Guide for Beginning Golfers

Since Tiger Woods joined the PGA Tour in 1997, his ultimate and maybe only real goal was to tie and then beat the record of the greatest golfer who ever lived, Jack Nicklaus. He may still accomplish this feat but he has a longer and more difficult road ahead as he has allowed himself to succumb to the many temptations and pleasures of super stardom. His extracurricular activities have sidetracked him from his once illustrious goal of becoming the best golfer in the world. I can understand to some extent what he might be going through but that is no excuse for his actions. He is not the only superstar golfer or superstar in any sport for that matter, who has ever found himself in this situation, but how a person handles the temptations is the mark of a true superstar. When any person has been gifted enough to be elevated to such a high position and constantly under the public eye and scrutiny, they also take on the responsibility to become a proper role model to the to their many fans, both young and old alike. You cannot always have what you want because it is there for the taking even though you may feel entitled. A single man may have gotten away with these actions, even though a bit over the top even for the single crowd, but a married man with a beautiful wife and two wonderful children, who allows himself to succumb to this type of lifestyle may in fact have an illness or addiction of some kind.

I’m sure Jack Nicklaus,  Arnold Palmer and many of the other tour professionals have found themselves in a position where they could have easily given in to similar opportunities for sexual misconduct or other indiscretions of the flesh. I think that most males, contrary to popular belief will remain loyal to their spouses, even under the most tempting of circumstances. This action or rather non-action is what separates true greatness from the pretender. This is a valid point of contention for whether Tiger Woods can ever be the golfer he was lauded to be just a few years ago. Tiger Woods was the golf hero to a new generation and was also admired by golfers and fans from any era as his skill at golf was perhaps second to none.  In reflecting about the real history of this great sport, golf was created as a gentleman’s game. Tiger’s dalliances and many indiscretions have now ostracized him from this category. It is a true shame as I was one of his admirers and fans but Jack Nicklaus has now taken that place for good in the number ONE position in golf history, at least in my book. 

Whether Tiger Woods beats Jack Nicklaus’s record or not he will no longer be remembered as the greatest golfer who ever lived but only as the golfer who was able to win the most majors or tournaments, if he can still achieve this goal. I can still see Jack hitting golf balls on the course as if it were yesterday and I remember the Masters of 1986 very well where he was victorious at age 46 . Phil Mickelson has a better chance than many to take over the number one spot in the modern day era of golf but he must make his move now if he will ever come close to the best of the best. Jack Nicklaus will also be the first one to readily admit that although there have been many great golfers, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods and the like, but the only golfer who ever can come close or even exceed his status in golf history is Bobby Jones. In his seven years as a golf professional he won 13 majors, which may very well stand forever, or at least as long as Joe Dimaggio’s 56 game hitting streak. Try beating that one Tiger. Happy Golfing to All!

I mentioned Jack first, or should I say, Mr. Nicklaus in the title because alphabetically and historically I think he deserves that courtesy but they both should be credited with phenomenal accomplishments for their time in Golf History. I grew up with Jack for my golf hero just as I had Mickey Mantle as my baseball idol in my formative years. I have admired many ball players since but no one can take the place of Mantle in my book. There have been many great players both in his era and subsequently that may have even been historically and statistically better than he, but he still remains an all time favorite to me. As far as I am concerned, Mantle was the best and will always be the best, case closed. The same goes for Jack Nicklaus, he will always be number 1 in my book. Tiger is a phenom, no two ways about it and it would have been a heck of a battle to see Tiger and Jack go head to head in their primes. It would be like Mohammed Ali vs. Rocky Marciano – who was really the best ? We’ll never know for sure on either count but our minds can play it out and choose who we think would come out on top. I’m a big Tiger fan also and Phil Mickelson is not far behind, but watching Jack’s duels with Mr. Arnold Palmer, and I mention his name with all the respect it deserves, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, Johnny Miller and  Tom Weiskopf was incomparable to the modern day era of golf, at least in my book. I don’t mean to take anything away from the modern day PGA Pro - Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and more than a handful of other players including Fred Couples and Davis Love 111, whose ability with a golf club would most likely allow them to be competitive in any era are all great players, it’s just not the same game to me. Through no fault of their own, the equipment and golf ball technology and advancement accessible for the modern day professional has made golf a different game than it was 20 years or more ago. I was a youngster at the time other golfing greats before like Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Bobby Jones ( actually a little before my time – I don’t want to pre-date myself ), Cary Middlecoff and the like were around but I can still watch some of their duels on “Shells Wonderful World Of Golf” and I would have loved to see them compete in the modern day era. These guys used wooden clubs and inferior golf balls and were still striping 250 to 280 yd. drives down the middle and shaping shots like it was second nature to them. My favorite is the duel between Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan at Pine Valley, New Jersey( rated # 1 course in the world )- I’ll leave it to your imagination to figure out who the winner was but BH were his initials. When I was following Jack or should I say Mr. Nicklaus in my youth, I never imagined that anyone could ever match his record let alone beat it. So many golfing greats had phenomenal records in their careers, ( Arnold, Gary, Tom, Ben, Sam, Byron, Bobby and the rest) but he was well ahead of the pack. Tiger has shown the world what the “Power Of The Mind Or Thought Can Do”. His dad Earl helped him establish early in his childhood, that if you want to be the best, to set that goal in his sights and contemplate on it every day and visualize yourself accomplishing that goal. It is public knowledge that Tiger had his sights and mindset on Mr. Nicklaus’ record at a very early age. It was an unreachable goal for most because they would not let themselves believe that it was possible, but not for Tiger and that’s what makes him stand out among the rest.

It is inevitable that Tiger will beat Jack’s record, as long as he remains healthy, and I wish him well on his quest. After all, records are made to be broken. He is a remarkable player and  I would like nothing more than to see him in action one day. My ideal foursome would be Mr. Nicklaus, Mr. Palmer,  Tiger ( I can say Tiger because he is more than a few years younger than I )and naturally myself. What a day it would be. I can hit the ball fairly well and I always wondered how I would fare against the best. In my younger days at Marine Park or Marine Dunes Golf Course in Brooklyn I hit the ball well and Par 4’s and 5’s were usually within reach on my second shot, depending on wind conditions. I know it may never happen but I can Dream, can’t I ? You never know. No one can stop you from dreaming. So, whatever your goals in life may be, whether it’s be to beat Jack or Tigers record, Jordan or Kobe in Basketball, Marciano, Ali or Roy Jones in boxing, Montana, Marino or Brady in football ( I had to mention some players from the modern era or I really would be dating myself ), or any other ideal, goal or person in a livelihood that you idolize don’t ever give up – Take a tip from Nike – “Just Do It”

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