Is Golf a Suitable Lesson for Kids?

When Tiger Woods was 20 and not yet an international phenomenon--in fact, he had not played his first full year on the PGA Tour--I predicted in print he’d become a superstar who in time would leave a large imprint on society.

It was a hunch bet, but I foresaw a Tiger Woods who would pick his spots and speak out on social issues. And do so with credibility.

Little did I suspect the Woods legacy would involve turning every living American into a golfer.

While avoiding the spotlight on some of the big-ticket topics of the day--including even golf-related subjects such as whether a physically disadvantaged PGA player deserves a cart or whether women should be admitted at all-male golf clubs--Tiger, now 26, has zeroed in on leading underprivileged inner-city kids to the wonders of playing golf.

An interesting choice. Is it really a good idea to expand the numbers of frustrated Americans who can’t cure the shanks or get out of a sand trap? Is getting a good tee time one of the fixes to what’s wrong with inner-city youngsters? Does playing golf improve a person or merely point out their most significant character traits?

Apparently, Woods is on a mission to find out.

The Orange County-based Tiger Woods Foundation wants to build a $25-million education center where underprivileged youngsters would have access to computers and academic tutoring--and then step outside to practice their putting or whack some drives at the range.

One of the potential sites, according to the foundation, is the Dad Miller Golf Course in Anaheim, not far from where Tiger grew up in Cypress. The course would remain, but some consideration has been given to using the adjacent driving range for the proposed education/golf center.

The foundation’s executive director said last week the idea is to “introduce the game of golf to kids who otherwise wouldn’t have an opportunity to play.”

As a lifelong golfer, I’m compelled to say that that seems like a rather cruel thing to do to a young person.

Yet, it continues a pattern Woods established several years ago. Since 1997, he has given a number of clinics around the country to inner-city youngsters. The standard format, according to published reports, is that the kids get some tips on real-life things like interviewing for jobs and getting an education, but the focus is on golf.

I realize Woods plays golf and wouldn’t be expected to give tips on how to hit a curve ball or build a house, but the linkage between beating the odds poverty imposes and playing golf is in the eye of the beholder. I’d bet that an hour-long lecture from Tiger to a group of kids in which he never mentioned golf would be just as inspirational.

Tiger and his father, Earl Woods, disagree.

“The game itself teaches kids about life,” Earl Woods told an interviewer in 2000. “What we want to do is improve these kids’ chances in life. They learn how to handle success, failure, integrity and patience.”

I’ve played hundreds of rounds of golf over the years and never learned a thing, except that greens fees are way too high. Besides, golf doesn’t teach you to be honest; you either count your strokes or you don’t. Sitting at innumerable tee boxes over the years, waiting for the group ahead to get moving, didn’t teach me patience; it merely highlighted my lack of it.

But if Tiger thinks access to golf courses will help underprivileged children lead exemplary lives, more power to him. I’d simply remind him that the favorite game of America’s corporate executives is ... well, let’s not belabor the point.

My misgivings aside, I’m not junking my Tiger Woods prediction of several years ago.

I remain confident that once every single one of us has played at least one round of golf, the Tiger Man will direct his charm, influence and passion to other, larger causes.

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He may be reached at (714) 966-7821 or by e-mail at dana.parsons@latimes.com.