The Masters Golf Tournament (1 Viewer)

...he has been the best ambassador the game has ever seen....

Golf is an ancient game. There have been many deserving of the best of title for their era. Jones, Palmer, Nicklaus, Tiger. So, to me, I think you have to define it by era. Tiger certainly is deserving of being crowned the most impactful and talented for his era - perhaps of all time but I have trouble with "best ever" titles. I wouldn't identify him as an ambassador though. No one really should own the "best of "based on different era's. However, if I were picking one it would probably be Gary Player for the golfing worlds best ambassador.
 
Golf is an ancient game. There have been many deserving of the best of title for their era. Jones, Palmer, Nicklaus, Tiger. So, to me, I think you have to define it by era. Tiger certainly is deserving of being crowned the most impactful and talented for his era - perhaps of all time but I have trouble with "best ever" titles. I wouldn't identify him as an ambassador though. No one really should own the "best of "based on different era's. However, if I were picking one it would probably be Gary Player for the golfing worlds best ambassador.

I suppose that there are different ways to define what you think an ambassador is . . . and there are even different kinds of ambassadors (because they do different things, but still qualify as such). I think Tiger made golf appealing and accessible to demographics in American life where the game was previously non-existent, literally. And I think he brings a general, popular energy that no golfer has ever brought - at least not in the breadth of his appeal to the general public. I think that very clearly makes him an ambassador of the game and if that impact is quantified, I think he's clearly one of the most impactful (if not the most impactful) ambassadors the sport has ever known.

A few stats of note (with citation):

- According to PGA-tracked statistics, in 1995 only six percent of "newcomers" to golf were non-caucasian. In 2017, that number was more than one-quarter (26%). If you had to identify a single most likely reason for that substantial increase over that time period, the answer is obviously Tiger Woods. N. 1 (below). For a sport struggling for decades to diversify, Tiger has made a singular, unmatched contribution.

- It is also well known in the world of television ratings that when Tiger Woods makes the cut and is in competition on Saturday and Sunday, golf's tv ratings jump to the tune 30% on average and even more in majors. When golf is drawing 30% more viewers - a substantial increase - it's absolutely good for the sport. It keeps the sport in the popular consciousness to a greater degree. It elevates the sport's public profile. It gets more people talking about it, and likely boosts tee times and other golf consumption the following week. And when that can all be attributed to a single player, it's obvious that person is transmitting golf to the viewing audience and general public in a way that no one else does. N. 2 (below).

- Other areas of impact that can be attributed, at least to some degree, to Tiger Woods: (1) PGA tour players' gross earnings including sponsorship/ad rev.; (2) the expansion of golf as a high-school competitive sport in the Tiger-era; (3) overall athleticism of the PGA pro community. https://www.stgeorgesgolf.com/Blog/May_2018/tiger-woods-effect.aspx


He's incontrovertibly an ambassador. And seems pretty obvious to me that he might be the most impactful ambassador the game has ever known - and that's based on the impact he brings that can be demonstrated with metrics and data. The "Best Ever" discussion is always tricky in any sport - it's way too subjective and way too hard to compare different eras.


N. 1:
https://www.dallasnews.com/business...-white-membership-pga-america-looks-diversify
https://www.thengfq.com/2018/05/ngf-issues-2018-golf-industry-report/

N. 2:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonifi...ings-make-that-a-resounding-yes/#5cb7940c4005
https://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/2008-we-learned-what-happens-tv-ratings-when-tigers-not-around
 
I do believe that in his prime he was the greatest golfer ever, and I do not question that he has had an incredible impact on the game--probably more than any other golfer--increasing greatly the number of people who will watch golf on television, the number of people who have played the game, and the amount of money professional golfers can make.

As a kid, I disliked the Boston Celtics because of their dominance (but I liked the Yankees and the Packers). It is what it is.
 
Golf is an ancient game. There have been many deserving of the best of title for their era. Jones, Palmer, Nicklaus, Tiger. So, to me, I think you have to define it by era. Tiger certainly is deserving of being crowned the most impactful and talented for his era - perhaps of all time but I have trouble with "best ever" titles. I wouldn't identify him as an ambassador though. No one really should own the "best of "based on different era's. However, if I were picking one it would probably be Gary Player for the golfing worlds best ambassador.

I can't add much to what Chuck said and provided in his post above, which very much illustrates and supports what I was trying to say. I guess I'm defining ambassador as a figure that makes the sport appealing to the masses, that more or less revolutionizes the sport, there may be a better word for it but impactful sells it woefully short IMO. Again, I think the data Chuck provides very much supports that viewpoint.

Love Gary Player but there is no way he has had near the impact on the sport that Tiger has, it's really not even close....
 
Excellent research Super Chuck.

