It puzzles me, but there remains among you a fervent "Enough about Tiger!" bunch that thinks our coverage of the world's No. 1 (and everyone else's) is out of whack. Among these are fans who think we not only over-cover Tiger but pamper him as well. Tiger's U.S. Open victory and subsequent knee surgery has occasioned many, many letters on this theme. A sampling:

Golf media are hailing Tiger Woods to be the greatest hero ever for what he accomplished while dealing with a serious injury. Has everyone forgotten that Ben Hogan won 6 major championships with torn cartilege his right knee, a left leg that had had multiple fractures and was always in severe pain, a left shoulder that was permanently damaged and a left eye that would not focus. Mr. Woods is indeed strong willed but, his accomplishment pales compared to Hogan's.
Ross Jesswein
Grants Pass, OR

I don?t remember exactly how long I have been a subscriber to Golf World, but I believe it?s well over 30 years, and it has always been my favorite (in fact, now, my only) golf magazine. Now, I am thinking of letting my subscription lapse because of what I perceive as your overkill coverage of Tiger Woods. I no longer watch the Golf Channel, and soon, I will not be reading your magazine. Woods will probably end up as the greatest golfer ever, but unlike the great ones of the past, he does not have their class and humility.

I know in golf it is bad form to root against someone but I certainly do in Woods case, as do many at my club.
Alan Edwards
San Mateo/Half Moon Bay, CA

He is No. 1 in the world and everyone knows it , and we are all sorry for his injury that will keep him from the tour for a time. However, is there anyway you can stop the Tiger fist- pump photos? Only five in your June 20, 2008 issue.
Clyde England
Maggie Valley, NC

I have now finally received my copy of Golf World - 20th. June - U.S. Open Report. Talk about being biased. Reference made about Woods' knee - surgery, injury, pain etc - was mentioned at least 28 times throughout the magazine. Stuart Appleby's knee operation was mentioned once and no mention of Adam Scott's injured hand (small broken bone).

Maybe Appleby went off the boil on Saturday and Sunday because of his knee operation (being the leader after two rounds) as he was missing all sorts of putts and perhaps Scott's hand injury played up with him.
Then to boot, Johnny Miller made comments about Appleby's standard of play and not even considering his injury. He would not have made the same comments about Woods if he had gone bad. If Woods had gone bad, the knee business would probably have been mentioned 56 times. Please, be fair in your reporting.
Ron Field,
Morton, WA

I was introduced to this wonderful game over 50 years ago. During that time I can say we have never seen a player with the ability, both mentally and physically, of Tiger Woods. It is now more a question of when and not if he will surpass the major victories of Nicklaus.

It was not long ago, when a player who won an event would merely tip his hat and give a thank you gesture to the crowd. Golf is a gentleman's game that has been shown the respect it deserves by those that have participated through the years.

Suddenly Mr. Woods comes on the scene and we are treated to the latest "Rocky Balboa" antics every time he makes a shot of some consequence. Yes, he is the best player of our time, if not of all time, the years to come will only verify this conclusion. My only wish would be to show the game the respect it has earned. When was the last time we saw a highlight film from the past and saw Bobby Jones "high five" and "chest butt" his caddy.

Regardless of what happens in the future of our sport, I can honestly say that I miss the past and all it did to influence my future as a gentleman.
Jim French
Great Falls, MT

Ok.....let's give it a rest. How many articles could your people possibly write about Tiger? This game has been the ultimate test of man against nature for hundreds of years. There are SO many stories about golf or golfers around the world and yet once again I open your magazine and I am bombarded with "TIGER TIGER TIGER" So why in the world can't we read at least ONE article that does not mention Tiger Woods. Okay, okay...exaggeration I know, but the media has really blown this whole 'knee operation' thing out of proportion. I have been a skier for over 30 years and in that time I have known many people who have had the exact same operation and have gotten on the slopes after 2 months. And anyone who says that a golf swing is more torque on a knee than a skier's, is very uneducated. If Tiger wants to take a year off.....great for him and his family. I am surprised it's taken him that long. But for the media to sit and cry about how it just won't be the same without Tiger is insulting not just to the general public but also the players on the tour that actually play more than 16 or 17 tourneys a year.... If money is your biggest concern, have the PGA Tour step in and force these guys to play more events. I have no illusions that this will get published but boy did that feel good to get off my chest. And finally...No, I don't dislike Tiger. Don't even know the guy, but the media needs to broaden their horizons.
John P. LaCrosse
Golf Professional
Lake Arrowhead C.C.
California

Thank you for your letters.

I will agree with all of you on one thing. Golf is bigger than any of us, Tiger included. On the other hand, when you're living in the age of Babe Ruth, you tend to cover the heck out of him. And as a role model, well, Tiger's not bad. What do the rest of you think?

--Bob Carney

Majors bring out the annoyance in you, gentle readers. And your leading pet peeve is slow play, your comments propulsed by the recent Golf World story on the topic. Below a couple of your letters, but first this: At the U.S. Open, the final twosome on Sunday took 4 hours, 24 minutes to play the round; The U.S. Women's Open final group took 4 hours, 28 minutes to play Sunday's round. For twosomes, not exactly speedy.

John Posthumus of Denver finds it intolerable.

Virtually every sport has a time component. Football, soccer, basketball, hockey, for example all have time restrictions Golf should be no different. The ability of a golfer to make shots under the duress of a time restriction should be a part of the game. It is arrogant for players like JB Holmes to essentially say that they will take as much time as they like because a lot of money is involved. Using this reasoning, LaBron James, with the game on the line, should be allowed to take as much time as he wants (e.g., 5 minutes) to shoot a free throw. Boring!

Reader Marshall Stewart of Fort Worth comes with solutions, at least for we amateurs.

