Being the son of Tiger Woods comes with an unavoidable level of expectation, but according to Kevin Kisner, Tiger has made a deliberate effort not to overwhelm Charlie with instructions or pressure.
Kisner got an unusually close look at the relationship while playing alongside Tiger for Jupiter Links Golf Club during the inaugural TGL season.
Charlie was regularly around the team, giving Kisner an opportunity to see how the father and son interacted away from the spotlight.
Speaking on the Fore Play Podcast, Kisner said Charlie’s development cannot simply be judged by his surname or the access he has received through his father.
“It’s so hard to tell. I mean, it’s not a lack of talent. It’s not a lack of access or anything. It’s just the game’s so competitive now. He is doing all the right things, playing a lot of tournaments,” Kisner said about Charlie’s golf career.
The former PGA Tour winner then explained why he was impressed by the way Tiger approached his son’s development.
“I love the way that Tiger and his relationship are. I got to see that a ton at TGL because Charlie would hang out with us most every night.”
That access could easily have created an environment in which Charlie was constantly being coached by one of the most accomplished golfers in history. Instead, Kisner said Tiger has largely resisted that temptation.
“Tiger’s not like an overbearing [father, like] Charlie, do this, Charlie, do that kind of helicopter dad that we see all over the place in kids’ sports now. So I love that. I just need him to shoot and see some lower scores. I think going to college and getting away and having it figured out on his own and not having people around all the time is going to be what makes or breaks Charlie Woods.”
Charlie is beginning to establish his own path
That next stage is already taking shape.
Charlie, 17, is entering his senior year at The Benjamin School in Florida and is committed to play college golf at Florida State beginning in 2027.
Reuters reported that the commitment became official in February, after Charlie chose Florida State rather than following his father to Stanford.
His recent results suggest that his development is moving in the right direction, even though his junior career has not been without setbacks.
At the Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass this month, Charlie produced his best result at the prestigious AJGA tournament, finishing tied for eighth at 1-under 215. He followed an opening 71 with rounds of 73 and 71, finishing the tournament strongly.
The result was especially useful after a difficult stretch earlier in the year. Charlie’s U.S. Junior Amateur campaign ended in a playoff when he bogeyed the first extra hole, missing out on match play. There is also a growing commercial side to Charlie’s career.
TaylorMade announced on September 4 that it had signed Charlie to an NIL agreement, adding him to its roster of junior and collegiate athletes. The company said he is a 2025 AJGA Team TaylorMade Invitational champion and a 2027 Florida State commit.
The partnership has an obvious family connection because TaylorMade is also one of the brands most closely associated with Tiger.
Charlie was already using TaylorMade equipment before the agreement, and the new deal formalizes that relationship as he approaches college golf.
Yet Tiger has repeatedly made clear that he does not want Charlie’s career to become a recreation of his own.
In 2022, while discussing his son on Bridgestone Golf’s Another Golf Podcast, Tiger emphasized that Charlie should be allowed to become his own person.
“And don’t compare him to me, because he’s not me, he’s Charlie, OK?,” Tiger Woods said. “He’s going to be his own person. Whatever road he goes down, he’s going to go down his own road and he’s going to create his own path. … I just want him to be the best at it.”
That philosophy may become increasingly important as Charlie moves into college golf.
The comparisons with Tiger will not disappear. Charlie has grown up around professional golf, has already competed at major junior events and now has an NIL partnership with one of his father’s biggest equipment sponsors. But none of that guarantees that he will reproduce Tiger’s extraordinary career.
Kisner’s assessment suggests Tiger understands that distinction.
Rather than attempting to control every part of Charlie’s development, the legendary golfer appears willing to let his son experience the highs and lows of competition for himself.
That means Charlie will have to learn how to handle poor rounds, recover from disappointing finishes and discover which parts of his game need improvement without his father constantly standing over his shoulder.
For Charlie, that independence could ultimately be more valuable than having Tiger Woods as a full-time coach.
His father can provide experience, advice and support when necessary. But if Charlie is eventually going to establish a reputation separate from the Woods name, he will have to build it himself.
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