DQ Brandel Chamblee from the Golf Channel

[9iron]

Originally Posted by RonTheSavage

Maybe walking with Tiger is what people chose to do until the main event. (Duffner/Furyk) What are they supposed to do, huddle by the first tee for hours???? Tiger went on in the AM right? If you spend your money on tickets Im sure most people like to make an all day event out of it. It's crazy you generalize Tiger fans as not golf fans. That just sounds silly

When you honestly believe that Tiger will pass 30 players on Sunday, most of whom are 5 to 10 strokes in front of him, then you don't know how golf even works. Again, by definition, you are not really a golf fan when you say things like this as those guys along the 18th fairway at Merion CC did. You can't make such bold proclamations and then also claim to be a golf fan. Not a knowledgeable one, anyway.

[9iron]

Originally Posted by phan52

Unfortunately, the Tour does not have a regular stop in Philly. but the ATT National played for two years at Aronimink. Tiger played the first year and not the second. The fields otherwise were strong and very comparable. The year Tiger played, they got 206,000 people and they had to stop selling tickets. The year he didn't play they got 160,000.

That's a high percentage of people who would only come because of Tiger.

You just nailed it. This is why the Tour loves Tiger. That many people equates to that much more money. Unfortunately, if most of them only like Tiger then they aren't golf fans, they are Tiger fans. This is how you get the crazy comments we see all the time. I get the sense most of them would struggle to break 100, and many probably play no golf at all.

[RonTheSavage]

Whoa there homeboy, fist of all I never said anything about Tiger passing 30 players on Sunday. I very clearly said maybe the "some" guys are just killing time walking with Tiger because he teed off so early in the day. Another thing and I believe this to be true about most sports these days. The in home experience with HD TV/Replay has attendance numbers down in all sports. Sorry but it takes Tiger Woods to get me off my couch to go to an event. I'd rather be a poser golf fan than Brandel Chamblee any day of the week. Im sure the PGA Tour dosent care because the money those other Poser fans shell out spends just the same as the "traditional golf fan."

[RonTheSavage]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh so you have to play golf at a high level to be a real golf fan? Im done, this is close to the dumbest thing I've ever read here, and thats no small feat. Congrats on that

[MS256]

Originally Posted by 9iron

Hello? You'd only pay to see Tiger. Nobody else. You are the definition of a Tiger fan.

Who wouldn't want to watch Tiger if they went to a tournament where he was playing? Regardless of whether he ever wins another Major or not he's been the best player and golf's biggest attraction for 20 years.

I didn't go get a hotdog when Mickey Mantle or Hank Aaron was due up next and I would rather have gone to a game where Sandy Koufax or Bob Gibson was pitching than somebody that was not going to ever win 10 games in a season...And yes, if I'm at a tournament where Tiger is playing I'm going to follow his group.

[9iron]

Originally Posted by MS256

Who wouldn't want to watch Tiger if they went to a tournament where he was playing? Regardless of whether he ever wins another Major or not he's been the best player and golf's biggest attraction for 20 years.

I didn't go get a hotdog when Mickey Mantle or Hank Aaron was due up next and I would rather have gone to a game where Sandy Koufax or Bob Gibson was pitching than somebody that was not going to ever win 10 games in a season...And yes, if I'm at a tournament where Tiger is playing I'm going to follow his group.

That's great that you would follow Tiger, but is he the "only" player you'd pay to watch? If so, then you are a Tiger fan more than a golf fan. Like you, I would not go to the Fridge when the best are at bat, but that doesn't mean I won't watch when others are at bat.

And btw, I would not want to watch Tiger at a live event. I did that once for four holes, and all I saw was the back of someone else's head.

[phan52]

Originally Posted by RonTheSavage

Whoa there homeboy, fist of all I never said anything about Tiger passing 30 players on Sunday. I very clearly said maybe the "some" guys are just killing time walking with Tiger because he teed off so early in the day. Another thing and I believe this to be true about most sports these days. The in home experience with HD TV/Replay has attendance numbers down in all sports. Sorry but it takes Tiger Woods to get me off my couch to go to an event. I'd rather be a poser golf fan than Brandel Chamblee any day of the week. Im sure the PGA Tour dosent care because the money those other Poser fans shell out spends just the same as the "traditional golf fan."

