Tour Players Complain about Playing 4 Weeks Straight

Complaining about having to compete four weeks in a row. I know four weeks of traveling and playing can get old, but c'mon guys, this is why other athletes and non-golfers look down on you. Oh, I'm sorry you have to play golf for four straight weeks and compete for millions of dollars. Some of these guys need some persepective as to what real work and sacrifice is.

I don't know the Tour Game, but I assume the mental wear and tear, besides the physical (nagging injuries - back, leg, wrist, etc.) take a severe toll after 4 consecutive weeks of playing in highly competitive events. And then add the travel, family, etc.

It adds up ... and as you get older ... worse.

These guys like to play their best ... and I doubt if we're seeing the best from many of them after long competitive streaks of playing.

Tough to put in 4 straight rounds of great play. Sure, these guys could play 4-5 weeks or more, but a roller coaster round or two will sneak in and hurt their placing in the event ... and that also adds to the mental wear.

Mwah, with an argument like that pretty much nobody can complaint about anything since there is always somebody else who got it worse. Even when making millions and swinging a club on a nice course doesn't mean a man can't miss his family and speak that out in my opinion...

I'm not a Tour Pro, but I'm in pretty good physical condition and I feel fatigued after playing golf 4 days in a row and I don't walk the course.  I have to think between practice rounds, actual rounds, etc that it takes its toll on them mentally and physically.

You're way off on baseball. On average, teams only have 2-3 off days per month . Now, not all players play every game, but the better players play mostly every day.

I think the problems are simply the playoffs are flawed. Everything from the points system to the schedule is whacked. Toss a Ryder Cup year in there and the start of football season and IMO the entire series has been a bore. It's been constant babble about the Ryder Cup from the guys calling it and the team players appear consumed by it. They haven't found a way to make the playoffs feel like there is a sense of urgency. It's just kind of there.

Let's say you're a pro player who didn't make the cut last week, and this week you ended up playing with an early Sunday tee-off in the $40,000 bracket. After you turn in your scorecard on the 18th green, some TV talking head shoves a mike in your face and asks you on a national feed why you didn't win.

You have to say something so you don't get accused of being a grouchy or conceited. If you're feeling tired, you likely would mention this. Remember, if you're on the leader board, you probably have a lot more adrenaline rushing through you, and make brighter comments. If you're done before lunch, probably not so perky.

I teach in college, and at a previous school I had a two-week teaching gig in Europe, followed by returning home for two days and then flying to a major conference in Chicago. One of the problems I had was with body clock. I was a little fuzzy my first two days in Europe, and my return adventures gave me a bizarre sleep schedule for about five days.

I would suggest that if a PGA pro has been playing for four weeks straight, especially if one week was spent at the (British) Open Championship, he might feel a little tired. If he's on a tight budget, and has to drive 300 miles to the next tournament site Sunday night to be ready for the Monday pro-am, he could feel really tired. If one tournament site also triggers severe allergic reaction, it gets worse.

Golf Digest had a piece this summer about the impact of the  schedule you draw at a tournament. If you have a Thursday PM tee off and a Friday AM tee off, you get a lot of control over events. If you don't make the cut, chances are you can clear out that day and have Saturday and Sunday free at the next tournament site. It you get a Friday rain delay, you may not know until Saturday PM if you have made the cut. There's a lot little things that can determine whether you're in a good or bad mood when TV guy puts the mike to your mouth.

@skydog , I haven't really noticed a tsunami of complaints from the tour pros.

I consider myself to be blessed and have it darn good- and I work 50-60 hours a week, and am on the road for 150 days a year and make a small fraction of what these guys do.

Agreed that the playoffs are deeply flawed and feel more like something the players have to do rather than want to do.

As for the complaining about the schedule- I fully appreciate that these guys are tired and they have a right to be. That said, it's still a matter of perception and looking like an out of touch elitist when you complain about having to play golf for a living. Most of us- civilian and of course, military, work longer hours for much less pay and never complain about it. I consider myself deeply blessed to have a decent job. Again, it just feels like some of these guys need some perspective on things. It's akin to Phil's backlash over his tax situation in California last year; I agree that the tax code in California is ridiculous and provides a disencentive to succeed, but complaining about the tax burden on his $60 million annual salary still rubbed a lot of people the wrong way in an economy where millions are struggling.

I don't see anything wrong with a bye-week after the first two playoff tournaments.

But I could really go either way. Playoffs are supposed to be a grind. Don't like it? Don't play it. Bringing up Phil...if Phil knew how much of a strain this would be...he could have skipped the first tournament and still made it to the 2nd...correct?

I don't mean to pick on you specifically, but I honestly have no idea why people say stuff like this. No where in the established rules of the FedExCup does it say that they're supposed to be "a grind." No where. Golf isn't hockey/baseball/football/basketball/whatever. It shouldn't try to pretend to be any of those sports. We shouldn't expect it to be like any of those sports. If a week off somewhere in the middle leads to better competition and fewer golfers skipping out, then great. [quote name="Crim" url="/t/77093/tour-players-look-pathetic-complaining-about-4-weeks-straight/0_30#post_1053391"]Bringing up Phil...if Phil knew how much of a strain this would be...he could have skipped the first tournament and still made it to the 2nd...correct?  [/quote] They changed the rules a while back to limit that. If you skip the first event you have to just about win the other three (not exactly, but something like that) if you want any chance of winning the whole thing. [quote name="skydog" url="/t/77093/tour-players-look-pathetic-complaining-about-4-weeks-straight/0_30#post_1053224"]Complaining about having to compete four weeks in a row. I know four weeks of traveling and playing can get old, but c'mon guys, this is why other athletes and non-golfers look down on you. Oh, I'm sorry you have to play golf for four straight weeks and compete for millions of dollars. Some of these guys need some persepective as to what real work and sacrifice is. [/quote] So that's the real issue, right? We want to stick it to them for making so much money while putting in relatively little time - or at least we want them to feel a little guilty about it. The Tour's job, however, is not to teach Phil a lesson on perspective, it's to ensure that they put out as good a product as possible on the field.