Tiger's Poor (or Childish or Angry or Unprofessional) Antics

[zeg]

Acceptance of mediocrity, give me a break. His little act has gotten worse. People in this world have true problems, unlike Tiger dropping F-bombs on tv cause he missed a 30 foot putt. Get real. Take pride in being the most famous athlete in the world and set an example. His antics are duplicated across American golf courses as we speak where some kid right now has taken a club and hacked out a huge chunk of turf because his wedge ended up 15 feet left of the pin.

I've been known to drop an F-bomb or ten when I get frustrated. I'm not proud of it, but I know I'm not alone, and I certainly didn't learn it from Tiger Woods or any other golfer. Seeing Tiger occasionally express his frustration is not going to make much difference -- the exposure from other sources is just so much stronger.

[Chas]

Of course we all know that Tiger is experiencing a very high level of frustration at the moment, more than anyone else, simply because he occupies such an elevated place and is still trying to return to the status quo ante. He has a big burden it's true, but to a large extent self-imposed. Screw the media, Tiger should be (and probably is) well above caring what the mass media says or thinks. He's much too smart for that. But IMO high expectations are not an excuse for poor sportsmanship, beyond a certain point anyway. I agree with Erik that throwing a club is beyond the line, the sort of behavior we associate with McEnroe (the brat) at his most (emotionally) infantile.

Tom Watson was deeply disappointed yesterday, we could all see that, but one cannot imagine him throwing a club around or swearing in the way that we're discussing here. At least I never saw it in all the times I watched him play, which was a lot. Of course strong feelings are going to be there at certain times, but it is important for a professional athlete to control their outward expression to a large extent. I like Tiger's honesty about his own play, it buys him a lot of respect in my book, but he does need to control himself better at times. My guess is that he's working on it ....

As to the acceptance of mediocrity, to tolerate poor behavior on the track is to accept mediocrity or worse than mediocrity in the sport. Tiger has openly set himself up as a model for young people (bravo for his good work here in SoCal), but there's a price to pay. I suspect that he knows it well enough.

[TheNatural]

good idea ...instead of the K corner ...have a gallery follow him with RED 'F''s

[AmenCorner]

My short opinion is that I don't particularly care for some of his behavior, but stop short of criticizing him for it. All in all, I think he is a great role model for the game, but he is also a human being, and a very passionate one at that.

Perhaps he will become a little wiser and self-controlled as the years progress.

[sp33d]

I just think its ugly. I dont care who does it tiger, AK, garcia... Me?

But I cant say I've never had a break down on the golf course and said some choice words while beating the club against something. So I will not judge.

This entire game is built off of emotion and without it (good or bad) it wouldnt be the game it is.

[Bump-n-MI]

Acceptance of mediocrity, give me a break.

No

His little act has gotten worse. People in this world have true problems, unlike Tiger dropping F-bombs on tv cause he missed a 30 foot putt.

So what! He swears and smacks his club against the ground. What a pity. Those people with problems need to focus on what they need to do to survive...so does Tiger. Remember, all people were

not created equal.

Get real. Take pride in being the most famous athlete in the world and set an example.

You don't think he takes pride in being the best? Sounds like you need to "get real". He sets a great example...his inability to accept mediocrity

. Honestly, what is so f**kin bad about what he does?

His antics are duplicated across American golf courses as we speak where some kid right now has taken a club and hacked out a huge chunk of turf because his wedge ended up 15 feet left of the pin.

In my 30+ years of golf I have never seen anybody take a "huge chunk of turf" because he/she hit a bad shot. So are you saying this happens often and Tiger is to blame for others taking "huge chunks of turf"?

My favorite word is accountability (i.e. being responsible for your own actions). Unfortunately that word is no longer in many peoples vocabulary.

[ControlJunkie]

There is no excuse for Tiger to act like he does. I don't care how much pressure he is under. And every one else on tour is playing to win also. And he should release his anger other ways. Woody Austin, a hot head himself, said it best at a press conference, last year or the year before. "Why is it when I throw my club, or slam it to the ground or my bag, I am considered a hot head, unprofessional, whatever.

So that's Tiger's fault how? He has no control over how the media spins things. Dont get me wrong, that doesnt make it right, and Woody is correct, but I fail to see how you blame Tiger on the double standard that the media creates.

