So I was looking at what Jigger said in his previous post, and he is right about one thing. Professional golfers almost never say anything with regards to their feelings about… anything. About each other. About the course they are playing. About their caddy. About the clubhouse accommodations. About their families. About anything except their game. And some of them ( like for instance Vijay Singh ) don’t even like to talk about that. There is an unwritten rule, which is strictly enforced, that says they are all gentleman and gentleman don’t comment. And since the voicing of an opinion is so rare, when it happens the commentators jump all over it and blow it all out of proportion, and the other players shake their heads and say ‘Well, I guess that’s just the way he feels’ and leave you with the feeling they are embarrassed for the offender. And the offender is expected to apologize for whatever they said in order to get back in everyone’s good graces. And the commentators are just as bad, probably because they are all former golfers. They rarely say anything about what goes on in the clubhouse, or what players think about each other, or what they think of the course, or what they think of the PGA. It’s all very polite. And, as Jigger pointed out, it can be rather boring.
There are some rare exceptions to this. Most notably the train wreck that is John Daly. He has never been shy with his thoughts. He even had a reality show on The Golf Channel. And of course recently there is Boo Weekly. Boo makes no secret of the fact that golf is okay, but what he really likes is fishing and hunting and as soon as he has enough money in the bank that he can spend all his time fishing and hunting he is out-a here.
But for the most part how the players feel about each other, or about anything except their game, is considered not a topic for polite conversation.
All this politeness also means you don’t really learn about the personalities of the players. At least not in the way you do about the athletes in most sports. We watch The Golf Channel here at The Household. We also get multiple golf magazines. If you have been paying that kind of attention to golf for long enough you pick up things here and there. You kind of get a feel for who is liked and who is not. Who is a jerk and who is not. If you read the links in Jiggers post you may have picked up on the fact that Phil is considered a bit of a jerk. But of course no one will come right out and say that.
Over the years I have formed opinions on certain players. These opinions have no basis what so ever in fact. But we all form opinions about people we have very limited information on. People ahead of us in line at the super market, the guy in the Prius next to us on the highway, the person who passes you on the sidewalk while you are walking your dog. Snap judgments made on basically no information. It’s more fun that way.
I don’t like Phil. I have never liked Phil. Not since the beginning. Not when he was the-best-player-who-never-one-a-major. Not now. I don’t know why. Certainly not based on any concrete information. The one thing I will say about Phil is he is not a whiner. Even when he fell apart in a final round, or choked big time. He always took full responsibility for his play.
Unlike Sergio. As I have mentioned before Sergio is a whiner. Not as much now. He is definitely maturing. But he used to blame his bad play on the weather, the course, the bird, the squirrels. Anything but himself. This is not conjecture on my part. Just watch any old interviews with him. But in spite of the whining I like Sergio. He is young and brash and just cute as all get out, and I like him. Once again, based on no facts what so ever. I just like the kid.
I also like Jim Furyk( although his putting routine drives me crazy ). He is one of the calmest quietest players on the tour. How the heck I have formed any opinion on him at all beats me. Maybe it was the sweater commercial. He was in this commercial where an elderly woman knitted him this awful sweater, but he wore it anyway. I guess I figured any one who would even make a commercial like that was a good guy.
And then there is Vijay Singh. Not the most popular guy on tour. He seems to have a rather caustic personality. And yet for some reason I like him. I think he probably has a wicked sense of humor if he counts you as a friend. Why do I think that? I have no idea. But I would like to have a couple beers with Vijay.
Same thing with the announcers. Can’t stand Johnny Miller. But he could be a really nice guy. And Gary McCord is a hoot. But maybe off camera he’s such a big jerk he eats dinner alone.
( okay, losing my train of thought here. Nibby is in the other room doing the pre-kill playing with a mouse. It’s a little distracting. Soon there will be the sound of crunching bones as he eats it. Jigger is sitting here listening too, but he knows better than to go in and check things out. That way lies a shredded nose. )
Anyway, where was I… oh yeah. I don’t for one minute think my opinions of various players are right. On the extreme off chance I ever meet one of them I will shake hands with a completely open mind. I know enough to know I really don’t know much about them at all. Phil and Johnny Miller might be a lot of fun at a back yard BBQ, and Jim Furyk and Gary McCord might be conceited jerks. Based on the information available you really can’t be sure about any of them.
Except of course for the wonderful Mr. Feherty. I am sure my opinion of him as funny and completely charming is 100% correct. And if there is anyone on tour who doesn’t think so then I am sure my opinion that they are obviously jealous of his superior personality is also 100% correct.
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