Hooked On Golf Blog

Tiger Woods has just announced he’ll return to professional golf at The Masters.  I would have thought he’d try to get one competitive round in before that to warm himself up, likely Bay Hill.

The Masters is a perfect place for Tiger to return because of the high level of security and the strict rules enforced on the grounds at Augusta National.

Will Tiger win or contend?  I sort of doubt it, but he is Tiger Woods.

Tiger’s Press Release Below

Read more…

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru PGA Tour, The Masters, Tiger Woods The Masters, Tiger Woods

The Masters will be broadcast in 3D, for those with 3D capable computers or televisions.

I’ll be watching the Tuesday practice rounds in real 3D, AT AUGUSTA NATIONAL…

More here or here.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru PGA Tour, The Masters, Tiger Woods The Masters

What could possibly prompt the literary genius “OMG OMG OMG” in the title of this golf blog?  That would be the letter I received in the mail today.  The best piece of mail, ever.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Life, The Masters

So the rumors about Tiger Woods returning for this week’s Accenture Match Play were wrong. And the deadline for the Masters tournament entry has come and gone with no news of TW entering.

Tiger would really be sending a message that he’s serious about taking a break from professional golf if he didn’t play in the Masters.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru PGA Tour, The Masters, Tiger Woods Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods may be back to playing golf and missing high fives with Steve Williams very soon.

Rumors are starting to float around that Tiger Woods will make his return to competitive golf in Arizona in two weeks at the Accenture Match Play Championship.  This is where Tiger staged his comeback from knee surgery last year. Apparently he likes to make comebacks in Arizona at the match play.

Tiger has, according to some sources, been spending some time in a sex addiction clinic in Mississippi.

Why this is a good place for TW to come back, if he does

Many theorized that TW would return at the Masters, where security is tight, crowd control is the best, and privacy is easily attainable.  But to come back at the Masters with no warm up would be a tough go for TW to have a chance at winning.

The match play though, is a good option too.  The crowds aren’t as big because of the format, and there are chances that TW could have less exposure to the gallery in cases where matches end “x” number of holes early.

Presser?

If these rumors are true, will Tiger stage a presser away from the course to address the media and make any official statements regarding the state of TW?  This is what Geoff Ogilvy (ironically, the winner of the match play event last year) suggests, in order to keep the media circus off the course as much as possible.

Tip o’ the hat to Tom Watson for his strong words about Tiger in Dubai this week

I’ll let the cat out of the bag.  Tiger has to take ownership of what he has done. He must get his personal life in order. I think that’s what he’s trying to do. And when he comes back he has to show some humility to the public.

I would come out and I would do an interview with somebody and say, `You know what? I screwed up. And I admit it. I am going to try to change. I am trying to change. I want my wife and family back.

I feel that he has not carried the same stature that other great players that have come along like Jack (Nicklaus), Arnold (Palmer), Byron Nelson, the Hogans, in the sense that there was language and club throwing on the golf course.

You can grant that of a young person that has not been out here for a while. But I think he needs to clean up his act and show the respect for the game that other people before him have shown.

One thing is sure.  If and when Tiger addresses any of this with the media, it will be a finely crafted set of words, generated carefully and precisely by his PR engine.  Those words will be as bullet proof as possible as they know the media will dissect and criticize every syllable.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Golf Media, PGA Tour, The Masters, Tiger Woods Tiger Woods

One of the biggest golfing greats I never got the chance to meet is Bobby Jones.  But I did get to meet the best golfer ever a few years ago with my son.  We met Jack Nicklaus and got to talk to him for a while.  Jack was nothing but nice.  I was so nervous I could hardly talk.  What a treat that was.

I got Jack to sign a couple of autographs for me.  One was on a Masters flag from the 2005 Masters, Jack’s last Masters and where Tiger Woods won.  The other autograph was on a St. Andrews flag from the 2005 British Open, Jack’s last official tournament.  Coincidentally Tiger won that one too.

I got to see Jack play golf in person three times.  One of those times was in a then Senior Tour event where he was paired up with Arnold Palmer and Lee Trevino.  Lee got in most of the talking…

Happy Birthday Jack

Jack, I wish you the best and a very happy birthday.  Thanks for being so nice when my son and I met you.  That means a lot and shows the kind of character which I think is lost in some players these days.  And thanks for all the great moments in golf history you authored.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Champions Tour, Golf, Life, PGA Tour, The Masters Jack Nicklaus

Just great.  The first year ever in which I have Masters tickets, this happens…

There were some rumors floating around yesterday that Tiger might be announcing a break from golf or that he was quitting completely.  There were also rumors that “Privacy,” Tiger’s yacht, was being fueled and loaded with supplies.  I guess we know a little more now.  Tiger is leaving golf for an indefinite period of time.  I bet I know where the “safe haven” mentioned below is.  Tiger’s home in the Bahamas.

