Men's Golf

Recently, a few people have asked me if I was watching one of the men's PGA golf tournaments and I told them that I no longer watch the men. They were shocked, although I'm not sure why since I have said I don't watch them for some time now. I follow the LPGA pretty regularly, maybe missing them when they are overseas and the start times are at 2:30 AM.

Even when I was watching them most weeks, I only watched when a few that I followed were playing. If one of the guys I cared about took the week off, so did I. I would almost always watch the majors unless I was out of town for work and couldn't get to a TV, but I can say that I mostly never watched the lesser tournaments with guys that only played when the top golfers took that week off.

I was still pretty young when the great Arnold Palmer was in his prime, and we only had a fifteen inch black and white tv inside of a cabinet larger than a coffin so it was hard to see the ball then anyway. There is no doubt that I have great respect for this guy and as he was a spokesmen for Rayovac batteries when I was there, I had several opportunities to meet and speak with him and without him there is no PGA tour. Also, without him, there is no golf on tv.

The first male golfer that I followed, and was a huge fan of, is the greatest golfer of all time and until someone wins more majors than he has he will remain the greatest of all time, Jack Nicklaus. He dominated the tour for twenty years. His winning the Masters in 1986 at the over the hill age of forty six is still considered the greatest win in golf. Nobody expected him to win that week and he did it like he always did, no mistakes, and great putting. He was must watch tv and his fans were thrilled when he won.

The next guy I watched weekly was Fred Couples. I loved his swing, I loved his relaxed aura, and I enjoyed watching him have fun playing golf. In fact, I was so into his game that once I got to be a good golfer I tried to emulate his swing. I would picture in my head his swing before I hit my shots. I'm not sure if it worked but my handicap went from 25 to 13 in two years or so. I still enjoy watching him swing.

Then along came Tiger. He hit more incredible shots than anyone playing the game ever had. Not only was he an incredible talent but he had guts like nobody. He won a US Open on one broken leg for god's sake. Like Jack before him, when he showed up at a tournament the other golfers knew they were playing for second place and that edge was all he needed to beat them. Had he stayed out of trouble and injury free he might have beaten the major record held by Jack, but it will not happen and he will be known as the second greatest golfer of all time.

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There have been other golfers I had passing interest in. Curtis Strange for a few years mostly because people thought I looked like him with matching gray hair. Nick Price because he was another one who always looked like he was having fun playing. And for personal reasons, Gary Hallberg on the far right above.

My best friend Tom and I decided to go play golf at a course in Barrington, IL back when we were much younger and single, in the summer of 1977. As we were about to go to the first hole we ran into a kid that worked for me who was with a friend. They were both seniors in high school in the area. He asked if they could join us and we said of course.

While waiting to tee off he says how about if Tom and I play him and his friend for a financial reward. We knew he was pretty good but I was also playing pretty well myself at the time so we agreed. Long story short, they kicked our asses. It turns out, his friend was Gary Hallberg who had a scholarship to Wake Forest. He played on the 1977 Walker Cup team and was the individual medalist in 1979 in the NCAA championship. The match was never in doubt.

Anyway, after that shellacking, I followed his career and was happy each time he won. But I still sting from the beat down they gave us, the little shits. Both Tom and I played some of the best golf of our lives to that point and those two punks both shot in the 60's. We payed and then went to drown our sorrows.

There is not one guy on the PGA Tour today that makes me want to change the channel to watch them. I find them to all be spoiled, selfish, egomaniacs, tiring, and overrated. I much more prefer to watch the ladies who are gracious, friendly, and accommodating to fans. They also play the game more like the average male golfer and that makes them relatable.

I suppose there will be another male golfer to come along in my remaining lifetime and I'll likely watch him but I see nobody in the near future to make me turn them on and watch.