I was responding to the narrow scope of best ambassador ever. By ambassador I think of a person acting to represent or promote the sport of golf. Tiger is arguably the best ever at his sport and likely the most influential. However, I just never considered him to be the sport's ambassador. I always think of Gary Player when I think of an ambassador for that role. https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2017/09/09/gary-player-is-still-astounding/#13a95e8d7040


Chuck,

Not to downplay your excellent research but from your first citation: "For the past two decades, with the emergence of Tiger Woods, [they were] hoping that would be the catalyst for diversification within the sport," he added. "But it has not occurred." Why not? "It's expensive, it's difficult [to master] and it takes time."

Just to be clear...you want get an argument from me if you ask me who the best, most influential golfer in the world is for the last what 20+ years. Tiger is and it't not even close. If you ask me who the best ever is...that is harder...but the list is about 2 or 3 long and he is on that list.
 
It was fun to watch it unfold yesterday. I've always liked Tiger but haven't always pulled for him. Reason being, his dominance. Always wondered about his longevity, because of how hard he would swing. Age starts to take its toll. But, he's so mentally strong, I could also see him learning a new swing and still be a top player.

I've played in a golf fantasy league for about 18 years, simply based off annual PGA earnings. Draft a team and add up their earnings at the end of the year. Early in his career, we had to come up with "Tiger" rules because whoever got first pick and drafted him ran away with the title. We even tried excluding him from the draft to make things even. Or if you picked Tiger, you couldn't pick again for three rounds then make three straight picks to catch up.

To win the Master in three different decades is incredible. But unlike Nicklaus, it's feasible that Tiger could win in a fourth as the 20's are just next year. It all depends on his physical back issues, because the skill and mental toughness are still there.
 
It was fun to watch it unfold yesterday. I've always liked Tiger but haven't always pulled for him. Reason being, his dominance. Always wondered about his longevity, because of how hard he would swing. Age starts to take its toll. But, he's so mentally strong, I could also see him learning a new swing and still be a top player.

I've played in a golf fantasy league for about 18 years, simply based off annual PGA earnings. Draft a team and add up their earnings at the end of the year. Early in his career, we had to come up with "Tiger" rules because whoever got first pick and drafted him ran away with the title. We even tried excluding him from the draft to make things even. Or if you picked Tiger, you couldn't pick again for three rounds then make three straight picks to catch up.

To win the Master in three different decades is incredible. But unlike Nicklaus, it's feasible that Tiger could win in a fourth as the 20's are just next year. It all depends on his physical back issues, because the skill and mental toughness are still there.

Tiger said yesterday at the press conference, “My body is not the same, but I have good hands.”
 
Something else to consider...
Probably the best thing that happened to Tiger Woods back on Amen Corner yesterday was to NOT have the honor on the #12 tee. Had Tiger not been able to watch the poor club selections made by his playing partners on Golden Bell (Hole 12), he would likely have pulled out too short of a club himself. If he had gone first off that tee box, then Finau & Molinari would have gotten the warning they needed to make the right shot. And it would possibly have been Tiger hitting his 3rd from the drop zone.

He addressed this in one of his press conferences. It wasn't Molinari's shot that affected him. It was Koepka's shot. He know that Brooks would use a 9 and he said that he's stronger and can hold against the wind better than he can now. If Brooks ended up short, he couldn't go for it.
 
Let's not forget the impact of Arnold Palmer as professional golf moved into the TV era in the 60's. My mother (aka June Cleaver) of all people, became enthralled with golf and was a member of Arnie's Army as he became more popular and golf was on TV. How the heck does that happen?

He was very charismatic and drew many people to the game that knew nothing about golf. Early on, Nicklaus was disliked because he was cutting into Arnie's fame. By the way, Seve Ballesteros' game was very reminiscent of Arnie's game.

Nicklaus, being the youngest of the Big Three (Palmer, Player and Nicklaus), trended into the next "era" where Lee Trevino and Tom Watson became his biggest competitors. Nicklaus then became the popular golfer as he won his many majors. The Bear era.

After that, along came Tiger. He was the new phenom. He was doing things that none of the previous greats had done. Again, golf's popularity rose.

Who filled the void during Tiger's long hiatus between major wins? Nobody really. But what we did see is the rise of a bunch of young golfers that idolized Tiger in their youth who have almost as good of a golf game as he did.

Justin Thomas
Dustin Johnson
Rickie Fowler
Jordan Spieth
Jon Rahm
Brooks Koepka

and many others that were drawn to golf by Tiger Woods.

Golf has had a very interesting ebb and flow over the years and different eras. I'll just sit back and enjoy. I just wish I could play worth a damn. Heck, I'd settle for a quarter of a damn. Maybe even an eighth.
 
This time last year Tiger was ranked over 1000 and now he's back on top.

IMO, it's the greatest comeback ever. Stuff like this is why I love sports.

