Golf Confessions

Are golf pros boring and does this hurt the game that millions love.  First let us not forget that the ones that play the game for a living-they are people just like everyone else.  Yes they can do things with a golf ball that most can only dream of, but this is their job and they have spent thousands of hours trying to perfect their skills.  It is impossible for most golfers and the non golfer to imagine the thousand of balls these professionals hit and the hours spent, usually alone trying to become good enough to make a living.  When you consider the number of people that play the game of golf and the percentage of people that make a living at this sport it is remarkable.  For someone to dedicate themselves to this routine-he or she has to give up many of the frills of every day life.  Standing on a practice range hitting ball after ball is not that glamorous, the heat of the summer the chill of those cold months.  Bending over putting putt after putt takes its toll on the back.  But all of these hours are necessary if you have the slightest chance of competing. 

I to do not condone some of the things some players do, like not wanting to sign autographs, you may think this is terrible and you may be right.  The player that just passed you by may have other things on his mind, for after all he could be thousand of miles from home and his love ones and he missed his sons baseball game last night or maybe he did not get to see his daughter take her first step.  His work had him on the road and he had just had a bad day on the course because he to wanted to be home and get a bite of that birthday cake.  There has just been a lot of talk about what a great entertainer Johnny Carson was, but in small crowds he was shy and wanted to be by himself.  Every player can not be a Lee Trevino and use telling jokes as a way of releasing tension and a bad case of nerves. I know most of us have bad days and good days and so do these guys.  Most business executives can choose the time and place they meet their clients but these golfers have all sorts of people in their office every day.  And something that most people don’t stop and think about is that the tournament in your town comes once a year and these players go sometimes several weeks in a row to tournaments and so it is a different party each week.  I would compare this to the average person looking forward to the holiday season and all of the parties and after you have been to several parties you are looking for an excuse to stay home for some peace and quite.  But these players have to go on the road each and try and make a living.

The competition is enormous and you only have the top 125 exempt in the entire world of the PGA tour and if you loose this exemption it can be brutal to get back in the exempt status.  Just ask Ian Baker Finch, David Duval, Chip Beck and many others that have lost their game a bit and have struggled to get back in form.  Again whether it is right or wrong many of the greats and not so greats can’t always be in the best of moods.  We marvel at the talent of these guys, but they were not born with golf clubs in their hands, their success usually came from he dirt as Ben Hogan referred to his skills.  You must realize just how fickle the game can be, one swing can generate extreme confidence or send you packing and looking for a new career. 

I don’t think the press should try and dictate how a person performs in his office, just like the press does not like someone else telling them what to write and how to write it.  The game of golf is still the purest form of sportsmanship and one of great character.  Where do you see someone calling a penalty on himself for something that no one else even saw and this act of honor and abiding by the rules could cost him one million dollars.  I also do not like some of the rude behavior and what may seem selfish acts at times by some players, but for the most part you do not see these guys going into the crowds or their names headlining police investigations.

What are your thoughts and comments?

See you on the next tee.