The NYT Mini Crossword clue asking for the age at which Tiger Woods made his first hole-in-one has one answer: SIX. What makes it worth knowing beyond the solve is that Tiger Woods himself publicly stated the wrong age for this milestone.
Table of Contents
Quick Answer
| Clue | Age at which Tiger Woods made his first hole-in-one |
|---|---|
| Puzzle | NYT Mini Crossword |
| Date | August 26, 2025 |
| Answer | SIX |
| Letters | 3 (Down) |
The 1982 Ace That Started It All
Tiger Woods scored his first hole-in-one on May 12, 1982, at Heartwell Golf Course in Long Beach, California. He was born on December 30, 1975, which put him at exactly six years old when it happened.
The shot landed on the 85-yard 12th hole, hit with an 8-iron.
His mother had a commemorative plaque made to mark the moment, with the course name on it and the actual ball he used attached to it.
Why So Many Sources Say Eight
In 2018, during a public golf clinic, Woods told the audience he was eight years old when he made his first ace. That version got repeated widely. But the verified record contradicts it on two counts.
His official biography on tigerwoods.com lists the correct date as May 12, 1982. A 1982 Orange County Register report from the same year states it directly: “At 6, Tiger has already scored a hole-in-one, at Heartwell Park in Long Beach.”
The NYT Mini crossword went with the documented record. The answer is SIX.
How Early Is Six, Really?
For context, here is where a hole-in-one at age six sits within Tiger’s full early career timeline:
| Age | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2 | Putted against Bob Hope on The Mike Douglas Show |
| 3 | Shot a 48 over nine holes at the Navy Golf Course |
| 5 | Featured in Golf Digest, appeared on ABC’s That’s Incredible! |
| 6 | First hole-in-one at Heartwell Golf Course |
| 8 | Won the Junior World Golf Championships, first broke 80 |
| 12 | First broke 70 on a regulation golf course |
| 15 | Youngest winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship |
| 21 | Youngest Masters champion in history |
Every milestone on that list, including the first ace, came before he ever turned professional. Woods turned pro in August 1996 and won two PGA Tour events in his first season.
About the NYT Mini Crossword
The NYT Mini is a five-by-five daily puzzle from The New York Times, separate from the full 15×15 crossword the paper has published since 1942. It runs every day and typically takes a few minutes to complete. The clues pull from sports, history, pop culture, and general knowledge, and occasionally carry a layer of trivia that rewards a second look, as this one does.
Bottom Line
The age at which Tiger Woods scored his first hole-in-one was six, on May 12, 1982, at Heartwell Golf Course in Long Beach. The NYT Mini crossword answer is SIX. Despite the confusion that came from Woods’ own 2018 retelling, the 1982 Orange County Register and his official biography both confirm it. His mother preserved the moment with a plaque. The crossword preserved it in ink.
