Tuesday, December 7, 2010
A Reminiscence of Pens
My Golf Digest (December) article, asking the question, "What is the collective form of a box of pens?"
Sunday, October 10, 2010
The Point of Distractions
This months Golf Digest article looks one of the pieces of the puzzle currently out of place for former world number one, Tiger Woods.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Nostalgia-The Aging Disease
Something profound happened to me recently. I was at customs in Brisbane Airport, writing down my birth date on the immigration form, and the page jumped out at me. For the first time, two concurrent numbers reflected an uncomfortable truth. I am getting old.
Growing old has never worried me, mainly because it was something that only happened to others. When you are male and young (or think yourself to be), everyone who has a standing relationship of more than six months is old. But this moment in time was something of a wake-up, and upon further examination, I find that I am exhibiting tell-tale, irrefutable signs of aging.
The chief of these is the increasing prevalence of nostalgic thought. The habit of reminiscing about the past was to me, always something that old people did. Invariably, it induced a yawn and a roll of the eyes as the mind immediately wandered off to the present. Day of yore have little relevance to the young.
But lately, nostalgia is creeping up on me, especially when it comes to golf. The summer golf season is simmering, waiting to ignite, and makes me yearn, just a touch, for the heady days of the late 80’s when there was a feverish sense of excitement surrounding the onset of the tournament golf season.
Golf changed forever during this period. The arrival of Norman mania in 1986 lifted both media interest and participation in the sport. A simple test of this could be found playing out at the club I first joined as a junior when I moved to Sydney in 1985.
Kogarah Golf Club is situated right next to the airport in central Sydney. It is highly visible, and with plenty of passing traffic. Despite this, in 1985 you could fire a gun there on some days and not be seen or heard by anyone. Every Friday afternoon, a group of guys would head out for a skins match – and I mean up to ten players, teeing off in one group. It was never a problem because there was no-one in front, or behind.
Come 1986, this was no longer possible. Golf changed. People wanted to play. Tee times filled up, memberships grew, and most visibly, this new legion of golfers flocked to the summer tournaments to watch, filling the fairways with numbers not previously seen.
Much of this excitement was built around Greg Norman. Why, commercial radio even kept a hole by hole report on his round on the airwaves over the weekend. The Shark was to the 80’s what Tiger Woods is to the noughtie’s, but most importantly, he was Australian.
Remember those tight pants with the front pockets that the Shark used to wear? The ones that made wetsuits look like hessian sacks by comparison? I had them, about five pairs, the more colourful and garish the better. His wide takeway? I had one of those too. Niblick shoes with the flap over the laces? Had to have them – although as soon as Shark stopped wearing them, I threw mine out.
I even used those dreadful Spalding Tour Edition balls for as long as Shark did, until he realised they were crap (after they cost him three majors) and mercifully moved on. I knew they were crap long before him, but if the Shark used them, well, there was only one choice.
When the Shark flew into town, every news crew in existence was at the airport waiting for an exclusive. More to the point, we watched, glued to our screens as he alighted from his jet like Australia’s own version of royalty. He was news, he was golf, and he was the man.
Of course, those days are long past. Shark is in his 50’s, with a dodgy, sutured together body and his mind on other things than golf. We’ve got new stars now, perhaps more of them than ever before, but none with the kind of charisma and magnetism of the blonde bomber.
That’s not to imply a criticism of any of the current crop either. They are who they are -Scott, Ogilvy, Baddeley et al, are all brilliant players in their own right, with their own personalities and individual ways of conducting themselves. By any assessment they are world class golfers, competing with distinction during golf’s most competitive era.
The difference is though that we know what we are going to get from them. We’ll get good, often magnificent golf, but rarely much drama. We don’t anticipate them tearing up the back nine on Sunday with birdie after birdie, chasing down the leader, a cacophonous roar greeting every putt holed. We also don’t foresee an implosion of train smash proportions; the unknown and the unpredictable was what made Norman so tantalising, so utterly fascinating and ultimately, entertaining.
