High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Earl Dennison Woods (March 5, 1932 – May 3, 2006) was a US Army infantry officer who served two tours of duty in Vietnam, and retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was a college-level baseball player and writer, whose son is professional golfer Tiger Woods. Woods started his son in golf at a very early age, and coached him exclusively for his first years in the sport.