Rounding off 2011 Golf

Every Saturday morning I wake up early for golf, no not to tee off with the sun rising but, because of time zones, to watch celebrity golf on fox sport. Its my favorite TV program, not only because of the golf, and the sentimental value of watching black and white golf, but because of the people who play it, a young Ben Hogan, a young Arnold palmer, a young Gary Player, a young etc, etc, etc, etc…. The wagon with the camera on the roof, the presenter with his microphone wrapped around his neck and the fans dressed like they are going to the races, with a damned good sense of fashion, considering the period. What most impress me are the way the professional golfers carry themselves during the 2 ball event, honor, conviction and humility, and at the end, the acceptance of their checks for playing, win or lose, and their kind words for their playing partner. Now my daughter has a strong love for Hollywood gossip and glues herself half an hour a day to E news listening to the rises and falls of her favorite celebrity's and deciding that its all part of being rich, famous and talented. Golf seems to have joined the tabloid excitement, especially in the last year, and guess what? We can't really blame it all on Tiger, though he has had his fair share of high percentage front page news, despite the fact that he is, after all a billionaire with a feisty sexual appetite, and a dramatic closer of golf tournaments. Others seemed to have jumped on the train of "notice me too". When you have the top talented golfers walking away with 8 digit incomes over a year and the decent tour players walking away with 7 digit figures over a year, they will get noticed every time they make an illegal U-turn. Is this good or bad for golf? The advertisers will say its good because there is more exposure on their products, the fans will say its bad because they expect mechanical robotic shots like 2 irons out the rough from 240yds to the green over trees, water and sand traps to make an eagle, and this publicity reminds them their holy hero's are, after all, only human, and maybe that shot was just lucky. The PGA, EPGA, LPGA etc don’t really care so long as the tournaments are sponsored and they receive their retirement annuities and TV time. What really seems to have failed this year is the quality of golf journalism, in my honest opinion. The sports journalists and golf writers are leading us to the gossip and not the game, making predictions that have no accountability and fighting to be read rather than reviewed, not totally their fault, mind you, they also have demands from publishers and editors, but where the hell is the ethic? For instance, Bubba's lack of pronouncing French words was far more important to the journalists than the fact he tried to create a global experience for his golf, though, yes his mouth seemed to be more noticed than his huge off the tee shots that sliced and hooked, but they missed the point of his experience and the summit of where golf is going and how to share it with their readers, the ethic has changed in golf and sports journalism, in general. There has been some extraordinary individual player contribution to the sport, this year, that has not been explored enough by sports writers, like Rory Mcilroy's quest for number one, and the fantastic year that has taken him to the number 2 spot, at the tender age of 22. It was far more important for us to know that he moved from Chubby to another manager and how Lee Westwood felt about it, than the fact that he is now the second best golfer in the world and so young. Ok we do experience Rory's comes back from hell and wins the US Open, etc, etc, but we also get the details of past and present romances and we get needy for gossip about him and Chubby and when we don’t get it we are encouraged, by journalists to make it up. Since Tigers demise from the top, golf seems to have moved, in terms of the players and fans, but the writers won't let go, will they? Besides Rory, Webster, Bill Haas's FedEx win, Yani Tseng's total domination of the golf world, LPGA or not, American Players desire to compete more in Europe like John Daly, Dustin Johnson, Bubba, etc, and the dramatic swing at the end of the nationwide tours top 25 selection, and so many more I can think about, the main headlines on Golf Channel, Waggle Room and PGA tours websites are Steve Williams remarks after a bit of fine food and alcohol and euphoria of winning a prize, of course it was a bit out of fair play to refer to Tiger's rear end in such a way, but is it truly so important to golf and the sport and the fans that it is so widely published and pushed down our throats. I surmise 2011 as follows: 1. The players have impressed us with good golf 2. The tour has grown much closer to being a world tour 3. The sponsors have remained committed to the tour 4. The affiliate tours like the Hooters, Futures, college tours, etc have been sadly unnoticed. 5. The Champions tour continues to impress us, but has failed to reach out to the rest of the planet 6. The LPGA tour is mostly and unfairly put aside, when it has produced the current best golfer in the world, in the league of Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and many others. 7. The Managers, committee's and autocrats of the major tours have unsuccessfully evolved, yet they are producing wonderful opportunities for charity that they are forgiven for not moving with the cheese. 8. Golf Journalists, writers, blogs, networks, etc have totally failed the sport, they have brought it down to the level of a long going T.V. soap opera and there needs to be urgent change that only the fan can bring by not supporting such cynicism. We, the fans, need to include ourselves into the global social revolution for change and self thinking and demand our writers give us value and philosophy, or we too, have failed the sport that is the greatest in the world, in my opinion. Wishing you all a fantastic 2012 loaded with birdies, straight drives and good health. Roy