Reader Jim Huber is right on with his comments on slow play. You won?t have space to publish all of this, but here are some ideas and suggestions to ease slow play from someone who has played the game for over 50 years. I am a former caddy (Hinsdale G.C. in Illinois), high school and college player, and an observer of mankind playing this great game:

1. Take the driver head cover off and leave it in your trunk. (Saves 14 take-offs and 14 put-ons)

2. Leave your bag between the green and the next tee box.

3. Consider leaving the cart for your nearby ball as your cart partner prepares for his/her shot.

4. Mark the score after you reach the next tee box (not sitting at the green just played).

5. Play ready golf, especially on the tee. If you are the score keeper, write the scores AFTER you hit your drive if you are first on the tee.

6. Mark your ball on the green; continue to putt out if you?re not in someone?s line.

7. Shut up when others are over their ball; likewise stop moving around.

8. Learn where to park the cart. The place is the same as when a caddy sets the clubs down for the player, to the player?s right with the ball between the player and the cart.

Very good, Marshall. But the best cure for slow play ever offered, in my humble opinion, came from our colleague in London, Golf Digest International Editor John Barton. John's idea is simple: Every swing counts. Good swings, bad swings, half swings, practice swings--they all add to your score. (John points out that there are no practice swings in hockey or baseball, for example). So try that for a round. Practice swings end on the range. From the first tee on, every single swing counts.

You'll wonder what's been taking us all so long.

--Bob Carney

(Illustration by T.J. Morrow)

Peggy O'Toole takes offense at our dire predictions about Golf without Tiger Woods: Enough with all the hand-wringing already!

I really do not expect this email to get published but your recent issue regarding the status of golf now that
Tiger is out for the rest of the season really "infuriated" me.

I'm an avid golf fan and follower no matter who is playing and/or winning. . I recently attended the US Open at Torrey Pines and saw Tiger, Phil, etc what a wonderful experience. To me, the quality of golf and of all the other players is amazing.

My feelings are this: Yes, Tiger being out will be a loss for the PGA, but according to all the media and sports people supposedly "in the know" it all seems about the almighty dollar--how much money will be lost, how low the TV coverage will be, etc. etc. It's as though there is no PGA Tour without Tiger Woods. What about Mickelson, Els, etc. ? They don't seem to count for anything. even Paul Azinger--the new Ryder Cup captain putting his American team down--how sad is that!!!

My suggestion: if this is the case: Shut down the PGA Tour for the remainder of the season until 2009. That includes all tournaments, Golf Channel Coverage, Sports Announcers, Advertisers, golf magazines, cancel the Ryder Cup,.etc. Why bother covering anything golf related if no one seems to be satisfied unless Tiger is playing?

Isn't it time for a reality check ? Golf is a sport. Sure, Tiger is a phenom, but we have SO MANY very, very
talented professional golfers who are not even given any consideration.

Peggy, Mark O'Meara made the same point in a Golf World piece by Mark Soltau. He said, "The Tour will survive. I think it will be good for the game and good for him to go away for six months."

You might enjoy a post by Geoff Shackelford a short while back. It was a letter he'd received from former USGA Executive Director Frank Hannigan, who made a point very similar to yours.

Ben Hogan, hit straight on by a fast moving bus, in the winter of 1948, after winning the US Open, had to sit our all of 1949. Golf survived. The four major winners in 1949 were Sam Snead (twice), Bobby Locke and Cary Middlecoff. Moreover, I'm sick of hearing of the huge money game being defined as "golf." As in "Golf is in dreadful shape with Tiger out. The British Open might just as well be Quad Cities.

By the way, golf has been stagnant during the era of Tiger Woods in terms of rounds played or golf balls sold. In Hogan's best days, golf boomed.

--Bob Carney

There's an obvious need for some physical activity that can pass itself off as a sport in which rich, important people can easily participate, and simulate the motions of a pro, without fear of total humiliation. Michael Lewis

I liked everything Michael Lewis, author of "Moneyball" and "Blind Side" until I read his rant on golf today. (Thanks to Tony Wong for pointing it out). Lewis calls golf a "faux sport". Oh, Michael, say it isn't so:

The striking thing about the recent U.S. Open wasn't that Tiger Woods won it playing on a broken leg. The striking thingwas how much he -- and the golfing world -- clearly relished the idea of Tiger Woods playing on a broken leg.
As he limped and grimaced up fairways and around doglegs, with the crowd and the cameras lusting for every wince-laden drive, he was no longer just golfing. He was elevating golf to the status it so desperately seeks: the status of a genuine athletic event.

Odd that at a time when Woods has been mentioned as one of the top athletes in the world, Lewis goes so wrongly in the opposite direction. But then, he has a point to make.

Rich, important people often lack athletic ability, and so any faux sport would need to be doable without balance or dexterity or coordination. Many rich important people are also fat and physically lazy -- and so the faux sport must also be doable with a minimum of exertion.

It would be a plus, for instance, if it could be done, without shame, while riding around in a little electric cart.

Enter golf. If it didn't exist, some rich, important person would have had to invent it for himself.

It gets worse. Michael, walk 36 with me at Ballybunion and we'll see what's a sport.

Please, all you non-athletes out there, tell me what you'd say to Michael Lewis.

