Golf - classic or dud

well i mean for whatever individual reasons we may all have for mocking the most easily mockable sports figure in recent history, my personal opinion is that, excellence at golf aside, he's an amoral mercenary off the course and often a petulant whiner on it.

Golf coverage is so gross. Don't the toadie commentators ever feel bad for themselves?

ashamed of themselves, I mean

do you get peter alliss?

I'll give you the mercenary, placing him with hundreds of other professional athletes who take obscene amounts of money because someone's willing to give it to him. He gets even more of it by virtue of being better than just about every other professional athlete.

Amoral? Jack Nicholson can spend his life fucking anything that moves, and he's just lovable, naughty Jack. Unless you're talking about Nike's business practices, in which "amoral" is a mighty large leap for me.

And I just don't recall Woods ever being a whiner on the golf course. A temper, yes--not the same thing. I don't remember him ever making excuses when he doesn't play well.

i remember him slumping dramatically after every missed putt like it's the end of the goddamn world.

i mean you're right, tiger's kind of just a blown out version of shit that lots of athletes do. so i'm not sure why you're confused that we would make easy jokes at his expense?

he went through a period of whining about cameras and crowds

I just think he's competitive above and beyond where you'll find even most professional athletes. And I think you'd find parallel behaviours in Jordan, Federer, Gretzky, or anyone else who's ever played at his level. Jokes are fine, jokes are good; I've made more than a few Tiger jokes myself the past while. I've just been really appalled at the holier-than-thou stuff that sometimes accompanies them.

i remember him slumping dramatically after every missed putt like it's the end of the goddamn world.

yeah, this. man up.

if peter alliss is the main bbc guy i think he is remarkable. i would listen to anything he commentated.

point me to any holier-than-thou stuff in this thread?

by the way i guess it shows how long it's been since i've watched golf on tv but i never realized how fucking gargantuan woods' upper body has become.

yeah he went nuts on weights at some point though i have no idea when

I joined the thread late--after a few weeks of nothing but, I'm probably sensing it where none exists. Point taken.

yeah man that's cool i'm just sayin it's bizarre to come into an ilx sports thread and act like the ppl there are naive plebes or something. we all good now.

tiger shanked a tee shot at one point today and his little outburst at himself was the most petulant, flouncy little thing i've ever heard from a professional athlete. it sounded like it came from a will ferrell movie or something.

I still can't support "amoral." He's spent his life excelling at a sport. He makes a pile of money. He's got a temper on the golf course. He's been his a serial adulterer for the past few years. It doesn't add up to amoral for me.

xp yes that was SUPER flouncy

And for what it's worth, I came into the thread saying that Mikelson played great, and Tiger played great too. That's all.

tiger is a total robotic dork who is and has been hard to root for in real life, but he is and has been an incredible golfer who's really fun to watch and root for. imo

Great to watch, not sure about rooting for.

Mickelson was fantastic and way more consistent.

Britishers in being 2nd: Andy Murray, Westwood...England to lose the WC final?

I really hope they don't renew Peter Alliss' contract.

english wish for a loss in the final. 2nd in the group, maybe.

when my therapist okays it maybe I can talk about my time spent caddying at a private club

I really hope they don't renew Peter Alliss' contract.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, April 12, 2010 12:52 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

wtf, why?

is his racism to elegant evocation ratio dipping again?

i've only heard him twice but he's already right up there with Vin Scully in my estimation, and maybe better. they're actually quite similar - gentle-voiced old dudes who prefer stories about the players' upbringing than stats and who seem to have a kind of direct line of sympathy hooking them directly into the action. where alliss may have the edge is that he does have a wicked sense of humor that you can tell he's always barely suppressing. one last piece of approbation: not many people realize how difficult it is to do that vocal style - barely above a whisper but with energy and exuberance and urgency. it's incredibly difficult and requires serious vocal/diaphragm control. (aside from golf commentary the other great field for people who can carry off this technique is nature documentaries.)

I think I first complained about Peter Alliss on ilx about 7 years ago (gawd please let me go!), but here we go again.

No other commentator on the BBCs commentary appears to be too much into stats. And I've never heard someone so LESS in control of his voice -- that mumblin' murmuring you get as the putt is delivered is EXCRUCIATING to listen to because of his lack.

The article I read yesterday re: Alliss smacked of ageism but it isn't that. Richie Benaud is the greatest commentator I'll ever have the pleasure of hearing and the contrast couldn't be greater. Man would often not speak unless he really had something he could add. No 'opinions' (as he was arguing with one of his commentators yesterday) thx. And no wavering voice. In cricket you get old timey stories but they seemed way more relevant to what was going on in the field. At least as Richey told 'em.

i would like to hear this guy!

dude aren't you the guy that posted some really anti-cricket stuff on ilx

hahaha no wait we just had a rum old discussion about the rules :D

amidst this sincere engagement w/ golf I wld like to approve of Richard Meltzer's Holes: a book not entirely about golf, which I found very enlightening on a lot of matters, especially LAWNS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vthfSPF_LCw

lmao @ "anti-cricket"

I shot a +2 72 this weekend. First round since October 10, 2009. 6 birdies, a triple bogey and two double bogies. 3 shots in the water, 1 shot out of bounds. Fuck tech support, i'm practicing for the Champions Tour.

the end of this matchplay match btw jb holmes & bubba watson is hilarious

the announcers were cracking on jb "wandering the desert"

Its like Woods never went away and just changed his name to McIIroy instead.

Great stuff.

heh not quite

been playing like crazy. just bought a rescue wood.

was passively watching some golf on the tv last weekend, and although it wasn't the first time i'd noticed the golf channel logo, it was the first time it ever registered that the G wasn't just some chinese restaurant font G, but the swoosh of a driver next to a tee. uh, right?

http://www.pitchengine.com/brands/timewarnercablecarolinas/images/89675/golfchannellogo.jpg

The meaning doesn't matter, its just ugly regardless. You may be right tho.

I see a moon and a sugar-cone

been playing a bit again recently, forgot how satisfying the feeling catching the ball is. also was pleased to discover the irons I lusted after when I bought my starter set (a set of titleist dcis that retailed at 700 in 97) now only run you 60/70 on the electronic bay... so I helped myself to a set and farmed the old iroms out to my brother.

need to pick up a cheap driver, it's no fun being 50/60 yards disadvantaged off the tee

anyone watching the masters? watched it for about 8/9 hours but am totally exhausted now, hitting the hay. mcilroy looking great, course seems to be playing tough. enjoying mickelson's wacky adventures so far.

montgomery as commentator is really depressing and kinda cringey tho. "i bogeyed this hole every round in 1997........and i lost by one shot" permeated by that wind hum you hear when watching golf...

bitcoins!!!

i did not and i regret it. What times are we talking here? Cant do late nights this week :(

wish I had sky

midday till pretty late darragh.

you don't know anyone who works there do you cozen? there are mad cheap friends and family deals.

pfft the gf would have my nuts.
Pity

well you could get away with the last few hours of sunday night maybe...that's the primetime