Here is the opening to my Friday column leading up to the U.S. Open:
I’m gonna write what I’m about to write because I ain’t got no class. You got dat?
I’m writing about golf, something I don’t often do. And when you write about golf, a sport just dripping with class, it helps if you got class yourself.
Which I don’t.
That was the opening of my Open column and if the grammar wasn’t exactly precise, I apologize. To read the full column, please click here.
Capts
Class, huh? Cheating on wives, keeping minorities and women out of your institutions, maintaining a divide between the lower economic classes and your sport, yeah, golf is all about class.
June 7th, 2012 8:59 pm
Johnc
The problem is that all these folks were asked to refrain from snapping pictures with their cell phones during a players swing. I guess this new generation can’t function or control themselves without interacting with a celluar device. Perhaps in the near future cell phones will be implanted in their skulls and controlled by thought processes which will store the digital information of the swing in their heads.
The other day I was in the middle of my backswing when someone blurted out advice causing me to shank the shot. I guess we all don’t have the concentration level of Jack Nicklaus.
June 7th, 2012 10:39 pm
mbabco
Tennis players, too, seem unable to function with extraneous sounds going on.
June 8th, 2012 9:16 am
Stan
I had to lol reading that. If talking American like that was good enough for Brando to Stella…
June 8th, 2012 9:23 am
Stan
Or to his bro on the Waterfront…
June 8th, 2012 9:24 am
CohnZohn
Stan, He coulda been a contender.
June 8th, 2012 9:25 am
Lo Sbandato
Golf isn’t a sport with class, because it isn’t a sport, its a pastime. Golfers aren’t athletes, they’re hobbyist. Golf should be reported in the lifestyle section, not in sports.
June 8th, 2012 11:32 am
Dave T
Like him or not, as a sports fan you have to admit that flop shot by Woods last Sunday was nothing short of spectacular. I will not, nor ever will excuse him or anyone else for doing anything of the sort that he did “outside the ropes”, but on the course, he is a magician. Most players have one or two shots in their career that are just that magical. He has an entire highlight reel full of them. And when you get golf analysts debating where in his archives of shots it might fall, and many list it not even in his top 5, that tells you something about the player. And when I finally had a chance to Jack Nicklaus claim it was the best shot he had seen maybe ever, I give him some authority over he matter. First, he designed the course, so is acutley aware of the spot on the course he pulled it off and difficulty involved. Oh, and I would also give him authority on some of the best shots ever seen, as he had a couple happen against him in Majors. One at the US Open at Pebble Beach by Watson comes to mind on the 17th green and 71st hole of the tournament, and a putt on the 72nd hole of The Open Championship (British Open for you no golf afficianados) that ultimately cost him another major. So yeah, I will go with his assesment.
Far as class goes, I will simply say this. As a whole, they police their own sport from a rules standpoint better than any other sport out there. The also will, and have, call penalties on themselves, even if it could cost them a tournament win or Major Championship, which for many players on the PGA tour can be life and career changing. I can’t recall the plaer at The Masters a couple years back who led into the final round and on the first or second hole hit out of a bunker and the shot caught the lip and bounced back, barely grazing his shirt. He called the penaly on himslef and never recovered. That is sportsmanship and class. Compare that to a baseball player that will flop around like a fish out of water when the pitch barely touches a jersey or does not hit them at all to simply get on base. (Note: if a player gets absolutely beaned and hit the deck, no issues at all, its those that do when grazed or not hit I take issue with)
Just my take, but hey, I got no class either.
June 8th, 2012 12:04 pm
brady
I think golf, more than any other sport, is about habit. You want to be able to recreate something over and over so that you have consistent results.
If the players are used to absolute silence, anything but that is going to disturb them (and using Nicklaus as an example is kinda like saying everyone should do well in the 4th quarter, MJ did!). My guess is that in two years no golfer will have a problem with cell phones since they’ll be so used to them.
June 8th, 2012 12:05 pm
Felicia Foxe
My phone has a vibrator?
OMG!!
June 8th, 2012 1:45 pm
Stan
I have to admit,I’ve re read it 4-5 times and it still makes me laugh and chuckle out loud..sort of I resemble that remark at work there..
June 8th, 2012 2:26 pm
Stan
I just watched the Comcast show with Korzimor,Tompkins,Ostler and Purdy talk about the golfer who needs a cart. Not one Lowell, mentioned the American with Disability’s act. Not one. Its his right to have that cart. And if the country club feels its grass will be dirtied and the status quo upset he can get to the greens a bit faster by cart..oh well,then they better not lose part use of their legs and thus be a burden. I’m sure they would agree to be banned.
June 11th, 2012 6:04 pm