There’s absolutely no way he could have known but Rudy Duran held the future of an entire sport in his hands throughout the early eighties.
Now based at Chalk Mountain Golf Course in Atascadero – roughly halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco – Duran was working at Heartwell Golf Course in Long Beach in 1980 when the door to his pro shop opened and in walked Tida Woods with her four-year-old son Tiger.
Eighteen months earlier, little Tiger had earned national exposure with an appearance on The Mike Douglas Show. He had wowed fellow guests Bob Hope and Jimmy Stewart with his seemingly supernatural talent for golf. Are you kidding me? He’s only two? Etcetera.
Soon after, Tida and her husband Earl decided they wanted their little boy to start taking lessons. Earl had shown Tiger the basics using a makeshift net he’d set up in their garage. However, Tiger needed better guidance, professional guidance.
The couple settled on Duran after learning of the hugely successful junior golf program he was running out of Heartwell. He had more than 100 kids signed up, each of whom enjoyed free, unlimited access to the par-3 course.
It may or may not have helped that, like Earl, he also had a military background. It was during his time in the Air Force, in fact, that Duran learned to play golf.
Even so, at four-years-old and barely able to see over the counter, Tiger was a lot younger and smaller than most of the kids he taught. Eight, nine, ten? Sure. But four was almost unheard of.
Still, Duran’s interest was piqued. What the hell? he figured. Let’s see what the kid’s made of.
What happened next changed the game forever.
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Learn more about Rudy, check these out...
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https://www.facebook.com/rudy.duran.967
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