Tiger's Tantrum

Most of us love golf for all the same reasons we hate it. We have ups, we have downs and we’re never sure if an ugly drive that bounced its way through the nearby forest will be followed by an amazing wormburner that leaves our balls resting delicately on the edge of the green. There are few places you can experience those extreme mental and physical shifts in such a beautiful surrounding. I’d argue that fly fishing comes close, but who has time for that?

I don’t like club throwers. An occasional slight bang on the sand seems okay, it’s kind of pillow fight material, but a good hard toss of the club seems more like ice hockey material. One of my favorite things to see is how a golfer will respond to a bogey, okay a triple bogey. Do they handle it with grace, walking casually over and marking the ball for another look. Or do they throw a club?

Bubba Watson had a fit during the open, botched a shot out of the rough and seemed like he hit three more balls before his caddie had even looked up. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but it was close. The point is, Bubba didn’t throw a club. He turned a deep shade of red, possibly fire engine, but just continued on his bogey filled day.

I want to find a reason to say I’m okay with Tiger throwing clubs, but since he didn’t throw them directly at someone who tried to harm his family, I’m going to have to say I’m bummed. How bad can it really be for him, he’s the host of the AT&T National. He didn’t have to go to a payday loan store or get his coffee from a gas station…I mean, he is Tiger Woods, right?

The day I throw a club will be the day I take up yoga. It’ll also be the day I give up the best sport I’ve ever played.