Golf Confessions

There are a lot of questions all around concerning the problems with the U.S. Ryder Cup teams.  Well, I am going to put my two cents into the picture.  I believe the problems started several years ago and have gotten progressively worse.  If you look at the tour exemptions and when the formula for the top 125 exempt status started several years ago maybe the united states problems started to manifest.  Before the tour started using this top 125 exempt status there were Monday qualifiers and what was referred to as rabbits.  Every Monday before a tournament there was qualifying for several spots in that weeks tournament field.  Several players made a living following the tour and hoping to land a spot in the field and if they played well enough they could assure themselves a spot in the next tournament.  This competition among a large group of competitors was very intense, because these guys were truly playing for a living and their survival as professional golfers.   

I believe the Ryder Cup blues for the Americans began when this competition ended and guarantees came more into the picture for the tour.  No longer did the players have too worry about their future as much.  This is also when big time TV contracts started coming around for golf and I believe for the sake of the TV contracts the executives that marketed to the corporate world wanted some guarantee that the top stars would usually be around on Sunday.  This also spelled doom for most all competition involving match play.  Match play events became taboo because the TV  sponsors were afraid the stars would not be around come Sunday play and the TV ratings would suffer.  In the old days some of the bigger tournaments were match play events and this probably helped to toughen the competitors.  Without match play tournaments, guaranteed spots for so many on the tour and big money contracts for a lot of players as soon as they come onto the tour does not lend itself to tough competitors. 

You could ask yourself, which influences the most on each other–sports influencing society or society influencing sports.  In the US society we may be leaning too much toward a life of guarantees and not enough toward reaping your rewards from hard work.  The golfers coming from the great depression and living through World War II, knew what hard work was all about and had to figure out a lot of things for themselves.  The modern player of today plays a round and when he is done he goes to the cell phone or e-mail and gets in touch with his swing or mind guru.  These gurus try and get the player thru the tournament and get him home in front of a high speed video camera and straighten out the problems for another week.  Just about all of the older generation of professionals figured out their own problems and did not care much for training aids or those people who had not proven themselves as players.  I believe one such famous player has made the comment that if you can’t beat me then how can you tell me how to play the game. 

I am not against coaches, videos, psychologist or anyone that can help you play better golf.  But I think the game of life and the game of golf suffer when too much is guaranteed.  When the Ryder Cup comes around every two years you cannot expect these guys to change into something they are not use to doing and that is really competing for three rounds like everything in the world depends on it.  Most of the top players that qualify for the team are making millions, which is fine, but to play three days under this immense pressure is something they are not familiar.  The requirements to qualify for the team need to be changed in order to make sure that the members are truly the players that are playing the best at the time.   Just because you have a high world ranking does not mean you are playing very well for some time leading up to the Ryder Cup.  The world ranking system may be flawed, and you can be playing really well or bad and not move up or down fast enough.  

Maybe there should be more match play events and the sponsors will just have to be more supportive of whoever makes it to the finals on Sunday.  The game was not designed for super stars, but was meant to see who could score the best at a given time.  There may also be flaws in scheduling, all of the competitors for world ranking do not play the same tournaments, which would not be possible, so more attention needs to be paid to this.  A lot of the playing field has the luxury of picking the tournament and courses that best fit their games.  This picking and choosing the courses one plays may really show up in the majors for some players, and this may be the reason why some of the top ranking players do not have a good record in the majors.    

I know big TV money has helped the game in so many ways and there is a lot to be thankful for in this regard.  The bigger purses have gotten more and better athletes into golf early and made it possible for a larger group of professionals to make a great living.  But let’s not forget the game itself and what it is all about, and that is competition and the playing of the game.  The great players come and go every generation, some last longer than others and they all have something to contribute, but in the end they all will go and leave the game to those that follow.  No one is bigger than the game itself. 

We maybe trying to change the game so that it fits into our society instead of fitting society into the game, one of honor, integrity and hard work for your rewards.  In a society where sometimes we are too concerned about being politically correct.  Let’s support the game and all it stands for and maybe thru better and tougher competition the US can be more competitive in the future Ryder Cups.

Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

David Duval was on top of the golfing world just a few short years ago.  Like so many, David tried to improve and in the process he lost his old self.  Sometimes being who you are may not be so bad.  For many athletes stepping out of their comfort zone may be a formula for disaster.  Very often they are not able to completely adapt to new changes and struggle to succeed.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to get better and striving to be the very best that one can be.  But,  for so many this road to being better is a nite mare.  So often these changes are brought on simply because by what a player may see in themselves or what they hear others say about their swing. 

For so many when they have a problem with their new changes they have a hard time going back to what once was so natural.  When the new is not working and one can’t recall the old, then the game becomes very frustrating.  If David wants to continue to play at the highest level, I hope he is able to find himself and regain his position in the world rankings

Vijay Singh is truly one of the very best golfers in the modern era.  Vijay recently made a dramatic swing change and also went back to the short putter.  When Nick Faldo made a swing change in the prime of his career, he said it took him two years to reach his comfort zone.  Vijay has adapted to his major changes in a matter of weeks. 

