blonde poker forum

I gather Tiger shot an 80 today, in the first round of the US Open. (If my memory is correct, I may even have backed him to win it, months ago, around Masters time, but that's another story).

I have maybe got the stats round my neck, but I think it was his third 80 of this season, after just one in over 1,200 previous rounds.

I just watched the highlights on USA tv, & it was painful to watch, as he duffed shot after shot.

I well recall a similar decline by Seve Ballesteros (this was before he fell ill), & I found that painful, too.

Should he keep playing, or pack his clubs in the loft & take a lucrative TV punditry deal?

I do know, or am pretty sure, that the TV companies & the bookmakers want him to continue - he is still very much someone who attracts bigger audiences than any other golfer, bar none.

I know for sure that watching him play so badly is a wretched sight. Yes yes, he was a naughty boy back in the day, & he's never been an angel, but as golfers go, I've never seen, & will never see, anyone remotely as good.


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Just chanced upon this rather lovely piece about Woods.

Guess it sums up how I feel about him.

http://espn.go.com/golf/usopen15/story/_/id/13111332/tiger-woods-free-fall-going-faster-round-shooting-80-us-open

Watched a bit last night

Considering he was one of only a few players missing the massive fairways thought he actually played OK.

Slight issue that though! And if he is not hitting the fairways here he will not anywhere

I didn't watch any, but a mate of mine who plays a lot said he thought he should retire, too.

He didn't back him either, so wasn't pocket talk :D

It's interesting, coincidence, whatever. But the first post I read was BITB, and he was ahving a bad run of things(for him) and talked it all through, got some minor dressing downs, regrouped, and felt happy about the world again.

I suspect, Tiger has yet to truly tell the world, his world even, about his sense of entitlement, and get that proper kick up the ass, because, history tells you he is probably surrounded by leeches too scared to tell him the truth about where his game and mindset is.


I would be quite happy to tell him!

Do you think he can get back to where he was, or even get competitive again, mate?

On several occasions in his career, I suspect a few of his injuries have been a bit "faux".

I recall one tourny he was moaning about his leg, after a bad start. Next day and a half he played sensational and got right back in it, and then played a bunker shot and the swing/everything looked fine, but he had taken too much sand, but the inevitable half follow through swing, letting go the club for the dramatic twist round follow through etc. He is defo a man who wins from the front, and don't like it up him, Mr Mainwaring.

He still has all the shots, and you don't go shooting 80s every week, if you can still hit the ball as far as you used to on the range, unless you are giving up too easy, or have some mental block.

That said, he will never be the force he was. Impos. The quality of players around now is far better than when he was in his pomp.

Back in 2000/2001 when he was in his pomp I struck a small bet with someone that he wouldn't match Jack Nicklaus' majors tally.
Silly bet only in the sense that it could have been lost within a few years and couldn't be won for a lot longer. But to refer to him as the GOAT when we've seen Nicklaus, Watson, Palmer (the latter two having been around and competitive during Nicklaus' reign) and we know of Sarazen, and Bobby Jones, Hogan, et al always looked to be the result of the hype attached to current champions as a means to sell anything and everything.

Nicklaus won his last major title at the age of 47, Watson came so frustratingly close to The Open title a couple of years ago at 59. Damn you Stewart Cink.

Tiger will probably emerge as a Team Pokerstars Pro next.

If it wasn't the same tournament, he did that on day 4 a couple months ago, and spent about an hour clenching his fist after hitting a bad ball.

Guess he'll keep collecting the money for a bit while he decides what to do.

I have tremendous admiration for Jack Nicklaus, ditto Gary Player, (you omitted Seve, why?), & I doubt I ever loved a golfer more than I do Tom Watson. As a person, Tom is the best when it comes to pro golfers, not even close.

But best golfer we've ever seen? It has to be Woods in my book, & by some way.

From everything I've read, he is super-competitive, almost to a fault. He'll want it so bad he's probably trying too hard and being too tight out on the course. On the range they say his swing is still good, then quickens up appreciably when he gets on the first tee. It's brutal to watch him struggling so bad as I grew up with him having an aura of invincibility and being so consistent. He'll not be one to just be happy to make cuts and pick up some loose change, I reckon he'll set himself a timeframe with the aim of getting back to a competitive level, and then if he can't reach that he'll stop. Due to him being stubborn, that timeframe may be a good few years though. He just loves competing (who wouldn't when they've come out on the right side of almost every battle for years!) The carrot of winnings the most majors, no matter how far away that looks after a round like yesterday, is what drives him, so he'll keep grafting.  He'll never get back to what he was, but I'd love to see him make a run at a major one last time.

WTF is the GOAT?

Shaun Goater, used to play for Man citeh when they were poor.

Can also mean greatest of all time.

Pointless retiring. All retired people do is play golf. Catch 22.

I lolled.

Even tho he's shite isn't he still in the top 10 best paid sportsmen cos of endorsements? Surely that's why he's continuing to play?

I never understand the pressure on former champions to retire.

Sure it's not nice for us to see him hacking around like Flushy, but don't we owe him a free pass for all the enjoyment he's given us over the years to let him make his own mind if he wants to carry on or not?

I do wish the media would stop concentrating him so much when he's playing though.

I want to watch the top players, not James Dempsey.