But Woods isn't playing golf in his backyard. The spectators aren't trespassers. I don't care about the kids as much as I don't like watching a billionaire celebrity whose behavior is boorish, entitled, and juvenile.

Having never had the pleasure of attending an even that he's in, I've never seen it in person, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I always assumed you hear it on TV because of the mics that are constantly all around him. I never thought that he ever really screams when he cusses after a bad shot. Especially on the tee boxes, it seems that those mics are sensitive enough to hear a mosquito fart. Like I said, I've never seen him in person, that's just always what I thought was the reason you were able to hear it on TV.

Screw the complacency and acceptance of mediocrity that seems to have overrun the vast majority of people in this country. Do you honestly think little Johnny's precious mind will be scarred by hearing Tiger swear or seeing him slam his club on the ground? Take a look at the video games and cartoons kids are watching now…talk about twisted reality. And no, every kid does not deserve a trophy. And enough with the PC BS of giving a kid pass/fail mark because a letter grade may offend or single him/her out… I'm doing everything in my power to teach my kids that having a competitive edge is good and that striving to be the best is a good thing and that it is ok to get rewarded for doing something better then someone else. I want them to be able to express their emotions and have an avenue to relieve frustration. Does that mean I want them to slam their golf club on the ground or swear when something does not go as planned? Not necessarily but there are far worse thing they could do. Are Tiger's "antics" hurting anyone? Hell no. Could he do a better job of curbing his emotional outbursts, maybe. But that appears to be his way of dealing with frustration….and that (IMHO) is completely acceptable.

Man, seriously, can we hang out?! I totally agree with everything you said. I've had this conversation numerous times with my dad, and you're dead on in my opinion.

This is one of those topics where I dont know if there is a right or wrong answer. Tiger is hardly equivalent to Roberto Alomar, Zinedine Zidane, or Ron Artest. I know golf isn't played on pure emotion like baseball, basketball, soccer, etc., but to play any sport and not show emotion when you hit a bad shot is something I've never grasped. Maybe it's because I grew up playing baseball, basketball, and football, and if that's the case, then that's fine, but that show of emotion is one of the things that makes Tiger a little more human and a little more relatable to me. On the flip side, I go out of my way to show respect to everyone on and around the course, as well as the course itself, and always obey the course rules, as I'm sure he does. I also respect others opinions on this subject, and in my mind, they're not wrong at all, I just dont share the same opinion, that's all. Some people are able to contain it in a way I can never imagine. An example of that is Tom Watson, yesterday, on the putt he missed on 18. Trust me, I definitely dont fault him for not showing emotion, but it also makes him much more unrelatable to me. I dont expect him to sling the putter into the crowd, like Happy Gilmore, but it's like man, you just missed a putt that would have written you into sports history and won you a lot of money, but you really dont look all that pissed? I guess what I'm getting at is that there's gotta be an outlet for all that stress. To me, it's going to either trickle out (by saying Godammit Tiger or by slamming the club, and then you let it go and forget about it) or it's all going to build up, and it's going to come out in a tidal wave, as in a giant meltdown or something worse. Point being, while I dont applaud his behavior, I dont have a problem with it either.

[TheNatural]

Maybe if Tiger had to face real adversity for a while he would change. Not golf or racial adversity, I dont think he has experienced the latter to the extent of most in this country.

Not knocking the antics, but the f bomb in front of kids is low class. Just say "fudge"


Im curious, did he behave this way after earl died? the next 5 months? its no big deal, just tacky.

[iacas]

i know a lot of people disagree and throw out the "

I've used that line of reasoning in the past (I think labeling it an "excuse" is unfair).

If you could have Tiger without the swearing and without the club slamming but also without the fist pumps and celebrations , would you take it? I wouldn't. It's two sides of the same coin. I hate how dull and boring the PGA Tour has become. Look at the Duel in the Sun footage - even those two guys, locked in the heat of battle, let their emotions show. Sports psychology has ruined golf in two ways: 1) increase in slow play, and 2) removal of emotion from the game of golf. Hell, Rocco was a big part of what made that playoff at Torrey Pines so much of a thrill because he's one of the other very few "not-a-robot" players out there. Tiger versus Jim Furyk wouldn't have been half as interesting, even with the same scores on each of the holes, because Jim is a robot (and also less of an underdog, but he's the first name that came to mind when I thought of "robot"). Heck, players NOT acting like robots is what makes the Ryder Cup so much fun to watch. And look at how well some of the guys played there... Just sayin'.

