Graeme McDowell: Why golf needs Tiger Woods

After putting his way to victory in a playoff at the 2010 Chevron World Challenge, Graeme McDowell was proud yet effusive in his praise of Tiger Woods.

McDowell believes that golf needs Tiger Woods. "Mentally Tiger is great match player. He's the greatest player ever, and he expect guys to hole putts like that. Did I expect to hole them? I'm trying to hole them, of course."

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Where many golfers like McDowell want to hole putts believing that the ball may go in the hole, Tiger Woods knows when he stands over a putt that it will drop. Golfers who play against him still expect that he will stage a comeback when he's down (in spite of his lackluster year) or at the very least, fight until the very last putt on the 18th green has dropped.

It's the knowledge of Woods' mental strength that keeps the players on their toes and adds mystique to Tiger's golf game.

Graeme McDowell was happy that he was invited by Tiger Woods adding,

"Just great to see him back playing great again this week. I thought he controlled his ball really well the last couple of days. Just kind of got on the wrong side of the 13th there and made double. Apart from that, (he) didn't do a huge lot wrong today."

Yes, Tiger Woods played great golf for the entire tournament in spite of a cold putter and yes, Tiger Woods is a force to be reckoned with for the 2011 golf season. Lee Westwood and the rest of the European Tour and PGA Tour golfers, be prepared.

As Graeme McDowell mentioned in the pressroom,

"He can play his way back into having that mystique again. There's no doubt. He's just got to do the talking with his golf clubs now...

At the end of the day, we're all humans and we all make mistakes and we all hit bad golf shots. But there's something a bit special about his golf game, and I fully expect that mystique to return as the golf clubs start doing the talking again."

Read the transcript from the Chevron World Challenge.

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Golf Courses in Mexico create eco-friendly experience

The Golf Environment Organization or GEO has recently certified two Palace Resorts golf courses in Cancun, Mexico as sustainable, "eco-friendly" travel destinations.

 

The two Mexican Caribbean golf courses, Riviera Cancun Golf and Resorts and Moon Palace Golf and Spa Resort,  have received this distinction partly due to their enhanced conservation efforts and connecting people with the planet.

 

 

As owner Jose Chapur explains, environmental leadership goes to the heart of Palace
Resorts’ business:

“In developing golf around Cancun and the Riviera Maya we have embraced the environmental richness of our jungle landscape and taken every possible opportunity to conserve and enhance Mexico’s natural and cultural assets. The experience offered to our guests is both luxurious and also sensitive to the immeasurable value of the ecosystems that host it.

“Golfers that enjoy our resorts are particularly privileged as the courses here enable them to spend time enjoying our jungle and wildlife first-hand with their friends and families.

“GEO Certification is becoming established as a global seal of approval for environmentally sensitive golf. That we are among the first golf resorts to achieve this award is a source of great pride and a mark of distinction for our committed team of superintendents, groundsmen and ecologists."

 

According to the international non-profit GEO website, golf is uniquely a sport, land-use, lifestyle and $300 billion global business. It stands to reason that there should be a genuine regard and responsibility taken for the land and eco-systems within each facility and in the surrounding areas.

 

It is comforting to know that GEO, with support from associations such as the R&A, European Tour and the PGA of Europe are working on ways to minimize golf course consumption of precious commodities such as water while managing turfgrass and improving soil and air quality.

 

"Spending recreational time in a natural environment is something all golfers value at a very deep level, whether they had a good day on the links or not."

 

To quote Peter Thomson, 5-time winner of The Open Championship, it's "the balance between foul and fair ground that sets the greatest golf courses apart".

 

Read more about the Golf Environment Organization, sustainable golf and the recent United Nations COP16 Conference.

 

Read Golf for Beginners blogs to find out which other travel destinations are incorporating eco-friendly measures into their golf courses!

 

Follow Golf4Beginners on Twitter and voice your opinion!

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