{"id":5486,"date":"2009-04-02T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-04-02T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/?p=5486"},"modified":"2009-04-02T19:24:30","modified_gmt":"2009-04-02T23:24:30","slug":"an_open_letter_to_all_anti-tigerites_part_one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesandtrap.com\/b\/thrash_talk\/an_open_letter_to_all_anti-tigerites_part_one","title":{"rendered":"An Open Letter To All Anti-Tigerites, Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ThrashTo Whom It May Concern:<\/p>\n

I am not an entirely shameless and uncritical worshipper of Tiger Woods. There are things about the man that I don’t like, both on and off the golf course. On the course, it annoys me when he refers to himself as “Woody,” when he insists on two possible hat and shoe combinations (white and white or black and black), when he and Steve Williams interact like they are angry school teachers, when he blows snot rockets or expels worse: an unbelievably generic post-round interview.
\n
\nOff the course, I think he could do more to support the PGA beyond simply lending his star power. He could have a less ostentatious yacht. He could wear something other than Nike or bad suits. He could be more outspoken on social and political issues… but I certainly understand why he isn’t.<\/p>\n

I don’t think the American political system is done any favors by outspoken celebrities, for the most part, at least to the extent than anyone is interested in their social, political, or religious persuasions. Given this, I’d take Woods over Sean Penn, Tom Cruise or Bono any day. In terms of advertising, I don’t respect the fact that he sells his services to the highest bidder pitching any innocuous or bucolic product… Gillette, anyone?<\/p>\n

I could go on — the Tour Velvet cord grips, the Boyz II Men loving — but the point is, in any tally of the things that annoy versus those which inspire or entertain, Woods, in my book, will have many more marks in the latter column. It is because of this, as well as my general annoyance with inane Tiger bashing<\/a> that I offer this pointed endorsement of the golfer.<\/p>\n

Paradigmatic Greatness<\/strong>
\nIt seems that we, as golf fans, have not settled on an airtight formula for determining the “best golfer ever,” either in the abstract or in looking at a particular golfer in context. Wins are important, and majors are more so, to be sure, but is it possible, say, to be the greatest golfer ever while being a poor driver of the golf ball, or a mediocre putter, or a poor Ryder Cup player, or failing to win all four Majors, or the U.S Amateur?<\/p>\n

Regardless of this lack of complete picture, it seems that in any definition of what constitutes a great golfer, or the greatest ever, is necessarily that he or she must win big tournaments. Woods has won all the big tournaments, all throughout his life. From the U.S. Junior Amateur, to the Masters, Tiger has won every tournament upon which any real significance is bestowed by the critical golfing public.<\/p>\n

The real testament, though, to Woods’ greatness within the paradigm of golf is quite simple. Tiger has, since he first began imitating his father’s golf swing as a toddler, not only been the best player his own age, but the best by far. Is there any other golfer, past or present, who can make a statement anywhere close to this? I honestly don’t think so. I don’t think the aforementioned fact can be overlooked in any detailed study of Woods’ greatness (which this article doesn’t pretend to be).<\/p>\n

The Will to Power<\/strong>
\nIn a certain sense, great individuals are blank screens on to which we project our own ideals and conceptions, extending their import and significance far beyond where it ought to go. However, I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to interpret achievements in the game of golf through the lens of the game of life. Sport as metaphor is a genre which often lapses into pointless nostalgia, needless glorification and sentimentality. Regardless, the iron will which allows Woods to persevere on the golf course is something both to be celebrated in itself and to serve as inspiration for us lesser mortals in our day to day lives.<\/p>\n

Think about last year’s U.S. Open for a second. On a broken leg, with torn ligaments, without any real preparation, Tiger managed to win the tournament. How’d he do it? Perhaps we attribute this to some supernatural ability, but really we ought to realize that Woods’ physical and mental gifts, many as they are, were not the deciding factors. Rather, his ability to will himself to victory, in the same way that we might will ourselves out of bed on a cold morning, another minute on the stationary bike, was the essential quality. It’s the same capacity (as far as I know) that we all possess, though it’s often convenient to say otherwise.<\/p>\n

High Drama \/ Golf as Theater<\/strong>
\nIf, as Shakespeare says, all of life is a stage, then the golf course necessarily occupies a place on that stage. Many of the complaints about Tiger seem to focus on the fact that he’s the “overdog” and that everyone knows he’s going to win. As such, such individuals say, there’s nothing worth watching, since Tiger is going to win regardless. I’ve never understood this argument, but I can say simply that sport, from an observational standpoint, is supposed to be entertaining.<\/p>\n

Entertainment, really, is composed of compelling narratives. I don’t think there’s any golfer, aside from Woods, who has ever entertained in such dramatic fashion, regardless of whether we “know he’s going to win,” or not. True, to some extent, this drama is manufactured by the golfing media, or at least they are complicit in its creation, but so what? Televised golf coverage certainly isn’t an art form, but nevertheless we watch out of a base desire to be entertained. Tiger Woods entertains on a regular basis the way few professional golfers ever do more than one or two times.<\/p>\n

The Modern Golfer<\/strong>
\nTiger Woods is the modern golfer. He can bomb and gouge or play fairways and greens. He can play the ball high around the green with a lot of spin, or favor a lower shot with more roll. Woods is capable of shaping a 3\/4 nine iron 128 yards to a back right pin or powering it 166. Early in his career, it can be said, Tiger was relatively one dimensional, relying on superb hand-eye coordination, swing speed and natural power. However, as he has developed as a player — rebuilding his swing twice in the process — he has sought more to fuse elements of golf as traditionally played (think Ben Hogan) with the college bomber and flag hunter approach.<\/p>\n

It is this combination which I believe makes Woods truly compelling. Not only is his execution top notch and wildly entertaining, but his decision making and planning are truly top notch. Both facets, of course, are essential to playing good golf. In this, I believe, he is the prototype for modern golf, especially considering the pending regulations regarding club grooves.<\/p>\n

Part Two in Two Weeks<\/strong>
\nNobody wants to read a novel on a golf website, so I’m stopping here for now. Same bat channel in two weeks for the remaining items in my letter, including, but not limited to “The Malleable and Ever Improvable Self” and “The Essential Corporate Athlete.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve been called a Tiger lover; I might as well be out with it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[98,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hot_topics","category-thrash_talk"],"yoast_head":"\nAn Open Letter To All Anti-Tigerites, Part One (Hot Topics, Thrash Talk) - 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