golfrewind.com

i totally agree with you. i do believe golf does not belong more to one country than another. as a native born American of immigrant parents i appreciate the diversity of the field in big events and i wish it were further accessible to more people. however, i don't see anything about the current situation changing and i believe it's unfair for some to criticize us for something that can't really be changed

an excerpt from the article posted by lefty:

"Whether the absentees are scared or lazy or both is unclear - maybe they just saw a better weather forecast for this week than I saw - but what is clear is that American golfers don't need much of an excuse not to leave America.

After all, they're Americans, only more so."

so the actions, or inactions, of our Tour players represent the rest of us? give me a break. we work just as hard as the next guy from whatever country you can name and we travel the world more than any other country keeping many economies alive just through tourism alone. you people who express these very sentiments, especially the euros, need to lose that chip on your shoulder and should worry more about your own way of life before you critique ours.

Furthermore to my point, lets' not forget the huge strides in developing this great sport that the U.S. has made since the late nineteen twenties. This has been a worldwide contribution to golf, no doubt about it, it used to be a rich man's game. I can certainly vouch for that growing up in Scotland in the late fifties, there are countless numbers of kids in the U.S. that have managed to put a club in their little hands, thank you Mr. Woods ( and others ). Lets not forget that professional touring players are business men and to be realistic, money is the motivation, but it has brought a great deal of highly talented players over to the U.S. to perform their skills and this has added to the entertainment factor of the game.

the fortunate coincidence that sergio's withdrawal wasn't mentioned was a great way to draw extra fire to the "spoiled" Americans once again. when a euro player withdraws it's A-Ok but when the 40+ year-old Freddie Couples with a notorious bad back withdraws he's labeled to be the diva of the golfing world.

Again, some facts may help this.

The Open Championship was the first ever Open championship to be played. It is know as the Open Championship, because that it exactly what it is called. When other countries introduced open championships, e.g. South Africa,Australia,they prefaced their tournament with the name of the counrty to avoid confusion. That is why the only championship allowed to call itself 'The Open' is the first. When Americans call it the British Open, they are refering to a tournament that does not exist.

It has lead the way in widening the field,introducing qualifying competitions overseas in a pursuit of the best possible field. If you go back thirty years ,you will find the Open field carried a wider field from the whole world, whiler the US OPen had 99% Americans and non USA players were admitted reluctantly.

If you want to talk "history" then let's talk about the Open 30+ years ago. Your Open was barely a blip in the world of professional golf and on life support as far as attracting golf's elite. Mr. Arnold Palmer (an American mind you) gave the Open the shot in the arm it so desperately needed by finishing second in 1960 and vowing to return and claim the title the next year. True to his word, he did exactly that and even went one better by winning two years in a row in '61 and '62. Arnold Palmer almost single handedly put the Open on the map and started it down the road of success that it enjoys today.

I'm not knocking the Open (after the Master's it's my favorite tournament of the year) but you certainly shouldn't be throwing stones at American tournaments and American players. Was golf in America perfect 30+ years ago? No. Is golf in America perfect today? No. But golf in America today is a far sight better than it is anywhere else in the world and those that can't recognize and accept that just aren't being open minded about the state of professional golf.

BTW Since 1960.....24 of 35 Opens have been won by Americans. Not bad for a bunch of guys with no passports.

Have you played golf anywhere else in the world League?

I'm an Australian living in the USA (my choice and I'm happy you'll have me by the way). I've played all over the world and been lucky enough to play several Open courses, Australian open courses, one US Open course and several PGA tour stops. The courses in the USA I have played, with the exception of Pebble which is exquisite, are generally sanitised parkland with nothing to distinguish them from each other. Bandon Dunes in Oregon and Copperhead in Tampa are two of the most overated courses I have ever seen and I have no idea how they are in the top 100 according to Golf Digest. Bandon Dunes is an entirely forgetful ruin of beautiful linksland. A parkland layout with enormous fairways and greens has been ploughed through what could have been something special. There are dozens of underated courses in Ireland such as Ballyliffen, County Louth and County Sligo (Rosses Point) and the same in Scotland that have obviously never been visited by the judges and leave Bandon for dead. Copperhead is no different from dozens of residential and resort courses surrounded by condominiums.

