Lucas Glover, another golf man
That's all you can really say about Lucas Glover, the U.S. Open winner, another golf man. He's polite, not outspoken or out of line, they say he likes to read one book a week, he likes Manhattan and he and his wife spent their honeymoon here doing the tourist things. Based on that he's just fine, and his family is fine, his grandparent's are fine, everything is just fine. What's not to like. That's perfect golf mythology.
That's why the John Daly's and David Duval's are so appealing to some. They're different, their personality shows through, and it's not all on the straight and narrow. There is still the occasional Rocco Mediate and Anthony Kim who don't mind mixing it up with the crowd and being animated. On the whole, however, the golf tour is dominated by a focused and fairly uniform group of relatively uninteresting players. They are led by Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, seeming gentlemen both, who make fortunes and donate money to causes that their tax advisors and publicity agents suggest but have no passion for anything but golf and their families. That's it. Golf personalities in general do not project any personal qualities outside of a narrow range of possibility and they are not expected to have opinions on anything outside of the condition of the course on any given day. They are just golf people. That their sport creates a massive waste of water and enviromental poisoning by fertilizers and other toxic agents worldwide is no concern of theirs, they have no knowledge and no opinions.
I like golf. It's a great game. Play it in Scotland and see what it's about, and it's not environmental destruction, it's the opposite. Learn to play the game on many of the hardtack public or small private courses around this country and it's the same. No pro golfer talks about this, they just "appreciate" the differences in links golf when the British Open comes around or some have distant memories of those less privileged days.
You must admit that many of these golfers are good examples of steady lives, at least it seems that way, not so interesting but fine. In an earlier era golf was a game of real characters, Walter Hagen, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, and then came the more low key but still animated Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus. On the whole, however, today they're just a group who in a broad sense are risk averse, put all their effort into their game, and want to live a comfortable life. Nothing wrong with that, I guess, but it doesn't put any of them on any kind of pedestal, except of course in their discreet game of golf.
Lucas Glover, you're a true golf man of today.
That's why the John Daly's and David Duval's are so appealing to some. They're different, their personality shows through, and it's not all on the straight and narrow. There is still the occasional Rocco Mediate and Anthony Kim who don't mind mixing it up with the crowd and being animated. On the whole, however, the golf tour is dominated by a focused and fairly uniform group of relatively uninteresting players. They are led by Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, seeming gentlemen both, who make fortunes and donate money to causes that their tax advisors and publicity agents suggest but have no passion for anything but golf and their families. That's it. Golf personalities in general do not project any personal qualities outside of a narrow range of possibility and they are not expected to have opinions on anything outside of the condition of the course on any given day. They are just golf people. That their sport creates a massive waste of water and enviromental poisoning by fertilizers and other toxic agents worldwide is no concern of theirs, they have no knowledge and no opinions.
I like golf. It's a great game. Play it in Scotland and see what it's about, and it's not environmental destruction, it's the opposite. Learn to play the game on many of the hardtack public or small private courses around this country and it's the same. No pro golfer talks about this, they just "appreciate" the differences in links golf when the British Open comes around or some have distant memories of those less privileged days.
You must admit that many of these golfers are good examples of steady lives, at least it seems that way, not so interesting but fine. In an earlier era golf was a game of real characters, Walter Hagen, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, and then came the more low key but still animated Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus. On the whole, however, today they're just a group who in a broad sense are risk averse, put all their effort into their game, and want to live a comfortable life. Nothing wrong with that, I guess, but it doesn't put any of them on any kind of pedestal, except of course in their discreet game of golf.
Lucas Glover, you're a true golf man of today.
posted by John Borden at 4:32 PM
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