Getty Image
Tiger Woods is really, really, really, ridiculously good at golf, and there are plenty of stories you can point to that prove he’s truly a different breed. However, it’s hard to top a pretty amazing tale involving the time he absolutely schooled a Navy SEAL.
Tiger Woods is one of the most dominant players in the history of golf (there were periods in his career when it seemed like other guys on the PGA Tour were showing up to tournaments to play for second place) and you’d have to be a particularly delusional individual to think you have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with him.
With that said, if there’s any group of people on the planet who are somewhat justified in feeling like they can defy seemingly insurmountable odds, it’s the men who comprise the elite military unit known as the Navy SEALs.
Most people know Tiger’s legend can be traced back to the fact that he started swinging a club as soon as he was able to walk thanks to his father Earl. According to ESPN, the man who introduced him to the game told his son he’d either become a golfer or a special ops soldier, and Tiger maintained an interest in that second realm despite ultimately mastering the first.
He eventually got the chance to train with a group of SEALs in California, and while one of them attempted to get his autograph, all he ended up getting was a lesson in why you don’t challenge Tiger Woods to a driving contest.
Tiger Woods won a driving contest against a Navy SEAL while hitting from his knees
In 2006, Tiger got the chance to visit a “hidden mountain training facility” located outside of San Diego to spend the day with some SEALs who were using the outpost to hone their skills.
Woods was given the opportunity to shoot some real, actual weapons before running training drills in a simulator known as the “Kill House” with the help of a SEAL who was dubbed “Ben Marshall” in the aforementioned article (the outlet changed his name to protect his identity).
After giving Tiger a taste of the SEAL Experience, Marshall attempted to secure a memento only to run into a bit of a hurdle after learning Woods’ appreciation for the troops took a backseat to his faithful devotion to one of his corporate partners:
“Marshall got his golf clubs at one point and asked Tiger to sign his TaylorMade bag. Tiger refused, sheepishly, saying he couldn’t sign a competing brand. So Marshall challenged him to a driving contest for the signature. Tiger grinned and agreed.
Some other guys gathered around a raised area overlooking the shooting range. Marshall went first and hit a solid drive, around 260 or 270 yards. Tiger looked at him and teed up a ball, gripping the TaylorMade driver.
Then he got down on his knees.
He swung the club like a baseball bat and crushed one out past Marshall’s drive. Tiger started laughing, and then all the SEALs started laughing, and eventually Marshall was laughing too.”
He may have technically lost, but I’d argue he still won in the end when you consider he gets to tell that story for the rest of his life.