As have been all of Tiger’s official statements, this one came from his web site and is very short and very vague:

I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children. I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I’ve done, but I want to do my best to try.

I would like to ask everyone, including my fans, the good people at my foundation, business partners, the PGA Tour, and my fellow competitors, for their understanding. What’s most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing.

After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.

Again, I ask for privacy for my family and I am especially grateful for all those who have offered compassion and concern during this difficult period.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru PGA Tour, The Masters, Tiger Woods Tiger Woods

Another 911 call from Tiger Woods’ Home at 2:30am happened this morning.  The mother of Elin Woods, staying at Tiger’s house since all the chaos broke, was hospitalized for stomach issues and released about 12 hours later.

Anyone looking for a scoop on TW should just plan on around 2:30am at his house, when all the “action” takes place.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru The Masters Tiger Woods

It is time for the 5th annual HOG Turkey Awards.  This is a time when I reflect back on the golf year and make a short list of some of the biggest turkeys, or what I like to call “boneheads” in golf.  First let’s take a look back at the last four year’s turkey award winners to get a flavor.  The winners are listed below.  Click on them to see the entire turkey list of that year.

• 2008 John Daly for passing out drunk in a Hooters.

• 2007 Sergio Garcia for spitting in the cup.

• 2006 Phil Mickelson US OPEN meltdown on #18.

• 2005 Vijay Singh cancels tour appearances and loses hundreds of thousands of dollars due to ping pong injury, Duval makes $381 per event for 2005 ($38 for the caddy), 15 LPGA players have longer driving distance than Corey Pavin

And now, without further ado, the 2009 HOG Turkey Award winners are below, in no particular order except for the winner which is posted LAST.  I went a little crazy this year. I posted a bunch of turkeys rather than just the top 10.  I couldn’t resist.