--Bob Carney

We are the Roshomon nation. The reactions to Tiger's victory at Torrey Pines--from some readers off-the-charts positive--have also been critical in some cases, surprisingly so. It's almost as if this second group of readers were watching a different Open. A sampling:

Tiger Woods may hold the title and the trophy but the real winner of the US Open us Rocco Mediate. Rocco not only played well but he coped with the Tiger circus and managed to retain his focus as Tiger took at
least twice as long to play every shot as he did. He was always gracious, applauding Woods good shots and was one of the first to congratulate him after holing the tying putt on the 18th hole on Sunday. Rocco talked and treated everyone with respect and at all times his demeanor was that of a gentleman. Woods, on the

other hand, frequently reacted badly to a less than perfect shot and his over-the- top display after the Sunday tying putt was disgusting. His playing partner, Lee Westwood, although a multiple winner around the world, had never won a major, nor had Rocco. His in-your-face display was insensitive and has no place in the gentlemanly game of golf. He should recognize that several times throughout the tournament he was lucky, whereas Rocco wasn't , as, among other things, he narrowly
missed a hole in one. Rocco is a winner.
Ken Stephen
Alliston, Ontario

It never ceases to amaze me why no one questions the lack of real competition for Tiger Woods in the majors. Jack Nicklaus on his way to 18 major victories had to face Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson and Lee Trevino, all multiple major winners. Tiger Woods? competition in the last decade pales in comparison and, in fact, includes mostly players who win one major and disappear from view. Until Tiger encounters and goes head to head with real competitors, I take with a ?grain of salt? the worth of his 14 major victories.
Joseph Hines
Ocala, Florida

Golf World's June 6th cover article on slow play was prophetic. In the article, you quoted PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem as stating ?You owe your fellow competitor the courtesy of maintaining a reasonable pace.? I appeared to me and others that Tiger intentionally slowed down his play to un-nerve Rocco Mediate. It started around the 15th as Tiger fell behind, but was very apparent on the 17th fairway. An official should have put Tiger "on the clock" on the 17th as he checked and rechecked the wind, had numerous conversations with his caddie, changed club selections twice, and backed away from hitting his shot a couple of times. Rocco was on a rhythm, and is a fast play type of golfer. He had to wait in the fairway for Tiger to play before he could hit his approach. I feel Tiger?s slow play threw Rocco off the great birdie run that he had going into the last few holes. Tiger also took an unusual amount of time getting to the sudden death tee (as noted by announcer Johnny Miller), again leaving Rocco to pace the tee box to control his emotions. Tiger?s actions were probably within the rules of golf, but not within the spirit of the game.
Ed Mohr
Lake Orion, Michigan

There is no denying that Tiger Woods is the most talented player to ever pick up a golf club. His performance at last week's U.S. Open further solidified his position as the game's best player ever. Despite his incredible talents, however, I will never hold him in the same regard as some of the game's other great players. The reason is simple. As last week's telecast demonstrated over and over again, he still doesn't conduct himself on the golf course the way a Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and even a Phil Mickelson do. He continues to throw clubs and use language that I and I'm sure many others find offensive. Growing up in the Palmer and Nicklaus era I have watched endless telecasts of these great players and cannot recall one instance where either of them threw clubs or used offensive language. Tiger will likely hold every major record by the time he finishes his career. However, in my mind (and I suspect many other's) Tiger will never achieve the status of these other great players unless he learns how to control his temper and set a better example for all of those youngsters who watch him and aspire to be like him. Please Tiger, remember thousands and thousands of children are watching you.
Allen Stendahl
Franklin, TN 37067

Let me just say one thing in response. The guy was playing on a broken leg. That will also you down a bit. Not an excuse, but a fact. And my impression was that he was reasonably gracious and praiseworthy toward Rocco. But he ain't perfect, no doubt.

--Bob Carney

Andy North of ESPN said today that Tiger has found his groove because he's learned that while his mending left knee hurts, it holds up, and he can depend on that. This letter from Dr. David Safir of LoS Gatos, California, in response to Jaime Diaz's piece in Golf World, takes a rather skeptical view of why Tiger chose to have the surgery in the first place.

Jaime wrote:

...if the after effects of his repaired knee were to cause Woods to lose, say, five mph in clubhead speed, it would blunt some of his edge. It would be subtle, but perhaps he would no longer be able call up enough power to reach the longest par 5, or muscle up from the rough, or hit a sky-high long iron to a pin that no one else can get near, or drive a par 4. Power -- correctly applied -- is a major "separator" when the challenge is extreme length, extreme rough and extreme firmness, as it will be at next week's U.S. Open. If Woods isn't quite the same at Torrey Pines, it will show.

Dr. Safir's view:

I think Jaime Diaz missed the boat completely regarding his analysis of Tiger's knee surgery.  First of all, Tiger doesn't play professional football--he plays golf.  Scoping a knee on him will not have any serious consequences on his game at all.  I watched Tiger play at the Master's. He never flinched, winced or limped once during the entire tournament.  The odds that he needed a knee surgery at this point in the season were remote.  I see the knee surgery as a convenient excuse for screwing up and not winning the first leg of the Grand Slam and therefore wasting 2008's opportunity. Once Tiger lost the Masters, he knew that the bold prediction of a Grand Slam for 2008 (which he did nothing to dispel) was over. Not only does he immediately appear to have an excuse for losing the Masters, he has a nice excuse for the rest of the season.  Mark my words;  when he hits a bad shot he will periodically grab his knee now. I have had several knee arthroscopies. There isn't any reason to scope a knee in mid-season if you are moving around and playing virtually as well as you can.  I am very cynical of his motives here.

Very tough, Doc, but I haven't ever seen Tiger look for excuses, and he's wincing not only after the bad shots, but the good ones, too. At any rate, we're going to see very soon, tomorrow in fact.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Jamie Squire)
?

Alex Lavin, Highland Park, Ill., perhaps thinking that Tiger's knee injury makes him vulnerable, send this question.

My friends and I have been engrossed in an argument over the past few days: The score Tiger Woods would shoot at our local course, with a rating of 71.1. The question: If I carry an Index of 0.8 could I come within ten shots of Tiger if we played together. Compelling arguments say I could, yet there is strong support for the other side. Please give us some guidance.

