A Mother's Influence
Kultida Woods heavily shaped her son's path
Of Tiger Woods’ parents, father Earl was known for being front and center, the public face of the family. As son soared like a rocket through the ranks—best child golfer, best teenage golfer, best golfer—father was the well-known coach and promoter, quick with a quote, directing the precociousness toward the big stage where he would achieve uncommon things.
Yet, in the wings, always, was mother Kultida, sharpening Tiger’s fierce if not ruthless competitive spirit as well as softening his rare golf disappointments. That was a powerful combination, and a big reason she was able to see her son win the Masters in 1997 and in 2019, with a whole lot of trophies collected in between to go with five green jackets.
“My Mom was a force of nature all her own, her spirit was undeniable,” Tiger Woods wrote Tuesday on social media, announcing Kultida Woods’ death at age 80. “She was quick with the needle and a laugh. She was my biggest fan, greatest supporter, without her none of my personal achievements would have been possible. She was loved by so many, but especially by her two grandchildren, Sam and Charlie.”
“Tida” Woods was in the crowd just a couple of weeks ago when her son made his TGL debut. Pete McDaniel, formerly of Golf Digest, who collaborated on books with Earl and Tiger Woods and walked many holes on the tournament trail with the Woods family, noted on Facebook that he had a phone conversation with Tida over the weekend. “Tiger was blessed to have had such a dedicated mother,” McDaniel wrote in part, “and all of us who really knew her were truly blessed, as well.”
More than most realize, Tida not Earl was the parental presence in Tiger’s early junior-golf competitions in southern California. While her husband still worked full-time, Tida took Tiger to events and watched him play. “Tida is a force,” Tom Sargent, a longtime PGA professional in Orange County told biographers Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian in their 2018 Tiger Woods. “And you really don’t want to stand in her way. I say that in a positive way. Tiger was surrounded by toughness. Let me put it this way: You wouldn’t dare f—k with her son. You’d get your ass kicked.”
As author John Strege reported in his 1997 biography Tiger, schoolwork was a priority, childhood discipline usually fell to Tida. “When I used to discipline Tiger, I take Tiger, I take his golf clubs away,” she told Strege. “He stays in line pretty good that way.”
Tida Woods suggested her son wear red, a “power color” on tournament Sundays, and the hue became symbolic of his golf dominance. His tiger-striped driver headcover carries an embroidered message written in his mother’s native Thai: “Love from Mom.”
“She’s always been there through thick and thin,” Tiger said in 2024 when he accepted the USGA’s Bob Jones Award. “She has allowed me to get here. She allowed me to do these things, chase my dreams. And the support and love—I didn’t do this alone. I had the greatest rock that any child could possibly have: my mom.”