[TheNatural]

Just to put it into prospective. Next time you play when there are kids in ear shot with their mom or dad. Just rip a an FBOMB in their ear shot.

no it wont scar them,


it may be the microphones like you said.

[BASHERBAKER69]

Ive said it before in another thread and I'll say it again: Tiger is on a downward spiral.

I don't care for his behaviour, the way he flobs everywhere, the way he slams his driver in to the ground or chucks his club in to the floor after a bad shot. I don't think he is happy generally (my personal view) and his swing is deteriorating- it was only his short game, determination and power that kept him any where near the cut at Turnberry.

He is the world number 1 and a role model (whether he agreed to it or likes it or not) and therefore he should try to behave with slightly more decorum and integrity on the course- take a leaf out of Tom Watson's book Tiger, you can still be a great player without being an obnoxious little twit!

By the way, Ive never seen Phil Mick lose it like like Tiger on the course, and for this reason Id rather see him at the top of the rankings than TW.

[TheNatural]

so your saying he has angered the golfing gods?

[AmenCorner]

Ive said it before in another thread and I'll say it again: Tiger is on a downward spiral.

"obnoxious little twit?" Really?

I just think people expect more from Tiger because he is better. Now ask yourself, is that fair? I'm so tired of hearing the "role model" thing. You know, anytime people want to get their way in this country, they gotta bring the kids into it. What about the kids? I don't want my kids seeing that. What if my kid was watching that channel/playing in that street/watching that show at 3am, ahhhhh! Seriously, it's such a cop out. I think the average person is just insanely jealous that Tiger is who he is and want a reason to judge him. We love to judge other people, it's in our blood. And since all of us are guilty of dropping f-bombs and throwing the occasional club, we pull the kid card. If you want to stop hearing his curse words, tell the networks to pull the mics. You wouldn't expect football players to abstain, would you? But what about the kids?

[AmenCorner]

The part about the downward spiral was reaching too. The guy is 10 times tougher mentally and physically then any other player on tour in my opinion. Yes he has been somewhat inconsistent lately, but this is not abnormal for any golfer really. In fact, I'm going to put my money on him to win the PGA by 5 shots or more. That's how confident I am that he will end 2009 with a bang.

[BASHERBAKER69]

From one gentleman to another, I'll hold you to that prediction.

[HytrewQasdfg]

To be fair, he's there to win golf tournaments and not to be a role model for little kids.

Here I disagree (sorta). Most of Tiger's income comes not from winning golf tournaments, but from product endorsements. Part of those agreements require him to maintain a certain image. In effect, he is always on the clock with those companies (and I think generally, he has done a much better job than most athletes creating a solid image.)

A number of the products he endorses do run ads targeted at kids (the Gatorade cartoon with the papa bear and young Tiger comes to mind.)

[iacas]

Let's also keep things in perspective.

He's not doing drugs. He's not beating up hookers. He's not cheating. He's not bashing his fellow players. He's not screaming at the ump for a called third strike.

He swears and bashes his club against his golf bag occasionally.

[ControlJunkie]

Ive said it before in another thread and I'll say it again: Tiger is on a downward spiral.

I love how, after a bad tournament, people say Tiger has lost it and he isnt what he used to be, and all that. He's won 3 times this year (which he started late) and was leading the FedEx Cup Points up until this weekend. Stricker now leads by a whopping 8 points, but it's taken him 16 events vs. Tiger's 10 events to get to that total. His swing is deteriorating and he's living on his short game? Up until Turnberry, he had been progressively getting more accurate off the tee box. At Congressional, his driving accuracy was tied for 7th, hitting 72.3% of the fairways, with an average distance of 312.4 yards (which was 4th overall). I hardly think that's a downward spiral.

Also, not knocking Phil, but I can assure you, just because you havent seen him get pissed, slam a club, cuss, whatever, doesnt mean he's never done it. As much coverage as Phil gets, it still doesnt come close to the amount of camera time that Tiger gets, so there are things that go on that everyone may not see. The same goes for a lot of players.