By Sunday morning, I was a little burned out by all the Open Championship coverage. Don’t get me wrong, I love that ESPN, unlike other networks covering golf, is willing and able to show the entire round as opposed to just the back 9. But, I knew that maybe I had had enough when my dreams were starting to be narrated by Peter Alliss.
With all the Open Championship coverage I was able to develop a deep familiarity with the players and course. For instance, how did ESPN manage to frame those nuclear power plant silos in the background of every single shot from Royal St. George’s? It was like an optical illusion. By Sunday I felt like those omnipresent smoke stacks from Sandwich, England were going to make there way back to my hometown. And with the players, you really start to develop a personal attachment to a golfer when you wake up at 4am on Thursday morning to watch their first shot of the tournament. I never would have guessed that I could have developed such an attachment to Raphael Jacquelin.
It was certainly fun to watch Darren Clarke close out an Open Championship, even with the two Americans, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson nipping at his heels for most of the afternoon. I have always held a fondness for Clarke. It could be because he comes across as a really jovial guy, man of the people if you will, and someone who all golf fans remember watching dominate the 2006 Ryder Cup only weeks after losing his wife Heather to breast cancer. I’m also happy for Northern Ireland. Who knew that a country the size of Connecticut, and the population of West Virginia, would claim 3 of the last 6 majors. Time for New England to step up their golf game!
At some point I hope to spend a fortnight in England catching both the final weekend of Wimbledon and all four rounds of an Open Championship. And after watching as much links golf as I have this past weekend, what with all the rain/wind/sand, at least I’ll have a pretty good idea of what to pack.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Is golf real or faked? Does it matter?
Oh, it’s real. And spectacular! I’m sure Darren Clarke would agree with this assessment when he does finally decide to go to sleep for the first time since winning the Open Championship.
That’s a shame. How about Polo?
Well, since I have never actually witnessed a match in person, polo could very well be fake.
Water polo is real however and excruciatingly difficult. Our college baseball team spent a few days training in the pool and I must have come close to drowning at least a handful of time and I happen to consider myself somewhat of a strong swimmer. I feel like somewhere along the line the Winklevoss twins were really good water polo players. Those two behemoths continue to haunt my dreams.
I’m just bitter because I never took the time to improve my golf game, associated anyone who did with the Republican Party, started to resent the time and money spent, vomited every time I heard a golf broadcast, had my clubs stolen in California, am I boring you yet, lost a hotly contested 18 holes to a man who was paralyzed from the waist down, this is getting very sad, did I mention Republicans yet, completely lost interest in the non-personalities of pro players, can’t stand country clubs, hated to wake up early just to get a tee time……..sorry about all this. Tax the rich.
See, you’re looking at this the wrong way. The great thing about golf is that there is still plenty of time for you to improve. And as this recession continues, you’ll be more and more likely to find an abundance of tee times available in the afternoon, well after you wake up.
As far as politics are concerned, I wouldn’t want to play golf with either John Boehner or Joe Biden. I bet both live in a perpetual state of “winter rules”. President Obama maybe, but I don’t think he is a very good golfer which could make things a little awkward. “You honor, your honor.”
Ok. But here’s the thing, you don’t play golf AGAINST anyone. You play against the landscape…and the landscape always wins. The people playing WITH you are there for commiseration and banal chit chat. Sure they make bets and compare scores (I don’t like poker anymore either), but unless I can turn and fire a two iron at them for bonus points, and vice versa lets be fair, I see no reason why they are there. And since I can never beat “the land”…..you get my drift. Ping pong makes more sense to me, and I don’t have to be quiet while my opponent serves.