The following is not intended to offend fans of
tennis, basketball, football or baseball. It is, rather,
an attempt to put everything in it's proper
perspective.
Ever wonder why golf is growing in
popularity and why people who don't even
play go to tournaments or watch it on TV?
The following truisms may shed some light:
Golf is an honourable game, with the
overwhelming majority of players being
honourable people who don't need
referees.
Golfers don't have some of their
players in jail every week.
Golfers don't kick dirt on, or
throw bottles at, other people.
Professional golfers are paid in direct
proportion to how well they play.
Golfers don't get per
diem and two seats on a
charter flight when they
travel between
tournaments.
Golfers don't hold out for more money, or
demand new contracts, because of another
player's deal.
Professional golfers don't
demand that the taxpayers pay
for the courses on which they
play.
When golfers make a mistake,
nobody is there to cover for them or
back them.
The PGA raises more money for charity
in 1 year than the NFL does in 2
You can watch the best golfers in the world up
close, at any tournament, including the majors,
all day every day for $25 or $30.
Even in the nose bleed section a ticket
to the Super Bowl will cost you over
$300 - or $1,000 from a scalper!
You can bring a picnic lunch to the tournament
golf course, watch the best in the world and not
spend a small fortune on food and drink.
Try that at one of the taxpayer funded
baseball or football stadiums. If you bring a
soft drink into a ballpark, they'll give you two
options - get rid of it or leave.
In golf you cannot fail 70% of the time and
make $9 million a season, like the best
baseball hitters (.300 batting average) do.
Golf doesn't change its rules to attract fans.
Golfers have to adapt to an entirely new
playing area each week.
Golfers keep their clothes on while they are
being interviewed.
Golf doesn't have free agency. In their prime,
Palmer, Norman, and other stars, would shake
your hand and say they were happy to meet you.
In his prime Jose Canseco wore T-shirts that
read "Leave Me Alone."
You can hear birds chirping on the golf
course during a tournament.
At a golf tournament, (unlike at taxpayer-funded sports
stadiums and arenas) you won't hear a steady stream of
four letter words and nasty name calling while you're
hoping that no one spills beer on you.
Tiger hits a golf ball over twice as far as
Barry Bonds hits a baseball.
Golf courses don't ruin the neighbourhood.
And Finally:
Here's a little slice of golf history
that you might enjoy. Why do golf
courses have 18 holes - not 20, or
10, or an even dozen
During a discussion among the club's
membership board at St. Andrews in 1858, a
senior member pointed out that it takes
exactly 18 shots to polish off a fifth of Scotch.
By limiting himself to only one shot of Scotch
per hole, the Scot figured a round of golf was
finished when the Scotch ran out.
Now you know.
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