130 Tiger Woods Quotes Winning in Life & in Golf

Learn through the great feats and losses of one of the most famous athletes in the world through this collection of Tiger Woods quotes.

In the many years that span his career, he faced both the ups and the downs; and through all of this there’s one thing that remained true—he never quit.

So, if you’re in need of some motivation to help pull yourself through the day, be sure you read through everything listed down below.

Start reading the full list here.

And don’t forget to check out these Yogi Berra quotes and David Goggins quotes.

Best Tiger Woods Quotes

Tiger Woods Quotes - All I know is I've tried my best.

1. “All I know is I’ve tried my best.”

2. “The greatest thing about tomorrow is I will be better than I am today.”

3. “No matter how good you get, you can always get better—and that’s the exciting part.”

4. “I believe that my creative mind is my greatest weapon.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - We all make decisions. But in the end, our decisions make us.

5. “We all make decisions. But in the end, our decisions make us.”

6. “If you’re not nervous, it means you don’t care.”

7. “My main focus is on my game.”

8. “I have a big picture outlook. I am willing to fall, and I understand it’s ok to fall. But I am going to get back up. I may take a step back, but in the end, I am going to take a giant leap forward.”

9. “I believe in myself. There’s nothing wrong with believing in myself.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - Winning takes care of everything.

10. “Winning takes care of everything.”

11. “You have to look at the past in order to learn from it and move on. I’ve done a lot of reflecting over the past year. And certainly, I’ve turned the corner and am looking more toward the future in a lot of ways.”

12. “My mind is my biggest asset. I expect to win every tournament I play.”

13. “My mother’s a Buddhist. In Buddhism, if you want to achieve enlightenment, you have to do it through meditation and self-improvement through the mind. That’s something she’s passed on to me—to be able to calm myself down and use my mind as my main asset.”

14. “People don’t understand that when I grew up, I was never the most talented. I was never the biggest. I was never the fastest. I certainly was never the strongest. The only thing I had was my work ethic, and that’s been what has gotten me this far.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - I'm going to try to keep getting better.

15. “I’m going to try to keep getting better.”

16.“My dad used to say, ‘Just because you dress up in a coat and tie, it doesn’t influence your intelligence.’”

17. “Under pressure, you can win with your mind.”

18. “You’ve got to figure out what works best for you. That’s the hard part. I know I can’t play as stoic as Hogan, and I can’t talk as much as Trevino. You have to be your own person.”

19. “I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart.”

Tiger Woods Quotes on Success and Achievements

Tiger Woods Quotes - Achievements on the golf course are not what matters; decency and honesty are what matter.

20. “Achievements on the golf course are not what matters; decency and honesty are what matter.”

21. “Winning is not always the barometer of getting better.”

22. “Everyone wants to get a piece of me.”

23. “You can always become better.”

24. “In order to help people, you have to first learn how to help yourself.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - Talent is something you are born with, and a skill is something you develop.

25. “Talent is something you are born with, and a skill is something you develop.”

26. “I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me.”

27. “I’m trying as hard as I can, and sometimes, things don’t go your way, and that’s the way things go.”

28. “My dad told me this, ‘You get out of it what you put into it. If you put in effort and log your time, you’ll get the results.”

29. “I think life is all about having a balance, and trying to find equilibrium and not getting things one way or the other.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - Money and fame made me believe I was entitled. I was wrong and foolish.

30. “Money and fame made me believe I was entitled. I was wrong and foolish.”

31. “I don’t want to become as good as I once was. I want to become better.”

32. “There’s no sense in going to a tournament if you don’t believe that you can win it. And that is the belief I have always had. And that is not going to change.”

33. “If money titles meant anything, I’d play more tournaments. The only thing that means a lot to me is winning. If I have more wins than anybody else and win more majors than anybody else in the same year, then it’s been a good year.”

