Tiger Woods Greatest " By Far"?

If you were to listen to the talking heads gush over Tiger Woods this past week, you might reasonably conclude that no one who played this game before Tiger, and no one who has teed it up since, could hold a candle to Tiger in terms of golfing greatness or ability. Brandel Chamblee, who is a golf historian of sorts, went so far as to assert that Tiger was "by far" the greatest player ever to play the game.

Let me just say, Tiger Woods was one of the greatest players we've ever seen. It's undeniable. His record speaks for itself. But why all this hyperbole surrounding him? Was he really that much better than anyone we've ever seen?

Bobby Jones won 13 Majors in seven years, while essentially playing part time. He retired at 28 after winning all four in one year. He would have undoubtedly won more had he not decided he needed to retire and start earning a living.

Byron Nelson won 54 times on the PGA tour, including eleven in a row, and 18 in all in 1945. He retired the next year at the top of the game. And, before you argue that no one was playing in 1945, you might want to know that both Hogan and Snead were released early from wartime service that year. Hogan played 18 events and Snead played 26. And Byron's scoring average was 68.33. That average wasn't beaten until Tiger came along fifty odd years later. 

In terms of dramatic comebacks, Tiger has come back from well-documented injuries and personal issues. Ben Hogan came back and won Major championships after getting hit by a damned bus. They thought he'd never walk again.

Jack Nicklaus still has the most Majors. Snead still has the most victories. Byron owns the most victories in a row and the most in a season. Spieth is now the youngest to win the Masters and has equalled Tiger's scoring record at Augusta. I believe he's also the youngest to get to 10 wins on the PGA tour. These players are not chopped liver. Tiger was not better "by far" than them.

Tiger beat everyone in sight when he was in his prime. He was a phenomenal player. But the same can be said for Jones, Nelson, and Nicklaus. Tiger was so good, it initially looked like it would be inevitable that he would break every record worth breaking. He hasn't. And, barring a stunning return to competition, he won't. It won't change the fact that he was great.

This is definitely not a "hate on Tiger" exercise. Tiger was great. He was fantastic. No doubt about it. But all you sycophants, who can't stop gushing every time he hits a fairway, need to remember that there have been other truly great players, and there are some pretty damned special ones playing right now who aren't named Tiger Woods. They deserve some respect for what they have accomplished in this great game as well.

Pierre the Lumberjack

The saying is that a good reputation is worth much more than gold. It's true. I say this, not from atop a high horse, because the verdict is still out for me in terms of how I will be remembered. I have made my share of dumb mistakes in life. 

I just watched the video of Tiger Woods being arrested. Although I've never been a fan of Tiger Woods, the person, that video made me sad. It made me wonder just how it will end for Tiger; arguably the greatest golfer we've ever seen.

Perhaps we should be grateful that Tiger didn't kill himself, or someone else; out on the road in such a state. Actually, do we know that Tiger didn't kill anyone else? The damage to his vehicle certainly raises some serious questions and concerns. But we'll assume that there are no bodies lying in any ditches near Jupiter, Florida, that we don't know about.

Tiger's greatness as a golfer has never been in doubt. His greatness as a human being is still very much up for debate. He has made some big mistakes. And, sainthood is an unlikely eventuality for Tiger at this point in time. But you almost have to pity the man. He was born to play golf. His future as a world-class golfer is doubtful at best. So, what does he do now? Does he sink into depression, drug addiction, and self pity? Or can he find life after competitive golf? 

As I ask those questions, I wonder where his friends and family are. Where was his agent? Who let him get behind the wheel in that state? Ultimately, the decision was his. But his judgement was obviously impaired by prescription drugs, if not alcohol as well. Hell, he didn't know whether he was punched or bored when the cops found him. It was a pitiful sight.

Judgement has always been Tiger's problem--at least off the golf course. This golfing genius, when left to his own devices off the course, certainly hasn't been very astute in matters of how to live successfully. In fact, he's been incredibly dumb. I was reminded of an old and rather vulgar joke about Pierre the lumberjack that might just apply.

"Twenty years I cut down trees," Pierre the lumberjack complained, "And no one ever called me a lumberjack. Suck one c--k, and now I'm Pierre the c--ksucker!" 

I hope you'll forgive the vulgarity for the sake of the wisdom found in the joke. It will be awfully sad if Tiger ends up being remembered as Tiger the impaired driver. It's ultimately up to him how he will be remembered. He may not win another Major, but he's still in a position to be able to do so much good in this life. He is, after all, still on the right side of the grass.

Tiger's Travails

I've been having back spasms for the past couple of days. Nothing new for me. But I do have a bit of an appreciation for what Tiger is experiencing. However, I still think the reason for Tiger's return to the sidelines is as much because he is painfully aware that he can't compete, as the fact that he has back spasms. Remember, this is a guy who won a US Open on one leg.

I have more than one buddy who can testify to the fact that I've often played with back spasms, yelping my way around the course. The thing is the spasms, for me at least, tend to hit when you start moving. So I don't yelp while people are hitting the ball. I'm standing still.

