ESPN.com news services
Tiger Woods says his left knee is “right on schedule” for recovery in time for the U.S. Open in June, if not sooner.
Woods underwent arthroscopic surgery on April 15. He underwent a two-week check-up earlier this week in Utah and told Golf Digest.com: “It went great. Everything is right on schedule.”
Just had to share this because it’s very nice if you can’t get near a TV for The Masters the next few days. If you simply go to http://www.masters.org/en_US/index.html and click on the image that says “Amen Corner Live” you can watch the 3 holes in wide screen from your computer. It’s fairly clear and totally worth if you have a moment to catch some guys coming through. The tournament already looks to be pretty tight. Big names Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods are still very much in it as usual. Hope you get a chance to enjoy some of the golf.
http://www.masters.org/en_US/index.html
Golfers are Athletes
Sitting here watching the NCAA tournament final between Memphis and Kansas got me thinking how incredibly talented and athletic you have to be to play at this level of college basketball. Many of us have played pick up games, or are involved in basketball leagues. The majority of us however have never experienced competition similar to what people across the country will see in the NCAA Championship game tonight. There is no way for any of us to know who haven’t played at that level. If your wondering why the headline says “Golf” requires athletic ability I’m about to answer that question. It’s easy for some to sit back and say look at those PGA golfers, they stroll along the fairway with ease and every now and then swing a club. Seriously how tough can that be, it looks almost easy.
Lets start off and silence the ones who have no credibility. These people are the “athletes” out there that are absolutely terrible at golf that say it’s easy. In reality though the hand eye coordination and mental strength needed to play professional golf is unmatched. It’s incredibly intense, and it would be hard to match the pressure involved in the four grueling days of each tournament. So I go back to what I said above, essentially don’t knock it until you can do it yourself. The other glaring reason golf proves that athletic ability is essential is to simply look at the star of the game.
Yes, Tiger Woods is in perfect physical and mental condition and the fact he is number one by a long shot is no coincidence. That goes for almost any pro athlete across the board. Based on that I think we can all agree a good athlete makes a good golfer. Yes I know John Daly is fat and out of shape, but where is he now. I just felt it made sense to at least comment on this subject leading into the Masters this weekend. The majors are always the best, and we should all try and appreciate the mental and physical prowess these “athletes” will display. I wrote about this over the summer (http://www.roaminggolfer.com/sportsbeat/?p=54), but this continues to be a hot topic. Being a golfer myself I felt it was worth of taking a second look.
Tiger Woods in his prime?
Tiger Woods has been on an unbelievable streak lately. You could actually claim that he has been on a winning streak his whole life. Tiger now in his early thirties is probably playing better than ever. His swing is tight and his focus has only gotten stronger. Not only does he have the most natural talent out of anyone on tour, he simply outworks the field. Every now and then another pro will challenge him with some comments to the press, but they never live up to it. Most likely it’s for their own purpose to motivate themselves. Deep down they all know that he is the best.
That being said back to my original reason for writing this post. I just want to know will this be the year he is going to win the grand slam. Not the “Tiger Slam”, but the grand slam of golf. It’s hard to imagine him having a better chance at it than in the next three year span. From an age perspective golf works differently than most sports. You need a perfect combination of mental stability, physical talent, and hand eye coordination. They all need to work simultaneously with nothing missing a beat to have a chance every week. Based on Tiger’s maturity, skill, and mental state right now I feel this will be the year of the grand slam for him. Maybe that will all end in a couple weeks since the Masters is upon us, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say I think not. Regardless enjoy the ride because we all should feel lucky to be alive while Tiger Woods is in his pro golf prime.
Can PGA players afford to be out of shape?
With John Daly in the lead at the PGA Championship this week I immediately got to thinking do PGA players have to be in shape? I have to say I’m a believer in physical fitness and golf working hand in hand. However I’m staring to question the this belief a little bit. Angel Cabera won the US Open this year and Daly has been a top the leaderboard a couple times recently. Obviously there are numerous examples throughout the history of golf as well.
Granted the majority of the players seem to be in pretty good shape. I would venture to say that you can be flexible, athletic, and fat all at the same time. If your flexible and athletic that should be most of what you need to be a good golfer. At least in theory.
I’ve written a couple posts on this topic in the past, but it continues to fascinate me on weekly basis. Some the weather conditions are absolutely brutal too. These PGA players are competing in heat that is 90 degrees plus quite often. The humidity is usually through the roof. I’m just waiting for someone like Lumpy (Tim Herron) to collapse on the course. It doesn’t happen though, and they continue to march forward.
So maybe this is just a big joke that guys like Herron and Daly play on the other PGA tour players. Sitting back watching them work so hard while they smoke a cigarette and have a beer during their round. Although my contention is that it will have to catch up with them at some point. No matter how much you try and prove that you can be a good golfer, and be completely out of shape. I still can’t be convinced that it doesn’t give players an edge to be physically fit.
What do you think? Does physical fitness and golf have a connection of success with PGA tour players?