Perhaps that’s the key. Golf is about entertainment, and our expectations of what should fall under that description are now a moving target. The precedent, the model, is built around a one off, home bred, unique individual, the type of which may only come along once in a lifetime. We also have a degree of over-familiarity bought on by the immediacy of the internet and digital age, which, when combined with the rapidly shrinking attention span of the ‘Now’ generation creates an environment ill attuned to the staid, time consuming nature of golf.
But the game is still here, we love it, and it’s not going away in a hurry as a result. This affinity for the game is also the chief reason why we reminisce about its past – the seeds of nostalgia need passion in order to germinate.
Or old people
Growing old has never worried me, mainly because it was something that only happened to others. When you are male and young (or think yourself to be), everyone who has a standing relationship of more than six months is old. But this moment in time was something of a wake-up, and upon further examination, I find that I am exhibiting tell-tale, irrefutable signs of aging.
The chief of these is the increasing prevalence of nostalgic thought. The habit of reminiscing about the past was to me, always something that old people did. Invariably, it induced a yawn and a roll of the eyes as the mind immediately wandered off to the present. Day of yore have little relevance to the young.
But lately, nostalgia is creeping up on me, especially when it comes to golf. The summer golf season is simmering, waiting to ignite, and makes me yearn, just a touch, for the heady days of the late 80’s when there was a feverish sense of excitement surrounding the onset of the tournament golf season.
Golf changed forever during this period. The arrival of Norman mania in 1986 lifted both media interest and participation in the sport. A simple test of this could be found playing out at the club I first joined as a junior when I moved to Sydney in 1985.
Kogarah Golf Club is situated right next to the airport in central Sydney. It is highly visible, and with plenty of passing traffic. Despite this, in 1985 you could fire a gun there on some days and not be seen or heard by anyone. Every Friday afternoon, a group of guys would head out for a skins match – and I mean up to ten players, teeing off in one group. It was never a problem because there was no-one in front, or behind.
Come 1986, this was no longer possible. Golf changed. People wanted to play. Tee times filled up, memberships grew, and most visibly, this new legion of golfers flocked to the summer tournaments to watch, filling the fairways with numbers not previously seen.
Much of this excitement was built around Greg Norman. Why, commercial radio even kept a hole by hole report on his round on the airwaves over the weekend. The Shark was to the 80’s what Tiger Woods is to the noughtie’s, but most importantly, he was Australian.
Remember those tight pants with the front pockets that the Shark used to wear? The ones that made wetsuits look like hessian sacks by comparison? I had them, about five pairs, the more colourful and garish the better. His wide takeway? I had one of those too. Niblick shoes with the flap over the laces? Had to have them – although as soon as Shark stopped wearing them, I threw mine out.
I even used those dreadful Spalding Tour Edition balls for as long as Shark did, until he realised they were crap (after they cost him three majors) and mercifully moved on. I knew they were crap long before him, but if the Shark used them, well, there was only one choice.
When the Shark flew into town, every news crew in existence was at the airport waiting for an exclusive. More to the point, we watched, glued to our screens as he alighted from his jet like Australia’s own version of royalty. He was news, he was golf, and he was the man.
Of course, those days are long past. Shark is in his 50’s, with a dodgy, sutured together body and his mind on other things than golf. We’ve got new stars now, perhaps more of them than ever before, but none with the kind of charisma and magnetism of the blonde bomber.
That’s not to imply a criticism of any of the current crop either. They are who they are -Scott, Ogilvy, Baddeley et al, are all brilliant players in their own right, with their own personalities and individual ways of conducting themselves. By any assessment they are world class golfers, competing with distinction during golf’s most competitive era.
The difference is though that we know what we are going to get from them. We’ll get good, often magnificent golf, but rarely much drama. We don’t anticipate them tearing up the back nine on Sunday with birdie after birdie, chasing down the leader, a cacophonous roar greeting every putt holed. We also don’t foresee an implosion of train smash proportions; the unknown and the unpredictable was what made Norman so tantalising, so utterly fascinating and ultimately, entertaining.
