Thought for the Day
Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
There’s odd, and then there’s Irish
I have remarked before on the peculiar nature of pro golfers who insist on changing things that ain’t broke – specifically, the golf swing with which they have just won a truckload of money and several titles. No-one exemplifies this baffling phenomenon more graphically than Padraig Harrington, who won three majors in 13 months and in the process became the first European to lift the Wanamaker Trophy since 1930, and the first to successfully defend the claret jug since 1906, which amounts to a pretty impressive roll-call of achievement. Despite all this, Padraig decided that his method of swinging the club was in such disarray that he needed to go back to the drawing board, dismantle what was clearly functioning extremely well and try something new, in the hope of even greater success (although what would be measured as greater success than three majors in just over a year is hard to imagine).
In consequence, since that last major win, the 2008 US PGA Championship, Padraig has won bugger all and slipped from 3rd in the world to 78th. He can’t even taste victory in his home championship, the Irish Open, which tends to showcase a field that, in comparison to most Tour events is, how can I put this delicately – pretty sub-standard. And in the middle of this seemingly inexorable decline he sacked his coach, Bob Torrance, the man who helped equip him, with the tools to fashion those earlier successes. But the most puzzling, if not psychotic, element to all of this is that Padraig insists he has improved as a player during the three lean years since he last lifted a trophy of any kind.
I repeat: He has slipped down the world rankings quicker that Usain Bolt running for the bus, not tasted victory of any complexion (and rarely been anything like in contention) and yet insists he is a better player. He made this deluded claim in a Sunday Times interview in which he said: ‘Nobody ever stays the same. You try and stand still and you go backwards.
‘The only way to keep going is to try and improve. Do I think I am a better player than I was? Yes, I fully believe it.’
You must be the only one Padraig. And by the way, I think you misunderstand the nature of improvement. Most of it is achieved in incremental steps, as exemplified by Luke Donald in recent seasons. Instead of getting up and down 80% or the time from just off the green, you improve that figure to 82%, and hole one more 10-foot putt per tournament, or make one more sand save. You don’t take apart what works, and replace it with something that doesn’t. Of course, even the best in the world want to improve, but that demands evolution, not revolution.
There’s odd, and then there’s Irish II
In advance of being labelled as having an axe to grind in regard to our closest neighbours to the west, I should perhaps mention that I am half Irish, being the son of a mother who hailed from County Cork. I produce this disclaimer because the activities of another Irishman, this time from north of the border, have caught my eye, and I don’t want you to think I’m having a pop for cultural or ethnic reasons. I refer to Rory McIlroy, who has ditched Chubby Chandler’s International Sports Management in order to sign with Horizon, a Dublin-based company. He originally signed with ISM when he turned pro at the age of 18 and has subsequently enjoyed four enormously successful years – through his own remarkable ability. You cannot help wonder, though, whether his decision to jump from what appeared to be a very happy ship is because his ego has got the better of him, and, if you’ll excuse the mixed metaphors, he wants to be top dog in a smaller kennel rather than one among equals, which tends to be the way Chubby Chandler treats his roster of stars. I also wonder if he feels that he’s not maximising his earning potential – he does seem to travel to a lot of far-flung places in pursuit of a few extra dollars which he can’t possibly need. Once again, Chubby’s track record is one where he doesn’t kill the golden-egg laying goose by chasing every possible cent.
If these are Rory’s reasons then I fear for the young man, who has a case of severely distorted priorities.
TigerWatch
As of October 24, 2011, Tiger Woods is ranked 55th in the world
Quote of the week
St Andrews? I thought where I came from [Florida] was the home of golf.
Boo Weekley (bless)