Pro Golf Blog Posts

With All Due Respect Tiger Federer Is Da Proverbial Man

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:29:38 EDT

Tiger Woods is the biggest icon in the sports world today.

No athlete has transcended his sport the way the man with the most famous fist pump ever has transcended the game of golf. Countless fans tune in to golf tournaments only to check Tiger's progress. His popularity has made several other golfers rich because of his appeal as a marketing instrument.

Sure, soccer start Cristiano Ronaldo can attract a crowd of 80,000 to Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu for his introduction as a member of Real Madrid, but no casual soccer fans (is there such a thing?) tune in just to watch Ronaldo or any other soccer player.

Kobe Bryant? LeBron James? Though Kobe apparently is doing quite well as Yao Ming's replacement in China, he's about five more consecutive titles away from erasing his tarnished 2004.

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Kobe Please Stop

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:51:38 EDT

Drop the act Kobe. I'm not buying it.

First there was Jordan. He coined the tongue out of the mouth. He was Mr. Cool. A smooth pump of his fist when he nailed a game winning jumper was all he needed. There was no question of whether it was a genuine reaction. Jordan was all natural.

Next came Tiger. In a sport where serenity and calmness were of the utmost importance, he let emotion run free. Woods perfected the fist-pump and it became an instinct for him everytime an improbable putt fell in the cup. Tiger is all natural.

Now, in the 2009 playoffs, the cameras seem to always find Kobe's scowl. His baracuda like jaw juts forward and a somewhat awkward and painful expression is created. There is a difference in the intensity of an athlete and an athlete looking mad. Kobe looks mad. Kobe is artificial.

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Sugarloaf Mountain- A course to remember for more than Swamp Ass

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:10:14 EDT

Florida is a Golfer’s haven and has been one of the top spots to hit the greens. Frankly, I think it’s a bore and the humidity doesn’t support my goal of looking hot on the links. My hair goes flat, make-up runs down my face and I suffer from what the locals refer to as Swamp Ass. You can figure it out. I drunkenly golfed many of Orlando’s renowned courses but none caught my affection more than that of Sugarloaf Mountain.

Hidden back in Orlando’s seemingly out-of-place hills, this course makes the bad traffic, big bugs and eclectic dumping of transient residents all go away. Florida is a pancake that generally leave you wishing for just a small speed bump to hike up but somehow the Big JC managed to grace this particular area of Florida with some breathtaking views from the haphazardly place medium sized mountains. Bill Core and Ben Crenshaw are masters of creating greens that golf aficionados pine for. Since 1986, they’ve built some of the most respected courses all over the world. I have only played Sugarloaf and did so before they even had the paths completed.

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Angel Cabrera wins Masters

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:14:29 EDT

Kenny Perry stood on the right side of the first green at Augusta National Sunday afternoon, leaning on his putter, paying little attention to anything else. Not 15 feet from him, Angel Cabrera stood behind his ball, quickly jerking his putter back and forth. Both players' heads were pointed toward the ground for about 30 seconds until they looked up and caught the other's glance.

It was at that point both realized they were waiting for each other — "Oh, sorry," Perry said, noticing he was away — signaling a conclusion to just one of the waiting games that ended at the 2009 Masters.

On a heavenly Easter Sunday at Augusta National, golf fans stopped waiting for the roars and the fun to return, stopped waiting for the choir to come back to church; Argentina, meanwhile, stopped waiting for the green jacket it first set eyes on 31 years ago, when Roberto De Vicenzo inadvertently signed for a higher score and finished second by a stroke. "After what happened with Robert (in 1968), golf increased a lot in Argentina," fellow Argentine Andres Romero told Golfweek through a translator, biting his nails while watching his friend survive a sudden-death playoff with Perry and Chad Campbell. "And I can't imagine what will happen now with this victory with golf in Argentina."

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Tiger Woods Returns Back To Reality For The PGA

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:15:07 EDT

Did anyone else notice the way Tiger looked on Sunday as he finished his round ultimately winning at Bay Hill? Everything in his approach from his stare, the kneel down, and the famous uppercut-fist pump were all vintage Tiger. Often, athletes are weary of the surgically-repaired body parts and do not return to normal until a year after even the rehab. Yet, Tiger looked like for the past year he was sailing the Caribbean, fishing for some Mahi-Mahi, and eating money. He is a once in a lifetime athlete to witness and we should all send thank you letters to his surgeon for saving superman.

Sidenote: I wish athletes were allowed to trademark moves and celebrations. Some examples- Tiger's fist pump, Jordan's tongue sticking out, or Jeter's backhand in the hole and jump throw. Hey if Pat Riley can trademark Three-Peat, then why not a Tiger fist pump TM? For sure, no one else's is more exciting to root for.

