I love unauthorized docs like this one on Tiger Woods.
You get the usual boy genius history but you also get the church parking lot sex scandal and DUI arrest caught on tape.
And perhaps most compelling — one of the greatest comeback stories ever.
I currently rank “Tiger” #2 on my list of the “The 15 Best Best Golf Documentaries“.
Trailer for “Tiger”
Watch “Tiger”
You can watch “Tiger” on HBO at https://play.max.com/show/3bf8042a-c876-4bde-90ca-00918fbe31d1 (it’s an “HBO Original” documentary)
Ratings:
- My Rating: 93/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 84/100 (Users); 74/100 (Critics)
Release Date: January 10, 2021 (Part 1) and January 17, 2021 (Part 2)
My Review of “Tiger”
HBO’s “Tiger” pulls off something rare – it makes you care about a sports documentary even if you’ve never swung a golf club in your life.
Tiger Woods is a man whose life has played out like a Shakespearean drama, and HBO’s unauthorized-by-Tiger doc digs into every twist.
This two-part documentary from Matthew Hamachek and Matthew Heineman (directors of “The First Wave,” “City of Ghosts,” “Cartel Land,” “The Boy from Medellín,” “A Private War”) spans nearly 3 hours and draws heavily from Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian’s 2018 biography.
You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up
Tiger Strapped to High Chair at 10 Months — How early did Tiger start golfing? His father, Earl Woods, claims that when Tiger was just 10 months old, he strapped him into his high chair, freed him, and watched in awe as Tiger toddled over to hit his first golf ball.
By age 2 — Tiger was appearing on TV shows, already demonstrating a level of skill that had adults in disbelief.
Sex in the Church Parking Lot (caught on film!) — And then, there’s the tabloid side. One of the most outrageous scandals involved a neighborhood Perkins waitress, Mindy Lawton.
The National Enquirer caught Tiger having sex with her in a church parking lot. Even more bizarre, they retrieved a tossed-away tampon as part of their evidence. Instead of publishing the story, the Enquirer reportedly struck a deal: they’d bury the piece if Tiger agreed to appear on the cover of their sister magazine, Men’s Fitness.
After Sex — After sex, Tiger would eat cereal and watch cartoons, one girlfriend says.
Unauthorized = No Tiger
Tiger Woods himself doesn’t appear in new footage.
But that hardly matters.
The doc weaves together intimate interviews with people who knew him best – his former caddie Steve Williams and childhood friend Buddy Joe Grohman.
And mistress Rachel Uchitel breaks her silence about their affair.
Tiger’s story is that good that you don’t need Tiger appearing just for the doc (especially with the details about his scandals).
The Rise
Tiger’s early life is framed by his father’s belief that his son was destined not just for greatness but for a form of golfing divinity.
Earl Woods likened himself to Mozart’s father, seeing Tiger as a genius shaped by relentless training.
Childhood coaches, like Buddy Joe Grohman, recall Tiger performing jaw-dropping stunts at home, hitting perfect golf shots over couches and glass tables with unerring precision.
The doc captures Tiger’s historic breakthrough in 1997 when, at just 21, he won the Masters by a staggering 12 strokes. The footage of him fist-pumping in his iconic red shirt as he sunk clutch putts is spine-tingling. But even as Tiger dominated the sport, cracks in his personal life started to form.
The Scandals
If the first part of the doc builds Tiger up, the second part takes a sledgehammer to the image of perfection. Tiger’s fall began in 2009 when the National Enquirer exposed his extramarital affairs. His quiet suburban life with wife Elin Nordegren unraveled spectacularly.
The doc doesn’t hold back, featuring interviews with Rachel Uchitel, the woman whose affair with Tiger sparked the scandal.
Uchitel describes their connection as something more than physical, but it’s hard to ignore the sheer number of women who came forward with their own stories. One of the strangest revelations? After sex, Tiger would eat cereal and watch cartoons.
DUI
There’s also the matter of his infamous 2017 DUI arrest.
The documentary includes police footage of Tiger’s arrest in Florida, where he was found behind the wheel, incoherent and under the influence of five drugs, including Vicodin and Xanax.
The footage shows Tiger at his lowest point, unable to follow basic instructions from officers.
He ultimately pled guilty to reckless driving, a moment that underscored how far he had fallen.
By 2017, Tiger tells Jack Nicklaus he’s done with golf.
Rock Bottom to Redemption
The Comebacks
What makes “Tiger” so gripping is the incredible contrast between his lows and highs. Even as Tiger’s personal life crumbled, his professional achievements remained the stuff of legends.
- The 2008 U.S. Open: Playing on a knee so damaged it was described as “broken,” Tiger forced a playoff against Rocco Mediate and won in one of the most dramatic tournaments in history. Watching the footage of Tiger limping after each swing while still outplaying his competitors is inspiring and painful.
- The 2019 Masters: The documentary builds to this moment as a redemptive crescendo. After years of surgeries, scandals, and public humiliation, Tiger entered Augusta as an underdog. On Sunday, he came from behind—something he’d never done in a major—and stunned the world by securing his 15th major title. The moment when Tiger hugged his children after the win is shown in stark contrast to earlier footage of his father pushing him toward greatness.
Highlights from the Documentary
- Earl Woods’s Influence: Earl’s belief in Tiger’s destiny bordered on fanatical. He declared that his son would change the world, comparing him to Gandhi and Mandela. The footage of Earl’s intense training sessions, mixed with testimonials from Tiger’s childhood coaches, paints a picture of both inspiration and pressure.
- Tabloid Chaos: The Enquirer’s Perkins waitress story is just the tip of the iceberg. Other mistresses describe bizarre routines, like post-sex cereal-eating. The doc makes clear how Tiger’s carefully constructed image shattered overnight.
- Masters Chairman Billy Payne’s Criticism: In 2010, on the eve of the Masters, Payne publicly scolded Tiger for his “disappointing” behavior, raising questions of racial bias. Would Augusta’s leadership have done this to Jack Nicklaus or Phil Mickelson?
- The DUI Footage: This raw, unvarnished glimpse into Tiger’s struggles is gut-wrenching. It’s hard to watch but impossible to ignore as a pivotal moment in his story.
- Childhood Talent: The doc vividly illustrates Tiger’s early genius, showing him beating adult golfers as a child. Buddy Joe Grohman recalls how even at a young age, Tiger had the ability to perform the impossible on command.
Lesser-Known Details
- Michael Jordan’s Advice: When Tiger asked Jordan how to talk to women, Jordan’s blunt answer was, “You tell them you’re Tiger Woods.” The line encapsulates the entitlement that became a hallmark of Tiger’s personal life.
- Relationship with Elin: The documentary portrays Tiger’s marriage to Elin as a carefully controlled part of his image, unraveling when the truth emerged.
- Buddy Joe Grohman Stories: Grohman recalls Tiger’s intensity as a child, hitting golf balls over and over with laser precision, sometimes to the point of exhaustion.
- The Blackmail Deal: The National Enquirer’s choice to suppress the Perkins waitress story in exchange for a magazine cover is both shocking and emblematic of Tiger’s attempts to control his image.
Wrap Up
I believe “Tiger” is the best documentary about the rise, fall and rise again of a sports superstar.
Thanks for reading!
Rob Kelly, Chief Maniac, Daily Doc