With more than a hint of bitterness, I embark upon this blog. This blog, about a golf course that I will never play, assesses the enigma that is the Tiger formerly known as Eldrick. To borrow a few bars from a sports illustrated article on the next course to come to Dubai, we hear that Tiger has selected the Middle Eastern kingdom to “…hopefully create a memorable, everlasting legacy.” A legacy of what, filthy riches? A legacy for whom, the chosen half dozen? A legacy for when, his own lifetime? To say that I am disappointed in Earl and Kultida’s son is an understatement.
To be fair, the pressure thrust upon a young man of dark skin pigmentation was beyond what anyone should ever sustain. Pressure to do what? To revolutionize a white man’s, no, make that a boring white man’s game, to bring it into a new era, where other boys and men of color would more than dot the professional landscape. If that was the goal, well, it’s not the reality. After all, how could one young man be expected to give other young men the force of spirit and strength of heart that he had worked so long to hone? They would have to find it themselves. That they have not, cannot be pinned on him.
What can be pinned on Tiger, however, is to follow up on the learning center that he created in California. That learning center, built for kids of middle class and lower class status, was a legacy. His second, third, and fourth golf courses, for all I care, could be built in DubaiLand, or whatever that theme park in the desert is called. Why the first? Why not drop the first in some blighted urban landscape, like the east side of Buffalo, or the south side of Chicago, or any side of Detroit? Why not create a legacy for people who have no legacy, instead of a playground for people who might never appreciate it?
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Comment feed for this post
Jason Scott Deegan:
The Accidental Golfer:
Katharine Dyson:
Kiel Christianson:
I don't expect him to revolutionize the industry by building a bunch of $50 gems.
I do hope that one course. ONE COURSE - is designed for value, juniors, the common folk, someone who NEEDS it.
If I was a betting man, I would bet against it though.
it will come when
Tiger can afford to
for sure! Lets give this young man a chance.
Somehow I think Tiger is getting the lighting bill paid these days...
Why wouldn't he choose the first course to continue to make the statement he and his father first made in 1996? Symbolic, I know, but semantics are everything in the power circles...especially as it filters down to the young and hopeful.
Nevertheless, don't sell yourself short. As a TG writer, doors are open to you, even Dubai. Start researching that junket now, and get your name on the list!
Ridiculous.
You are starting to be able to form legible sentences...We are impressed....Cross breeding have not done much brain damage in your case...
Now THERE'S a fine sentence...speak of the pot calling the kettle black!
Do you want our autograph? Do you want to come to our concert in the fine state of Arkansas next month?
is a good start for this young man.
Tell me one sports person dead or alive
who did more!
What about other golfers who are
in the designing business?
Besides...who says we aren't going to get to play Tiger's Dubai course? Last I checked it was about $2000 or so to fly there from the US East Coast, and probably another $2000 or so to stay for a week. Tack on another $500 or so for the Tiger golf course and you're out of there for under $5000...that's not so bad!