And you would be wasting your time because the only way to see him play in a golf tournament is to stay ahead of him and stake out a spot to see him play that one hole, and then leave and leapfrog 4-5 more holes to stake out another spot. You would be lucky to see him hit 4-5 shots.

But if you decide to follow him, at least the odds are good that he might hit you with his ball if you are 40-50 yards offline from the center of the fairway.

[Jumbo Debt]

There is something wrong with Chamblee...

I understand he's disappointed that Woods has had some problems. And I think the fact there was a scandal involving Tiger and his family life has really affected Chamblee's judgment. I may be wrong but he seems to be looking for a problem with Tiger ever since that sordid affair. In a country where stars are built only to be torn down Tiger has been a target. Everybody is so disappointed Woods is a human beeing and not that Disney character the media used to sell golf. On another note I really don't think Chamblee is a racist so that can be ruled out as a reason for his non stop criticism of Tiger Woods. No I really believe this obsession Brandel has with pointing out what Tiger needs fixing is a reflection of how Chamblee feels about his own inadequacies, as Freudian as that may sound. Because it really makes no sense to be constantly pointing out Woods' problems when if we were to stop and realize it he's talking about the second or third greatest player to have ever played the game of golf.

I don't think Chamblee's mean spirited but I think he should give Johnny Miller a call and learn a thing or two about what to say, what not to say, how to say it, and how not to say it.

[RonTheSavage]

Actually I wouldn't be wasting my time and I know this from experience. I followed Tiger, Phil and Bubba at the US Open last year here in SF. It does help to be 6"3, and yeah I did skip a hole here and there but I saw plenty of golf. I actually was on TV as I was a few feet from Tiger when he teed off on #6. Yeah I still have it saved on my Tivo LOL. Oh and by the way the only ball that almost hit me came off of Bubba's driver.

[MS256]

Originally Posted by 9iron

That's great that you would follow Tiger, but is he the "only" player you'd pay to watch? If so, then you are a Tiger fan more than a golf fan. Like you, I would not go to the Fridge when the best are at bat, but that doesn't mean I won't watch when others are at bat.

And btw, I would not want to watch Tiger at a live event. I did that once for four holes, and all I saw was the back of someone else's head.

Wasn't very much trouble to pick a hole up ahead and wait for his group to come through and then repeat that up ahead again.

Not sure if I'm a Tiger fan or a golf fan but I sure wasn't going to take my wife and kid to the Tour Championship and not even watch Tiger play. I can imagine the conversation at school the next day if I didn't.

"Went to the Tour Championship yesterday"

"Did you watch Tiger play?"

"No, my dad didn't want to."

"Well crap, that's who I would have watched."

[9iron]

MS, what you are doing is a lot more balanced in approach than what I would call a pure "Tiger fan". A pure Tiger fan is in the huddled masses following for a mere glimpse of Tiger. That is different than going to an upcoming grandstand and watching several groups come thru. I waited for Tiger's group to play thru two different grandstands this year, but I watched all of the golfers with one degree of interest or another is most all of them as I am a golf fan first, last and always.

The players come and go, but the game endures. I enjoy them all to a degree or another, while appreciating those that no longer play at the highest level and awaiting those newcomers yet to come.

[iacas]

What's it to you if someone is a "Tiger fan"? Tiger plays golf. If they're attending a golf tournament because Tiger's playing in it, again, what's it to you? Does it make you feel superior to them because you're a "golf" fan and not a "Tiger" fan?

I don't care why someone's at a golf tournament. I - and the other players - are glad they're there.

[TourSpoon]

They were happy at the Honda when tickets sales were up 30%.

[Jumbo Debt]

Tiger Woods like Greg Norman before him, and Tom Watson before him, and Johnny Miller, and Jack Nicklaus, and Sam Snead...

These are the some of the main players who have made golf popular over the decades. So every pro owes part of his paycheck to Tiger in a way because he has caused evrybody's paycheck in golf to grow not just his own.