34. “You can win all the tournaments you want, but the majors are what you’re remembered for. It’s how you’re measured as a champion in our sport. The majors are where it’s at.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - I always want to do the best that I can in all of my life.

35. “I always want to do the best that I can in all of my life, and this is no different.”

36. “I’m trying as hard as I possibly can each and every day to get my life better, and better, and stronger. And if I win championships along the way, so be it.”

37. “I’ve gotten more buff.”

38. “I’d like to share my experiences and the lessons I’ve learned, and hopefully create some amazing, fun courses.”

39. “I’m committed to try to make the product the best I possibly can.”

Tiger Woods Quotes on Everyday Life

Tiger Woods Quotes - And I don't cook, either. Not as long as they still deliver pizza.

40. “And I don’t cook, either. Not as long as they still deliver pizza.”

41. “Sensationalism sells—don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.”

42. “I will be a better golfer, I will be a better person, I will be a better father, I will be a better husband, I will be a better friend. That’s the beauty of tomorrow.”

43. “I’m getting back to my old roots.”

44. “It’s hard to believe, but anything can happen. Accidents do happen. Unfortunately, it happened at the worst time.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - If you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?

45. “If you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?”

46. “A lot has transpired in my life.”

47. “I miss hanging out with my friends, getting in a little trouble. I have to be so guarded now.”

48. “I’ve been a gamer all my life.”

49. “As a child growing up, you never thought about being in a video game. Then, to have a game of your own and be lucky enough to set the bar with it in the gaming world—it’s a dream come true.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - I wake up every day and I can't wait to go to work, and that's a gift.

50. “I wake up every day and I can’t wait to go to work, and that’s a gift. Not too many people have the opportunity to feel that way.”

51. “My body is a little bit sore from all of the practicing, and playing, and training, and your mind gets a little tired of it, too. It’s nice to be able to recharge and come back fresh for the remainder of the year.”

52. “Well, you know, a lot of people look at the negative things—the things that they did wrong and which I did. But I like to stress on the things I did right, because there are certain things that I like to look at from a positive standpoint that are just positive reinforcement.”

53. “You’re going to make mistakes. The key is to learn from them as fast as possible and make changes as soon as you can. That’s not always easy to do because ego and pride get in the way, but you have to put all that aside and look at the big picture.”

54. “Nobody could have prepared me for the life I’ve had to become accustomed to.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - I made my share of mistakes. People can look at that as what not to do.

55. “I made my share of mistakes. People can look at that as what not to do, and if they choose to make fun of it, that’s fine. I can’t control that. All I know is that I can control myself. And at that point in my life, I wasn’t even able to do that.”

56. “I want to be what I’ve always wanted to be—dominant.”

57. “I do not look back at what might have been. If I did that, playing golf would drive me crazy.”

58. “All I can say is that I’m getting married in the future. I’ve narrowed it down to that.”

59. “I know that balance that I need to have in my life.”

Tiger Woods Quotes on Golf and Sports

Tiger Woods Quotes - I think the golf swing is all about rotation.

60. “I think the golf swing is all about rotation, all about trying to keep the club on plane.”

61. “I’ve always said the day I’m not nervous playing is the day I quit.”

62. “Hockey is a sport for white men. Basketball is a sport for black men. Golf is a sport for white men dressed like black pimps.”

63. “You hit a bad shot, you have to get over it right there and then so you can get focused on the next one.”

64. “It provides a different type of element and mental strain athletes love. That’s what makes the game of golf so special.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - 99% of what you need to succeed in golf are skills.

65. “99% of what you need to succeed in golf are skills.”

66. “I get to play golf for a living. What more can you ask for—getting paid for doing what you love.”

67. “Education is a priority over any sport because without a mind you can’t contribute to society.”

68. “It is technology. They all changed to a harder golf ball, so they gave up spinning on the greens. They all changed to longer drivers, bigger heads with hotter faces and lighter shafts. The problem is, the harder you hit it, the more control you lose.”

