Charlie Woods has already reached stardom at the age of 16, and Jack Nicklaus has issued a warning to Tiger’s son after admitting that his own son was put off golf completely
16:51 ET, 04 Jun 2025Updated 16:51 ET, 04 Jun 2025
Jack Nicklaus has warned Charlie Woods about what professional golf can be like(Image: Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus issued a warning to Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, after the youngster claimed his first American Junior Golf Association title on May 28.
Charlie Woods won the Team TaylorMade Invitational by two strokes, beating top competitors such as Willie Gordon, Phillip Dunham, and Luke Colton. As a result, he is set to receive an invitation to the Junior Players Championship at the iconic TPC Sawgrass this summer after climbing 595 places to 14th in the AGJA rankings.
Woods’ accomplishment went viral on social media, and he already has a strong following due to the fame of his father. While Charlie appears destined for a career in golf, Nicklaus leaned on personal experience to send a warning to the young golfer.
READ MORE: Rory McIlroy gets wake-up call during private U.S. Open scouting tripREAD MORE: Donald Trump’s granddaughter Kai shows true colors after suffering meltdown
Nicklaus is one of the most successful golfers of all-time, winning 18 major championships and 73 events on the PGA Tour. Nicklaus was in a similar position to Tiger when his sons started taking an interest in golf. Although he encouraged them to get involved, he understood the dangers.
Nicklaus and Woods made their own rise without distractions, while their sons experienced intense fame at a young age. During the Memorial Tournament, Nicklaus told the tale of when his son, Gary, earned a PGA Tour card and was placed on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
“I think it’s tough on kids,” Nicklaus said. “It ran him out of golf.” The Nicklaus family requested that SI not place him on the cover, but it was published with the headline, “The Next Nicklaus,” and it proved tough for Gary to handle.
Charlie Woods won his first AJGA title on May 28(Image: Getty Images)
“Gary would get off the 18th and run to the car so he didn’t have to talk to the press for about two years,” Nicklaus added. “Sports Illustrated said they wanted to do a story. We said, ‘No cover, none of that.’ They put it right on the cover. It was not nice what they did.”
Charlie Woods is also 16, placing him in a similar position to Gary, although he doesn’t have a PGA Tour card. However, the rise of social media means that Woods’ accomplishments have already been seen millions of times, with fans already wondering if he could follow in Tiger’s footsteps.
“That’s the kind of things you’ve really got to try to avoid with kids,” Nicklaus said. “It’s difficult for them. It’s even tougher today. Charlie is a nice little player. He’s got a beautiful little golf swing. Does he want to follow his father? Does he realize what’s going on?
“My kids played because they wanted to play, not because I wanted them to play. That was sort of my rule of the house. Don’t play golf because of me, play golf because that’s what you want to do. That’s what they wanted to do.
Tiger Woods has been mentoring his son throughout his junior career(Image: undefined via Getty Images)
“Then they figured out over a period of time they weren’t going to get to where they wanted to get, and they decided to do other things.” Charlie has already been exposed to the high life under the mentorship of Tiger, and his father is hoping to keep him level-headed.
“I just am always reminding him, ‘Just be you,’” Tiger Woods said last year at the PNC Championship. “Charlie is Charlie. Yes, he’s my son. He’s going to have the last name and he’s going to be part of the sport. But I just want him to be himself and just be your own person.
“That’s what we will always focus on. I will always encourage it, for him to carve his own name, carve his own path and have his own journey. In this day and age where you have so many different … everyone is basically media with all the phones.
“Being constantly filmed and people watching him, that’s just part of his generation, and that’s part of the world that he has to maneuver through. I try and do the best job I possibly can as a parent. I’m always here for him. But at the end of the day, I just want him just to be himself and have his own life.”