Having had to do a few calculations like this for the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge, I went to Ron Read of the USGA (he'll be the starter at the Open, as always) and Dean Knuth, our consultant on handicap matters and the former Pope of Slope.

To answer your question, we need a couple of additional pieces of information: Tiger's handicap and the slope of your golf course. A friend in the industry, a scratch player himself, who claims to have calculated this, says Tiger's last 20 tournament scores make him a plus-13. Even if we were to use his ten worst scores instead of his ten best from the last 20, says the friend, he would be plus-8. But let's go with plus-13; he's earned it.

And let's assume the slope of your course is 130, from which we calculate your course handicap. That's done by dividing this slope by the average slope (113). In that case, 130 divided by 113 is 1.15. Multiply that by your 0.8 Index and you get 1.05, or 1. We'll drop Tiger one shot because this course is harder than average. He's now a plus-12.

Things still aren't looking good for you.
--Bob Carney

Terry Smail of Seattle, who has had a little experience in the area, writes about Tiger's knee.

I am very worried?about Tiger's left knee. I've had 10 knee operations?5 'open' procedures including a total knee replacement two years ago and 5 arthroscopy surgeries. Despite all of that, I still play to a nine handicap. Arthroscopic knee surgeries are normally a piece of cake?quick recovery and not too much disruption of the knee capsule. Even with the left knee, which undergoes considerable torque during the golf swing, a player should be able to play golf normally within two to four weeks. The reports of Tiger wearing a brace, and not being able to come back to competition within 6 -8 weeks is indicative of something far more serious than a simple cartilage issue. That does not portend well for his future or for the popularity and the economic health of golf.

Tiger answered a number of questions about the knee and his re-hab in Wednesday's AT&T National press conference, available at tigerwoods.com. Mark Soltau reported Jack Nicklaus's comments about his communication with a Woods camp on whether Tiger would play in the Memorial. Jack said Tiger "went out and tried to play Thursday and couldn't. He said he couldn't put the weight on his knee, couldn't turn it."

Tiger was emphatic about playing in the Open, however: "The rehab is working. It gets really old riding that bike, man. But everything is on schedule. Just trying to get this thing organized for the Open. Right on schedule for that." And when it came up again: "I'm playing."

--Bob Carney

Interesting that this letter from Missouri reader Hallie Gibbs was sent to us on Friday, in response to David Owen's column about Tiger in the May issue of Golf Digest, just at the point that most of us expected the usual Tiger charge to be gathering for a fifth Masters victory.

Owen writes of Tiger's dominance:

The real explanation, I think, is that Tiger's rivals try even harder when Tiger is playing well and end up focusing on him instead of staying out of their own way. When all those other guys finally, truly give up -- that's when Tiger will have to watch his back.

David Owen doesn't give Tiger enough credit. It's not a chokefest out there. Tiger is that much better! Even when he isn't playing, nobody in the "Tigerless" tournaments grinds and makes putts like he does. It's one thing to say that Tiger is intimidating. But it's another to acknowledge that he is just that much better!

You're right, of course, until he isn't for a day or a tournament and this past Sunday happens. Tiger's not perfect. The lack of roars down the stretch this week weren't due, in my opinion, to the "new" Augusta National. They were due to Tiger Woods not making putts. (I'll bet that's his assessment, too). He had plenty of opportunity. He missed putts at 13, 14, 15 and 16. Had he made the short putts at 13 and 16, and two-putted 14, pines would have fallen the roars would have been so loud. His putt on 11 and his approach to 13 seemed to set it all up. And then golf as we know it, not magical Tiger Woods golf, happened.

We remember the roars that Jack created at Augusta but tend to forget the times the roars did not materialize, the putts didn't fall and Jack was runner-up. He finished second four times in the Masters--in 1964, 1971, 1977 and 1981--more than anyone except Ben Hogan and Tom Weiskopf, who also had four. Jack came in first or second in ten Masters tournaments: six wins, four seconds. Tiger, I suspect, will equal both those marks before he's through.

To quote Owen again: "Even if Tiger retired tomorrow, he'd have my vote as the best player ever."

Amen.

--Bob Carney

Eric Silfer of West Chester, Pennsylvania, not far from where my 10-handicap friend Friedman lives and where, hopefully, he and I will play soon, has a problem with our US Open Contest Final Five choices:

I am highly disappointed to see that the 5 golfers you selected for the final don't really meet what I understood the basic premise of the challenge to be in the first place: that a 10 handicapper couldn't break 100 on a U.S. Open course and set up. The highest legitimate index in the group seems to be an 8.0, with one "estimating" his handicap at 10. Wow.

Not only will I not be voting for any of them, as nice as they may be or as interesting as their stories may be, but I won't be watching the telecast of it either. I was looking forward to seeing how someone meeting the general classification, i.e. a 10, would handle the course, but you don't have that anymore.

We mailed Dean Knuth, the handicap expert, and he tends to agree with you, Eric. Let me give you our justification, for what it's worth:

First, as you know, the indices of the finalists are not their handicaps. Handicaps are derived from indices based on the course being played. Knuth says the most a 5 handicap such as Erik Norton would get is three shots, making him an 8. John Atkinson, who is an 8.0 index could get more (as would Phil Dembure, a 7.9), taking him well over the 10 mark. So let's say we have an 8 and a 12 as our high and low players.

When Tiger made his statement, he was talking about the difficulty of the course (and specifically, about the difficulty of Oakmont). But the course was key. He was not referring, as far as I can tell, to cameras or crowds, he was talking about nasty rough, narrow fairways and slick greens. Not television cameras, playing with three celebrities, or having the focus of a 60,000-entries contest and our magazine focused squarely on your head--and your game. So let's say low man Erik Norton starts as an 8. Add those other factors and I think he's close to what Tiger was talking about.

