...apparently nothing. And that's unfortunate.
If Bryson isn't allowed to use a compass in his profession, does this truly mean that what you learn in school does NOT matter in the real world...? This is an sadly a question I am forced to ask myself (and all of my dedicated readers) as the USGA ruled against DeChambeau's use of a compass two weeks ago at the Travelers Championship. Being one of the thousands in attendance down in Cromwell, I have to place some of the blame on me for not noticing this heinous act and putting a stop to it. In no way, shape or form should a respectable athlete be using this "unusual equipment" to help him gain a competitive advantage. He was bound to get caught, no doubt about it.
Let's look at the big picture here: the man used an actual compass to help pin point the exact hole locations during the tournament. Could you imagine if he pulled out a TI-83 to help calculate score? Would this also be frowned upon? Admittingly the most use my personal calculator ever got was during class when someone showed me how to download solitaire and I watched my pre-calculus grade slip on a daily basis. There's conversation about range finders and other video and whether or not they should be allowed to help the players during play, but I never expected a compass to be considered unusual equipment. What a world, do less Bryson. Just do less.
“With Woods about to make a monumental mistake, Scott uttered seven words that would have made the games Scottish ancestors proud: “Hey Tiger, did you move that back?” P. 115, Tiger Woods. Benedict & Keteyian (By the way, how bout bonus points for the attempted APA or MLA proper citation attempt in a blog? Pretty sweet...)
There are a few things I need to explain before I get into this post, albeit comes at a perfect time. The excerpt above is from the new book Tiger Woods, which highlights the early career of the greatest golfer of all time and takes the reader through his historic rise to fame and notorious fall from grace to which he's trying to redeem at the current time. I will say I've only reached the part of the book where he officially turns pro in 1996, which allowed me to freshen up on the infamous U.S Amateur down at Pumpkin Ridge vs. Steve Scott. Now Scott was the perfect competition for Tiger, especially since he had him on the ropes after the first 18 holes of the match. Imagine being Scott though? Watching Tiger walk to the first tee alongside only Phil Knight, Butch Harmon and Wally Uihlein? What a joke.
Fast forward, as the story goes, the two reach the 16th hole at Pumpkin Ridge with Scott up two. As he settled in to putt, Scott quickly informed Tiger he thought he had mis-marked his ball like the quote from above. At almost an instant, Tiger stood up and remarked his ball before sinking the birdie to move within one and eventually win the match. No acknowledgement from Tiger to Scott, no compliments, no handshake, no nothing. Oh Cat.
We move ahead to July 1, 2018. The hot pairing surrounding TPC Potomac wasn't Tiger-Burgoon, or Blair-Armour, or even Cejka-DJDFUNK. Nope, it's Joel Dahmen-Sung Kang who moved the controversial needle post final round. As it story goes, Kang apparently hit his ball into a hazard and gave himself a complimentary drop much to the hawkeyes of Dahmen. Joel took to Twitter and dropped a hard 'C' all over our asses against Kang to no avail of the PGA Tour. Yada, yada, yada Dahmen signed the card apparently because he had no choice and went on to finish in whatever place.
Now the real question is asked, again perfect timing due to my slow reading habits: Had Dahmen been Tiger's opponent in 1996 (which is funny because the two were paired together this past Saturday no less), would Joel had spoken up like Steve Scott to help out the machine in the making? Or would he have known to keep quiet and essentially wrap the championship on technicality and go on to become the greatest golfer who ever lived? Well that would obviously be impossible because Dahmen is only 31, but just think about it.
In 1996 Tiger was on a damn mission. In the final tournament prior to turning professional, with the likes of the CEO of Nike and Titleist quite literally in his back pocket and one of the best instructors of all time in his bag, what a way to completely ruin the moment by waiting a millisecond after Tiger attempted his putt to alert an official of the ball misplacement and claim the title for himself. Now I don't know that much about Joel Dahmen, and I only know about Steve Scott because of the book (he also married his caddie which would be a sick idea for a golf movie) but what a controversy we'd have in 1996 and beyond if Scott called Tiger on that marking. In retrospect, it may not have mattered especially since Tiger won the 1994 and 1995 U.S Amateurs. Maybe he'd return to school in an attempt to win his third U.S Amateur in four years? Maybe he'd stay and win a second-straight individual championship? Or maybe he'd be in the same exact position we find him 22 years later. It's fun to speculate. I would've most certainly taken him down, but then again I was never much of a tattle tale.
