Masters week

[tarheel0910]

On that note, I could use some assistance here. My kids are now old enough to enjoy the Wii and they all love to hit golf balls ... I would like to get a used Wii on Craigslist and then some games. Is there a specific version of the TW Wii golf game that is better than another ... or is there only one?

It is mostly the same every year. They might add or take away certain courses/players/equipment, but there isn't much difference between the years. If you are looking for a specific course, you will need to do some research to see what year you need to buy. You might want to check out the GameStop website if you are going to buy online. They usually come with a guarantee that it works just like it was out of the box. Last time I checked they were pretty cheap. If you get one off of Craigslist, you most likely aren't going to get the same guarantee.

ETA: It is very realistic on the Wii. Not sure how old your kids are, but be prepared for it to be challenging for them at first. It took me about 10-15 rounds before I could get my average down to around the same as it was on the PS2.

 

[gunslingerdick]

Love him or hate him, he made TV golf WAYYYY more exciting than current day stuff.

Meh. To the casual golf fan, sure. But not to me. I was watching golf before Tiger and I've watched it since. He didn't move the needle for me. But yeah, for all the people that like to yell "get in the hole" when someone hits a drive, yes, Tiger's participation was huge for them.

As do I . . . . though he may linger for a several more years, Tiger will never again be the elite player he once was.

Tiger will not linger. He is done. D-O-N-E. Completely. I'd actually be surprised if he ever played competitive golf again. Because he knows he cannot win against these young guys and he's not going to consistently go out there and lose. That's just not him. He'll tell you it's his back and I'm sure to some degree it is. But the fall of Tiger Woods is far more psychological than physical. He lost his mojo in the wake of his personal life shit and just could never recapture his dominating presence. Without it, he was shown to be human and beatable. What he did do was create a whole generation of golfers that played a new brand of golf. That generation is running shit on the PGA tour now. These young gunslingers took a page out of Tiger's book and ran with it. Golf has changed so much in the last 10 years that I'm not sure that if Tiger came along now, that he would end up being the legend that he was. I just don't think that even in his heyday, he's consistently dominating guys like DJ, Spieth, Day, McIlroy, etc.

The story of Tiger Woods is absolutely fascinating - one of the greatest sports stories of all time. And my goodness, we probably don't even know half of it and will never know just because of how Tiger is about his personal life. I started off as Tiger hater. Then I pitied him. Then I became indifferent. Then I actually rooted for his comeback. I can't think of another sports figure that ever took me on a ride of so many different feelings towards him/her.

 

[toophly1124]

I started off as Tiger hater. Then I pitied him. Then I became indifferent. Then I actually rooted for his comeback.

My EXACT feelings on Tiger as well. Summed up perfectly.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

Meh. To the casual golf fan, sure. But not to me. I was watching golf before Tiger and I've watched it since. He didn't move the needle for me. But yeah, for all the people that like to yell "get in the hole" when someone hits a drive, yes, Tiger's participation was huge for them.

Totally wrong, IMO. You can zoom in on yourself like always and say it didn't move the needle for you therefore that holds true for everyone -- a strummingramian approach to poasting -- but to say it only moved the meter for casual, or even non-golf fans is disingenuous. It energized the whole sport, from the golfers themselves to fans, both casual and hardcore.

When Augusta National tinkers with its layout/setup because of one particular player's dominance, it's kind of a big deal for the sport.

 

[tarheel0910]

strummingramian

http://nws.merriam-webster.com/opendictionary/submit.php

 

[gunslingerdick]

Totally wrong, IMO. You can zoom in on yourself like always and say it didn't move the needle for you therefore that holds true for everyone -- a strummingramian approach to poasting -- but to say it only moved the meter for casual, or even non-golf fans is disingenuous. It energized the whole sport, from the golfers themselves to fans, both casual and hardcore.

When Augusta National tinkers with its layout/setup because of one particular player's dominance, it's kind of a big deal for the sport.