Perhaps that’s the key. Golf is about entertainment, and our expectations of what should fall under that description are now a moving target. The precedent, the model, is built around a one off, home bred, unique individual, the type of which may only come along once in a lifetime. We also have a degree of over-familiarity bought on by the immediacy of the internet and digital age, which, when combined with the rapidly shrinking attention span of the ‘Now’ generation creates an environment ill attuned to the staid, time consuming nature of golf.
But the game is still here, we love it, and it’s not going away in a hurry as a result. This affinity for the game is also the chief reason why we reminisce about its past – the seeds of nostalgia need passion in order to germinate.
Or old people
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Nothing to do with Golf #1
Totally non-golf related, I know, but I couldn't resist the temptation to put this spectacular photo on the blog. Shot at the infamous Shipsterns break in Tasmania, this has to be the scariest looking wave in the history of surfing.
There have been bigger, to be sure,but for reflecting pure evil and a desire to tear body from limb nothing quite matches this.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Songdo Championship, Final Round
Just a few hours to air in Korea, and to sort out a winner in the $US3 million Songdo Championship. Fred Funk leads, and looks ominous given that he really hasn't holed a putt of note so far this week. Funk is close to the straightest hitter I've seen in professional golf, and plays such mistake free golf that it is hard to see him blowing himslef out of this event.
Someone is going to have to come and get him, and that person might be John Cook, who tends to find his best form late in the season. Cook is two shots back at 6 under and has an air of confidence about him at the moment. If he doesn't get the job done today then it might be worth a flutter on him over the next few weeks.
Other than Cook, keep an eye out for Russ Cochran and Michael Allen, both in good touch and hitting the ball a long way. There isn't a golf course in the world where length off the tee isn't some sort of an advantage.
Someone is going to have to come and get him, and that person might be John Cook, who tends to find his best form late in the season. Cook is two shots back at 6 under and has an air of confidence about him at the moment. If he doesn't get the job done today then it might be worth a flutter on him over the next few weeks.
Other than Cook, keep an eye out for Russ Cochran and Michael Allen, both in good touch and hitting the ball a long way. There isn't a golf course in the world where length off the tee isn't some sort of an advantage.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Soaked at Songdo
In Songdu, Korea this week covering the Songdo Championship on the US Champions Tour for Golf Channel. Sodden is the right way to describe the week so far, including yesterday where I managed to stay half dry until a monsoonal downpour on the final hole that finished me off properly.
Day 1 was windy and wet, and the scores reflected the difficulty of the conditions, with Fred Funk, Jay Don Blake and Michael Allen shooting 3 under par 69's to lead.
I was on course for the day, and spent it with the group of Tom Watson, Fred Funk and Jay Haas. Great to see Tom Watson playing up close and personal. At 60, he still hits the ball beautifully and with a precision that would still be the envy of many half his age. Not his best day on Friday with a few wayward drives on the back nine but he has nothing left to prove to anyone and appears to be enjoying himself regardless.
Today out with the three leaders from the first round after the seeded draw has taken place. On air from 2pm Korea time.
Day 1 was windy and wet, and the scores reflected the difficulty of the conditions, with Fred Funk, Jay Don Blake and Michael Allen shooting 3 under par 69's to lead.
I was on course for the day, and spent it with the group of Tom Watson, Fred Funk and Jay Haas. Great to see Tom Watson playing up close and personal. At 60, he still hits the ball beautifully and with a precision that would still be the envy of many half his age. Not his best day on Friday with a few wayward drives on the back nine but he has nothing left to prove to anyone and appears to be enjoying himself regardless.
Today out with the three leaders from the first round after the seeded draw has taken place. On air from 2pm Korea time.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Thailand Open , OneAsia 2010- Post Mortem
Playing catch up at the moment, and just about to head off to Korea next Wednesday for the Songdu Championship, a US Champions Tour event that I will be working on for Golf Channel.
There are a bunch of interviews that I did last week posted on the OneAsia website. Check out them out on the following links,
Andre Stolz
Simon Yates
Day 4 highlights
Pariya Junhasavasdikul
There are a bunch of interviews that I did last week posted on the OneAsia website. Check out them out on the following links,
Andre Stolz
Simon Yates
Day 4 highlights
Pariya Junhasavasdikul
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