This was as compelling a U.S. Open week than I can ever remember and I remember a whole bunch of them. Let me touch on some of them.
Tiger Woods weekend failure. We are not used to this from Tiger but then this is the newest version of Tiger and its ugly head of bogeys waggled down the winding terrain of Olympic Club. Do I dare ask, “can he catch Jack”—it seems so far off in the distance doesn’t it!
Continue reading U.S. Open reflections—more storylines than a host of Hollywood Movies!!!
The U.S. Open is a true “Open” event—if you have a 2 handicap or less and can plunk down a few bucks you can tee it up with the finest golfers in the nation to try qualify and to play in our national open. Players ranging in age from 14 to well over 60 give it a go each and every year with most going home but for a few it is on to the big event.
Continue reading Golf’s Greatest storyline event comes through again
Most of us are competitive at things that we do—we want to win. It is more fun to win there is a feeling of accomplishment that winning provides and it means we performed better than our opponent and that includes an inherent feeling of well being. We must always remember that for every winner there is at least one loser—someone is on the short end of the stick each and every time. I immediately think of Jerry West—the great L.A. Laker star who could never win an NBA Title losing year after year to the Celtics in the Finals and it took an emotional toll on him. He was even voted the MVP of the Finals one year and his team lost—his performances were Hall of Fame worthy but it was not enough to give him solace or comfort—only winning could do. He finally did win the title in his 13th NBA season and the relief was enormous.
He was competitive and hated to lose but always gave praise to the Celtics and admitted they were indeed the better team. I cannot say the same for many golfers who I have played with over the years. Some take it to the point of destroying relationships because they lose and say it is competitive but in reality they just can’t admit the other guy is better at golf. There is a distinct difference between being competitive and a sore loser. Arnie and Jack were totally competitive and wanted to beat each other’s brains out every time on the course but after it was over they would go have a beer together and needle each other into the night.
For some reason so called competitive amateur mid-handicap golfers sometimes do not understand the distinctive differences between the two—competitiveness and being a sore loser and frankly not even wanting to admit the other guy really is better at golf than you are. In the end it is childlike behavior and the “sore loser” is missing the bigger picture—this is a great time for him to try to get better at golf instead of trying to give a flimsy excuse why he lost today. If you are one of these golfers change right now as your friendship may depend on it.
Which tour is actually harder to succeed at during the course of a complete year? I wonder about that because at first thought you would automatically say the PGA Tour is harder because the total talent level is superior but at closer look it really is not conclusive.
Continue reading Nationwide Tour meets the PGA Tour right in the middle.
This weekend the golf world embraced emotions running the gamut from the deepest sense of loss to controversy to embracing victory and it came from some unlikely players who frankly have not been on our radar for quite a while.
Continue reading The PGA/LPGA Tours—not only are they good—they are human too!
I saw something Sunday at the final round of the Valero Texas Open that makes me shake my head. I saw Scott Piercy following a 9 on the final hole of the tournament slam his putter mercilessly into the ground and then proceed to break the club in two over his leg. He exited the final green without shaking hands with his playing partners and then the display of ugly unsportsmanlike behavior.
Continue reading Bad Behavior has no place on the course—ever!!
I am 59 years old and I finally got to go The Masters!!!!!!! I actually never thought it would happen. My daughter-in-law Sara won the Masters ticket lottery for the Wednesday practice round and Par 3 contest. I have been thinking about this day—April 4th 2012 since last August when she told me she won and I was going to go. She won 4 tickets priced at $50.00 a piece—that’s way below what almost any sporting event is these days but the Masters is all about the Patron—his enjoyment and appreciation of the tournament, the course and the entire experience—not making a profit.
Continue reading My Masters experience—an experience of a lifetime
The golf business is trying hard to “stop the bleeding” so to speak. The bleeding is the fact that just over 1 million golfers quit the game each year. The reasons why they quit are vast and all legitimate. The cost, not enough free time, it takes too long, not getting better, not having anyone to play with. You fill in the blank. Whatever the reasons, I believe they are fair and real; if they are real to the golfer – they are real!
Golfers are so quick to come up with excuses why they are playing poorly. There are many and frankly, none of them are worthwhile or proactive. They all lead to additional poor play which leads to less enjoyment of the game and often a bad lingering taste in the mouth of the golfer.
I recently attended the first full-field Champions Tour event of 2012. The Allianz Championship, held for the last 12 years at The Old Course at Broken Sound, is in my home town of Boca Raton, Florida. The Allianz traditionally gets a strong field—held in sunny South Florida in early February—the guys get their “old bones” loosened up on a very playable course that usually finds the winner posting 13-15 under par for the three day event.
Continue reading Why are Tour Pros so great? (Hint: It’s not all about Birdies!)