• Rule Twenty One golf pocket towels are shaped like neckties and hang from your pocket.   Rather than giving this thing a poor review I decided to just not do one.   Their press releases are so “over the top tree hugger green” it is nauseating (link to a .doc press release).  They’re obviously trying to jump onto the “green” wave.   According to their press releases, this golf towel increases the player’s concentration level, increases blood circulation, cures headaches, cures insomnia, restores agricultural lands, reduces rain runoff.   All this from a golf towel?  Wow.  Not only that, this golf towel repairs the ozone hole, feeds hungry children, cures cancer, brings peace to the Middle East, solves the USA’s economic problems, cures AIDS, turns water into wine and does stuff that would make even Jesus himself say “how’d you do that?”  Soon this golf towel will replace all the light bulbs in all the homes on the planet, saving the entire earth from running out of energy too.   I heard Al Gore uses this golf towel, so they have that going for them.  Somebody please stop me any time.
• Members of my other site, The Golf Space, chimed in to help with this year’s awards.  Somehow they came up with Chris Berman as a turkey award winner for his awful golf announcing.  Yes, don’t get me started with Berman and all his not so funny names like “Roger Chocolate Maltbe.”  That was funny about 20 years ago.  How about “He cooked his putt too far,” or “ground control to major Toms,” or “David Do Val?”  Geez.
• A turkey award goes out to golf TV media for covering Tiger Woods 99% of the time, even when he isn’t playing.  I love how they show Tiger blowing snot rockets out of his nose or entering the porta-potty instead of covering some other player on the course making a great shot.  Perhaps one of the best bad Tiger coverages was by TNT, when they were covering (quite well though) Tiger’s empty parking spot.
• Related to the last post, we might as well mention TGC.  TGC doesn’t stand for “The Golf Channel.”  It stands for “Tiger is God Channel” or “Tiger Golf Channel.”
• Awful golf announcing in general should have a Turkey Award.  There’s a lot of it going around.
• A few notable names who didn’t crack the top 125 on the PGA Tour: David Duval (sorry “Do Val,” 130), Chris DiMarco (135), Stuart Appleby (137), Brad Faxon (221), Jesper Parnevik (219), John Daly (215).
• Speaking of John Daly… Can’t have a Turkey Award without mentioning big John.  He gets an award for being suspended for most of the year.
• Kenny Perry chomps on a turkey leg for not sealing the deal at the Masters.  Then later he fires his caddy before the end of the season run.  Happy Holidays.
• Ernie Els gets a turkey for playing far below his potential.
• Sergio Garcia for his whining about the Masters conditions after playing poorly.  Yes the terrible conditions at Augusta National were to blame for his poor play.  I hate playing that course.  It is such a dog track that I never score well there.
• Stupid drunk golf fans who yell “you’re the man” or “get in the hole” after every shot.  SHUT THE HELL UP YOU MORONS!
• Someone (the economy, management, banks) should get a turkey for Nickent going out of business.
• Me for accidentally throwing a product I was reviewing in the middle of a lake.
• The PGA Tour for the FedEx Cup.  Actually I liked the playoffs and FedEx Cup this year.  I just got so used to putting the FedEx Cup in as a recipient that I almost automatically did it this year.
• Anna Rawson for meeting me and blowing her chance of “having her way” with me. 
• Nine crooks who were selling counterfeit golf clubs on ebay.  They’ll be eating prison turkey now.
• Jim Thorpe for tax evasion.
• Tom Watson for failing to make par on the 18th at the British Open and failing to seal one of the most incredible feats in sports history.  Man I wanted to see that happen!  Damn!  Still amazing what he did though.  I don’t want to take away from what he accomplished by any means.
• Annika Sorenstam for marrying someone other than me and having his child. 
• Golfers or golf companies who use too much fancy Adobe Flash in their web sites…. loading, loading, loading…
• Facebook and Twitter users who want to inform me and hundreds of their friends that their five year old son’s farts smell like french dip sandwiches.
• The guy on the range who shanked his driver and hit me in the ass definitely gets a Turkey Award.
• Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain (yes I know), beaned by a golf ball.
• The slew of players who had this year’s Masters Tournament in the palm of their hands and gagged it away.
• Carolyn Bivens.  Need I say more?
• Errant Bill Murray golf shot sends lady to hospital.
• Shanghai golf counterfeiters raided and busted.
• GolfNow.com for saying they’ll get back to me on advertising by February 3rd.  It is now November 28th.
• Nike ad tout’s themselves as #1 driver yet their promo pictures shot Tiger Woods with a Titleist putter in his hands.
• On February 18th Steve Williams says Tiger Woods’ return is a “few weeks away.”  Tiger returns seven days after that.
• I score a nine on the 17th at TPC Sawgrass, becoming the first person to put the 2009 model ProV1 in the water there…. twice.
• Whoever passed gas on the 18th hole at the Buick, whether it was Tiger, Stevie or David Feherty.  Oh and how about YouTube for taking my video of that event down after only one hour of being up.  In that hour that video was viewed 20,000 times.
• Runner up for the 2009 Turkey Awards is the PGA Tour for banning a complete no-name, unknown player for using performance enhancing drugs.  Way to step out on a limb and make a stand!  Bravo!

And the #1 Turkey Award Winner for 2009… drum roll please…..

TIGER WOODS

I’m a big Tiger fan so don’t get me wrong.  But Tiger displayed very poor sportsmanship throughout the year with his temper tantrums, club throwing on numerous occasions, cussing and bag kicking.  His behavior at the British was very disappointing.  Many videos surfaced over the season of Tiger throwing clubs.  I wish Bobby Jones could have a talk with Tiger about club throwing.  He threw a club once and never did it again.

Related Links

A Walk In The Park’s Jazzy Awards

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Boneheads, Champions Tour, European Tour, Golf Media, Hackers, LPGA Tour, Life, Miscellaneous, PGA Tour, Pro Golf, The Masters, Tiger Woods

I just mentioned the fact that I’m GOING to Augusta for my first time next year in the last post.  Last night I invited the 2nd of my three guests, my best golf pal whose name happens to be “Arnie.”

Jack Nicklaus will be joining the other “Arnie,” Mr. Palmer next year at The Masters as honorary starter.

“We are delighted and fortunate to have such a great ambassador and icon of our sport take part in this tradition.  He has inspired generations of golfers and having Jack join Arnold on the first tee next April will be a special thrill for his many loyal fans around the world.”  ~Masters chairman Billy Payne

Billy is right.  Jack has inspired many, including me.  I had the pleasure of meeting Jack a few years ago and he was VERY nice and easy to talk to.

“I have always had great respect for Arnold and his legacy at the Masters and I did not, in any way, want to infringe on the opportunity for Arnold to have and enjoy this Masters tradition for himself.  He is so deserving of this honor, and thus I felt it was his time, not mine.”  ~Jack Nicklaus on Arnold Palmer’s reign as solo starter.

Tony Korologos a.k.a. mediaguru Champions Tour, European Tour, PGA Tour, The Masters Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, The Masters