U.S. Open: Time for Golf to Stop Being a "Gentleman's Game" and Move Forward

I remember the 2008 US Open more vividly than I remember anything that has ever happened in Golf.  I remember the wounded Goliath that was Tiger Woods taking on an arguably even more wounded David in Rocco Mediate in an 18-hole playoff on what has to be the most beautiful golf course I have ever seen. I remember seeing a crowd delighted not only because they were seeing two great golfers in a 18 hole playoff, but because they were seeing two of the games more eccentric and accessible personalities. I remember seeing Tiger Woods limp after every great shot, and I began comparing him to Willis Reed, to Michael Jordan playing through flu like symptoms and to every great athlete who had ever played through any injury or aliment.  As soon as Tiger Woods limped off with a trophy he had played five rounds to earn, I realized that no one had ever done something this courageous at such a grand and beautiful stage. 

At that second, in my mind, golf finally had an athlete that seemed more relevant than any big hitter from baseball, any world champion from basketball or any Pro Bowl quarterback from football. Golf was the world's top sport, Tiger Woods was the world's best athlete, and I did not think anything could derail the momentum Golf had built up during this landmark U.S. Open.

What I did not know at the time when Woods limped off after this beautiful major was that he would probably be limping for the rest of his career.  That he would struggle to walk not only because of the surgery on his knee but because of his crippling personal life.  A personal life that had spilled out for the whole world to see in the winter of 2009. 

After his 2008 U.S. Open title, Woods' career seemed to be in a complete and utter free fall, and there seems to be nothing he can do about it.  The most damaging thing about Woods' free fall, though, is that it has sent the whole sport into a dramatic free fall. 

This weekend, we are experiencing the least importance U.S. Open ever, when just three years earlier, we experienced arguably the most important, if not the most memorable, tournament.  We are seeing one of the least exciting majors I have even tried to watch, when three years earlier, I saw one of the most thrilling sporting events of all time. But, it seems that most Americans would rather watch reruns of the 1984 NBA Draft than watch the U.S. Open, when three years ago, golf may have passed the NBA, the MLB and even the NFL as the world's most important sport. 

It is safe to say that when Tiger limped off into the sunset on that 2008 June afternoon that golf also went away in that sunset.  It is also safe to say that unlike Tiger's fall (due to knee problems and just getting older), the fall of golf does not have to be inevitable. 

A lot of people think that the simple solution to this problem is that golf has to find another Tiger Woods or that Tiger Woods just has to come back and be Tiger again.  The first thing we have to understand here is that we are not going to see another golfer like Tiger Woods, and we may not even see another athlete like him again. His Nicklaus like domination of the golfing world and his Michael Jordan like marketability make him an athlete that is a once in a generation type figure across the whole sporting landscape.

At his peak, he dominated golf unlike we have seen any athlete dominate a sport. He was the world's most interesting athlete in what may be its most uninteresting sport, he brought a swagger of the big time athletes from popular sports (NFL, NBA, MLB) and brought it to a sport where acting like it is the 1920's is just as important as shooting a good score, and he also made sure American golf was really the only golf that mattered.  Golf is sadly mistaken if they think they will ever find a golfer with talent or marketability of Woods again.

Golf also has to understand that when Woods limped away from golf in 2008, that his game might be gone forever.  They have to understand that when this man's life was spilled out in front of the whole world in the winter of 2009 that Woods would never play with the same confidence again. 

While we have seen glimpses of "the old Tiger," they are just merely glimpses, and it is becoming even more and more unlikely that we see the full picture of the old Tiger Woods again. It is unlikely that we see the Tiger Woods who was the most confident athlete in professional sports, who was winning majors by 10 strokes or winning them on one leg and that single handedly made sure American golf was the only golf that was important. 

Still, the PGA Tour might illogically just wait for the return of Tiger Woods like music lovers in the 1970's illogically waited for the return of the Beatles.  If the PGA really waits for the return of Woods, they will be waiting forever, just like the music lovers of the 1970's are probably still waiting for some sort of a Beatles reunion.  The fact of the manner is that things have obviously changed for Tiger, and he is not the old Tiger because he has lost a lot of his confidence and his knee injuries have caused him to lose a lot of his game.  What golf needs to do is "Let It Be" and count it as a blessing if Tiger reverts back to his pre-2009 form. 

