A great way to follow all of the happenings with this years British Open.

Everybody have a great weekend!

-Duff

Ya think?

I wasn’t able to watch much of the AT&T this last weekend but I did catch a short video of Tiger’s acceptance speech and it got me thinking…..Will Tiger tire of winning? Really! Will winning a non-major tournament start to bore him? I can see him getting up for tournaments like The Arnold Palmer Invitational (he has won 6 of the last 10) and Jack Nicklaus’s Memorial Tournament (won 3 of the last 10), but will the rest of the tournaments lose their importance in his grand scheme of becoming the greatest golfer ever?

Sure there are big events that stand out – The first fish I caught, the first game of h.o.r.s.e I won, the day he took the training wheels off my bike; all very important happenings that standout, but not a key event that molded my being.

Introduction to Golf – It was a gradual introduction. My grandparents lived on a golf course (9 holes) and as a kid (about 7 years old) I would always caddy for my dad when we came over to visit. After a couple of holes, when we were far enough away from the clubhouse, he would let me hit a couple of shots up the fairway per hole until we got close to the pro shop again. No tee shots, no putting, I just threw a ball on the fairway and whacked away at his 5-iron. After a couple of outings I started to make pretty good contact, but I was a couple of years away from officially teeing-it-up. And when I wanted to sneak out for another 9-holes, he would always say “Why don’t you go over and practice your putting instead!” To this day my iron play and short game are as solid as they have ever been. He was there to see my first birdie (285 yd Par 4), my only hole-in-one (112 yd Par 3 using my grandma’s clubs) and even the first time I shot par!

Now I know these are not ground breaking events, but knowing he was responsible for my love of a game that I am still very passionate about today, makes me even more proud to say “Thanks Dad!”

Fast forward to today, with 3 kids under the age of 2 and a couple of weeks away from Father’s Day, I reflect on what golf used to mean to me. How it used to dominate my conversations. How I used to look forward to the after work practice sessions at the range. How I used to blog about the raves & the pitfalls of the golf industry. Spending countless hours after each round, dissecting my shots & looking for ways to improve, that was my norm.

Life now is full of nursery rhymes and diaper changes!

It’s that second job you got that was supposed to be part time; well…it just went full time!

It’s like the in-laws coming over for a visit and deciding to move in and stay!

I am kidding of course, but really, what a turn of events it has been!  I have not played golf since November. I have not hit a range ball since late February. It’s even difficult to catch a Sunday final round on TV; I have to settle for updates via the radio!

Has it been a sacrifice? No, just a redistribution of priorities! The passion is not gone, just in hibernation for a little while. And what do I think about the kids? They’re like a daily hole-in-one!

The LPGA will require players to speak English starting in 2009, with players who have been LPGA members for two years facing suspension if they can’t pass an oral evaluation of English skills. The rule is effective immediately for new players.
http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1836145,00.html

Here is another example of how smart people can be so dumb! Having all foreign players learn a little English is a great idea – Better interaction with sponsors, helping promote the game on a global level, a win/win on all sides, but a poor choice of how the LPGA has handled it. They should have taken a “we will work with you” approach instead of a “Learn it or you’re gone” position.

We live in a media hungry world where access to anybody’s background is deemed a right to know, publish and discuss. When you are in a profession where a camera and microphone can be whisked in front of you at any moment, you need to choose your words carefully, as they are documented, published and filed away to be brought up and cast upon you in a positive or negative light at anytime. One little slip of the tongue and you will be mocked in every global newspaper and magazine. Sure it can be humorous to hear a foreigner misinterpret an English word or phrase, but the media is not very forgiving or forgetful.

Ichiro Suzuki is a Japanese baseball player here in Seattle and since coming to the U.S he has chosen to speak publicly only through and interpreter, even though he is said to be fluent in English. Has this hurt Baseballs image or even Ichiro’s popularity? Not for a second! Why doesn’t he speak English? I don’t really know, but I can speculate that maybe he feels that when doing live interviews, he can respond more articulately using his native language than struggling to find the right words and phrases in English.

Note to the LPGA – Help these girls along. They are extremely talented, living in a foreign land away from their family for long periods of time, encourage them. Don’t punish them with suspensions for not learning English fast enough, educate them. Let them know that the more popular the LPGA becomes and the more sponsors they attract, the bigger the tournament purses can get, which in the long run means more money for them.

Sergio, you showed the heart & drive of a champion this last weekend. Your tee shot alone on 17 after Padraig knocked it in there 12 feet tells me that you are well poised to handle the final round pressure it takes to win a major.

Padraig, what can I say? Rock Solid my friend! Congratulations! I wish you continued success on tour (except for this years Ryder Cup of course, where I hope you hack it up like a little girl!). I kid, I kid!

“….it’s going to come down to who can do it under pressure in the last nine holes.”
Padraig Harrington after winning the 2008 PGA Championship

Good luck this weekend, Sergio! It’s your tournament to lose.

duff

“Resolve never to quit, never to give up, no matter what the situation.”
-Jack Nicklaus

“People have always been telling me what I can’t do. I guess I have wanted to show them. That’s been one of my driving forces all my life.”
-Ben Hogan

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Interview with MacGregor’s head club designer Don White.
Great insight into club making, custom grinds and the various tour pros he has built clubs for.

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Then just a couple of days ago I finally got to see a close up picture of what looked like ‘retro’ irons Don built specifically for Norman to play in the British Open. I swear I’d seen these before. After some digging I had a lookie-what-we-have-here moment:

Eerie similarity aren’t they? Rumor has it these irons (2009 VIP Pro Diamondbacks) might be introduced this coming fall/winter.

Don White, my friend, I commend you for your continued preservation of the classic forged blade and the name MacGregor, ‘The greatest name in golf!’

A funny little side note: Just yesterday I purposely attached the picture below to my refrigerator to send a little hint to the wife that I might have my eye on some new irons and within minutes she comes barreling around the corner doing her best Soup Nazi impersonation – “NO CLUBS FOR YOU!”

But I am not in the group that thinks a tournament played without Tiger is not an official tournament, or that Padraig needs to have an asterisk next to his name on the Claret Jug that says ‘TDP’ or ‘Tiger Didn’t Play’. Now when Jack Nicklaus started to play in fewer majors, I don’t remember those tournaments becoming less significant?

So, with the British Open being played in unreal weather conditions and the solid play of an old legend (Greg Norman), that was all I needed to make this last weekend one I won’t forget….for a while!