Tiger Woods is undoubtedly the most noticeable golfer in the whole world and it is probably helped by the fact there are not that many golfers who are Woods’ skin-folk.
But in New York City, they are also very likely to recognize Tiger Hood, another golfer, of a sort.
Hood is a local legend who has been biding his time while doing what is essentially his hobby. He is passionate about golf but having no access to the accessories and venue, Hood became inventive.
He made what looks cubic balls out of milk cartons and got actual golf clubs. There was no golf course so Hood to the game to the streets, or even better, the hood.
In urban or street golf, the balls are placed on thick carpets on the street in a back alley, a suitable replacement for the lack of grass. Some distance away is a bucket supposed to be the hole the golfers have to aim for.
For over 10 years, the man whose real name is Patrick Barr has been hitting his balls yards in the New York City streets. With this has come a reliable and growing fanbase, some of whom are from outside New York.
In a documentary film that was released on him in 2015, Hood said, “For the rest of my life, I just want to play golf and I want to take it worldwide, bro. Worldwide. So everybody can play, not just people on the golf course, man.”
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Among Hood’s fans are even celebrities. In Hood’s documentary, Jeff Garlin of Curb Your Enthusiasm stars and plays a game with the street legend.
But in an interview with Hypebeast.com, Hood stated he also counts RnB star Usher as another fan.
“Usher got big respect for me. His kid actually beat me. I was like ‘Damn, okay!’ He was really impressing me, man,” said Hood to Hypebeast.com.
Earlier this year, the celebrity fanbase grew by one more – Will Smith. Smith filmed for his YouTube channel, an interaction with Hood and praised his ingenuity.
Smith also revealed that Hood has now got sponsorship deals from Nike.
Of what Hood does, Smith said, “What you’re doing is really special, it’s really fun. I love your light and your energy and it is an absolute joy to meet you.”
The likes of Smith is what Hood has been looking for to help raise the profile of the sport he pioneered so that he can raise funds for charitable causes.
“If I can just get a couple A-listers to play with me, they’ll help me raise some money for the people I know who really need it. I wanna do things like this,” he said in the interview with Hypebeast.com.
Hood believes in the virtuous potential or street golfing, something he now calls “a lifestyle”. For him, there is an opportunity for the young and old coming from different parts to bond over something great.
That is his gift to the world.
“I might be out here doing small things but I’m a big thinker, baby,” he noted.
