Speaking Up on Social Media - Good or Bad for Golf?

Probably the most notable of Twitter golfers to rhapsody on the social media channel, Ian Poulter, recently stung back about his decision to stay out of this year's BMW PGA Championship based on a less-than-stellar track record at the event.

Stewart Cink, well-known for his use of Twitter, posts daily, most recently dishing about his bum rap at not playing in The Masters with a positive spin of vacationing in the Riviera Maya with his wife Lisa and returning home to watch the tournament on his brand, new 4K TV.

Do you think that player social media chat helps, or hurts golf? Do fans appreciate the openness and connectivity of their heroes, of reporters and golf's most outspoken characters or would they prefer a bit more ...detachment.

Fans must love the connectivity because guys like Cink pull in huge audiences. Cink currently has 1.12 million followers while Poulter has a whopping 1.87 million devotees but, is the intimacy good for the sport or is it better to just see the facade put on for the viewing audience?

Yes, pro golfers are active on Twitter and reporters and large business concerns are also quick to criticize, and make public, the sports' highs...and low. Golf Digest recently pointed out that ESPN Sports Business reporter Darren Rovell's comments about the state of the game might not be a "complete picture", noting that "the true picture is larger than 140 characters."

Before the influx of social connectivity, there was an air of mystique about the game, players, their lives, their thoughts of tournaments and of other tour players (unless a writer was told some juicy off-the-cuff tidbits). Fast forward to our technological society complete with smartphones dangling from almost everyone's pocket and the sky's the limit for many of these players as well as for their fans to see and to comment upon.

In the case of fallen number-one world golfer Tiger Woods. fans got to see Woods' personal debacle unfold ...the clean crispy hero turned into failure before our eyes, thanks, in part, to media and social media.

If not for his public outing, Tiger might have broken all records by now.

The media helped take the untouchable Tiger out of his winning rhythm...but, never fear! The PGA Tour announced on their website that Woods told Nicklaus he would be playing in the Memorial...websites add even more social fodder to the social world.

Tiger to Nicklaus: "See you in May. I'll be at the Memorial." http://t.co/QJr5EqWdw4 pic.twitter.com/Fm6ByJk3Mx
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 23, 2015

For Poulter, Dufner and others, the social connection gives them a chance to vent, helps their sponsors...and advertises to the public where to buy their books, clothing and more, further turning the machine.

Twitter seems to be the avenue of choice for celebrities, pro-sports stars including golfers, PGA Tour and LPGA to connect with audiences because of its quick and easy platform, which is why I have used this avenue in my examples.

Where does it all go from here? We as a people are moving forward and it looks as if social connectivity is here to stay, at least until the next big thing comes along. What is your opinion? Do you follow and interact with your favorite golfers on social media? Do you think we are living in an age of too much information?

Comment on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and at the bottom of this golf blog!


photo: golf.com

#Golf Beating Down Top Players as Masters Limps Closer

Although this probably will not be considered a second-string Masters Tournament, with top golfers dropping like flies due to injuries, the first major of the season at Augusta National might surely be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Between Tiger Woods' back injury forcing surgery this past week, Hunter Mahan with injured hip, Phil Mickelson pulling his oblique muscle just under two weeks ago and Jason Day not having played a full round of golf since the WGC, The Masters Tournament is beginning to look like a prizefighter who is down but not yet counted out…ambulatory at best?

Mickelson says he is ready for his return to the Shell Houston Open this week (looking good so far) but he also suffers from psoriatric arthritis, a debilitating illness which could act up offering fans only an early glimpse at Lefty. Not sure that Phil will win this year’s opening major but would love to see it happen.

Jason Day, just one day ago brushed off the fact that he is indeed among the walking wounded, declaring to all that his thumb injury is healed.

The pros want to play golf at The Masters but are they physically able to compete...and win?

Fans, however, will not be keeping count of the injuries list but will most certainly be watching the sport at its finest and gazing at Augusta revealing it’s majesty of azaleas and spring in bloom.

So it’s now up to Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jimmy Walker to carry the ball – strength of mind is what is needed at Augusta, not power, as these three are soon to find out.

*This Just In - DUSTIN JOHNSON W/D from Shell Houston Open after carding an 80! No reason was given but the chances are slim that he will recover from this "ailment" before The Masters...enough said.

McIlroy has Las Vegas on his side, with Adam Scott and DJ close behind now that Woods has officially pulled out of The Masters but is that enough?:  Tough talk from Rory, "someone's got to step up, so I'm trying to be that person", will not get the job done and the internet is buzzing with a possible consecutive Masters win by Scott but only Nicklaus, Woods and Faldo have ever completed this feat.

What about JimmyWalker? Well, Butch Harmon says he's "ready for The Masters," and is holding aside a $1200 bottle of his finest champagne for the after-party but past meltdowns make this writer wonder about anything more than a top-ten finish for this dramatic player.

Could The Masters win go to 2013 PGA Championship Jason Dufner?

“I’ve had a pretty good run the last two years in majors,” Dufner said. “I haven’t missed a cut. Had some good finishes. Had probably three or four legitimate chances to win the events going into Sunday. So I’m excited about what’s around the corner for me at the Masters.”

Do you agree that the Masters Tournament belongs to one of the above golfers? Voice your opinion on our Golf for Beginners blog and on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.

photo credits: foxsports.com, pga

Should Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson be automatic Ryder Cup picks?