69. “I chase a little white ball around and work on my farmer tan, that’s about it. I think that I’ve been lucky enough to represent some great companies, and I think maybe that’s what it is.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - It's cool now to play golf.

70. “It’s cool now to play golf.”

71. “If you have wind, it becomes more difficult than you think.”

72. “I don’t think you’re ever there. You never arrive, but if you do, you might as well quit because you’re already there—can’t get any better. And as players, if you ever have that moment, you should never have that moment. You’re always trying to get better.”

73. “As a kid, I might have been a psycho, I guess, but I used to throw golf balls in the trees and try to somehow make par from them. I thought that was fun.”

74. “A golfer should never make a mental mistake because the ball is just sitting there waiting for you to hit it.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - The key is to design great golf courses all around the world.

75. “The key is to design great golf courses all around the world. But my plan is only to do a select few. I devote so much of my time to these. I’m kind of a hands-on kind of person.”

76. “I did envisage being this successful as a player, but not all the hysteria around it off the golf course.”

77. “Golf is fluid. It’s always changing. It’s always evolving. First of all, you never master it.”

78. “I am the toughest golfer mentally.”

79. “Every sport evolves. Every sport gets bigger and more athletic, and you have to keep up.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - I love to play golf, and that's my arena.

80. “I love to play golf, and that’s my arena. And you can characterize it and describe it however you want, but I have a love and a passion for getting that ball in the hole and beating those guys.”

81. “I think the hardest part about golf is being committed to your wife.”

82. “To have the opportunity to complete the slam at the Open at St. Andrews—the home of golf—is something I will never ever forget.”

83. “Golf has made me and shaped me into the person I am here today.”

84. “I always thought it was important to have power, but more important to have power in reserve.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - Golf is evolving - every day, every shot.

85. “Golf is evolving—every day, every shot.”

86. “I’ve been in some seriously bad places playing golf and it’s just part of the game. You’re going to hit bad shots, you’re going to be in bad spots, and each course, when you learn it, you learn where not to go.”

87. “I can play a power game, but I also have the ability to step it up to another level and hit shots even further on call.”

88. “I have been fortunate to have my game peak at the right times.”

89. “I’m addicted. I’m addicted to golf.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - I treat golf as a sport. I let other people treat it like a hobby.

90. “I treat golf as a sport. I let other people treat it like a hobby.”

91. “Golf is a very serious part of my life, but when you stop having fun at it, that’s when it’s time to hang it up.”

92. “In golf, just because a person is big, and cut, and ripped, doesn’t mean they have a physical advantage.”

93. “The biggest thing is to have a mindset and a belief you can win every tournament going in.”

94. “I hit a one-yard draw there.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - It will always be the ball and me.

95. “It will always be the ball and me.”

96. “I love to play to win.”

97. “The most important thing to me is winning tournaments. I love winning.”

98. “You can play from the wrong position for a long time with good hands, but eventually, it’s going to catch up with you.”

99. “I love to compete. That’s the essence of who I am.”

Tiger Woods Quotes on Culture, Values, and Family

Tiger Woods Quotes - America's a melting pot - all races, cultures, religious choices.

100. “America’s a melting pot—all races, cultures, religious choices.”

101. “I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated.”

102. “My mother was right when she said that turning pro would take away my youth.”

103. “I got hoes in different area codes.”

104. “I owe a lot of people an apology. I hurt a lot of people. Not just my wife. My friends, my colleagues, the public, kids who looked up to me. There were a lot of people that thought I was a different person and my actions were not according to that.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - My dad has always taught me these words - care and share.

105. “My dad has always taught me these words—care and share.”

106. “I don’t get to live by different rules. The same boundaries that apply to everyone apply to me.”

107. “I stopped living according to my core values. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but thought only about myself and thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to.”

108. “I don’t believe that human beings can achieve ultimate enlightenment, because humans have flaws.”