Vijay has always been noted for his hard work on his game.  To make the major changes and be immediatley successful is quite remarkable.  In the heat of battle most all players tend to revert back to old habits.  The ability to keep his concentration and preform at the highest level is to be commended.  The next great step for Singh is to figure out a way to putt consistantly.

I am anxious to see how Ernie Els plays this week after taking last week off in Orlando.  Ernie said he was fatigued and needed some time off  and skiped Arnold Palmer’s tournament.  I have alsway been an Els fan, but I was disappointed that Ernie did not compete in Palmer’s tournament.  Arnie always has a strong field and the tournament is by invitation.   

I know players can only play in so many tournaments, but I would have thought Ernie would have played in Orlando since he has had such a poor showing so far this year in the U.S.  Els needs to step his game up this year, he should be fully recovered from his knee injury.

Have you ever wondered what the game of golf has meant to your life?  What would you have done different, all of those hours that you have devoted to the game for so many years.  When I look back over the 47 years I have played golf and count all the time that I have spent playing, practicing and day dreaming about a better swing or a better club, the time really mounts up.  There is hardly a day that goes by that I am not hitting balls, playing or thinking of golf in some way.  When I first picked up a club so long ago, I have been fascinated by the challenge.  The game is such a mind game, and it has always kept me coming back for more.
 
I don’t know that the game saved me, because I am not sure what I would have done different if it weren’t for the game of golf.  I love to hunt and fish and tried a little snow skiing, but nothing has ever caught my fascination as golf.  If I had spent more time doing more productive things I would probably have more money and a retirement home on the lake.  A lot of the sun spots would probably not dot my face and arms from so many hours playing and practicing in the hot Texas sun.  I have never given too much thought to what else I would have done with those many, many hours, because I was always looking forward to the next time I could hit one more ball.
 
The hours standing on a practice tee have never been boring.  I have met a lot of interesting people, most who were not accomplished players, but average people who were also fascinated and challenged by the game of golf.  There have been many times when I would see someone that was really struggling just trying to make contact with the ball and I have enjoyed giving them a tip or two.  It is interesting how a small helping hand on the driving range can bring total strangers together.  Of course this helping hand has to really help, or you may stay strangers.
 
So many friendships, companionships, business relationships have all come from golf.  The game of golf has a unique way of bringing all of us closer together.  If the word  love had not already been in use before golf came along, then maybe we would be calling it the game of love.  The game is played world wide by all ages, sizes and colors.  I think it is fun to look at a lot of the guys on tour and try to imagine them doing something different.  Gary Player probably would be in a gold mine in South Africa, Arnold Palmer would never have made all of those Pennz oil commercials on that old tractor and I don’t know who would have made the Rolex commercials.  And what in the world would Levitra have done without the Golf Channel.  Golf has provided so many opprotunities for so many people.  It is hard to imagine what a lot of our retirement communities would be like without golf.  Even a more intriguing thought is what would all of these retired couples do without golf. 
 
Do you know someone where golf has been a life changing experience? I would like to hear from you if you know of someone that has had their lives changed by this wonderful game.
 
See you on the next tee.

The pressure of playing professional golf does not start and stop at the golf course.  The competition has gotten so strong and deep, a successful player must work hard twelve months long.  Fifteen years ago most professionals did very little weight training and were able to take most of the winter off.  This has all changed, most players have personal trainers and dieticians they work with regularly and some trainers travel with the players. 
 
For many players the most pressure may be on the home fronts.  It can be very demanding on a relationship when you are traveling and away from home and family about half of the time.  Then when you are home you must be selfish with your time in order to get in the many hours of practice that is needed to stay with the competition.  Traveling salesmen can relate to some of these issues that may arise from being on the road.  It can be difficult after being on the road for several weeks and the first night home the wife wants to go out to eat.  The wife has been cooped up with the kids for weeks and is tired of home cooking, but the husband has seen nothing but menus and restaurants for weeks.  The last thing he wants to do is go out to eat and put up with crowds and waiting for a table.  As you can see there may be some problems if two people are not very understanding of each others needs.  When you look at how times have changed, the younger players may be able to deal with some of these issues a lot better.  In today’s society so many people are use to eating out almost every night whether they are on the road or not.  The fast food, pizzas, carry out and the modern life styles are different today than yesterday.   So it may be that a young player coming home after weeks of travel may not be opposed to going out to eat versus staying home and laying back in his favorite easy chair. 
 
A lot of players really need their time away from the competition in order to recharge their mental batteries more than their physical needs.  The mental side of the game, and the intense competition can really drain the body. When the brain starts to get fatigued the physical body cannot react to the situations in the most positive manners.  Mental mistakes are the biggest hazard most players will ever face.  None of the players are superior enough to the field each week that they can make mental mistakes and expect to win.  Every player knows that he will hit a certain number of bad shots each and every round and there is nothing he can do about this.  But all players really detest making mental mistakes, such as getting bad yardage and then pulling the wrong club.  Often times you can make up a mistake with an exceptional shot or a little luck, but you know that these mental mistakes will cost you dearly in the end.
 
See you on the next tee.