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Project Tiger: The Birth of Genius and the Price of Greatness
The inside story of young Tiger Woods’ training for greatness, developing the unique traits that would not only help him achieve the pinnacle of success but also ingrain the personal flaws that brought him crashing down.
Eldrick “Tiger” Woods was transcendent, ultimately eclipsing superstar athlete status to becoming a global household name. Yet his story remains enigmatic. In Project Tiger, veteran golf journalist Gavin Newsham uncovers the answers, providing a portrait of the greatest golfer ever as a young man, a rendering that refines and deepens our understanding of his character and legacy.
Tiger’s mother Kultida nurtured him, keeping him focused, but no one was more instrumental in sculpting him as a golfer and as a man than his father. With Tiger swinging golf clubs before his first birthday, Earl Woods took the mantle as drill sergeant coach, coldly imposing his “Project Tiger” goals to lead his son to sports stardom.
Following these intense expectations, Tiger grew up with fear and obsession. Fear that any childhood injury could ruin his life, but obsessive fuel to be the best. Even at age six, Tiger lasted only fifteen minutes at the LA Open watching others play before he begged to leave and find somewhere he could practice. As he got older and impatient, he snuck onto golf courses, including the ultra-exclusive Cypress Point Golf Club, to play a few holes before being thrown off. By the time he made his pro debut at twenty years old, the chaotic crowd and media blitz engulfed him, and it included racism more hostile than any other living athlete has endured. And with Tiger’s rapid ascension also emerged entitlement and arrogance. He learned to ignore people who were no longer valuable to him, such as abruptly sacking his first agent soon after he signed deals worth $60 million.
Gavin Newsham leaves no stone unturned as he shares these behind-the-scenes stories from Tiger’s coaches, rivals, golf role models, and even girlfriends to chart his spectacular amateur rise and dominant triumph along with the warning signs of scandal and monumental downfall decades later. Only in Project Tiger can you witness the exhilaration and the consequences that history's most sensational golf prodigy's achieving greatness brings.
Eldrick “Tiger” Woods was transcendent, ultimately eclipsing superstar athlete status to becoming a global household name. Yet his story remains enigmatic. In Project Tiger, veteran golf journalist Gavin Newsham uncovers the answers, providing a portrait of the greatest golfer ever as a young man, a rendering that refines and deepens our understanding of his character and legacy.
Tiger’s mother Kultida nurtured him, keeping him focused, but no one was more instrumental in sculpting him as a golfer and as a man than his father. With Tiger swinging golf clubs before his first birthday, Earl Woods took the mantle as drill sergeant coach, coldly imposing his “Project Tiger” goals to lead his son to sports stardom.
Following these intense expectations, Tiger grew up with fear and obsession. Fear that any childhood injury could ruin his life, but obsessive fuel to be the best. Even at age six, Tiger lasted only fifteen minutes at the LA Open watching others play before he begged to leave and find somewhere he could practice. As he got older and impatient, he snuck onto golf courses, including the ultra-exclusive Cypress Point Golf Club, to play a few holes before being thrown off. By the time he made his pro debut at twenty years old, the chaotic crowd and media blitz engulfed him, and it included racism more hostile than any other living athlete has endured. And with Tiger’s rapid ascension also emerged entitlement and arrogance. He learned to ignore people who were no longer valuable to him, such as abruptly sacking his first agent soon after he signed deals worth $60 million.
Gavin Newsham leaves no stone unturned as he shares these behind-the-scenes stories from Tiger’s coaches, rivals, golf role models, and even girlfriends to chart his spectacular amateur rise and dominant triumph along with the warning signs of scandal and monumental downfall decades later. Only in Project Tiger can you witness the exhilaration and the consequences that history's most sensational golf prodigy's achieving greatness brings.
- GenresSports
271 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 17, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 27, 2026
I admit I'm not a golfer or even a fan of the sport, so choosing to read this book was probably a poor decision on my part. I felt bogged down 80% of the time reading stroke after stroke of what seemed to me to be every tournament of Tiger's life. Most of the golf lingo didn't mean anything to me, and I wound up skimming just to finish the book. I did enjoy reading about his parents' influence on/control of his life, but that was buried in more golf detail.
March 17, 2026
I received a free copy of Project Tiger from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
As the author states, it’s difficult to write a book about such a prolific athlete and include information that isn’t widely known or easily searchable. But this book does a good job of incorporating new facts and stories that I hadn’t previously heard.
As the author states, it’s difficult to write a book about such a prolific athlete and include information that isn’t widely known or easily searchable. But this book does a good job of incorporating new facts and stories that I hadn’t previously heard.
April 11, 2026
This is a just a re-hash of his early career with no real insight into what was going on with Tiger/Earl so nothing there so look away.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews