Golf press conferences and bad lies: The art of the obvious

Is there anything worse than golf commentary or golf press conferences?

For example, when reporters ask questions hoping for an enlightening response: “Vijay, what do you hope to do in tomorrow’s round that will give you an edge.”

The player typically responds, probably not realizing how stupid he sounds, with something like, “Well, I just feel like I need to go out and hit some fairways, which will give me a chance to hit more greens. If I can do that and putt well, I think I’ll be in good shape.”

Perhaps my understanding of golf isn’t quite as good as I believe it to be, but isn’t that the essence of the game? If you hit fairways, greens, and putt well, something is bound to go right. One of two things is happening: either people like to hear themselves talk, or I’m just slightly more intelligent than most people, and I don’t think the latter is the case.

My biggest problem with these statements is that the general public enjoys imitating exactly what it hears on T.V. (regardless of the source), so I’m stuck every Saturday playing with some hack who seriously looks at me and says, “If I could just put the ball in the fairway I would be ok.” Obvious statements need to be left in the pressroom on the tour and reality needs to be faced on the golf course. If my ball is 30 yards left of the green and I’m facing a dainty little shot over the bunker, I don’t need to tell my playing partners that I’d be better off in the middle of the green; instead, I need to get my ball back in play and attempt to give myself a chance to make a putt for par.

Another aspect of golf commentary that began to sneak its way onto the public course right around the time Phil Mickelson won his first major was the idea that a draw has become a bad golf shot. Apparently a shot that was serviceable for hundreds of years no longer works on today’s courses that are so different, particularly considering that they have tee boxes and flags.

When I was playing in a member-guest just outside of Atlanta, I had a few drinks after the round with a group of men discussing how they need to stop drawing the ball because “the fade is just a much better shot.” I had seen these guys play, and though they weren’t bad, they didn’t need to lose sleep at night visualizing a gentle fade. Instead, they needed to make some putts.

Because of so much discussion about length and shot making, the importance of putting seems to be lost in modern golf commentary. Watching professionals and listening to discussion of ball flight is the last thing most amateurs need. Most of us need to find a shot that works for us, learn to keep it in play, and practice putting relentlessly rather than worrying about the trajectory of the Pro VI versus the Callaway HX Tour. If we all take a step back, examine our own game rather than the game we see on the PGA Tour, perhaps we’d learn to take ourselves less seriously and in turn, enjoy golf a lot more.