How is the golf game of Charlie Woods? We enquired of his high school coach
Toby Harbeck had to make a choice prior to last month’s Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1A golf state tournament.
At the Benjamin School, a private school in Palm Beach Gardens, Harbeck had been both the head boys’ golf coach and an English teacher for almost 40 years. He had to decide which of his 12 players would take the fifth and final slot on the team that would go to states. Charlie Woods, an eager 14-year-old freshman, was among Harbeck’s pool of available players.
Charlie is a talented individual in his own right and the son of Tiger Woods, the 15-time major winner. Charlie and Tiger have probably competed together at the PNC Championship in previous years where father and son are back in the mix again this week at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, in Orlando.
Charlie possesses all the necessary skills, including strength, touch, club twirls, and sly banter. However, to give you an indication of the level of competition he faces at his school, his 74.3 scoring average from the previous season was surpassed by four teammates and much below the team leader’s 70.4 pace.
Charlie, however, had something working for him that had nothing to do with his last name: success and expertise at the El Campeon course at Mission Inn Resort and Club, which is located just outside of Orlando and serves as the host site for the state championship. Charlie had qualified for another event at El Campeon in September with a score of 71-66. On the same course, he had shot 80-68 in the same qualifier the year before, when he was 13 years old.
Charlie had previously shown he could handle the challenging, narrow, and, unusually for Florida, steep layout with three poor out of four attempts.
The 66-year-old Harbeck said to me the other day, “So I got to thinking about it.” This young person is not scared of the golf course. You really are saying something, I think, to break 72 on this golf course. That is the difficulty. I remarked, “You know what? Given that he’s three or four rounds below par? In the state finals, I got to play him.
Charlie hadn’t participated in any district or regional tournaments leading up to the state tournament, so it was a risky move, and not everyone agreed with the choice.
It “kind of upset the cart a little bit with some of my other guys,” as Harbeck put it. But occasionally, I had to follow my instincts.
Charlie was given a special assignment as the fifth player in a system that only considers the top four team scores from each round: perform well but refrain from flag-hunting. “I have to be able to use the number five guy’s score if one of the four in front goes south on me,” Harbeck remarked.
Charlie played a conservative game in the 36-hole competition, shooting a nondescript 78-76, both of which went toward his team’s total. He placed 26th out of 98 players total,
However, his individual status was irrelevant because his team successfully completed its task, rallying from a six-shot disadvantage late in the second round to win by a single shot. The Benjamin School won the state championship for the fourth time, and for the third time while Harbeck was in charge.
When it came to Charlie’s scores, Harbeck commented, “I know the numbers weren’t terrific.” But Charlie fulfilled my request exactly. I’m quite happy with how everything worked out.
HARBECK WAS TALKING ABOUT THE STATE TOURNAMENT, BUT IT’S VERY CLEAR from the coach’s speech that the same sentiment could be applied to Charlie’s whole first year of high school golf. Striking a new path in the same direction that elevated your father to a worldwide
However, his individual status was irrelevant because his team successfully completed its task, rallying from a six-shot disadvantage late in the second round to win by a single shot. The Benjamin School won the state championship for the fourth time, and for the third time while Harbeck was in charge.
When it came to Charlie’s scores, Harbeck commented, “I know the numbers weren’t terrific.” But Charlie fulfilled my request exactly. I’m quite happy with how everything worked out.
HARBECK WAS TALKING ABOUT THE STATE TOURNAMENT, BUT IT’S VERY CLEAR from the coach’s speech that the same sentiment could be applied to Charlie’s whole first year of high school golf. Striking a new path in the same direction that elevated your father to a worldwide superstar can’t be easy, but Harbeck will tell you Charlie is doing a commendable job in that quest.
