A decidedly unscientific survey of 32 golf fans gathered yesterday afternoon at Zody's 19th Hole... the on-site restaurant and bar at Gaynor Brennan Golf Course in Stamford, CT... revealed something I'd suspected for a while: recreational golfers and golf fans, for the most part, will warmly welcome Tiger Woods back to the game of golf.The golfers at Gaynor yesterday were predominantly male - there were only two females among them - but all-in-all they represented a fairly typical swath of the "American suburban recreational golfer" demographic. People who love the game but aren't obsessed (these folks probably don't belong to country clubs as they were playing at a town course - but they were playing on Easter Sunday).
Stamford is considered part of the "New York Metropolitan Area", consequently there was more diversity in this crowd then might find be found elsewhere; a number of races were represented and several spoke English as a second language. But their was little divergence in their thoughts on Tiger's return: "Can't wait!"... "He owes no explanation."... "So psyched that Tiger's coming back."... "Big Deal... He's human. Now let him play." and even "Tiger's da Man!" {said with the requisite sheepish grin}
Sensing the popular sentiment, my "Tiger let a lot of people down, didn't he? we asked, "Don't you think he should be called out for that?"
"Well if people were dumb enough to put him on a pedestal that's their problem." responded one of the women. The rest of the crowd murmured in agreement.
One gallant golfer who appeared to be of Indian origin, shyly suggested that what Tiger did was disrespectful to women. That comment was quickly shot down in a series of half formulated responses that dismissed all the "ladies" in Tiger's life as fame-seekers, bimbos and self-serving gold-diggers, amongst other less polite pejoratives.
When asked about the possibility of hecklers at Augusta, again the golf fans bristled. "A heckler is a drunk without a date." One sunburned golfer declared, to a murmur of agreement.
So we headed for the door, satisfied that, from the fan side at least, Tiger Woods would probably be quite well received in Augusta. Outside was one of the golfers smoking a camel light and chatting on a cell phone. As we walked by he interrupted his conversation, flashed a familiar sheepish grin and got in the last (repetitive) words. "Tiger's da Man!"
Of course we'll welcome him back but our views of him have obviously changed.
ReplyDeleteI hope his time away has made folks take a look at some other golfers and realize the game isn't all about Mr. Woods.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely looking forward to seeing him play, but I'd be watching no matter what.
That probably has a lot to do with stones and glass houses. :D
ReplyDeleteHooking up has nothing to do with Golf AT ALL, so all they can really do is say "Damn.. I didn't know he was into extramarital affairs with multiple simultaneous female adult film personalities" and then shut up and watch the game! :D
I tend to agree with Bill on the glass houses and for that same reason I sense that many fans will be MORE receptive to Tiger, not less receptive. Instead of the heckling some people are predicting I'm guessing there might be MORE applause and enthusiasm than ever. Ottawa is totally correct in saying our views of him have changed and for some that means they've lost respect for him but for more I believe, this makes him less robot-like and more relate-able. Of course then there's the golf. Once play gets underway that'll have a big impact on fan response.
ReplyDeletefirst...I am committed to never visit a site that uses spam posts to advertise...
ReplyDeleteNow...of course golfers still respect Tiger for Golf. His issues have nothing to do with golf. Golf isn't in question.
Survey 32 people at the shopping mall you will get a diffferent answer. Eventually Tiger the golf marketer will recover...the real damage is to Tiger's mainstream appeal....and by association to the he has damaged the image of golf to non-golfers.
Lovely little blog post, Patricia. I'm really looking forward to this week's Masters and I welcome Tiger's return.
ReplyDeleteMy views on him haven't changed at all. In fact, his 'transgressions' have shown me that he is human after all, not the one-dimensional, golfing robot I thought he was.
We all make mistakes and I am not in any position to judge Woods based on what he does in his private life. Come to think of it, none of us are... which is why I'm sick and tired of how golf journalists, bloggers and fans have jumped on their high horses in recent months, judging Woods and passing petty comment on him. Get over yourselves.
Yes, nice to see Tiger back at Augusta with eighty security guards.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the "glass houses" statement.
ReplyDeleteLike, Heather, I would watch the golf anyway.
I will be rooting for the good guys on the tour.
So far it looks like your survey was pretty accurate. The crowds seem to be giving Tiger a warm reception. In addition the "angry golf media" we'd been reading about... the ones that were going to be ready with the tough questions... seemed to revert to their old submissive ways when once confronted by "The Great One".