I'm a golfer. I know tons of golfers. I have close relationships with club pros, merchandise reps and rich kids that grew up playing 36 holes a day at one of the local country clubs. I'm saying that for me and the dozens of golfers that I know, Tiger Woods' participation didn't move the needle for us. If you don't think that's the trend worldwide, ok. That's my experience. That's what I'm going with.

 

[TarHeelNation11]

I'm a golfer. I know tons of golfers. I have close relationships with club pros, merchandise reps and rich kids that grew up playing 36 holes a day at one of the local country clubs. I'm saying that for me and the dozens of golfers that I know, Tiger Woods' participation didn't move the needle for us. If you don't think that's the trend worldwide, ok. That's my experience. That's what I'm going with.

All of which makes your viewpoint on the issue very skewed. It's not a very random sample.

 

[bleeduncblue]

It is mostly the same every year. They might add or take away certain courses/players/equipment, but there isn't much difference between the years. If you are looking for a specific course, you will need to do some research to see what year you need to buy. You might want to check out the GameStop website if you are going to buy online. They usually come with a guarantee that it works just like it was out of the box. Last time I checked they were pretty cheap. If you get one off of Craigslist, you most likely aren't going to get the same guarantee.

ETA: It is very realistic on the Wii. Not sure how old your kids are, but be prepared for it to be challenging for them at first. It took me about 10-15 rounds before I could get my average down to around the same as it was on the PS2.

Cool, thanks. I noticed that Augusta National is on the newest TW game so I'll probably go for that one.

 

[gunslingerdick]

All of which makes your viewpoint on the issue very skewed. It's not a very random sample.

You're saying that my opinion of how those in the golf world feel is skewed by having close relationships with those in the golf world? Uhh,...ok.

 

[bleeduncblue]

Meh. To the casual golf fan, sure. But not to me. I was watching golf before Tiger and I've watched it since. He didn't move the needle for me. But yeah, for all the people that like to yell "get in the hole" when someone hits a drive, yes, Tiger's participation was huge for them.

His entry into the game was huge for far more than just the "get in the hole" crowd. But I'm guessing that you're one of the original Tiger-haters and will therefore never give him the credit that he deserves for making golf a more mainstream sport. I wont go as far as to call you a racist because of your undervaluing-Tiger position ... but I know many folks who never liked him because of his skin color and "who" he brought to the golf courses nationwide.

I went to college on a golf scholarship (played with Tiger in 1995 at The Honors course in Ooltewah TN), played professionally for several years, went into the club pro business and became a Class A PGA Pro for a decade, have played and taught the game to people from all walks of life in several countries. Tiger had a bigger impact on golf than any athlete has ever had on any other sport in history ... and I'm not sure it will ever be matched. Every corner of the golf industry was changed after a few years of his presence on the Tour. I can understand not liking him, but to say he didnt "move the needle" for the majority of golfers and the industry worldwide is foolish ...from an opinion standpoint and, more importantly, from a statistical standpoint. (rounds played, merchandise sold, TV contracts, PGA purses, TV ratings, First Tee, the impact of the TW Foundation, etc)

 

[tarheel0910]

Cool, thanks. I noticed that Augusta National is on the newest TW game so I'll probably go for that one.

Interesting. I didn't know that Augusta finally allowed them to add the course. I haven't bought one since college, so I might have to buy one just so I can play Augusta.

 

[gunslingerdick]

His entry into the game was huge for far more than just the "get in the hole" crowd. But I'm guessing that you're one of the original Tiger-haters and will therefore never give him the credit that he deserves for making golf a more mainstream sport. I wont go as far as to call you a racist because of your undervaluing-Tiger position ... but I know many folks who never liked him because of his skin color and "who" he brought to the golf courses nationwide.

I went to college on a golf scholarship (played with Tiger in 1995 at The Honors course in Ooltewah TN), played professionally for several years, went into the club pro business and became a Class A PGA Pro for a decade, have played and taught the game to people from all walks of life in several countries. Tiger had a bigger impact on golf than any athlete has ever had on any other sport in history ... and I'm not sure it will ever be matched. Every corner of the golf industry was changed after a few years of his presence on the Tour. I can understand not liking him, but to say he didnt "move the needle" for the majority of golfers and the industry worldwide is foolish ...from an opinion standpoint and, more importantly, from a statistical standpoint. (rounds played, merchandise sold, TV contracts, PGA purses, TV ratings, First Tee, the impact of the TW Foundation, etc)

Well I'm certainly glad you're not going to call me a racist because I didn't like Tiger when he hit the scene. Not because I would be offended by such. More because that's an absurd notion that sounds like something from the democrats' playbook. So really I'm just happy to see you didn't embarrass yourself in such a way.

