Why America’s Best Golf Prospect May Never Turn Pro [WSJ]

[mchepp]

11 minutes ago, krupa said:

From 2004:   The fifth annual Sun Microsystems John Elway Celebrity Classic will return to the Omni Interlocken Resort Golf Course July 10-11.

http://bizwest.com/sun-microsystems-john-elway-golf-tournament-tees-off-july-10/

Maybe McNealy was ousted by then.  (I don't know that he was technically "ousted"... it just seems that all founders are eventually driven out by bloodless coups.)

If I am remembering right he was CEO until about 2006. I think he stayed on the board until 2010 when they were sold. He was a pretty well respected CEO. Many friends I had really liked working at Sun. They were one of the first to start allowing employees to work from home a few days a week to avoid traffic. They eventually got really big maybe a bit lost, but for the most part he was a pretty good CEO.

Sun was really big in the Bay. The current Facebook campus which everyone thinks is so great was formally a Sun campus. They had another bigger one in San Jose which is Oracle now. 

[boogielicious]

48 minutes ago, Groucho Valentine said:

Maybe he wants to become the Batman.

But I'm Batman! 

[kpaulhus]

13 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

@kpaulhus, you may need to step up and defend the Condiment and Mustard lobby!

if I happened to get cut I would bleed French's #1 Grade Mustard Seed Yellow Mustard. 

Heinz is crap.

[saevel25]

Quote

His father, Scott, co-founded Sun Microsystems, the Silicon Valley giant acquired by Oracle Corp. for $7.4 billion in 2010. And while Maverick said he intends to become financially independent, both he and his father view pro golf as something less than a higher calling.

Well there's your answer there. If he's not driven to turn pro then I doubt he'll jump in later on. He'll probably end up getting caught up in some business venture. 

Quote

“If you are an entertainer, it’s counterproductive from the standpoint that people stop doing anything and just sit and watch entertainers,” Scott said. “The guy serving you food at a golf tournament is in so many ways doing more good and moving the capitalist ball forward than Tiger Woods.”

I think Tiger moved the needle a ton for the golf industry. Nike wouldn't pay him multi-million dollar contracts if he didn't. 

 

[pumaAttack]

So the guy selling food to thousands of people is better than the single dude that brought in those thousands of people...

The food vendor would still be helping to move the ball forward if Tiger never brought the crowds?  A vendor selling hot dogs to an empty field moves the ball forward?

I think the kid is being elitist and arrogant right now.  I bet if he doesn't turn pro he will look back at his life in 20 years as a wasted opportunity.  Lots of people can go into business, very very few can become a pro golfer.

[nevets88]

2 hours ago, krupa said:

What's "SV"?

To be clear, the quote you used was from the father  (co-founder of Sun Microsystems) not the golfer in question.  Here's a quote from the kid:

Personally, though, I don't care what the kid does.

SV is Silicon Valley. The stereotype of people there is that they are passive aggressive. Accurate or not, this is a pretty good example. 

[Rainmaker]

2 hours ago, kpaulhus said:

if I happened to get cut I would bleed French's #1 Grade Mustard Seed Yellow Mustard. 

Heinz is crap.

This is no time for partisanship.  Makers and lovers of all condiments need to come together and make the world see that people sitting around, watching stuff and eating things slathered in delicious, delicious condiments is, in fact, what makes the entire economy work. 

Look at any 3rd world or impoverished economy.  What is the condiment scene like?  How many people are sitting around, watching stuff and eating things with lots of condiments?  I haven't checked but probably not many. 

[Chilli Dipper]

4 minutes ago, Rainmaker said:

This is no time for partisanship.  Makers and lovers of all condiments need to come together and make the world see that people sitting around, watching stuff and eating things slathered in delicious, delicious condiments is, in fact, what makes the entire economy work. 

Look at any 3rd world or impoverished economy.  What is the condiment scene like?  How many people are sitting around, watching stuff and eating things with lots of condiments?  I haven't checked but probably not many. 

Except Durkee's special sauce. Durkee's is the parasite sucking on the rump of a civil society!