We wanted a bit of drama in this, Eric. We played with these guys in Texas. There are no slam dunks to break 100 here. Indeed, if you took a poll of the staff (teachers and editors) it would be 4-1 against any of them breaking 100. We've interviewed a few tour pros about this. Most say, no way.

The only pretty sure bet to break 100 in the foursome is Tony Romo. And we eliminated many "Tony Romos" in our selection process because they were just too good. They really were not what Tiger was talking about. Example: James Doing, the Wisconsin voice coach who made the hilarious "Oh what a beautiful morning!" video you've probably seen. Doing was a plus handicap.

So we get your point and it's a fair one. But ask someone who watches the show if in the end it wasn't pretty close to the original idea.

Thanks,

Bob

Golf World reader Daniel M. Wilson II takes up a conversation that could, conceivably, last all season: a Tiger Woods Grand Slam:

Columnist Lorne Rubenstein in "The Grandest of Anticipation" (GW, March 28) states ". . . Anybody who does not think he'll win the Masters, or that he cannot win the Grand Slam, risks looking stupid. . ."

I'll be Forest Gump and take that risk; only one man--Bobby Jones--ran the board over 78 years ago and two of the majors were amateur. Ben Hogan won three in 1953 and didn't compete in the PGA.

Ladbrokes has it (Tigerslam) at 8-1. Seldom do bookmakers look stupid, more often writers do.

Ouch.

Forest, meet Dave Stiles.

No one will be rooting harder for Tiger to win all four majors this year and complete the Modern Grand Slam than I, but the mounting pressure of each win will eventually take down even Tiger. I don't think it's possible, not even from Tiger and he's certainly the only one who would have any chance.

I'm not a betting man. But for good reason the Slam will be the buzz Tuesday and Wednesday at Augusta and any day Tiger leads. Am I the only one who's surprised that Tiger seems to welcome this discussion despite the pressure it adds? I guess he figures he can handle the pressure and having the other players approach the first major pondering a Tiger Grand Slam can't be all bad.

And if you don't pick Tiger for at least the first major, who do you pick? Goosen ? Baddeley ? Scott ? Mickelson ? Rose ? Maybe not.

The little grand slam (no caps) would be all four amateurs breaking 100 at Torrey Pines in the U.S. Open Challenge. If both of these slams occur in the same calendar year, I'll buy a Bentley.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Walter Iooss)

Besides being the arguably the game's greatest player ever, Tiger also has to be its most massive lightning rod.

From reader Tom Todd this week:

Best golfer on the PGA Tour? absolutely. Will he break Jack's records? probably. Was Tiger's profanity laden outburst "out-of-bounds"? Most definitely - young people look up to Tiger as their hero and the way he acted in front of these kids was unacceptable. Shame on ESPN and The Golf Channel for giving Tiger a pass on this. It appears the media is afraid to take him to task when he has a grave !apse in judgment. Tiger whines about the quality of the greens. Then he goes ballistic over the sound of a clicking camera ruining his shot. Come on Tiger. You make millions and millions of dollars playing a game. By wanting to be the very best in the world, you should accept a few minor distractions in your very blessed life.

Reader Jim Woods says good job to John Hawkins for reminding us of "Tiger saying he was impervous to such disturbances because Earl, his all-knowing father, used to jingle keys in the kid's backswing."

Thanks to The Angry Golfer for printing what I've been saying to friends for a couple of years. After hearing the story a million times about how Earl jingled coins and performed other tricks to distract Tiger, I was baffled by how Tiger would go ballistic because of the click of a camera. Two choices.....stop the Earl story, or have Tiger live up to it.

You're right about the language. Who can defend it? He ain't perfect. But he's about as close as we'll ever see. He is our Ruth...another guy with a few flaws.

--Bob Carney

When Tiger wins or Tiger loses, when the streak continues or when it ends, you want to talk about Tiger. In the wake of Geoff Ogilvy's victory at Doral, that's still the case:

Bob Creemens of North Richland Hills, Texas:

Clearly Tiger Woods is the best golfer on the planet and will most likely be the most heralded golfer of all time. He is also a true sportsman and a fine gentleman. Having said that, thank you Geoff Ogilvy. I am tired of hearing about the perfect season. But most of all I am tired of hearing about the Fed Ex Cup. Who cares! I am so tired I intend to use the United States Postal Service from now on.

Ron Field of Morton, Washington:

A good number of associates are really fed up with the bias reporting, in both print and TV, shown towards Tiger Woods. On Saturday, NBC commenced their broadcast with 'Tiger Woods is in second place to Geoff Ogilvy'. It should have been 'Geoff Ogilvy is leading Tiger Woods by a shot'. Then, what do they do? 'They immediately show what happened at 5.45pm the previous Sunday with Woods winning.

Please give us all a break and report the golf properly from the leaders back. Then, to make matters worse, Woods is six strokes off the leader and heis getting more space than the leaders....I bet that Geoff Ogilvy won't be shown next time he plays if he is six shots behind.

I suppose 'Golf World' will put Woods on the cover again this week because he finished fifth.

And then there is J. Johnson, of Topsham, Maine, who sees it a bit differently:

Former high shool golf team or spectacular shot of Tiger Woods winning. I can see how difficult it was to decide for you brain dead fools.

--Bob Carney

Jaime Diaz's column on the relationship of Tiger Woods and Barack Obama in Golf World's Feb. 29th issue drew rapid response, not all of it positive.

Diaz admittedly went out on a limb:

I can't help it. Something visceral tells me Tiger Woods has had something to do with the ascension of Barack Obama. Maybe a lot.

