Last week, Jay Busbee and myself had a little debate about the idea of skipping golf tournaments because you don't like the course. It came on the heels of Hunter Mahan skipping out on the Byron Nelson because he felt the golf course was too tough for him, which I didn't like in the least bit (Mahan is from Dallas, and should be playing his hometown golf tournaments in my opinion).
So while skipping it seems lame, is playing in it and then complaining about the course any better? Why, let's ask Ian Poulter. The Englishman who has made crankiness a signature played at the BMW Championship this week after winning the week before at the Volvo Match Play, and went off on the Wentworth redesign.
”I’ll speak freely – many others may not. I don’t like this golf course. Period. End of story.
”I don’t have a problem with tough golf courses and level par (his halfway total after a 74) is hanging in there.
‘But I’m walking off the golf course and I’m absolutely headless. Absolutely fuming. It’s not fun golf. You’re watching, you tell me. Is it fun?”
Well, Poulter made €53,400 ($76,767.84) so I'd say that is pretty fun. And you're getting to play a great golf course that might have some lame tweaks (like the lake on the 18th green), but it ended in a playoff against the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the world, so that was fun. And Luke Donald made a birdie on that first playoff hole to claim the number one ranking in the world, the first time someone has won and done so since Tiger Woods in 2005, so that was pretty fun.
I guess complaining about golf courses at times is something we all do, so you can't totally fault Poulter, but it isn't like they're asking you to show up at 3 AM and mow the damn fairways. You're playing there, and while it might not be your favorite track in the world, I don't think it's worth sounding off on it.
I did, however, love what the owner of Wentworth, Richard Caring, said about Poulter after those quotes came out.
“Ian has played in 10 (BMW) PGA Championships, missed the cut seven times and his best result prior to the changes was 33rd …now if he calls that having fun, that’s different, but at least he made the cut this time,” added Caring of Poulter’s 18th-place finish.
Game, set, match, Caring.
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3 comments:
You know, we say we want players to be honest, candid etc, and then we rip them when they give us an pinion we don't like, and say they should stay quite.
Well said seak. At least Poulter has the guts to say what's on his mind. There's no point pretending to be happy when you are asked a question about the course and how you played.
Shane, you complain about Tiger's vacuous BS at press conferences then have a pop at Poulter for saying something that is at least interesting.
Amen seak.
Very lame Shane.
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