[Aflighter]

This kid clearly doesnt love the game enough to be pro or hes just spoiled rich kid that knows hes got it made and doesnt want to put the hard work in.

[mchepp]

53 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

SV is Silicon Valley. The stereotype of people there is that they are passive aggressive. Accurate or not, this is a pretty good example. 

This is interesting. This may not be the place but I am interested in hearing more about this. I spent 15+ years there and don't think passive aggressive is how I'd describe it.

[nevets88]

5 minutes ago, mchepp said:

This is interesting. This may not be the place but I am interested in hearing more about this. I spent 15+ years there and don't think passive aggressive is how I'd describe it.

I've only visited, so don't have much of a sample space, have encountered people like that and keep seeing it on social media.

https://www.quora.com/Why-are-so-many-people-in-Silicon-Valley-passive-aggressive

[krupa]

1 hour ago, nevets88 said:

I've only visited, so don't have much of a sample space, have encountered people like that and keep seeing it on social media.

https://www.quora.com/Why-are-so-many-people-in-Silicon-Valley-passive-aggressive

Maybe it's a nerd thing.  My friends said Seattle was also very passive aggressive.

[mchepp]

57 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

I've only visited, so don't have much of a sample space, have encountered people like that and keep seeing it on social media.

https://www.quora.com/Why-are-so-many-people-in-Silicon-Valley-passive-aggressive

Hmm, that guy and me have nothing in common. I have experienced much more passive aggressive tones here in Portland than in the Bay Area. Seattle has a wiki dedicated to it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Freeze; http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/our-social-dis-ease-beyond-the-smiles-the-seattle-freeze-is-on/) and I think Portland has this also.

I can say that I have often had shouting matches with extremely passionate people who where nothing if not in your face and extremely direct. There is politics, sure, but I knew where I stood with most people.

If SV has a problem it is admitting vunerabiltity. This is a great article about the problem.

https://medium.com/@marenkate/silicon-valley-has-a-vulnerability-problem-5c314bf5b005#.h9k9s694z

[bplewis24]

File this under "problems most people would die to have."

[Buckeyebowman]

9 hours ago, mchepp said:

 

The funny thing I see about this story is to be a successful businessman, I mean a really successful one, he is going to have to work just as hard. He can make a few deals and get hired somewhere because of his name, but at some point he will need to have his own ideas, and push them through with as much hard work as it takes to be successful in golf. The point being both avenues to reach the top will take hard work. He will be given advantages but he will need to capitalize on them.

My take on it is this. If the young man is to be a successful businessman, he really needs to learn something about business. The person serving food at a golf tourney, "moving the capitalist ball forward" and all that, wouldn't have anyone to serve food to if Tiger and his brethren weren't getting people to purchase tickets to come out and watch them play!

I think it's important to understand cause and effect!

[newtogolf]

Most of his quotes read like typical millennial mumbo jumbo.  Serving hot dogs is in the long run the easier job, he goes and puts in his eight hours of mindless work then heads home to the mansion daddy paid for.  

[bwdial]

His name is Maverick.  If he does anything but fly F-14 Tomcats and give the finger to Russian MIG 28 pilots in a 4g vertical dive, then he's completely wasted his life.

[nevets88]

9 hours ago, mchepp said:

Hmm, that guy and me have nothing in common. I have experienced much more passive aggressive tones here in Portland than in the Bay Area. Seattle has a wiki dedicated to it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Freeze; http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/our-social-dis-ease-beyond-the-smiles-the-seattle-freeze-is-on/) and I think Portland has this also.

I can say that I have often had shouting matches with extremely passionate people who where nothing if not in your face and extremely direct. There is politics, sure, but I knew where I stood with most people.

If SV has a problem it is admitting vunerabiltity. This is a great article about the problem.

https://medium.com/@marenkate/silicon-valley-has-a-vulnerability-problem-5c314bf5b005#.h9k9s694z

Portland have definitely noticed the passive aspect of P-A as a visitor. A lot of people in SV say HBO's show gets a lot right about SV - like that smug marketing team - nicknames, announcing titles, etc...