Despite some cultural experts urging him not to, Jaime  forged ahead with his premise and drew fiery responses, including one from Floridian George Elgart, who called the column "racist".  An excerpt:

 

Tiger, love him or detest him, is the finest example of a golfer I have had the pleasure to observe in my 50 summers.  News flash to Mr. Diaz: This kid really is special.  Compare him to Einstein, to Jonas Salk, to Michael Jordan, to Babe Ruth, to Michaelangelo, to Disraeli or Pele, fine, but please spare us the comparison to a political newcomer, untested by time or circumstance.  I would ask Diaz for his favorite Obama accomplishment, but evidently he has already included it in his piece: his race.  Tiger is not great because or in spite of his ethnic heritage, Tiger is the greatest golfer of his (or perhaps any) age because of his remarkable ability to play golf. 

Len Raley of Elk Grove, California, also had a problem with Diaz's logic:

I was offended at the content of the Opinion column in the February 29th issue of Golf World for several reasons:   First and foremost, political and cultural opinion drivel of this kind has no place in a weekly golf publication. If I wish this kind of content, I can find it in a multitude of publications far better suited to the topics.

Second, the ill-conceived connection premise of the opinion content was accurately described by Dr. Harry Edwards as having "... next to nothing to do with the other". The fact that Diaz actually let the article leave his word processing vehicle and that you chose to publish the piece is mind boggling.
 
Lastly, I see the article as a new low in the "Billary's" efforts to capture the Democratic presidential nomination. Recruiting a hack golf writer to point out the empty rhetoric used by Obama in his sales pitch to the American public is really scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Please note that I have included elements of my own political opinion. You don't really care to hear it --do you?

Actually, Len, we do. The reason columnists write columns like this one is because they generate very passionate letters, yours included. Thanks for sharing it.

--Bob Carney

It's good to hear again from Dave Riffey of Shell Lake, WI. He's taken a break from shoveling snow and wants to talk about the endless comparisons of today's players (especially Tiger) with those of years gone by:

Every week it is the same old thing. someone comparing Tiger and the current players to the old guys and gals.   Why hasn't anyone set up a tour for the current players that required them to use the old wooden headed clubs. Call it the 60's & 70's tour. Each pro would be required to use clubs, balls, and putters only available from that era. Put the greens at the same speed, the distance the same as back then.

This would really be an interesting test to see how good the NEW players on the PGA and women of the LPGA tours would react and play.

Send them to Pebble, Augusta, the Old Course, Doral, Wing Foot etc. If the old players had the technology of today, back then, they would be  better than the players of today.
 

Dave, we were just talking about that today after someone mentioned Mark Frost's book, The Match, the new book about the great match among Hogan, Nelson, Venturi and Ward, that Bo Links wrote about in Golf World recently. How would those guys fare with all of this new equipment?

My thought: Tiger could play with bamboo and win and so could Hogan, Nelson, Nicklaus and a few others. Just how far down the list you'd go is why it's a great question.

By the way, I'm not wishing for the old days. We have one of those throwback events at the club from time to time. Man, golf gets hard when you're playing persimmon and balata!

--Bob Carney

We've heard a bunch about Tiger's turned-back hat and menacing scowl on the January cover, so it's fair to print this letter from Dr. John Pate of Ontario:

I have just finished reading the article written by Jamie Diaz on Tiger Woods and his life changes in 2007.It may be the best work that I have read in Golf Digest in my 40 years of subscribing.The exploration of this young man's personal growth and his growing insight and understanding of himself provided for a wonderful look into a Tiger we don't see on television. Imagine, that Sunday scowl is really just his "poker face"- not so scary after all. In my game golf is a good walk , on good ground, with good friends and with a little sport. I know that tournament golf is very different - but this young man would be welcome in my group anytime , not because he is Tiger , but because of the man he is becoming. Thank you for doing such good work.

It's interesting that the cover, which drew considerable negative response--and some positive, too--is a home run on the newsstands. Our best January issue in a decade. Tiger continues to mesmerize. His performance at Torrey Pines last week and his 65 in Dubai today are the beginnings of what might be the career year. Nicke Faldo said "Tiger could--no, I'll take away the could--Tiger will win the Grand Slam this year." I think Jaime's story and Walter Iooss Jr.'s photos got closer to explaining why that's possible than anything done on Tiger to date.

--Bob Carney

It's official. This contest has caught on. We passed 20,000 entrants today, and they're coming from all walks of life: CEO, Civil Rights commissioner, college golf coach, construction worker, Army captain, college student, clergyman--in fact, a whole lot of clergymen, including one who assured us his entire congregation would be praying that he'd break 100--and those are just a Cs. There are a lot of comics.

Allen from Texas:

Reasons why I'm your golfer? I convinced my wife to name our son Hogan... I took my current job in part because the company owns a course I can play anytime, and I want to prove Tiger wrong--I'm a Mickelson fan. Besides, what does Tiger know? He hasn't been a 10 handicapper since he was 8.

Chris from New York City:

I would shoot a 98 with one breakfast ball off the first tee and I have the best golf terms: a Salman Rushdie--hard read; a Kate Winslet--a bit fat but otherwise perfect; a Cuban--needed one more revolution; a Rock Hudson--looked straight but wasn't; a Saddam Hussein--from one bunker right into another. I got a million of em.

Andrew from Arlington, VA:

The son of an irish saloon keeper and a former college golfer, I would make for great TV. Can I get a bonus if I beat Roger Maltbie?

More...

Several interesting letters about Ron Sirak's "Old Man Woods" piece on our web site. This one, from Jack Christian of Oakland Hills, was intriguing:

Two weeks ago, while visiting Las Vegas, our group decided to try a little golf at Shadow Creek before the Mayweather Fight. The weather was nasty, 50 degrees with occasional rain. There were two other golfers on the course. One of them won the Target World Challenge a few days later. And yes, Mr. Sirak," He is fun to watch even if there is no one else playing against him.

