Tuesday, March 17, 2009

A humble golfer?

I'm amazed at golf players. They truly are top level athletes...swinging a club is so hard ain't it? I kid. I believe golf is not really a sport, but more of a hobby for people, rich people it seems, especially when you get into number of players with multitudes of Roman numerals behind their surnames.

Golf players. They are an interesting bunch for sure. And although I don't get out to the links to talk to them much, have a close relationship with a regular golfer, or am in a country club, the players and their interviews intrigue me. A lot.

The reason for this is their attitude. Now Tiger Woods I feel is the only one who can brag. He is the undisputed world #1. Maybe even the best golfer of all-time. But even he is a typical golfer, and it all shows up in his attitude in the dreaded interview.

For example, Tiger's comments after being 1 under at a tournament last week.

"I hit so many good puts that just didn't go in."

Cocky? Confident? Or typical golfer. I think I'll go with number three.

Whenever I watch a golfer interview, these are the typical responses I listen to. They go on and on about how great they played whether they be +10 and 15 shots off the leader.

It boggles my mind how "confident" they could be in circumstances like that. I mean even I perceive myself as a very confident person, but 15 shots off the lead. Your dreaming buddy. Take the caddy, clubs, and cart and pack it in.

So what is a possible remedy? How about a seasoned PR practitioner who knows their way across the links.They would have a golf partner to give them pointers in more ways than one.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Golfers are honest and rarely do weird things off the course.

Also, I don't think there is anything wrong with being confident. Being confident is what helps you create a positive atmosphere around yourself.

Golfers and all sports professionals are trying to achieve this state of mind.

BTW, Tiger Woods has opened up the game of golf to a lot of non-rich people. My dad is not rich and Tiger was his inspiration.

Babatunde said...

Yeah I have no problem with golfers being confident.

Confidence is definitely important. My only issue is that golfers seem to have to defend their play a lot more than other athletes.

They have to justify if they played bad by reinforcing their spirits with the "positives" they accomplished while playing.

I don't see a hockey player who scored a hat trick saying "I played great today" or a quarterback with 6 TD passes saying "I was wonderful".

I guess those are team sports and it may be different. But golfers need a lot of reassurance in themselves IMO.

As for your dad, I'm not ripping Tiger. He obviously opened up the game to players/people who traditionally don't play golf.