Hole in One April 15, 2002
Master Strokes
 Green suits him. Putting greens suit him. Fairways suit him. The rough suits him. He's even good in the bunker. It's hard to find a place within five miles of a golf course that would make Tiger Woods uncomfortable. He proved it Sunday in the final round of the US Masters Tournament and put himself in the record books with golf's elite — the few who have won the competition three or more times. This is Tiger's third win at Augusta, and it's unlikely to be his last.

Sports is one area that still provides heroes for kids to admire and emulate, and Tiger Woods is foremost among them. The coolest man on the golf course — and undoubtedly the man with the biggest following — has brought golf a new audience. He is a modern-day legend who proves time and time again that hard work and perseverance can pay off. At 25, he says that his game is "getting better and better every week."

Students may be familiar with his biography: Eldrick "Tiger" Woods began playing golf as a toddler. He was coached by his father, a retired lieutenant colonel who also plays golf. Woods encountered some racial prejudice on the golf course as a small child, but he kept at the game, winning many junior tournaments. He attended Stanford University for two years. By 1997, he was ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Students can read about the phenomenal Tiger:

Learn About the Problem
 Elementary/Middle School Math
Young students may be confused by the golf term "par" and the distinction between Tiger Woods's 3-stroke U.S. Masters win and the fact that it was 12 under par.

  • Have students work the Destination MATH activity: MSC IV: Integers & Order of Operations: Adding with Absolute Value, which will introduce them to negative numbers on a number line. (To use this Destination Math activity, you need a Riverdeep subscription. If you don't have a subscription, you can get a 30-day free trial.)

  • Then have them do the Workouts. Question #2 calculates strokes versus par for a game of golf.

Algebra
Click and play! All this week, you don't need to be a subscriber or sign up for a free trial to try this tutorial. In the Destination Math activity, Mastering Algebra: Course 2: Quadratic Functions & Equations: Solving Quadratic Equations by Graphing, students graph the trajectory of a golf ball (height of ball vs. horizontal distance) and analyze the function of the resulting parabola. Key words introduced in the activity include quadratic function, quadratic equation in one variable, x-intercept of a graph, and root of an equation.

Think About the Problem
 Elementary/Middle School Math
Have students explain Woods' performance in the Masters in terms of strokes and par.

Algebra
Have students draw imaginary graphs for the following three golf strokes:

  • the first stroke from the tee
  • a stroke to bring the ball out of a sand trap
  • a putt

Then ask students to analyze each graph and its function.

Extending the Problem
 More Tiger: Students may want to read more about Tiger Woods. Here are some places to start:

Sporty math & physics: The Riverdeep Current has a selection of stories for your students and some Teaching the News articles for you to use in the classroom.

  • The Boston marathon takes place this week. Students can solve problems related to marathon finishing times in "On the Run."

  • "Play Ball!" is another recent article for students. It features problems related to baseball statistics, including figuring out who is the greatest all-time slugger.

  • Teach your students about the physics of football with "Super Bowl Physics," or baseball with "America's Pastime," which was written on the occasion of the last World Series.

Physics: Advanced physics students may enjoy reading the article, "Golf Ball & Golf History." They can discuss the different materials that have been used in making golf balls and suggest why each new material offered an improvement over the previous balls.

Exercise: While sports are generally considered to be a positive factor in one's overall general fitness, there can be a negative side to sports activity and exercise. Have students read the following articles, and then ask them to develop some sports and fitness guidelines.