"Why didn't I think of that...?"
The ageless question which gets muttered either by oneself, or heard from others after a minuscule idea becomes something big. Any time I hear a really cool or interesting idea, my first thought is always 'I really wish I had thought of that.' Now more than ever, especially with the influence of social media and the instant gratification of any thought or observation, we're living in an ever-competitive landscape. I relate this to golf (shocker) in terms of how do I receive my golf news? Where do I go to find golf coverage, learn more about my favorite pro, interact with said pro and even discover a really cool filter to use when I get the chance to have a picture taken with them.
The genesis of this entry is this: golfers (and pro athletes) have most likely played their respective sport for almost as long as they've been alive, and if their lifelong goal is to make it in that sport, they play it. Day in, and day out. Tournament after tournament, heartbreak after heartbreak, these are all too familiar feelings pro athletes feel growing up to chase the dream. For the rest of us who are simply fans of the sport, we all have so-called dream jobs (shocker again, mine is to work in golf media) and we too need to train day in and day out in order to either get discovered or continue pursuing success if we are lucky enough to land our dream job.
Think of golf coverage in a traditional manner: golf is a game almost as old as time as far as I'm concerned and the very early days of golf coverage can include still-photos, old newspaper articles and even word of mouth from the locals at their respective country club. Fast forward to today, there's livestream on Twitter and Facebook (as of this past weekend). There are numerous podcasts that are catching steam as a way for tour pros to share their stories in a non-traditional media format. There's still golf magazines (Golf Digest being one of the best publications in sports even today) and writeups you'd find in your local newspaper. The problem with these traditional forms of media is everything is faster today. Following his win at Hartford last weekend, Bubba Watson was being live-streamed on Twitter and Periscope from the PGA Tour account, live-streaming HIMSELF on Instagram and there were various wrap-up shows also broadcasting live to those looking to tune in (shout out No Laying Up who produce the most hysterical post-round recap you'll find online.) Same can be said during practice rounds, pre-tournament gatherings and opening tee shots where live video is pushed to social media users and the content can be endless. PGA Tour Live is one of the best video subscription services I've ever seen and can watch early tee times from Thursday and Friday rounds for most tournaments.
So where do you even start? I'm 29 years old, I try to blog every once in a while about the sport and what I find is interesting about it. But what about the Dan Jenkins' and Alan Shipnuck's of the world? Imagine if Twitter was around when Jenkins wrote his famous books back in the day? He's a whirlwind of a follow today, but I can only imagine what it'd be like for him to receive instant feedback on any comment he makes. Shipnuck from Sports Illustrated has decided to embrace social media and helps put out an almost-weekly podcast and asks for questions to be submitted via Twitter for his Knockdown column. You have guys like Alex Myers from Golf Digest who focuses on the social side of the game and adds video to his columns most notably from 'The Loop'. Alex and his colleagues also put out a podcast almost twice a week complete with interviews, predictions, etc. Final example is Shane Bacon, who used to play professionally and has dug out such an amazing niche for himself with a podcast and email newsletter. Fast forward to two weeks ago, he was interviewing WAYNE FREAKING GRETZKY live at the U.S Open...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I want his job, and I've mentioned that to him personally. Sup Shane?
I guess to answer my question, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. Embrace the sport and interact where you see fit. Again, Instagram and Twitter is such a cool medium to interact with tour pros and in my opinion they are the best follows in all of pro sports. Maybe if you're lucky you'll get a picture with a few of them (have I mentioned that before...?) This time, Dylan Meyer at Hartford. Great dude.
