Tiger Woods had just won the Canadian Open in 2000 with a 6-iron out of a fairway bunker on the par-5 18th at Glen Abbey that went over the water, right at the flag and settled on the fringe 20 feet away to secure victory.
On the phone that evening was his father, Earl Woods, who had watched from home and felt like he had seen so much of it before.
“In every tournament,” Earl said, “he’ll hit shots that people will be talking about for 30 years.”
Woods turns 50 on Tuesday, a milestone that makes him eligible for the PGA Tour Champions. Whether he’ll play there remains to be seen. But his father was right. Since turning pro at 20, Tiger has hit shots that still drop jaws today.
What better way to celebrate Tiger’s career than by looking at the most significant shots he’s hit with each club in his bag? Some you’ve seen replayed countless times. Others were witnessed by just a lucky few.
Driver
Power defined early-career Tiger. At the 1997 Masters, when he shot that incredible 30 on the back nine Thursday to climb back into contention, Woods unleashed a 349-yard drive on the par-5 15th. He had pitching wedge left to the green.
Davis Love III, no slouch himself off the tee, remembers waiting to hit his 9-iron that day when a crossing guard casually mentioned, “Tiger Woods hit a wedge in there.” That was Tiger’s power advantage in a nutshell.
3-wood
After retooling his swing with Butch Harmon, Tiger added precision to his power. At St. Andrews in the 2000 Open Championship, he hit what he later called his “2-inch draw” with his 3-wood, showing his complete control of the golf ball en route to his first Open victory.
2-iron
With Phil Mickelson making a Sunday charge at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, Woods crushed a 2-iron off the tee on the 554-yard 13th hole to set up a two-putt birdie. Mickelson had pulled within two shots but got no closer the rest of the way as Tiger secured another major.
3-iron
Tiger considers this among his best shots ever. At the 2002 PGA Championship’s 18th hole at Hazeltine, he faced a nightmare scenario: 202 yards from a fairway bunker with the ball below his feet, barely enough room to stand without his legs hitting the bunker’s edge, needing to clear the lip, navigate past trees 72 yards away, and reach the back of the green into 35 mph gusts. He pulled it off perfectly for birdie.
“The best shot I’ve ever seen him hit,” caddie Steve Williams said. Ernie Els didn’t need words – he just looked at reporters, widened his eyes, and shook his head.
4-iron
This one happened during a practice round at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, witnessed by Paul Goydos. At the par-3 12th, Goydos hit what he considered the best 4-iron of his life, only to watch it bounce off the green.
“Tiger hits this shot over the moon, flies the bunker and stops this far,” Goydos recalled, holding his hands 5 feet apart. “I said, ‘What did you hit there?’ He said, ‘4-iron.'”
Later, at the 18th hole, Goydos had 233 yards to the front and hit 3-wood. Tiger, from a similar position, hit a rocket-like shot.
“What did you hit?” Goydos asked.
“4-iron.”
“Boys, this tournament is over,” Goydos told his group. “Because if you can hit a 4-iron 195 yards in the air and 225 yards in the air when you want, this tournament is OVER.”
Tiger won by 15, still a major championship record.
5-iron
After eight PGA Tour events without a win—prompting one magazine to suggest a “slump”—Woods came to the 18th hole at Bay Hill tied for the lead. His tee shot hit a spectator, leaving him an awkward lie in trampled grass. No problem. He hit a 5-iron to 15 feet and made the birdie putt for the win. Classic Tiger at Bay Hill.
6-iron
With the Triple Crown of 2000 at stake (having already won the U.S. Open and Open Championship), Woods held a one-shot lead over Grant Waite in the Canadian Open’s final round. Waite was already on the green at the par-5 18th when Tiger, from 218 yards in a bunker, pulled out a 6-iron, fired it over water directly at the flag, and finished 20 feet away for a two-putt birdie and victory.
“The guy takes out a 6-iron, fires at the flag, with the tournament on the line,” Waite said afterward. “He said, ‘The shot was on.’ I guess it was.”
7-iron
During the 2000 U.S. Open’s second round, Woods found himself 202 yards away in deep rough right of the fairway on Pebble Beach’s par-5 sixth. Most players would pitch back to safety rather than try carrying a corner of the ocean up a steep hill. Tiger pulled 7-iron and knocked it on the green.
NBC’s Roger Maltbie summed up golf’s Tiger era perfectly: “It’s just not a fair fight.”
8-iron
Eleven years after his last major and following four back surgeries that nearly ended his career, Woods held a one-shot lead during Sunday’s final round at the 2019 Masters. His 8-iron at the par-3 16th caught the ridge perfectly, nearly went in, and settled a few feet away for a tap-in birdie that essentially sealed his comeback for the ages.
9-iron
For pure theater, nothing tops Tiger’s 1997 Phoenix Open debut at the rowdy par-3 16th. Surrounded by thousands of spectators looking for any reason to erupt, Woods delivered a hole-in-one that brought down a shower of beer from the crowd and created one of golf’s most iconic moments.
Pitching wedge
Seven shots behind in the final round of the 2000 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Woods’ chances seemed finished when he failed to birdie the par-5 14th. But from 97 yards in the fairway on No. 15, he hit pitching wedge with reduced spin to adjust for rain-softened greens. The shot found the bottom of the cup for eagle, sparking his greatest comeback victory.
Sand wedge
This was Tiger’s warm-up club. Before the final round of the 2005 Open at St. Andrews, he hit the 100-yard sign four consecutive times—specifically the right “0” on the sign. Caddie Steve Williams said swing coach Hank Haney whispered, “The first time he gets inside 100 yards, you might want to tell him to aim away from the flag.”
Sure enough, at the 6th hole from 98 yards, Woods hit it so perfectly it actually hit the flagstick and ricocheted 30 feet away, forcing him to scramble for par.
Lob wedge
Perhaps his most replayed shot came in the 2005 Masters final round. Clinging to a one-shot lead over Chris DiMarco, Woods went long on the par-3 16th. His chip shot from an awkward lie needed to navigate the slope perfectly. Tiger landed it well above the hole, watched it trickle down toward the cup where it paused for a dramatic full second before dropping for birdie.
Putter
From countless possibilities, let’s defer to Tiger himself. He’s said the 6-foot putt to force a playoff with Bob May at the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla was the most pressure he ever felt. At stake was his chance to win a third straight major in one year.
“I don’t think that really falls in your lap very often,” Woods said in 2013.
He made the putt, won the three-hole playoff, and nearly eight months later completed the “Tiger Slam” at the Masters—becoming the only player to hold all four major championships simultaneously.