But he doesnt look very happy doing it though. Its fine when you watch an old champion going round enjoying it, accepting where hes at now, but he cant, so he is miserable. I dont think he'll ever be at peace playing the game because he will always feel it was his private life that ruined his career. If he was playing like say olazabal did after he was at his best where he wasnt going to win but there was still touches of magic and he was still able to bother the top10 then by all means continue, but hacking around, missing cuts, looking like the weight of the world is on you is very sad for those who watched in awe.

Noone is demanding he gives it up so we can remember how great he was instead of how bad he got, just discussing whether it would be best for him.

Why did you "retire" from playing HU SNG's?

Golf is one of the only thing's in life I have been better then average at, but I was never a natural I got down to 2 because I played and practised hours everyday for 5 years.
As available time to practice started to go on other things as I got older and other things started to take priority in life within a year I was at best a 9/10 handicapper playing off 2.5.  I was uncompetitive, it made me moody, harmed my education and relationships so I walked away and didn't hit another ball for almost 10 years.

Now I am not trying to compare myself with Tiger at all but knowing you will never be as competitive as you once were is incredibly difficult to cope with (or it was for me, golf had been my whole life for that 5 years and looking back the only thing I have ever done where I had a huge will to win) but seeing you will never be competitive again is the key, I needed someone to help me see the wood from the trees, lucky I had people around me that did that, I am not sure Tiger has.

Tiger of course deserves the choice and he may have the intestinal fortitude to one day make it back to the top of the mountain, but each week that goes by that seems less likely. 

Tiger's knee is obviously in a terrible state or he at least does not trust it, his weight distribution has changed so much from when he was the greatest I am not sure that his current posture/health would ever allow him to dominate again as he just does not deliver the club head consistently to the ball any more and that consistency is the fundamental building block of any swing.

In some ways I have more respect for him now that he still seems to believe and loves the game (you are a long time retired) but I do hope it is for the right reasons as if he carries on this path it will damage his legacy and that would be a shame as he deserves to be GOAT with little debate.

What a great post.

Interesting views, and obviously come from a deeper knowledge of the personal work that goes into being good at golf.

But I just can't have Tiger as the GOAT. His record is impressive but a true Greatest would have stayed focussed and not rested until he had, to paraphrase a Sir Alex Ferguson-ism, 'knocked Nicklaus off his bloody perch'.

Ditto, great post.

I played a high standard of rugby in my youth but aged 18 was released by the club I was at. I played for a year at uni which was a much lower standard and got no joy from it so gave it up. It wasn't until 10 years later when I joined a social side with a few mates that I started playing again and by then my priorities had shifted.

Nowadays it's a case of the older I get, the better I was but I am lucky that I still enjoy the game from a social perspective which I might not have got if I'd have played an individual sport.

Good post

I blame his Coach

Unfortunately the modern way of coaching puts a lot more stress on the body, if you look at Tom Watson, Miguel Jimenez and even Jim Furyk have had a longevity in the game because they have been taught old school, very much a hands and arms swing which puts a lot less stress on the body, the modern way is all about width, rotating and hitting it as hard as possible.

He has had so much coaching that he has forgotten how to get round a golf course, what his current coach/instructor has him working on god only knows, I can see what his faults are and they wouldn't/shouldn't take that long to fix. Tiger has become fixated by trying this and that for far too long and just needs to go back to basics or swallow some pride and pick up the phone to Butch,,,,,,,,,,, or me :)

Golf lessons are a bit like driving lesson, you have lesson’s to pass a test then learn to drive once you have passed your test, golf isn't a difficult game but certain books and coaches make it sound that way so you have to pay them a fortune to sort you out.

Firstly I have never liked the man. He has never been a great Ambassador for the sport , constantly spitting and swearing on the golf course which is unacceptable to me particularly when he knows a camera is always on him and he should be setting an example especially to children who idolize him.   I think during the late 1990's and early 2000's he probably had the most technically perfect golf swing , a will to win to rival anyone and self belief like no other. He is probably the best par putter of all time and seemed to will the ball in the hole. Similar to Jack Nicklaus he intimidated others on the course, never beat himself ( i.e threw away a winning situation )  and the presence of his name on a leaderboard would cause others to fold.
Personally I don't think he enjoys the game and probably never has . His father has a lot to answer for in this regard , making it all about winning .
Those of us that have played golf for most of our lives know its about camaraderie, lifelong friendships, the banter on and off the course. Tiger doesn't appear to have any friends , some success seeker hanger on types perhaps , but not friends . Hit the ball, count 'em up and have a few beers afterwards with the lads. Tiger does not have this, never has and almost certainly never will.
If you are competitive then the game gets to you. One shot is as good as you can hit it and the next is shockingly bad and you can't fathom what you did differently.  This causes frustration and can lead to anger and a whole gamut of other emotions. He has sponsors , a leech-like management company who will not allow him to quit and almost certainly an EGO that will not allow it either.
For me he is a joke of a man . A man whose win at all costs attitude will , when he reflects upon it, not have been worth the journey. Life is short, it's time one spends with people we like that's truly important , building memories,,  so when we sit in our rocking chair drawing our last breath we are enriched by those recollections.
I have my golf weekend in Skegness just around the corner. 28 of us , lifelong friends , guys who you forgive when they act like an arse and who forgive you all that you are. Over 30 years of memories , laughs, stupidity, drunkenness and so much more. My favourite weekend of the year with my favourite people.  Memories to last a lifetime - that's what golf is about , not who won or lost . The greatest companionship you can find anywhere . If you've never played then it's never too late to start. You will make friends that will be friends forever and no amount of success or money can't buy that .