It has long been said that golf is a game to play forever ' regardless of age, skill or condition. While this is true, what is often forgotten is that golf is regarded as a gentleman's game, and those who partake are constantly reminded to respect the game.
Golfers are a rare breed of athletes. In the game of golf, there are no referees, the penalties are self-inflicted and the only person to lend an assist is yourself. As a young kid learning the game, I was taught by teachers and parents to honor golf's traditions, play the game honestly and always play the ball as it lies.
Lost in all of golf's historical theater is the respect factor, and a certain world-beater is on the verge of breaking the code.
We've all seen Tiger Woods' reaction when he mishits a shot or when a photographer ' doing his or her job ' clicks a millisecond too early. It's borderline frightening.
Fathers who are gracious enough to take their children to tournaments are ready with two hands to apply the earmuffs when Tiger's ball starts heading for the glistening pond. They know what's coming.
The offending party gets the death stare, and what's said can only be described in bleeps, asterisks, exclamation points and dollar signs. Tiger is the only golfer I've ever seen become so incensed when his ball goes off-course, and it's developing into a disturbing trend.
The most recent example was last week's WGC-CA Championship final round in Florida, during which Woods exerted his potty mouth on a photographer yet again. A picture was snapped during his backswing, and his ball landed in the rough. Not in the water, out of bounds or buried in a bunker, but in the rough. Whoopee. For this heinous act, Woods lashed out at the man and told him the next time a photographer shoots a (bleeping) picture
I'm going to break his (bleeping) neck.
Ninety-nine percent of kids growing up around golf want to be just like Woods, and he is the most prominent golf idol in history. Not only is his technique perfect, he's got it all: more money in the bank than the French government, a supermodel wife and a newborn baby girl.
It seems logical that a man with so much joy in his life would transcend his demeanor to the golf course, but it's not the case.
For example: I was playing golf last summer with a friend and his cousin, who was 13. After his cousin hit his ball into the lake on the second hole, he yelled a series of words that made a Chris Rock stand-up act look G-rated. When asked why he felt the need to erupt as he did, he responded, Well Tiger does it.
If the world's best player, and arguably one of the most identifiable people on the planet, were exempt from such criticism, why shouldn't anyone else be? He's setting a troubling example for the young kids he's connected with, and for a man with his name on his own charity foundation, what are the thousands of kids he represents supposed to think?Although he publicly apologized for his actions last week, Woods still backed himself and said that camera clicks usually lead to bogeys. What about errant drives, missed putts and missed greens? All three contributed to the end of his winning streak at Doral last week.
Woods might be the world's best golfer and will most likely end up the best to ever play the game. In the meantime, amidst all of the winning he's doing, it would be a good idea to let the bad shots pollute the course and not his mouth.
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Rob Mixer