ReplyDeleteTiger is a FAKE... and that's just what the golf media and fans want.
ReplyDeletefollow this link to see the first step of Tiger at Augusta.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArQGvKlDH2E&feature=player_embedded#
I think it's only the lousy TMZ type media that have blown this out of proportion...True Tiger fans and golf fans haven't really ever wanted to punish him!
ReplyDeleteGood post golfer girl..
You DO realize that once word of these responses gets to the powers that be in liberal New York City, Stamford will be immediately exiled from the role of Metro NYC townships, don't you ? To your credit, you stopped short of the ol' "I'll take off my shirt and dance on the table if you'll say something bad about Tiger" trick. (I think Feinstein tried it) :-D
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a really nice golf course - and who wouldn't like a 19th hole called "Zody's" ?
Lots of different takes and views. I was a Tiger fan and still respect his golf. Not much of a fan though of him.
ReplyDeleteAs far as showing he is not "robot like." He could have done that by playing Santa Claus at a Christmas party for impoverished kids (hopefully waiving his 7 figure fee.) He didn't have to play beach blanket bingo with every train wreck in the country to be human.
Court- I'm not sure what liberal or conservative has to do with it. I'm equally angry most of the time at both ends of the political spectrum. I wish windbags like Rush and Michael Moore would both take flying leaps off a pier.
We all judge people all the time. I always thought Tiger was a guy I'd like to have a beer with. Now- I pass.
Couldn't agree with you more that actual golf fans still see Tiger pretty favorably. For a while I suspected that's why his sponsors weren't backing away-their target demographic of middle aged, wealthy men had a lot of sympathy for him.
ReplyDeleteI just want the focus back on the sport and off Tiger and his sex life. It's really unfair to the other talented golfers on the PGA Tour.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nathan. The other pros had to field a lot of questions about Tiger. It was good to see him apologize to his peers for putting them in a position to have to answer those questions.
ReplyDeleteAfter all of this, I think the average fan sees him as "normal". He made the same mistakes that many others have in the past. We now realize that he is a human being like the rest of us who just happens to hit a little white ball very far and with amazing accuracy.
How can any person think of Tiger favorably- even if they're a rabid golf fan. You can marvel at the level of skill he has.
ReplyDeleteYes- he made a mistake. He should be given a chance to change his life and make amends with his family. There are levels of mistakes. He was not a guy on a business trip and something "just happened." I had many wild decades of my own and I have friends who were much worse. No one I have ever met reached TW's high plateau of misdeeds.
Try thinking about this as if TW was your brother in law and married to your sister who you loved dearly. Would you be as willing to say, "hell- just normal guy stuff.
ducks,
ReplyDeleteThink about the traveling salesman with an unlimited expense account who could fly his paramours around the world at his beck and call. There might be fifty cases of infidelity, not fifteen.
Remember what Chris Rock said, "A man is as faithful as his options".
Hi Vince. So since another guy had fifty mistresses, Tiger exercised self control? I've heard all the funny lines, including Chris Rock. I might have even invented a few.
ReplyDeleteMaybe a mantra to aspire to would be something like: "A man shows his strength by knowing all his options, but shows descretion in using them."
I'm willing to give him a second chance, but he'd better make good on it. He let my nine year-old daughter down, and I don't take kindly to anyone who does that.
ReplyDeleteThat a nine year-old knows about such things is pretty tragic. That was an interesting conversation to have with her.
Did you see the NY Times Magazine article on the "Tiger Bubble" - Finchem and the rest of the tour are certainly pulling for him to resuscitate his image.
Mike has an excellent point about the kids that look(ed) up to Tiger. In fact, I thought that was the only sincere part of the speech he read off of a piece of paper, the part about being sorry for letting the children down.
ReplyDeleteI felt like part of the reason he was genuinely sorry about that is that he didn't announce this stuff himself. I doubt he had ANY CLUE that one day, all the stuff he's into would be on public display. That miscalculation hurt a lot of kids who were brought up believing that Tiger was some sort of pristine religious figure or pious superhuman.
I agree Bill. Mike E. got to the crux of why I've been not so forgiving with concerning TW. I was thinking of wives and daughters.
ReplyDeleteI just enjoyed the Par 3 telecast. You know what I have trouble putting behind me about TW..?? The fact he had sex on the kitchen floor his kids toddle around on. Ok- let's just let the Masters unfold and I will refrain from the personal stuff.
Tiger might play well. I doubt he will win. Not sure who I will pick. I did a great job handicapping the women last week. Hope I do half as well this week.