I read recently that Freddie has told, or would like to tell, Tiger that you can't play golf with a bad back. And, playing golf at the elite level with a bad back is obviously a problem. But many players have done and are doing so. I read about Sam Snead playing and winning a tournament-- in Argentina, I think it was--while suffering from severe back problems. He said he accomplished this by relying on his short game. In fact, I wrote an article about it.

I think Tiger has to reassess things. Does he really believe he can still compete? If so, he's going to have to accept that he won't be able to do it by trying to drive it out there with Jason Day, Bubba, and DJ. Those days are gone. Tiger possesed the most fearsome and devastating short game I think we've ever seen--especially his putting. The problem is, he doesn't have it right now. If he doesn't find it again, he's got a better chance of getting hit with a piece of SkyLab than catching Jack.

Icing on the Cake

Tiger finally tees it up again this week. We will all be interested in seeing how he plays. There are those who will be rooting for him and those hoping to see him fall flat on his face. Tiger has always had his detractors as well as his fans.

I suppose I've always been one of the detractors. When I watched him win his last US Amateur and leave poor Steve Scott standing there on the final green waiting to shake his hand while he celebrated and hugged his entourage, my first thought was that this kid has no class. I must admit that he has not done much since to make me change that opinion. But Tiger has been a great player, if not the greatest we've ever seen. And you really must walk a mile in a guys shoes to properly understand him.

I have come to realize that Tiger was and is simply a product of his upbringing and training; just like the rest of us. He had been raised by his father to win. The niceties of the game--respect for your opponent, the fans, possibly even the game, came second to winning. The boulder incident in the desert was the icing on the cake for me. I just couldn't imagine Jack, or Bobby Jones, having the audacity to call on a rules official and ten or twelve fans to move a boulder out of his way, deeming it to be a "loose impediment." It just wouldn't have occurred to them.

Nevertheless, I've softened in my old age because I'm beginning to appreciate just how much we all are a product of our genetics and our upbringing. Most of us, including Tiger, are just trying to do the best we can with what we have to work with. In Tiger's case he had, and still has, a great deal to work with. But even Tiger has had to learn the facts of life. In golf you simply can't win every time you tee it up. In fact, you can't even win most of the time you tee it up. As Jack said, "Golf is the only game where you can win twenty percent of the time and be the best player in the world."

In golf you lose more often than you win. In golf second place does not suck. I think Tiger has had to learn that lesson. When he lost the PGA championship to YE Yang in 2008, after starting the final round with the lead, I don't think Tiger, or anyone else for that matter, doubted that he would win. After all, he'd done it 14 times in a row. He was bullet-proof.  That he hasn't won a Major since certainly suggests that it had a big impact on him. Sure there were other things in his personal life; and there were the health issues; but I really believe that loss was a big factor in Tiger's play in the Majors since. He now knew he wasn't bullet-proof; and perhaps even more importantly, so did everyone else.

I hope Tiger can come out this week and play well. If he wins, all the more power to him. But, as Bobby Jones pointed out, there is golf and there is championship golf and they bear very little resemblance to one another. Tiger can hit it great on the range, and shoot in the low sixties in practice rounds. The real test will be how he handles the pressure of the Majors. It's been over eight years since he's won one. And eight years is a long old time. 

When Tiger actually wins a big one, we can then say he's back. And while getting five Majors to beat Jack's record seems unlikely, if not downright impossible, perhaps it would be only fitting that a player as great as Tiger has been have an '86 moment like Jack did. 

Whatever happens, I'm sure that any victories he might earn from now until the end of his career will surely feel that much sweeter for Tiger--like the icing on the cake.

Plane Spotting

Well, I guess it's that time again.  The old, Tiger Woods, will he or won't he, story.  Someone tweets that he's half-crippled, and can't even sit.  Tim Rosaforte and Notah Begay say he's making progress--whatever that means.  And, as usual, Tiger prefers to keep us guessing--if we're inclined to guess.

Tiger comes off his worse season ever.  During that season he came up with several interesting reasons for his poor play; the most notable being his glutes that just refused to fire.  However, during that entire season, he assured us he was fit.  He never once suggested that his back was troubling him.  

Then he undergoes surgery and we are left to wonder just what the truth really is.  The truth is; Tiger either doesn't want to tell us the truth, or he perhaps just wants to keep us guessing--and keep himself in the news in the process.  One thing for certain, openness and honesty is clearly not Tiger's strong suit.

Tiger was a great player.  Maybe he was the best we've ever seen.  But he hasn't won a Major in eight years.  Whether he can win another Major, or maybe another five or six, is anybody's guess.  But either way, he's had a great career.  However, in view of what we've witnessed in the last year or two from Spieth, McIlroy, Day, Bubba, and Fowler, is Tiger really relevant to the the discussion right now?

I can just see it now--Tiger's plane was spotted in Augusta.  Is he going to play the Masters?  I just can't stand the suspense!  Or can I?