Golf: All Tigered Out

Every generation someone comes along and quickly makes an immediate impact on his chosen sport. Wayne Gretzky, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan come quickly to mind. Watching them excel; the superlatives and overkill start.

The athlete is then fawned over to such a degree that he sometimes receives credit where it is not due.

The latest example is Tiger Woods. Since his first Masters win in 1997 Tiger Woods has received some deserved accolades for his superlative golf game. His career began with much fanfare and he has lived up to the promise he showed as an amateur.

Since turning pro at Milwaukee in 1996, he has won 39 times on the PGA Tour and collected a handful of overseas titles. He is the best golfer today and in just 7-1/2 years he ranks in the upper echelon of the all time best.

Woods hits it long and straight off the tee, drills irons into the greens with the precision of a brain surgeon, and can putt the lights out. He also comes across as someone who keeps things in perspective, and he seems genuinely surprised that people will come to a golf course at 7 a.m. to watch him play a Wednesday pro-am.

However, one gets tired of the unwarranted praise and overkill that comes his way by golf media and fans. Certainly, none of this is Tiger Woods' fault, he can't control what is said about him, and even he must roll his eyes sometimes.

While some of the hype has died down after his alleged slump, the media machine appears to be cranking it up for 2004. Witness the endless reruns on the Golf Channel of Tiger's top ten shots and the Tiger Week that ran over the Christmas holidays.

Okay, so they have to fill airtime somehow when no tournaments are running, but how about some human interest stories or features on the lesser lights of the tour? How about a documentary about the growth of the Japanese, Asian, or European Tour? January evenings on the Golf Channel featured highlight packages of previous major championships-many included Tiger Woods various major titles.

To prepare us for this week's Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Golf Channel showed us highlights of -- you guessed it -- Tiger's 2000 win. Didn't we already catch it during Tiger Week?

Let us look at some hyperbole that has accompanied this wonderful golfer.

At the 2002 PGA Championship, one pro hit a brilliant shot out of greenside rough that stopped inches from the pin. We were told it was a "Very Tigeresque" shot. The inference being Woods has a patent on nice recovery shots and others who do likewise are merely borrowing from Tiger and should pay royalties. Brilliant shots under pressure were born the day golf was invented.

At the 1976 U.S. Open, rookie Jerry Pate faced a 190-yard flyer from the rough over water to the 18th green on Sunday. His one-shot lead in peril, Pate stepped up and put his approach two feet from the pin to seal the title. At the 1986 PGA, and 1987 Masters, Bob Tway and Larry Mize respectively birdied from a bunker and well off the green to defeat the snakebit Greg Norman. We never hear of "Jerryesque" or "Larryesque" shots. Curiously, many called the Mize and Tway shots flukes, yet, would they be considered such if Tiger Woods hit them?

A few years ago, several of Tiger's wins were credited with influencing the Dow Jones Industrial Average the following day. One can almost hear the conversation between brokers on Monday morning.

"Looks like it's going to be a rough day on the market with those economic numbers that just came out."

"Yeah, we could see a 300 point drop in the Dow today, investors will be running for cover. Oh, wait a minute, Tiger won yesterday. Tell your clients to forget the leading economic indicators and those nine thousand layoffs, Tiger won so everything will be fine."

Since the market can go in only two directions on a given day, up or down, the ridiculous Tiger economic theory had excellent odds of success. It's too bad that Tiger's four consecutive majors didn't stop the technology crash and three year bear market.

Woods is also credited with the current fitness boom among PGA players. While today's pros are leaner than a generation ago, the credit can't go only to Tiger Woods. The trend started in the 1980s when the fitness trailers began showing up at every tour stop. These traveling gymnasiums complete with free weights, rowing machines, treadmills, medicine balls, etc., were brought on board and sponsored by American hospital Centinela.

Several golfers took to them immediately, noticed an improvement not only in their game but their fitness level, and the word spread. Regulars that hit the weights included Greg Norman, Steve Elkington and Davis Love.

The diminutive Gary Player has been known throughout his career for following a strict physical regiment that includes weightlifting, push-ups, and healthy eating. He preached to others about the benefits of physical fitness and several listened.

Player was the originator of wearing a particular color on Sunday, being famous for his 'Black Knight' outfits. Curtis Strange followed with his bright red shirt for Sunday, thus laying down the path for Woods' red and black power ensemble.

Golf and golf clothing are now considered cool because of Tiger Woods. Sorry, once again revisionist history is at work. Nobody misses the green plaid pants and wide belts of yesteryear (are you listening Aaron Baddeley?), but fashionable clothing in golf began nearly 20 years ago.

Designers such as Ashworth, Aureus, La Mode, and Greg Norman's Shark logo brought a certain trendy look onto the tour. Ashworth signed up John Cook, Fred Couples, and later Keith Clearwater (he was the hot rookie of 1987 before injuries derailed his career) to wear the line. Ashworth felt that Couples in particular epitomized the laid back branding that he was promoting.

When an impact athlete arrives on the scene, imagination and hype often take over. Wayne Gretzky was often credited with being the first player to set up shop behind the opposition's net, yet Stan Makita did it long before. Tiger Woods situation is similar now. Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and many others blazed the trail that Tiger Woods now walks.

Woods is an outstanding golfer and a fine young man, but fans and media alike should refrain from overkill and placing undeserved plaudits on him.