I don't disagree with much of what you wrote. I completely agree that Tiger had an immense impact on the game of golf. Whether that was a positive impact or negative impact is subjective. If you were in the industry, it was fantastic. If you were a weekend golfer that enjoyed golf partly because of its elitist nature, then not so much. While golf became more popular and more of a mainstream sport, the downside to that was me having to wait on every hole as the foresome in front me - clad in jorts and flip flops - were teeing it up in the fairway.

Look, I'm not a scratch golfer (hell, I'm not sure I could break 90 anymore). I didn't play on a scholarship. I never taught the game. But I grew up with a lot of guys that did and do. And I'm saying that all of them - every last one of them - was as interested in golf before Tiger came on tour as they were afterwards. I doubt any of them disliked Tiger because he was half-black. I don't see most of those guys as that way but maybe they are. But that's almost irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that Tiger didn't move the needle for them. Or me.

As far as liking Tiger, you're right. I didn't at first. I stated that in my first poast in this thread. It had nothing to do with him being half-black. It had everything to do with him being cocky and arrogant. It had to do with his slamming clubs down and shouting curse words. It had to do with him not being what my impression of a professional golfer was/is. But as I also stated, his troubles were humbling for him. He has matured and now acts in a manner that is what I view as in keeping with the sport. So my opinion of him has changed. If he were still playing, I'd be pulling for him.

 

[bleeduncblue]

Well I'm certainly glad you're not going to call me a racist because I didn't like Tiger when he hit the scene. Not because I would be offended by such. More because that's an absurd notion that sounds like something from the democrats' playbook. So really I'm just happy to see you didn't embarrass yourself in such a way.

I don't disagree with much of what you wrote. I completely agree that Tiger had an immense impact on the game of golf. Whether that was a positive impact or negative impact is subjective. If you were in the industry, it was fantastic. If you were a weekend golfer that enjoyed golf partly because of its elitist nature, then not so much. While golf became more popular and more of a mainstream sport, the downside to that was me having to wait on every hole as the foresome in front me - clad in jorts and flip flops - were teeing it up in the fairway.

Look, I'm not a scratch golfer (hell, I'm not sure I could break 90 anymore). I didn't play on a scholarship. I never taught the game. But I grew up with a lot of guys that did and do. And I'm saying that all of them - every last one of them - was as interested in golf before Tiger came on tour as they were afterwards. I doubt any of them disliked Tiger because he was half-black. I don't see most of those guys as that way but maybe they are. But that's almost irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that Tiger didn't move the needle for them. Or me.

As far as liking Tiger, you're right. I didn't at first. I stated that in my first poast in this thread. It had nothing to do with him being half-black. It had everything to do with him being cocky and arrogant. It had to do with his slamming clubs down and shouting curse words. It had to do with him not being what my impression of a professional golfer was/is. But as I also stated, his troubles were humbling for him. He has matured and now acts in a manner that is what I view as in keeping with the sport. So my opinion of him has changed. If he were still playing, I'd be pulling for him.

It made your rounds too slow, I hear that as your main complaint with his impact ...fair enough. I agree about the not liking his on-course antics much ... but it was nice to see someone who actually gave a damn, instead of the put-me-to-sleep ...expression-never-changes-robots that we have nowadays.

And yes of course there were millions of people (like your friends and mine) who were INTERESTED and loved golf before Tiger .... that's not the point. But many of those same folks tuned in to watch golf on TV more often when Tiger was playing, to either root for or against him. TV ratings dont lie ... and there are not THAT many blacks who play or watch golf, before or after Tiger. Hence the he "moved the needle" comment. He made folks watch.