109. “Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - If you're lucky to have three close people in your life, you're blessed.

110. “If you’re lucky to have three close people in your life, you’re blessed.”

111. “I want to say to each of you, simply, and directly, I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in.”

112. “I don’t see myself as the Great Black Hope. I’m just a golfer who happens to be black and Asian. It doesn’t matter whether they’re white, black, brown or green.”

113. “The virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one’s own family.”

114. “I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - I'd gotten away from my Buddhism, and I quit meditating.

115. “I’d gotten away from my Buddhism, and I quit meditating.”

116. “It’s just a matter of, for me, getting my mind where it needs to be. Certainly I’ve made a lot of adjustments in my life, and I’ve gone through a lot. A lot.”

117. “I’ve always known where I wanted to go in life.”

118. “I’ve exceeded a few of my goals, but I’m behind on a couple of others.”

119. “Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - I thoroughly enjoy getting away from the game and going out fishing because it's so relaxing.

120. “I thoroughly enjoy getting away from the game and going out fishing because it’s so relaxing, so quiet and peaceful. I mean, there’s no noise other than nature, and it’s so different from what I do in a tournament situation that it just eases my mind.”

121. “My goal is to remain healthy my entire career, and a healthy diet seems like a good start.”

122. “I ran straight through the boundaries a married couple should live by.”

123. “One of the things my dad kept instilling in me was the joy of the game. He made it fun for me. A lot of the time, I see kids that don’t enjoy being out there and that’s a shame; you’re supposed to enjoy the game.”

124. “One of the things that my parents have taught me is never listen to other people’s expectations. You should live your own life and live up to your own expectations, and those are the only things I really care about.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - I was living a life of a lie, I really was.

125. “I was living a life of a lie, I really was.”

126. “My kids are doing just great.”

127. “In therapy, I have learned the importance of keeping spiritual life and professional life balanced. I need to regain my balance.”

128. “I probably will have to become more political down the road when my playing days are done, because I’m going to have to have the support of others to grow my foundation.”

129. “There’s always stuff to work on. You’re never there.”

Tiger Woods Quotes - When I was growing up, as any kid, you think you know everything, and I was no different to that.

130. “As a kid, when I was growing up, as any kid, you think you know everything, and I was no different to that.”

Did These Quotes Inspire You to Rise up Whenever You Fall?

Tiger Woods is widely known as one of the greatest golfers in history. To some, he is the epitome of success. But for him, it wasn’t always easy, and he wasn’t always on top.

We saw many ups and downs in his career, and through these events, he taught us that success isn’t always going to be a straight line. We may fall down and fail at times, but it’ll never be too late to stand up again and win, if we stay focused, disciplined, and if we recognize that our strength can also come from experiencing struggles and defeats.

Which of these quotes encouraged you to learn from your mistakes? Is Tiger Woods someone you look up to? Join the discussion in the comments section below.

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Karen Danao

Hi, I’m Karen, a content curator and writer for Quote Ambition; I’m also a marketing and advertising professional. Beyond the keyboard and the screen, I’m someone who’s out to enjoy every bit that life has to offer!

Poetry, philosophy, history, and movies are all topics I love writing about! However, my true passion is in traveling, photography, and finding common ground to which everyone from different cultures can relate.

With the many places I’ve been to, I found that love, inspiration, and happiness are some things that bring people together. No matter how different we are on the outside, I’m a true believer that our emotions don’t lie; if you dig deep into our psyche, we’re all the same inside.

This belief was further amplified when I joined Quote Ambition. Through the quotes I’ve read, collected, organized, and written about, I found that humans are resilient, creative, and compassionate.

We take from each others’ hearts and courage, and it’s through our individual experiences that we learn how to rise above our challenges and pain. In so many ways, Quote Ambition is a platform that allows people from all over the world to gain the inspiration they need anytime, anywhere!

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