Tiger Pause

I am an addict. I am addicted to golf. It is a good addiction. I have no intention of seeking treatment. In fact, my addiction is responsible for my sanity. I can thank Tiger Woods for that.

In 1997 I watched a young, skinny, fresh faced Tiger win the legendary Masters Tournament by an incredible NINE strokes. The kid was cool, confident, enthusiastic, and a pure assassin on the golf course. Tiger was the absolute essence of charisma, and when he played the game it was almost impossible to take your eyes off of him. He seemed to be having so much fun, and as I watched him destroy Augusta National, the beautiful course where the Masters is held each year, and the competition composed of the best golfers in the world, I said to myself, “I want to play golf too”.

As the years passed, Tiger proved himself to be the greatest golfer that has ever lived. His record of success is unprecedented, so far beyond his contemporaries that comparisons are ridiculous. Tiger has won 79 official PGA (Professional Golfer Association) events, second only to Sam Snead, who won 82. However, if you count all of Tiger’s professional wins around the world, the total is 106, far more than anyone else in the history of the game. He has the lowest career scoring average in the history of golf. He has earned more money on the PGA Tour than any golfer in history. Tiger is the only player in history to win all four major championships (Masters, British Open, US Open, and PGA Championship) in a row. He holds the all-time record for consecutive cuts made. (PGA tournaments are four rounds, half of the golfers are “cut” or sent home after the first two rounds based on their scores) Tiger made 142 consecutive cuts. Tiger is also the only golfer in history to win the U.S. Amateur Championship three consecutive times. His list of accomplishments don’t stop there. Tiger has been ranked as the number one golfer in the world for 281 consecutive weeks, (almost 6 years) and he has been ranked number one a total of 683 weeks, (more than 13 years) both marks are all-time records. He has been voted Player of the Year a record eleven times.

Tiger has won 14 major championships, more than any other golfer in history except Jack Nicklaus. He is the only golfer to win multiple major championships in consecutive years. He holds or shares the record for the lowest 72-hole score in all four major championships.

It goes without saying that he was the first Black to do all of that stuff as well.

I have played sports all of my life, including varsity football, basketball, and track in school, softball and tennis for recreation. It was always easy for me. I could watch someone do something, and then go out and do it myself. In high school, I was 6 feet tall and 175 pounds. Today I’m 6 feet tall and 185 pounds. I have been blessed with the genes and metabolism of a natural athlete, and I had no doubt that I could play golf just like the kid that was having so much fun at the Masters in 1997.

Very quickly I discovered that golf is very hard. Ironically, the thing that is so hard about it is not simply hitting the ball. I mean, the thing is just sitting there on the ground. Anyone with the hand-eye coordination to hit a tennis ball, softball, or curve ball can put a golf club on a golf ball. What makes golf so hard is it requires tremendous concentration and strategic thinking. Obviously, there are physical fundamentals that must be mastered but in order to excel at the game you must be able to clear your mind and focus intensely on what you are doing for four to five hours. The margin for error is so small that any lapse will be paid for in red on the scorecard. That is what I love about the game. That is what is so addictive for so many people. I believe that I would not have survived as a high school Principal for nine years if I did not play golf. The golf course was the only place that I could go where I could completely forget about my responsibilities. The game demanded my complete attention. As a result, I understand completely why so many Presidents are so passionate about golf.  

We are all akin to Ahab in relentless pursuit of Moby Dick, the white whale that is perfection, a goal we are convinced we can attain, but in reality, we never do.

Golf is 90% mental.

No one has come closer to conquering that white whale than Tiger Woods. For more than a decade Tiger was the most popular athlete in the world. His popularity made billions of dollars for the PGA Tour, the golf equipment industry, professional golfers, and himself. Inspired by his father, Tiger created a foundation to benefit students seeking access to college. Millions of dollars have been donated, helping thousands of students to attend college.

On November 26, 2009 it all came apart for Tiger Woods. His wife discovered his extra-marital affairs, and the media attacked him mercilessly. The jokes and righteous indignation were everywhere. Newspapers, magazines, late-night comedians, even Blacks joined in the analysis and ridicule. Tiger and his wife divorced, and he has not been the same on the golf course since.

I did not think that the jokes were funny. I often thought about the biblical passage that said “let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. I thought that Tiger had been the reason that whenever I went to a golf course to play I was never the only Black person there, and I was always treated with respect. I was proud of the fact that the best golfer in the history of the world was the same color as me. I was sad for Tiger, because I tried to imagine what it must have been like for him to endure so much ridicule, while losing his fight to keep his family together.

Last week at the Phoenix Open, Tiger Woods was the worst golfer on the course. He missed the cut, and like millions of others, I had no interest in the final two rounds. I wonder if this is what the people with the jokes wanted when they were having their fun? I don’t know why Tiger played so poorly in this tournament, and I don’t know how he will play in the future.

What I do know, is the best golfer in the history of the world did not forget how to play.

What I do know is golf is 90% mental.

There was a time when Tiger Woods was considered to be mentally invincible.

I don’t think that I could have survived the mental hell he went through in 2009….

I hope that Tiger can.