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Is Tiger back

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:19:34 EDT

Well, he did again. Another amazing piece to the puzzle that is Tiger Woods. The questions I am asked most often is how does he do it? Can he do it again? And lastly, why can't anyone else do it.

The answer is yes he can continue to do it. His approach to the game is different than anyone else on the tour. For that matter it is different than almost anyone else on the planet. If corporations were run the way that Tiger manages his golf game, they would have a hard time failing. It is about process management. He is always trying to improve the process that is his golf game.

The process to improve his golf game is meticulous. It is what made him a great junior golfer and what will propel him to even more phenominal numbers on the tour. He will set records that will be hard to break. His coach is never allowed to be satisfied, because Tiger isn't satisfied. Even as the games best today, he still wants to get better.

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golfing bare Honda Classic Henrik Stenson

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:25:53 EDT

Did everyone see the flasher at the Honda Classic?? Wow, now that one ups Tiger any day. Here is a poll: Should golfers be allowed to strip for reasons of protecting their clothes? Should the PGA supply wading boots? Should he be sanctioned? loose a round? What if you are already loosing? He did look......................good. If a golfer really looks awful, I say the camera protect us all and look away!!

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Don Nelson Reaches a Coaching Milestone

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 03:40:05 EST

Don Nelson has reached a milestone in his coaching career. With the Warriors 133-120 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder Saturday, Don Nelson has won his 1,300th game as a head coach. This puts him second to the great Lenny Wilkens who claims 1,332 wins. In the first quarter Nelson nearly lost his cool with the refs but later calmed down to coach the Warrirs to a victory despit 17 careless turnovers. The Warriors sloppy play was overlooked becasue of the outstanding numbers they put up on the scoreboard. The Warriors scored over 120 points in 4 games this month alone. They were led tonight by Stephen Jackson who had 26 with Maggette right behind him with 25. The Warriors played without their starting center Andris Biedrins but the rookie Anthony Ran

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Oh The Times They Arent A - Changin

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:57:24 EST

In the interest of Black History Month, Tiger Woods is teaching us all a lesson.

The lesson? Golf stinks without him. Sorry Fuzzy Zoeller, but it’s true.

If you’re a sports fan like me, you’ll watch just about any game or event if it’s on TV. I watch as much sports as my girlfriend can stomach, and since I’ve been known to occasionally watch bowling on Sunday, she can be pretty tolerant.

In fact, when the NFL doesn’t rule our Sundays, my favorite thing to watch on TV is golf. There is no greater stress relief then kicking back in your recliner with a Reuben and a cold glass of iced tea and watching the final round of any tournament that’s on. I started watching golf years ago in high school. I’d get too stressed about Monday to enjoy my Sunday, so I found watching golf to be a very soothing Sunday activity.

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Winning is not always everything NFL MLB NBA NHL all make that clear

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 20:04:49 EST

Who is the best player, of their individual sport? It is a question commonly asked, and so rarely is there a diffinitive answer. With each sport, there are many players, who throughout the years, have given all of us fans reasons to say that this player or that player is the best. Now, when asking someone, "What is the biggest achievement in sports?", there is only one answer, and that is, win a championship. There are a lot of players, who have the numbers to argue their status as the best player of their sport, but if they don't have a championship to their name, they are automatically taken out of the conversation. Dan Marino posted great numbers as the quarterback of the Miami Dolphins, posting many records, but is never considered one of the best NFL players of all time simply because he never won the Super Bowl. So, if not having any rings automatically takes you out of the conversation of best player ever, shouldn't having the most automatically put you in the conversation for the best? As research shows, not only is that not always the case, in fact, it rarely is. In fact, there are only two sports were the top championship getter, is also considered the best that sport had to offer, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. in Nascar tie with 7 championships, and Jack Nicklaus with 18 golf majors. Other than those two sports, all other leading championship players, are rarely heard of. Who is the greatest NFL player of all time? Name all the names that come into your head when asked that question, and there is a lot....Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Brett Favre, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith, etc...now who has the record for most Super Bowl rings? The name is Charles Haley, played from 1986-1999, won 5 Super Bowl rings. The biggest surprise about Charles Haley, is not only does he not get a single vote for best NFL player of all time, he is yet to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Now, he has only been eligible for the NFL Hall of Fame since 2004, but he has not even made the list of top 15 finalists. He is the only player with the most championships not to be inducted into that sports Hall of Fame, and although the names may sound familiar, still none are considered the best.

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