Eleven: Golf

Enough about business and politics. Today is the first day of Masters week, a true Rite of Spring for golfers. For ten years now, my sport has been dominated by the machine known as Tiger Woods. While no one can take issue with the amount of skill he has, and apparently the hard work and discipline he brings to his job, I for one am not convinced that Mr. Woods has been good for golf.

Has golf become a "better" game since Woods' arrival, or just richer (much, much richer) for a few at the top? The Fedex Cup, which begins this year, which provides a $10 million payday for one individual, is this "good for the game" or just good for television and the guy who wins?

Golf, after all, is a game. It is supposed to be fun. I have rarely, if ever, observed Mr. Woods having fun on the golf course. Fuzzy Zoeller, Freddie Couples, the King, Lee Trevino, - these are just a few of names that come to mind when one realizes that getting paid to play golf is probably the best gig in the world. Woods doesn't seem to appreciate that.

At the level of us weekend hackers, what has the Woods Effect really been? Well, you can now wear a T-shirt at a private club. That's about all I can see.

Notwithstanding Woods, I think golf is pretty healthy, meaning that the game is going to survive any person or any fad. It will be interesting to see what happens in golf after the television boobs no longer have Woods to woo over. Perhaps the relative money pot will diminish a bit for the pros. But the enjoyment that we normal golfers get from being outside with friends, hitting one of every two or three shots really well, getting the occasional birdie, and being frustrated by those glorious rules which require you to penalize yourself, will go on unabated.