Because of the economic situation, 2009 was not a good year for a lot of people but now that we're nearing the end, 2010 is looking potentially brighter and more hopeful. That is not necessarily the case for Tiger Woods. 

Tiger Woods has a billion dollar brand and although his investments may have dipped through the year – on paper – he was still worth a small fortune because of his golfing prowess. However, Woods had a good year until the end of November when he crashed into a tree and he had to be extricated from his car by his wife who used a golf club to smash out the back windows and pull him to safety. Suddenly EVERYBODY turned against him.

At first, things seemed mysterious when he wouldn't make an appearance when police called on him for more information. He was certainly within his legal rights but it did look strange and the silence from his camp was deafening.

Then, his mother-in-law visited and was rushed to the hospital. While her health issue seems to have been minor, and completely coincidental to the rest of Woods' situation, the weirdness of the situation didn't help his media mentions.

And, of course, a whole bunch of allegations of infidelity exploded from the shadows, too. We're reserving judgment on these because, at the time of this writing, the only proof we have is Woods' vague admission of unfaithfulness; so we're certainly not going to believe that ALL of these women were actually linked to Woods over the years. (Media has an unfortunate ability to attract less-than-desirable spotlight-hungry people).

It hasn't even been a month and Woods' life is basically destroyed. Yes, he still has a fortune that he can retire comfortably on but his reputation as a great golfer will now forever be marred by the headlines from these past weeks. As a result, Woods' sponsors are pulling away; he is taking time off from golf; his family life seems shaky; and mentions of him in business books as an ultimate business machine now seem ironic.

This situation provides a lesson in branding for all businesses:

• Sometimes the media supports you (as they supported Woods for years, helping to promote him as the greatest golfer in the world). Sometimes the media turns against you.

• If there is the potential for bad media, you need to proactively address it and own the story before it owns you. In Tiger's case, his post-accident silence may have been legally appropriate but it didn't help. He could have made a clear, light-hearted statement and owned the story but, like a snowball, it built up as it rolled and by the time he did say something it was too big to control.

• It doesn’t take long for a small breeze to turn into the perfect storm. In less than a month, the greatest golfer in the world – who just happened to have an accident, which happens to us all – is now on shaky ground with business and family prospects that are starting to crumble. And the one thing that he knows really well and actually receives good media about – his golfing ability – is on hold. 

Woods may be making the right decision to cash out and focus on his family at this time. Unfortunately, if he ever wants to make a come-back to golf, and redeploy his powerhouse brand, he'll have an uphill battle to be successful.

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