As great as Tiger is. I think he has more to do and this will propel him to more major championships.

Golf, like life, is hard. Also like life, Golf leaves no one else to blame for your faults. It's all you.

Tiger has gone through a massive transformation both physically and emotionally. He was basically bed ridden because of back issues. He was reliant on drugs and probably got sucked into that dark hole. He had embarassing life events. Infidelity, Divorce, dui, family strife and a collapse in physical ability leading to his massive decline in the game. It all played out before our eyes without much he could do about it... except get help. And he did. Surgery on his back was evidently done well. The personal issues appear to be behind him. And now he’s on top of the game he dominated for decades.

It’s impressive to say the least. I still think Jack is best alltime but the story of Tiger is epic.
#GoTiger
 
Let's not forget the impact of Arnold Palmer as professional golf moved into the TV era in the 60's. My mother (aka June Cleaver) of all people, became enthralled with golf and was a member of Arnie's Army as he became more popular and golf was on TV. How the heck does that happen?

He was very charismatic and drew many people to the game that knew nothing about golf. Early on, Nicklaus was disliked because he was cutting into Arnie's fame. By the way, Seve Ballesteros' game was very reminiscent of Arnie's game.

Nicklaus, being the youngest of the Big Three (Palmer, Player and Nicklaus), trended into the next "era" where Lee Trevino and Tom Watson became his biggest competitors. Nicklaus then became the popular golfer as he won his many majors. The Bear era.

After that, along came Tiger. He was the new phenom. He was doing things that none of the previous greats had done. Again, golf's popularity rose.

Who filled the void during Tiger's long hiatus between major wins? Nobody really. But what we did see is the rise of a bunch of young golfers that idolized Tiger in their youth who have almost as good of a golf game as he did.

Justin Thomas
Dustin Johnson
Rickie Fowler
Jordan Spieth
Jon Rahm
Brooks Koepka

and many others that were drawn to golf by Tiger Woods.

Golf has had a very interesting ebb and flow over the years and different eras. I'll just sit back and enjoy. I just wish I could play worth a damn. Heck, I'd settle for a quarter of a damn. Maybe even an eighth.
^This is good stuff!^

It reminds me of the conversations that I have occasionally with our local golf pro who played on the tour in the 80s. He has often mentioned the effect that golfers like Arnold Palmer had on him as he chose golf as his career.

While there are certainly some golf diehards (like me) who will follow the sport no matter who is headlining on the tour. nothing beats having real favorite players that you become interested in following and watching their progress throughout their career.

It's much like any other professional sport. Every league markets their popular players as much as the sport itself, because fans enjoy having a 'hero'... someone specifically to cheer for. It's the same when it comes to any movie or TV series. If you don't care about the character(s), it's hard to care for the storyline.

So golf will always need it's 'heroes' to keep the masses tuned in. And when the storyline is a big as what has can be referred to as 'The Tiger Saga', it can keep both his fans and his haters hungry for more of what the future has to offer from his golfing career.

But the PGA Tour is desperate for some new 'Tigers' to fill the stage. Any new phenom exploding on the scene may never reach the level of an Arnold or a Jack or a Tiger for as long as Eldrick is still teeing it up on the tour, because it's hard for most people to shift their loyalties to a new favorite while the old one is still hoisting major trophies.

But I am always ready to welcome great golf no matter who is swinging the clubs. Because for those who truly love the game... this is what it's all about! ?
 
This time last year Tiger was ranked over 1000 and now he's back on top.

IMO, it's the greatest comeback ever. Stuff like this is why I love sports.

As great as Tiger is. I think he has more to do and this will propel him to more major championships.

Golf, like life, is hard. Also like life, Golf leaves no one else to blame for your faults. It's all you.

Tiger has gone through a massive transformation both physically and emotionally. He was basically bed ridden because of back issues. He was reliant on drugs and probably got sucked into that dark hole. He had embarassing life events. Infidelity, Divorce, dui, family strife and a collapse in physical ability leading to his massive decline in the game. It all played out before our eyes without much he could do about it... except get help. And he did. Surgery on his back was evidently done well. The personal issues appear to be behind him. And now he’s on top of the game he dominated for decades.

It’s impressive to say the least. I still think Jack is best alltime but the story of Tiger is epic.
#GoTiger
I believe there is going to be a problem with fans believing that Tiger is "all the way back". Tiger Woods can never return to what he once was. He said so himself in his post-Masters presser.

I will never expect as much from him as I once did. But that just means whatever he is able to accomplish going forward will be appreciated so much more. He simply cannot be dominant on the tour ever again, and anyone who doesn't understand that will become either critical or disappointed going forward. I'm just glad that I got a chance to witness some of the best professional golf ever played no matter where Tiger's game goes from here.
 

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