With three tournament wins this season for Tiger Woods and top ranking in the FedEx Cup rankings, exclusion from the Ryder Cup would be out of the question. For Phil Mickelson, however, an automatic qualification should not have necessarily been clear-cut.

The eight official automatic 2012 Ryder Cup picks not made by Team USA Captain Davis Love III are (not necessarily in order of popularity):

1. Tiger Woods:  Three wins in 2012 but struggled most recently at the PGA Championship and in the majors in general. Of course Tiger's "C" game is akin to most tour players' "A" game.

2. Phil Mickelson: One win at the ATT Pebble Beach Pro-Am, M/C three times and slid in to 14th place on the money list with a lackluster season. Perhaps it's time for Mickelson to turn in the spikes for cleats?

3. Bubba Watson: A Masters win this season and being top-8 in the Official World Golf Rankings makes the second lefty on the list more of a shoe-in than likeable Phil but cuts at both the Memorial and the U.S. Open (when the pressure was on) makes Bubba questionable as well.

4. Jason Dufner: This was definitely Dufner's year with wins at the Zurich Classic and at the HP Byron Nelson. Second place at the Crowne Plaza Invitational with a follow-up 4th place at the U.S. Open makes Dufner a rising star on the PGA Tour.

5. Keegan Bradley: Aside from being a very likeable fellow, Keegan is also a solid golfer and good clutch player. He also recently won the WGC-Bridgestone and just tied for third place at the PGA Championship. Right now, he's hot.

6. Webb Simpson: Winner of the 2012 U.S. Open....enough said.

7. Zach Johnson: Two wins this season and 4th on the PGA Tour money list. Johnson's stats include ranking 11th in putting and second place in strokes gained in putting.

8.  Matt Kuchar: Cut from the PGA Championship but first in top-10 finishes this year and 9th in scrambling from the rough on the PGA Tour.

These players are Team USA's representation at the Ryder Cup and I will be cheering them on to victory and to getting the Cup back onto US soil. Team Europe won the 2010 Ryder Cup matches by a score of 14.5 t0 13.5. Team Europe will most likely include Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald but the final decisions are to be made after the Johnnie Walker Championship.

Tiger Woods may not have won a major and may have struggled this season to regain his form but he still shows signs of progress and remains a strong contender for Team USA. Mickelson will once again have to prove to himself, more than to his loyal fans, that he still has what it takes to compete against the up and coming golfers on the PGA Tour.

The four final spots for Team USA 2012 Ryder Cup will be chosen on September 4th with Captain of the Love boat considering Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker (one of my personal favorites and the golfer who almost bumped Mickelson off the Ryder Cup team) and Jim Furyk who Love said were "high on the list." The Wyndham Championship this week may be a deciding factor for Brandt Snedeker and Bill Haas. Love said, "we want to see how they play. Obviously, we don't have to go tell them that they are under the gun."

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photo credit: ClubCorp.com

Did the Tiger Woods golf era end on PGA Championship Sunday?

After receiving an encouraging tweet in the aftermath of the 93rd PGA Championship where Keegan Bradley charged from behind to take glory's last stand from Jason Dufner, I wondered if Tiger Woods is needed anymore to stir interest in professional golf. My answer, "Golf will survive and thrive without Tiger in the game!"

 

 

A short conversation between @GolfSchott on Twitter and myself (@Golf4Beginners) after a sudden-death playoff on Sunday transpired as follows:

@GolfSchott: I would say this one would be considered memorable now as well. What a tourney!!

@Golf4Beginners: Playoff always good but memorable?

@GolfSchott: Absolutely, this is no ordinary playoff, this is a playoff in a Major!

Excitement and patriotic relief were measured hand-in-hand as Americans came in first and second and that a red-shirted, fresh-faced Keegan Bradley hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy; "relief" that there is finally someone on this side of the pond to challenge the ever gregarious and competitive golfers standing up to be counted in the world arena.

I watched intently as the playoff commenced with two relative unknowns taking center stage. There were center-cut drives, long, twisting putts dropping into the cup and fists a'pump with unabashed joy as the golfers walked as purposely as the once-great Tiger Woods did on major Sunday with fans cheering immeasurably as a hero was finally crowned.

This was not just one hero that the fans were cheering in my opinion, it was the game of golf that received the applause!

According to this opinion piece, Tiger Woods as we knew him is "dead". "He might still win, but the dominant force we loved to watch is gone." Woods can never be the person or champion that he once was; his true identity has been discovered, found out, ousted and doubt in his own ability has caused "rigor mortis" in his golf swing.

The fear which Tiger instilled in professional golfers when he was in the hunt has diminished and, at thirty-five, the mystique of how he was regularly in contention is being replaced with missed cuts and pack-like, mediocre play. Although the odds are good that Woods will win again, he will never again be known as a hero in the world of golf.

Thank goodness that the fans are finally willing to move on, for the game has been suffering along with Woods for the past several years, unable to pick up and move on. As of this PGA Championship where Tiger M/C'd with one of his worst major rounds, golf media and fans are finally welcoming change.

Yes, a new era is at hand. Whether Keegan Bradley or Jason Dufner will become "memorable" or win more events cannot be predicted but it is safe to say that the PGA Championship Sunday sudden-death playoff gave the game of golf a push in the right direction.

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Read more about Tiger Woods on Golf for Beginners

 

photo credit: MSNBC

 

 

Posted via email from stacysolomon's posterous