Golf in the USA is a sport of the rich and priveliged. To join a club in the USA costs as much as a car or a small house in some cases. I play at one of the premier clubs in Sydney for several thousand dollars which wouldn't get me in the door at the local country club over here.

I don't think so!

As opposed to the obvious distinguishing characteristics of the great links courses you mention? What, you have some wind, some tall grass, gorse, and deep pot bunkers...hey, they're all the same aren't they?

If you think the majority of golf in the USA is played by those at private clubs, then you are sadly mistaken.

Nice reply, but you missed the point entirely and you didn't have the courtesy to quote my entire sentence concerning golf in America.

For the record...I was obviously referring to PROFESSIONAL GOLF in the United States. Nowhere in this entire thread does anyone, including me, refer to amateur golf, or where it's played. My statement that golf in the United States is a far sight better than it is anywhere else in the world is based on professional golf, but I would certainly match the USA's courses with any country's in the rest of the world, in sheer number, affordability, and certainly playablilty. That's not to say the rest of the world doesn't have great, affordable, courses that the average golfer can play and enjoy. We've just got 1000's of them!

To say that "Golf in the USA is a sport for the rich and priviledged" is just blatantly false. I play many of the 50+ public golf courses within 20 miles of my home, whenever I want, and I am neither rich or priviledged!

BTW If you think the majority of American golf courses are "sanitized parklands" you're just hangin' with the wrong crowd!

Be nice to Dukman, he just lost the Ashes.

League, with respect, there are some issues that should be considered:

1. The PGA Tour is nothing more than a large labour union with a bunch of cosseted players who earn huge amount for making up the field each week. Sure they can play but they really are the chorus line behind the few very spoiled stars.

2. The condoning of the payment of appearance money to lure the (very) overpaid stars to tournaments should be banned in the interests of both tournaments and the sponsors. Do Nike get their money's worth when Tiger avoids a tournament like the HSBC WMC?

3. The huge appetite that television has for something to fill the available time has turned pro golf into (very slow) entertainment and frankly, has done nothing for the discerning golfers enjoyment of the game when duffers take all day to line up and play a shot.

4. The ignorance of the yobbos in the galleries in the US is exceeded only by the Chinese fans who have even less knowledge of the game and good manners.

On the other hand the insistence by a bunch of Brits on the term "The Open" is also a pain in the hooge. Having watched it for as long as I can remember, the rest of the world outside the US, including Australia (Thompson - 5 wins, Norman -2, Baker-Finch -1), Southern Africa (Locke - 4 , Player - 3 , Els-1 , Price - 1 ), has always referred to it as the British Open. It's a bit like the Ashes, the next time a Brit wins it they'll declare a national holiday (not that it matters since it only happens about once in 20 years or so) and will in any event have no impact on national productivity!

However, it's all part of the British caste system which is a hangover of history. Previously, the upper, middle and working classes were easily separated by wealth, education and social status. However, since the '60's the country has moved towards an egalitarian, meritocracy and those previously excluded have feverishly embraced the snobbishness of the "upper" classes - hence the emphasis on "Royal", "The Open" and would you believe it "Scottish" instead of "Scotch" which they reserve for whisky (note not "whiskey) and shortbread. Its actually cattle excrement of the highest order.

A very good description of the whole post.

A well balanced personality with a chip on both shoulders .

Quote:
cattle excrement of the highest order.


coming from someone who attacks the US mentality every opportunity he gets. soon as someone questions the English way of life it's ignorance and rubbish. as you put it in your own words lefty, "When your friends point out your weaknesses ,they do it to help ,so you should pay more attention." learn to take criticism as well as you dish it out Lefty

The whole post attacked USA as well. I only critice the no passport American golfers, and if you read many of my posts you will notice that I visit USA regularly,including a round at Torrey Pines South.

The nonsense about 'the Open' title is covered by the earlier post.Read this http://www.opengolf.com/history/timeline.sps

Recieving a lecture about class system from the country of aparthied is galling.

Is Tiger scared

Only joking. Match play is an odd thing to watch, when you get used to strokeplay either as the way to play or watch golf.

Seemes to me to be cheeting when one or two players simply lift their balls & go to the next tee.

Enjoyed watching it.

Seemed rather civilised yesterday, especially when they broke for lunch...lol