I watch the San Francisco Giants yet I haven't played ball since Babe Ruth League in the sixties. All golf fans aren't necessarily players even though many are. And again it's more often not the Tiger Woods' of this world that attracts those fans just like the Yankees have attracted a lot of people to baseball just because they won so much.

Your saying that pros like yourself only care that there are spectators and could care less WHY they happen to be is really good for golf in general.

Years ago there were fewer golf courses so the game was a lot more expensive to play than it is today. The more popular golf gets the cheaper it gets to play. I mean fot the regular working man. Which brings us back to Tiger because he has been the one pro in the past 17 years who's done the most to popularize the game. And this in turn has made the game a lot more affordable for people like me. So, thank you Tiger Woods!

[Chris E]

Originally Posted by Jumbo Debt

I think Chamblee has a problem with himself that he projects onto Tiger Woods.

The problem Chamblee has is he only has one win on the PGA tour and his best

show in a major was 18th at the Masters back in 1989 or something. Either that or

it might have something to do with his upbringing if you know what I mean.

Not really. What do you mean?

[mp33 man]

Not really. What do you mean?

I second this. ?????

[9iron]

Originally Posted by iacas

What's it to you if someone is a "Tiger fan"? Tiger plays golf. If they're attending a golf tournament because Tiger's playing in it, again, what's it to you? Does it make you feel superior to them because you're a "golf" fan and not a "Tiger" fan?

I don't care why someone's at a golf tournament. I - and the other players - are glad they're there.

Erik, here is what it is to me, and I suggest I am not alone.

I associate the Tiger fans with the "You Da Man" yelling fans. I do this because that type of fan started up with Tiger. It followed Tiger around the golf course. This group of "yelling fans", and it is irrefutable that they do YELL (emphasis mine) all over the golf course, has led to what we saw this past weekend with all these fans yelling at impact. It has obviously gotten to guys like Furyk, Westwood, and Poulter, players with completely different personalities, and likely many, many more players. In this respect, it detracts from the game.

I don't like the trend as it is away from the traditional gentlemanly nature of the game and towards a decidedly ungentlemanly pattern of behavior. I like a good fiercely competed match on the golf course as much as anyone, but contested in a gentlemanly fashion. The truth is, I don't like club throwers and foul language shouted out on the golf course, something I have noticed a decided rise in over the past 15 years. They may be growing the game, but they have sacrificed something when they failed to teach the new golfers about etiquette.

That may sound all high brow to you, or it may sound right and you may still feel you can't publicly agree lest you turn anyone off. You do run a very public message board, so I'd understand if this is the case. You can feel free to disagree with me, but since you asked I wanted to be honest and explain my sentiments to you.

Putting on my flak jacket as I hit the submit tab....

[TJBam]

Originally Posted by 9iron

Erik, here is what it is to me, and I suggest I am not alone.

I associate the Tiger fans with the "You Da Man" yelling fans. I do this because that type of fan started up with Tiger. It followed Tiger around the golf course. This group of "yelling fans", and it is irrefutable that they do YELL (emphasis mine) all over the golf course, has led to what we saw this past weekend with all these fans yelling at impact. It has obviously gotten to guys like Furyk, Westwood, and Poulter, players with completely different personalities, and likely many, many more players. In this respect, it detracts from the game.

I don't like the trend as it is away from the traditional gentlemanly nature of the game and towards a decidedly ungentlemanly pattern of behavior. I like a good fiercely competed match on the golf course as much as anyone, but contested in a gentlemanly fashion. The truth is, I don't like club throwers and foul language shouted out on the golf course, something I have noticed a decided rise in over the past 15 years. They may be growing the game, but they have sacrificed something when they failed to teach the new golfers about etiquette.

That may sound all high brow to you, or it may sound right and you may still feel you can't publicly agree lest you turn anyone off. You do run a very public message board, so I'd understand if this is the case. You can feel free to disagree with me, but since you asked I wanted to be honest and explain my sentiments to you.

Putting on my flak jacket as I hit the submit tab....

This is a good one.  Just had to point that out and now I'm stepping out before this panel of experts decide exactly what stereotypes to stamp on these "yellers" while determining their upbringing, socioeconomic status, favorite golfers, and likeliness of appearing at any given tournament