Celebrity #Golf Match - Pair the Pros to their Mates!

You watch McIlroy and Mickelson drive and chip; you cheer as birdies are made and boo as a three-footer for par is rimmed around the hole...

Now, Golf for Beginners wants to see how well you know your favorite golf celebrities off the course. Sharing knowledge of current events will certainly liven up any lull in conversation while walking with your mates on the fairways and at the 19th hole.

Match these golfers with his or her mate!

We have selected several professional golfers for this game; how well do you know the spouses, fiancees and/or significant others of the below celebrity golfers?

Note: You can click on the links to see the spouses immediately or take the challenge and wait until the end of the blog to see the answers:

PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS:

1. Phil Mickelson: This pairing should be easy! Married for over twenty years, the happy couple have been spotted on and off the course establishing  initiatives like Birdies for Brave.

2. Rory McIlroy - : This top professional European and PGA Tour golfer recently announced nuptials, hoping for a 2017 fairy tale wedding in a castle in Ireland.

3. Stewart Cink – Draws inspiration from his wife who is bravely fighting a breast cancer battle. We support her fight and wish her a speedy recovery.

4. Dustin Johnson - For "All the Single Ladies" here is DJ's lady, summing up her life with the 2016 U.S. Open winner in this Instagram video.

  5. Sergio Garcia - You have to love social media - Twitter is how Garcia announced his recent engagement. Maybe Sergio's battle with a Major will be over with a new an improved, calm and carefree attitude.

WIVES and/or SIGNIFICANT OTHERS - NOT in correct order.

a.   Angelina Akinsb.   Paulina Gretzkyc.   Lisad.  Erica Stolle.  Amy

Think you know them all? Answers below...as in golf, no cheating!


On a score of 1 to 5, how well did you do? Let us know below in the comments section of this Golf for Beginners blog and on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.

photos: Wikipedia

Answers: 

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