the little white ball
April 18, 2008 – 6:50 am | by bryanIf you're new here, and you're into sports and/or the Christian faith, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
a few thoughts on golf on a gorgeous friday in the Northeastern part of the country…
+ Fred Funk spoke at a Christian Breakfast on Tuesday morning, covering topics from wearing a skirt during the skins game to how he avoided Sugar Ray Leonard in the boxing ring. He also spoke on his faith, saying that the time he spent with devout Christians as a young golf pro helped him stay committed to his faith. Jim Faber has a full write up at islandpacket.com.
+ My friend Chad Gibbs, who writes for Burnside, plays golf with a bunch of friends in an unofficial league they refer to as Two Majors. They’ve got a website set up for themselves and everything, it’s pretty amusing. Their first major is tomorrow at the Legislator Course in Prattville, AL. I think there’s a few tickets left if you want to head out to the course and heckle some amateur golfers.
+ last year i played about 6 rounds, an took 8-10 lessons. The pro we were learning from was great, and I learned some valuable things, but I don’t think I’m going to be taking any lessons this year. I just feel like Golf Teachers are trying to get you to have the perfect swing, which is nice I guess, but it doesn’t translate directly to lower scores. I’ve always had a decent swing, and yet I’ve never broken 90 (I’ve shot 90 twice). I’ve decided that what I want is a decent, repeatable swing. When I’m 155 yards from the green and I’m standing over the ball with my 7-iron, I don’t care if my swing is technically sound. I just want to get the ball on the green. So instead of putting in extra time honing the intricacies of my swing, I’m going to play more, and trust my swing a bit more. Will it work? Probably not. But if I break 90 this year, you can bet you’ll hear about it.
+ One last thought…I’ve noticed a bit of a generation gap when it comes to how golf fans feel about Tiger Woods. Seems that people my age (in their 20s and 30s) really like Tiger and root for him all the time. But the generation about 20 years older (folks in their late 40s and 50s) don’t like Tiger very much. They find him arrogant, cocky, and moody. It cracks me up though, because these people often act the same way that Tiger does on the golf course. For some reason, it’s okay for them to be disgusted with themselves for missing a put or hitting a bad shot, but when Tiger does it, he’s being a jerk. Has anyone else noticed this? How do you feel about Tiger and What age group are you in, I’m curious to know.
Tags: Fred Funk, Golf, Tiger Woods
5 Responses to “the little white ball”
By melissa on Apr 18, 2008 | Reply
Not a tiger fan. I’m always rooting for the “other guy” or the new young(er) talent. I like to see the guys who kind of got pushed out when tiger came on the scene win too. basically, I like to go with the underdog!
By danny on Apr 18, 2008 | Reply
i respect him. i guess i even kind of like him, but i always root against him. i rooted against jordan. i like to see the best get beat.
i’m 30.
i don’t have a problem with his competitiveness. i think woody austin made a great point last year when everyone was griping about his own temper. he said something to the effect of - when tiger acts like this he’s competitive. when i do it, i’m a jerk.
i think tiger is actually the one who always gets the benefit of the doubt.
By buddy watts on Apr 18, 2008 | Reply
I am not a Tiger fan. I respect what how he is destroying the competition, but I do not like his attitude on the course. He really has the audacity to threaten a camera man over the click of a camera. Are you serious???? I know golf is a mental game, but Tiger, you would not have the jack you have if it were not for that click of the camera!!!!
I also cannot stand the announcers lust for Tiger. Immelman tore Augusta up and there wasn’t much being said about his magnificant play. Had Tiger been in Immelman’s shoes, they would have been talking about how dominate Tiger is, blah, blah, blah! Anywho, that’s my rant!!!
By Peter Gaultney on Apr 23, 2008 | Reply
I am 21. I am (surprisingly, I think) pretty ambivalent about Tiger. I did like to see Trevor Immelmman win the Masters. On the other hand, I might’ve thought it was cool if Tiger had won the Grand Slam this year.
Probably the best way to sum it up is this: when Tiger’s ahead of everybody else, I enjoy watching him dominate. When he’s behind someone else, I want the “underdog” to win…mainly, I hate seeing people get swallowed up from behind by Tiger…and inevitably, people say all the things about how they caved to his pressure. =P
I do somewhat agree about the whole “jerk” issue…he seems a little overly intense. I suppose many great athletes are that way. Doesn’t mean it’s OK.