That's the thing about Tiger. You feel, at some level, that he's one of us. He just loves the game. Plays a bit better than us, is all. Sirak offers stats to underscore Woods dominance:

There have been 44 majors played since Tiger turned pro. Besides Woods, five players have won multiple times: Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh, both with three; and Ernie Els, Mark O'Meara, and Retief Goosen, two apiece. Add their totals and it comes to a dozen--one fewer than Woods. Nineteen players have been one-major-and-out guys since 1997--though each has one more than the disappointing six.

Jay Perlstein of Birmingham, Alabama, writes to second Sirak.

What a great article, clear succinct with no emotional attachment. Love him or hate him you have to admire Tiger Woods. We all need to step back and look at what he has accomplished...when his run is over and we know it all ends sometime, and we look back, only then will he truly be appreciated for what he has done.

Part of what he has done, as Sirak points out, is raise revenue for his competitors:

Is it too much to expect anyone to run with Woods? Absolutely. He's special. Is it too much to expect one of these rapidly aging young hotshots to have won a major by now? Absolutely not. What they have won, however, is a combined $77.8 million of the PGA Tour's cash, with Garcia leading the way at $19.5 million. Does the wealth available make players soft? Perhaps. Part of what makes Woods special is it has never been about money for him, only winning.

All which proves that a) The Old Man loves the game, and b) plays it better than anyone ever has.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Dom Furore)

The talk continues on Tiger and our photos and story about him in the January issue. Besides the comments on this blog, reader Steve Kass of Castle Rock, Colorado, has something to say about Jerry Tarde's references to Tiger in his Editor's Letter:

As an avid reader of your magazine, I take exception with some of Jerry Tarde's characterization of Tiger Woods in the December issue.

First, while Tiger may find connection with his father through an interest in the military, let's not forget that Tiger is but a golfer. He may be the best golfer of all time, but his life is not in danger and unlike our military, he is highly compensated for his work. Let's not confuse Tiger's dabbling in military training with the very real service of our armed forces. It is an insult to those risking and losing their lives to provide
the freedom we enjoy. I'm sure Tiger is thankful for the armed forces, who like his father, give us the society that enable him to play golf for a living.

Also, Tiger's physical fitness regimen may be based on Navy Seals training, but that is a trend sweeping gyms throughout the country. Tiger is obviously in great condition, and among golfers he stands apart. The closest Tiger comes to taking a hit from a 270-pounder is when Tim Herron slaps him on the back in congratulations for another win.

Never a bad idea to keep a bit of perspective on our sport and our heroes, Ray. I think Tiger would agree.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Walter Iooss, Jr.)

We continue to get lots of comment about the Tiger cover photo and story in the January issue. V.J. Meyers of Woodbridge, Illinois, agrees with some other writers about Walter Iooss, Jr.'s photo:

Just to let you know that I was not impressed with your cover photo of Tiger Woods in your January issue. He looks someone who lives in the hood rather than the number one golfer in the world.

But Barry Kress has a larger point to make. It's not the photo that bothered him.

I read the feature article from the January 2008 issue of Golf Digest on Tiger Woods. Around the same time, I watched the weekend television coverage of the Target World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks CA and attended the first two days in person. At this point my Tiger tank is full?too much Tiger! From reading the article and watching the TV coverage I was astounded after attending the tournament in person to learn that there were other players in addition to Tiger and his almost anonymous playing partner in the tournament. I now know how Tiger got his name, how his newborn baby got her name (yes, I do know that the baby is a girl), the name of his boat, that his wife has a twin sister (who, by the way, my son wouldn?t mind meeting), where he lives, who his ?best buddies? are on tour (the FOT?friends of Tiger), his swing changes and details about his swing (?he has a tendency to turn this and that, dip here and there, which occasionally causes him to block the ball right which is an overcompensation for his most dreaded shot---the duck hook), and it goes on and on. Enough already....

Give me more about other players, Barry says. "Don?t get me wrong?I have nothing against Mr. Woods and his often superior play on the golf course---but let?s not go overboard..."

Barry, we hear you. And I could say, well, it was Tiger's event and he was leading by 5 shots. But I won't. The fact is, as long as TV ratings double when Tiger plays and web site traffic jumps when he's in contention--fully half of our traffic over the past few days can be attributed to the Tiger gallery and Jaime Diaz's story--you'll be hearing about him.

Nobody wrote us about Fred Funk this week.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Walter Iooss, Jr.)

"Rory Sabbatini could stand some work on his first impression," was the way Jaime Diaz began his story on the South African in November's Golf Digest.

Actually, Rory's last impression wasn't much to write home about either. Sabbatini checked out of Tiger's Target World Challenge after three rounds with "shin splints" and flew off to Hawaii. It left Fred Couples shaking his head. "He's messin' with the wrong guy," said Fred.

What makes Sabbatini tick? Diaz's story comes as close to answering that as you can. Golf World's
Newsmakers story by Jim Moriarty might also help.

The forums today have not been understanding. Rory's taking a few hits.

Being a person who tends to side with the underdog, I've kind of enjoyed Sabbatini's brashness. So when a friend of mine played in a pro-am with him this year I asked, "What's he like?"

"Worse than advertised," came the reply.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Getty Images)

Funny post on this site yesterday by mt1putt about our January cover:

That picture of T.W. is SCARY! I wouldn't last two holes with him. I can't even leave the magazine face up on the table.