For those of you doing the math at home (probably just me) that marks approximately 328,500 push-ups over a three-year consecutive span...Yikes.
Now these numbers do have a few side notes, I actually started this streak in March of 2015 after a trip down to Florida to visit my aunt and uncle on Palm Island, only one of my favorite spots in the world. This was also the same time my Uncle Terry introduced me to Men’s Journal, which is a hybrid magazine between fitness and travel. World renown big wave surfer Laird Hamilton posts each month fitness tips he finds productive and one of them is the benefit of push-ups. What originally started out as 100 per day in March of 2015 quickly turned into 300 a day on June 1 2015 and in all surprises to me, I haven’t missed a day.
So why do I mention this, besides the obvious date today of June 1 (and also National Donut Day)? Well I recently started a new job and someone mentioned that they began a push-up challenge themselves and I thought that was really admirable and a great way to start something that improves your wellness. While I congratulated that person for starting this, I also had to congratulate myself on this feat which is something I recommend to everybody. Be proud of your accomplishments, set goals for yourselves whether it’s a fitness goal, a personal goal or a professional goal and stick to it. Think of the start of each month as the beginning to some sort of adventure or activity you want to pursue, maybe you want to read a book in the next 30 days, maybe you want to walk 10k steps a day, whatever.
Anyways, here’s to another three years of push-ups, God help me.
If you're a die hard golf fan like myself, the topic of team-centered events has been a subject of discussion over the previous five to ten years. Traditional events like the Ryder Cup and President's Cup, both recently won by the United States are staples in the game of golf. Yet over the past weekend, the Zurich Classic provided a team format which has only been in existence for two years. We watched as the very vocal Billy Horschel (on a number of topics) and the reserved Scott Piercy edged out the team of Pat Perez and Jason Dufner, a team I'd much rather see win. Regardless, Horschel is a former Florida Gator and you just have to respect it.
On the subject of team formatting in sports, I couldn't help but think of the most dynamic duos in all of sports. It's easy to point out the greats such as Shaq and Kobe, Michael and Scottie, rivals of Bird and Magic, Ortiz and Manny, Brady and Moss, so on and so forth. But I also started thinking of the most clutch and memorable duos in sports entertainment, meaning primarily in film. I put together a list of my top five with one honorable mention in an effort to try and break down who you'd want to watch when it came down to the wire, or just finding a sense of happiness watching these teams be around each other. I guarantee there are many other duos more famous and loved than the one's I've listed, but I felt the need to write something since it's been a minute (and a half).
Honorable Mention: Jonathan Moxon and Charlie Tweeder (Varsity Blues)
To preface, if I were making a list of top five sports movies I would put Varsity Blues near the top of my list. Some may say I'm crazy, but I truly believe this movie was what started it all in terms of focusing on Texas high school football which brought us Friday Night Lights both on the big screen and little screen. Originally an MTV production, Varsity Blues was one of those movies where you and your boys would be at a sleepover and wait for the parents to go to bed before fast forwarding to the whipped cream scene. Forget Billy Bob puking and rallying, Lance Harbor getting his pick of the litter or coach Bud Kilmer going for his billionth district title. This flick was all about backup-turned starter QB Jonathan 'Mox' Moxon and his trusted receiver/strip club compadre Charlie Tweeder. Now since I didn't exactly get blessed with an abundance of height, I always portrayed myself as a Tweeder when playing sports: quick and scrappy. Having grown up playing peewee football together, Mox and Tweeder's friendship was much more evident than just being played out on the field. When Mox stood up to an abusive coach Kilmer at halftime of the district title game, Tweeder held his ground and refused to take the field in support of his quarterback. Now that's love, pal. Plus, if Mox hadn't given his approval for Tweeders touchdown dance, who knows what type of dark path he could've been led down throughout the rest of the movie. I mean, he did end up naked and stealing a cop car, but that's just semantics.
