First off, I’m not a golfing fan. My dad always tried to get me to golf, even making me a set of pint-sized clubs when I was a wee wordsmith. Was bored, bored, bored. Bored playing it; bored watching it.
Haven’t followed Tiger Woods’ career, either. Only know about him because people make such a big deal about him. Can’t escape news.
Don’t really care about his personal life, either; only reason I’m doing this post is because it’s news, it’s quick and easy, and I’m bored. And when I’m bored, I think of golf.
I thought I’d post some of his memorable commercials I’ve found interesting and likable.
My favorite:
This is the kind of talent I love watching. Plus it’s done in under 30 seconds rather than 3 hours of watching someone chase a ball for 18 holes while the grass grows.
Oh, wow….we’re all lion cheetahs, now:
Perhaps John Edwards and Jesse James can star in a new remake version?
“I’m Lion Woods….I’m Cheetah Woods”
And the new one; a little creepy but interesting and perhaps controversial:
Wow. Makes me want to go out and buy some Nikes!
Weird commercial. Seems to be a Nike ad to promote Tiger to keep him marketable to promoting Nike.
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.
Agreed. Golf is an incredibly boring sport. The people I’ve known who are into golf tend to be the less “nice” people I’ve known, but we won’t go there.
I play golf, I watch golf, and I’m a middle class earner that plays mostly Nike equipment bought on eBay. I don’t buy anything because of Tiger, but because I like the irons and hit them pretty well. Tiger is an a$$hat that only repented because he got caught, just like EVERY OTHER rich or famous person in the world.
If you don’t like golf, that’s perfectly fine. Don’t openly trash those that do or stereotype those that play it. This is aimed more at the commentary than the author, but still…
🙄
So this is what he does when he isn’t playing golf, well among other things. 😆
By the way those mountains are visible from my front porch, actually they are very close. No! they are not part of Russia. 😉
I am waiting for the day that Tiger hits a bad shot (he does that occasionally) and instead of saying G-D, says Bhudda-damn.
Golf is only boring to those who do not play. I was a golf professional at a Country Club in Pa many, many moons ago. Although I can’t do it physically any longer, there IS no better, more difficult, more demanding, more frustrating, more rewarding game. And it is without question a GENTLEMAN’S game. Woods does NOT fit that bill. In baseball or basketball the antics of a bum are allowed–even somehow expected. Not so for golf. Woods is a disgrace. He should NOT have been invited to play in the Masters.
#5: I am not a professional but I love to golf. I agree that Woods is a disgrace to the game and should not have been invited to the Masters. I dislike the club throwing, swearing and fist pumping in your face attitude of Woods. I do not watch when he is competing.
I’m not a golfer, I don’t consider it a sport, more a game, as sport really should entail some form of perspiration at some point. It’s more likely that you’ll break out in a sweat playing No Limit Texas Holdem before you’ll break a sweat playing golf. However, I do like to drive the golf carts and my favorite hole is the 19th. I find golf about as exciting as watching paint dry or attending a baseball game. At least in baseball you can be instrumental in creating some excitement by making a trip to the rest room.
Now for a bit of trivia… the name Golf is derived from those sexist Scots – Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden.
I always figured that the game of golf was invented to be a place where sycophants could suck up to their bosses and perhaps gain that promotion that they couldn’t achieve otherwise.
Golf courses are some of the biggest polluters around, dumping untold quantities of pesticides and fertilizers into the local aquifers.
…and as an added bonus, most golf courses are paid for by your and my tax dollars as a place where the idle rich can impress each other at the expense of working people.
OTOH, I really liked Rodney Dangerfield’s attitude toward the game.
It’s my understanding that the first commercial was filmed by a director that was smart enough to keep the camera running between takes and caught Tiger demonstrating some of his skill. it was completely random.
I have never seen the logic of golf either. You hit the ball, walk (or ride) to it, hit the ball, walk to it, hit the ball, walk to it, etc. for 15-20 times, then push it in a little hole. Then you walk to another tee, hit the ball another 15-20 times, push it into a little hole, then keep doing the same thing over and over and over. I just don’t see the fun in it. Croquet is much more fun. You can see the target with every shot, and you don’t have to bend over to pick it up.
I read on the Internet that the last Tiger commercial was pieced-together recordings of his dad talking to Tiger’s mother. Either way, I thought it was creepy.
@Donald Bly: I’m glad to FINALLY find another person who gets excited about watching paint dry. What is your favorite brand and color? Mine is any bright yellow Behr.
@Donald Bly:
I think it would elevate the sport to make it more like an iron man contest. Not only do you have to hit the ball in the least amount of strokes, but you also have to do it in the fastest amount of time. This would entail sprinting from hole to hole. You also carry your own clubs;
Oh, and also, on the 18th hole, you have to get past two Moro Filipino stickfighters.
Nothing quite like a little physical contact in sports….
Also…
rather than everyone going hush so you can concentrate on your putt, there are intentional distractions to make it more challenging to focus- like Kanye West rapping to you and telling you how you’re doing good, but Tiger had the best golf game of all time; and Al Gore hula dancing in front of the hole while preaching about global warming.
I took up the game a few years ago and find it to be maddeningly difficult, yet very rewarding. Especially on those rare occasions when a shot goes where I aim it. I enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed other sports I’ve played. I just wish I’d started playing sooner, as the skills to play well take a long time to master. The pace and atmosphere surrounding the game suit this aging fellow nicely. It all boils down to you versus you, hence the maddening part.
Tiger is defintely the best currently playing, but I don’t watch golf purely because of him, nor buy anything he promotes just because he promotes it. There are many other players such as Phil Mickelson who represent the game’s values much better than Tiger. It is truly a gentleman’s game, and Tiger has proven himself to be less than gentlemanly. I feel bad for the kids who looked up to him and are now greatly disappointed, as they should be.
If there’s a lesson to be learned in Tiger’s misfortunes, it’s never to look up to (or down upon) anyone. Or any game.
@Wordsmith
The two Moro Philipine stickfighters would be a nice touch. Put them between the 18th hole and the 19th hole and if you lose to them, you have to go first to the aid station and then back to the first hole and start over. Having the event timed is also a good idea.
For those that use Golf as a yardstick to measure themselves…. good old BJ Clinton and his use of the mulligan was a good indicator of the kind of character building it induced in a lawyer that needed someone to define the definition of “is”.
@Smorgasbord
I’m a big fan of mixed pairs, paint drying competition. Brand is not important just so long as there is an oil base, latex combination involved.
I think using horses and hitting the ball on the run could speed up the game considerably, a poor man’s polo; it would also increase the odds against the stick fighters.