The cover seems to be a Rorschach test about one's attitude toward the game. A sampling of interpretations, this one from Ray C. Fleming:

Mr. Iooss Jr. states he wanted to show the intensity in Mr. Woods eyes during the heat of competition seen by his golf companions during tournaments. Actually less than 6% of his competition can view Mr. Woods at any time in a tournament. The portrayal of Mr. Woods with the rally cap and sullen threatening expression. c an be seen on the covers of most of the hiphop albums advertised in any big discount store or grocery. The added picture on page 14 only carried the theme of muscle and threat further.

I am trying to insert Jack Nicklaus/Bobby Jones into this piece of artistic (what) but have failed. Perhaps I could have used Fifty Cent.

Or this, from Robert Zimmerer of Wyckoff, N.J.:

I am the first to admit that he is the No. 1 golfer in the world and he may be the greatest of all time... But I am shocked that Golf Digest would put Tiger Woods on its January, 2008 cover with his golf hat turned backwards. Is that how we want our young golfers to look when they are on the golf course? Quite frankly, it looks like he was ready to go to "the hood" rather than to play what is still in my mind the only "gentleman's game" in sports...

On the other hand, there was no disagreement about the story itself, by Jaime Diaz:

Dear Golf Digest,

I would like to thank you for publishing Jaime Diaz's Tiger Woods article in your January 2008 issue. The aforementioned article was the best piece I have ever read in any sporting magazine...
Ryan Tong. Edmonton, Alberta

And this one from a young man named Robert Martin of Silver City, New Mexico:

I really liked your editor's letter this month you did on capturing the game face of Tiger Woods. Tiger is really an inspiration to me. Thank you for talking about Tiger's dad. He was a big part of Tiger's success. I think it's important for people to know that.

I just finished reading the January 2008 issue of Golf Digest. I really liked your editor's letter this month you did on capturing the game face of Tiger Woods. Tiger is really an inspiration to me. Thank you for talking about Tiger's dad. He was a big part of Tiger's success. I think it's important for people to know that.

Tiger Woods is my biggest hero in golf I really look up to him. When I play I think of how well I could do in golf if I would play as much as he did when he was my age. I played on my high school golf team last year, and Tiger is the favorite of everybody on the team....

Thanks, Robert, if we're turning this game over to you, it's in good hands.

--Bob Carney

(Cover photo: Walter Iooss, Jr.)

We topped 2300 registrations in the U.S. Open contest today, with fathers nominating sons, sons nominating fathers, daughters nominating fathers and even a couple of wives nominating husbands. (For this alone the contest is a success).

Stories in Australia and Canada today made it international. And Tiger Woods weighed in. Here's Lorne Rubinstein in Toronto Globe & Mail:

Meanwhile, Woods is surely right in saying a 10-handicapper couldn't break 100 on a U.S. Open course. The celebrities might have an advantage over the winner in the Golf Digest contest, who is sure to be both pitied and envied. They'll have played in televised pro-ams. Then again, they'll have never played a pro-am in a U.S. Open because there's no pro-am before the championship.

"It's an interesting idea," Woods said yesterday during a conference call in advance of the Target World Challenge that starts today in Thousand, Oaks, Calif., and to which he plays host. "But they should play it on the Monday after the tournament."

Tiger said that the rough got tougher as the week went on and the Monday following would be the ultimate test. We're thinking the Saturday before will be plenty, thank you.

Woods said their round will help amateurs understand how narrow U.S. Open fairways are, how high the rough is, and how fast the greens are. "Amateurs probably don't understand how difficult the pins can be," Woods said. He added that even the pros can putt the ball off the greens. What fun.

With almost everyone agreeing that the amateurs have no chance to break 100, I'll side with the deluded and say one will. How great would that be?

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Walter Iooss, Jr.)

If you?re a 10-handicapper, there?s no way you?re breaking 100 out there; if you played all out on every shot, there is no way. Tiger Woods

Apparently quite a few of us dream of sinking that putt to win the Open. Or there are just a load of us who want prove Tiger wrong. In three days Golf Digest has received more that 1215 essays from golfers trying to be the lone "average amateur" to play the U.S. Open course, Torrey Pines, next June, a few days before the championship. An hour-long show covering the round will air prior to Sunday's U.S. Open final round.

Our contest launched late last week and we recieved almost 400 registrations in the first 24 hours. The contest will identify one worthy (or foolhardy) soul who'l join three celebs and try to do what Tiger said could not be done. At Oakmont, you may recall, Tiger said a 10-handicap amateur, playing out every shot, couldn't break 100.

Based on that simple premise, Golf Digest and NBC, with the USGA's cooperation, created the contest. The Times' Larry Dorman, among others, picked up on the January-issue announcement, referring to it as the USGA's "reality show."

So did Geoff Shackelford, who took a slightly more skeptical stance. But we are pure of heart here. We just want to see what will happen.

Alex Infante, one of the first entrants, thinks he knows.

A game. A dream. A hope. The U.S. Open--the greatest golf challenge. We watch as Tiger "ups the ante"--says I can't break 100. Game on! ... I will succeed. I will score 85. And the next time my daughter asks, "When will you be on TV?" I'll say, as we watch the 2008 U.S. Open, "Today."

Given that Torrey Pines will be 400 yards longer than Oakmont, Alex, early betting is that Tiger will be proven right.

But at least 1215 of you are taking the under.

--Bob Carney

Paul Della Valle of Sterling Mass. writes with a message for one Tiger Woods:

I just read in your Birdies and Bogies section for January that Tiger Woods shot a 43 on the back nine of the final round at Bay Hill.

Thanks to many of the tips I gleaned from your magazine in the past year, I shot my best nine ever, a 42, in my final round at Holden Hills Country Club before the snow flew up here.

I just want to let Tiger know that I won't be sandbagged. I'm still not giving him strokes.    

 

Paul, glad you wrote that now because I think the chance of any of us talking about a Tiger Woods 43 is over.

--Bob Carney