So what does golf do if they cannot find another Tiger?   What does golf do if they cannot just wait for Woods to come back?  I really think the thing holding golf back the most is that it is such a "Gentleman's Game," or as I like to call it, "a game for rich elitist who like to act like they are in the 1920's." 

The Gentleman's Game philosophy of golf has held it back for years, but it has never been as noticeable as it is in the 21st century.  In this generation of computers, smart phones, I-Pods and I-Padss everyone has an attention span that is so short that it is borderline embarrassing. When you have golf tournaments that move slower than the first season of "The Killing," people really are not want to watch.  When you have commentators whispering and telling stories that only my great great great grandfather could relate to, it is going to be hard to keep this new generation of people from deciding to play "Angry Birds" instead.  When you do not market these guys or let them show any personality, it is going to be hard for me to develop a connection with them.

And this is where golf is really missing the boat: the connection and marketability factor.  Golf cannot continue to expect to get by on the fact that it is a "Gentleman's Game", that every man over 30 tries to play it and fails completely, that an Arnold Palmer taste damn good on the beach and that one day, Tiger Woods will come back on his Hooters sponsored plane and save them.  If the people who are in charge of the PGA Tour really think this, then I think they are missing out on one of the big reasons we loved Tiger in the first place. 

I know that a lot of people loved Tiger not only because he won so much, but because he had a personality that we could relate to.  The joy was not often found in seeing Tiger nail the long putt, but seeing Woods' reaction after he nailed the long putt, and not after winning the major, but to see his emotional reaction after winning the major.  The joy for me was not seeing Tiger Woods as simply a golf player but as a global icon who I could easily connect with.  The joy of watching the old Tiger Woods play golf was based on the connection we had formed with him.

Connections are really the reason that we watch sports.  I am not a Kentucky fan just because I am from Kentucky. I am a Kentucky fan because I have formed unique connections with Keith Bogans, Gerald Fitch, Chuck Hayes, Ramel Bradley, Joe Crawford, Patrick Patterson, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Josh Harrelson, Brandon Knight, Tubby Smith and John Calipari that I will never forget.  If these guys had to act like complete robots, I doubt that I would be slightly interested or even come close to being a fan. 

The same goes for the Packers fan, the Bruins fan, the Brewers fan, the Trailblazers fan or any fan of any team or any individual that is outside the golf stranglehold.  The connection factor is the reason that people have bonded with Tiger when they could really careless about any other Golfer.  Our connection with Tiger is the reason why we sat through the five hour Jim Nantz monologues, the reason we we sat threw watching a Jim Furyk interview where he looked like he was going to all asleep, it is the reason that we thought the 2008 US Open was one of the greatest sporting events we have ever watched and it is the same reason that we will probably only watch three holes of golf throughout this entire weekend.

If golf really wants to be one of the world's most important and most popular sports again, it must kill the ignorance that is being a "Gentleman's Game" and actually move forward into the 21st century.  In this 21st Century of smartphones, iPhones, iPad's, and attention spans that are about as long as the time it takes to change a channel, golf has to market its players so we can actually form connections with them.  It has to let its players celebrate, wear more casual clothing, develop rivalries with each other and let its players act in whatever law abiding way they want to act. It has to have commentators who commentate every drive like Gus Johnson would cover a buzzer-beater, it has to use technology and the 21st century moral beliefs it has despised for the longest time to its advantage, and most, golf has to drop its "Gentleman's Game" attitude and stop waiting for Tiger to save the game. 

If golf actually markets its players in the right way and lets the fans form a connection with them then we will have about 45 reasons to watch golf instead of just watching to see Tiger.  This is not something that is an option for golf, but something that has suddenly become a necessity to its survival.  What golf really needs to remember is that there is nothing more "Gentleman" and "American" than being popular and making boatloads of money.