When Charley Hoffman stepped onto the first tee alongside Tiger Woods, he knew he was in for a unique experience. Now, the veteran PGA Tour pro is opening up about what it was really like to share the fairways with golf's most iconic figure.

Tiger Woods didn't just play golf—he transformed it. Bursting onto the scene in the late 1990s, the 50-year-old legend dragged the sport into a bold new era. By the time he turned 33, Woods had already captured 14 of his 15 major championships. At one unforgettable point in his career, he held all four major titles simultaneously.

For many players, stepping into the same group as Woods was downright intimidating. And why wouldn't it be? Woods held at least a share of the 54-hole lead in each of his first 14 major victories—and didn't squander a single one of those leads until the 2009 PGA Championship. Playing alongside that kind of pressure cooker wasn't exactly a walk in the park.

But Hoffman saw it differently. In a recent appearance on the We Need a Fourth podcast, he shared a refreshingly honest take on the experience.

"You're always happy being paired with him because you want to compare yourself against the best in the world," Hoffman said. "And he was very easy to play with. Very cordial, good guy."

Hoffman's comfort level might have had something to do with shared roots. Both players grew up in Southern California—Woods in Cypress, Hoffman in Poway—and crossed paths in junior and amateur events. Still, that first official pairing at the Memorial Tournament was a wake-up call.

"I shot like 40 on the front nine and then I shot like 32 on the back nine after I got the jitters out," Hoffman recalled. "It was intimidating to play with him, but it was a great experience."

Since Woods' prime, the PGA Tour has struggled to find another player who commands that same electric atmosphere. There have been flashes—his unforgettable 2019 Masters victory stands out—but few expected him to win just one major after 2008. Today, Rory McIlroy carries the torch as the game's biggest star, completing the Career Grand Slam in 2025. Yet no one has matched the sheer dominance Woods brought to the course over a sustained stretch.

For Hoffman, those rounds alongside Tiger weren't just memorable—they were a masterclass in what greatness looks like up close.