5. Mike Winchell and Don Billingsley (Friday Night Lights)
This seems like an appropriate segway into the story of Texas high school football which I previously mentioned. Here in Odessa, Texas at Permian High School there is shy and reserved quarterback Mike Winchell who is simply looking for a way out of Texas. Then there's Don Billingsley, fullback and local legend where anything less than a state championship wasn't enough (at least in his father's mind). The only thing Winchell should be thanking Billingsley for is his willingness to help get him laid at a party. In one of the most memorable lines from any movie ever made, "We're gonna get drunk, we're gonna get laid, and we're gonna win state but not tonight." Thank God for Billingsley, says Mike probably.
4. Julius Campbell and Gary Bertier (True Story) (Remember the Titans)
Forget football, forget life as a high school student, this movie was all about race relations in a tense period of time in suburban Virginia. All-American Gary Bertier was not about to let a bunch of outsiders (to put it lightly) take over his slot on defense. Like he says when introduced to coach Boone (trick plays?): "You want any of us to play for you, you reserve half the open positions for Hammond players, half the offense, half the special teams. We don't need any of your people on defense. We're already set." What Gary failed to realize, however, was Julius Campbell was also an All-American linebacker and I ask could you IMAGINE if coach Boone listened to this guy?! Surely they wouldn't achieve the perfect season they had. On a daily basis the football team was trying to make things work between black and white players but in the hallways during school hours it was even more intense, unlike anything they've seen before. Another scenario I present to you: imagine seeing a young Ryan Gosling get pushed around not only in training camp, but also the hallways of your high school? Gary and Julius just couldn't stand for it. Left side, strong side forever.
3. Scott Smalls and Benny Rodriguez (Sandlot)
From Smalls' first glove, to watching Benny steal home in the majors, these two were connected instantly during that fateful summer of 1962 and never looked back. Think about if you were Scott Smalls for a minute, you just moved to the valley because Dennis Leary was a big-time executive dressing up to fly across country in planes. Those were the times indeed, but one major responsibility Leary presented to Smalls was that while he was gone, he was the man of the house. While typical men of the house would work and bring home the bacon, Smalls was being a little delinquent and stealing baseballs from his trophy case. If the nine of them were easily able to scrounge 98 extra cents for a new baseball, neither Smalls nor Benny would be in the mess they found themselves in.
2. Danny Noonan and Ty Webb (Caddyshack)
I say this to myself every single time I'm about to putt for a surprise par..."Be the ball." Had Ty Webb not been there to teach Danny Noonan the ways of the Zen Philosopher Basho...chances are he'd never be in a position to win the caddie scholarship or later participate in illegal gambling practices amongst the members at Bushwood Country Club. I think Ty could teach us all a thing or two not just about golf, but about life and especially pointing out that a flute with no holes is not a flute and a donut with no holes is a Danish. There's no question relationships form on the golf course, we see it all the time. Matches are won and lost, money is won and lost but there is simply an endless amount of wisdom which can be shared among all parties combined. Bushwood is in good hands...kind of.
1. Fulton Reed and Dean Portman (Mighty Ducks)
I knew this was coming, you knew this was coming, every single person who's seen this movie knew it was coming. Gathering from all over the country (and by that I mean greater Minneapolis, Florida, Chicago and Maine for some reason) the match made in alpha heaven brings us Fulton Reed and Dean Portman. Now both have their flaws, we all know that. In fact, I'm quite certain a lawsuit is still pending and a warrant has been served for roughly 25 years for Reed's arrest for driving a zamboni through the doors of Team USA's training center, but that all goes out the window when you pull off a 'W' at the Junior Goodwill Games against national powerhouse Iceland. Portman with some serious self-confidence issues showing up in a sleeveless Morgan Park jersey and proceeding to cheap shot each of the Minnesota pee wee champion to let him know he's there. To come full circle, there are fewer moments of pride than when Portman busts through the doors of Eden Hall Academy when presented a full scholarship to play for the school. Why he wasn't there to begin the season we may never know, but all that matters is the Bash Brothers remained true to the school, their country and most importantly...each other.
