days because there were no planes, so I drove. I had time on my hands, and time to reflect on life."

By then he was already the world's most famous sportsman. He had the Tiger Woods Foundation. But he still felt there was something missing.

"We did a lot of junior clinics and workshops," he said. "But we were like a travelling circus - here today, gone tomorrow."

During that long road trip Woods started fantastising about building something more permanent, something that would make a real difference.

He began the learning centre by reaching into his own pocket and writing a cheque for $5 million. It was opened last February by former President Bill Clinton.

It is clear that this is Woods's pride and joy. Talk to him about golf and he answers politely. But ask him about the learning centre, and it is like switching a light on.

"You should see some of the letters we get," he says, beaming broadly. "I am thrilled with the atmosphere we have been able to create. One, the kids all feel safe. We've also been able to make them feel excited about going to class, and as we all know, that's not always the case when going to class.

"We've got hands-on experiences, we've got mentors to teach them, and it's wonderful when you see their eyes being opened. They just light up. We've got kids here who were going down the wrong path but who are now going to college. How cool is that?"

Meeting some of the children that day was a profound experience. Heaven knows what they were like when they first starting going to the learning centre but they now have a definite idea of what they want to do with their lives.

There was 11-year-old Gina Cabrera, who wanted to be a lawyer; 10-year-old Gerardo Cortez, who would like to be a construction worker if he can't cut it as a soccer player.

Tiger Woods, meanwhile, will be 31 on December 30. While most pros follow the Arnold Palmer route and are golfers for life, it would be no surprise if Woods packed it all in the moment he reached his target of 20 majors and 100 tournament wins.

By the time he is 35 he hopes to have opened a second learning centre in another troubled area of America; by 40, the plan is for them to have gone global.

Walking around, I couldn't help but think back to the day a decade ago when Earl Woods told us that his son would have a bigger impact on the world than Gandhi.

What Earl was clearly trying to say in that loveable, ham-fisted way of his was that one day millions of people might not instantly think golfer when they think Tiger Woods. To that end, this first learning centre is a pointer.

There's a world out there awaiting Woods, one on which he can leave an indelible mark that goes way beyond rewriting every golf record. Once he's done that, look for him take up the offer.

 

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