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What’s the big deal about anchored putters?

By now, we’ve already entered into the twillight zone of the golf season. Meaning, there’s nothing much to yap about.

So, in line with keeping golf relevant, the governing body has decided that anchored putters will be banned in 2016 when the rule changes comes again. Apparently there’s a four year rule change, and 2012 has already passed.

So there’s another 3 years for guys like Adam Scott, Mr Ernie Else and Keegan Bradley and a host of other guys using either the long putter or belly putter to come to terms with their existence: use the darn putter as it is!

Tiger Woods is one of the guys against it. He has never used an anchored putter, instead flitting between his beloved Scotty Cameron and the god awful Nike Method. Both are normal blade putters.

So what’s the big deal? It’s a rule in golf, so live by it. If the rule of golf says you play 18 holes you play it. If it says your driver is limited to 460cc, then that’s the limit. If the rules says you eat Lima beans, you eat lima beans, or you don’t play it.

Frankly, anchored putters are not so hot for weekend hackers like us. Not only, I guess it’s an ego thing, but really, can you imagine the confusion it will cost if we’re betting and have the rule of given if putter length? Imagine the advantage that these guys will have over poor saps like us!

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Festive Season Nightmares

I hate to be the grinch. But I get him. I get the Grinch.

The problem with festive seasons is this: holidays + noise.

Holidays might be a good thing for 99% of the people in the country. But not so if you’re running your own business. If you are chasing contracts. Or chasing collections. Holidays are just constant bumps in the road…when you gain a little momentum, something like this happens when the whole week goes down the drain.

Now I’m fine with that, because I’ve learnt to cope with it.

The noise, I cannot.

It’s a wonder as new fathers grasp their new role as drowning monkeys grabbing on straws, adjusting to the constant demand of this new creature in the household, constantly yelling, screaming, kicking, crapping, crying, wailing, laughing, then screaming again, refusing to sleep, pulling etc. Sometimes you wonder, how on earth did this fler get contained in the womb??

And then after a long period of shush patting, coaxing, bribing, blackmailing and begging, the little one drifts off into sleep. And the parents clamber into the bed, exhausted, and having mirages of heaven in their sleep.

And then it begins.

The cursed fireworks. Which I believe is a 1000 year curse placed upon parents, by weird aliens living on planet Mongo. I hate fireworks. Especially the ones that sounds like frigging cannons from frigates blasting in the high seas, and causing part of our wall plaster to chip. We live in a place that’s one road away from a large kampung area, and I don’t know how they do it, they got their hands on these humongously powerful fireworks and just literally destroyed any semblance of peace we had in my area.

Little One wakes, screaming.

Parents wake, screaming.

Police? I don’t know. Isn’t fireworks already banned? Why aren’t they doing anything about it??

I HATE FIREWORKS!!

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Was Tiger right to snub WGC?

A lot of flak had been given to our favourite misfit golfer, Tiger Woods over the past week, which really proves that if you are popular and back at the top of the world, you ain’t going to make everyone happy.

Apparently he was in China playing that mickey mouse 1 on 1 with Rory. First of all, 1 on 1 in golf in an exhibition, non-tournament game is pure nonsense. I mean, if you’re talking about a contact sport like basketball, then heck, yeah! Michael Jordan vs Magic Johnson, Kobe vs Lebron, Tim Duncan vs Anyone on this planet, why not? You see both athletes trash talking, bumping and grinding against each other (and not in a porno way), vs Tiger and Rory in grey sweaters walking around and talking about the weather and what to eat after that.

So anyways, the people at wgc hsbc are really pissed because since Tiger is in China and Rory is in China, they should have competed in the WGC tournament.

Morgan expressed “disappointment” earlier this week that both McIlroy and Woods were in China but did not stay to play the WGC event at Mission Hills. McIlroy is taking the week off before playing three of the remaining four European Tour events.

“To have a World Golf Championship in Asia is really important for the sport, to balance the sport out, and to grow,” Morgan said. “And because it’s a World Golf Championship event, it requires the best players to be here.”

HSBC also sponsors the Abu Dhabi tournament, which both Woods and McIlroy played this year (McIlroy finished second, Woods tied for third) and where both receive appearance fees. They will get paid again in January to return. The WGC event is co-sponsored by the PGA Tour, which prohibits such fees.

Guess what, Morgan? The reality here is this: If you give the money, then we’ll talk. As a business man, would you go into a deal that guaranteed you US2 million for just showing up for 4 hours or to grind it out for 4 days with the possibility of only getting about half of the prize money? Going by man hour rates, it’s pretty obvious a business decision is made in this case. If WGC paid Tiger, he would be there because he can afford it. And I bet he’s thinking, “Damn, when I was down and out and looked like crap, played like crap and 58 in the world, nobody gave rotten eggs to me. They said I was bad for the game, bad as a role model and I sucked. Now when I am number 2, everyone is hero worshipping me again and asking me to be a good ambassador to this sorry excuse for a sport. If they want me to be there, they better sponsor to fly in losers like David Duval and John Daly as well!”

It’s true. Tiger has gone past the “I need to be an example for the sport” period. He’s had it. He wrote a personal mail to me saying, “You know what, Gilagolf, I am done with this horseshit. From now on, Tiger only plays for one person: Tiger. I am bigger than this sport, and I might as well acknowledge it. So go suck it, Morgan Stanley or whatever the heck your name is!”

“And because it’s a World Golf Championship event, it requires the best players to be here.” – What is this about? If you can’t attract the best golfers you can’t attract it. Nothing requires the best players to be there. That’s why golf is for self employment, it’s that aside from playing minimum tournaments, there’s no mandatory tournaments that must be played?  And face it, after losing 16 kg of sweat in Malaysia, then heading off to China for USD2 million for a 4 hour game, then coming back to Singapore to screw around in Marina Sands, who’d want to go back to freaking Shanghai? He’s done. Time to recharge and win again next year.

About Rory watching his girlfriend lose again, I don’t know. Seems pretty dodgy, since Rory still has loads to prove and should be taking the mantle of role modelship from Tiger. Apparently, like all Irish, he doesn’t give a cannolli of what the world thinks as well…which is why he and Tiger get along so well, I guess.

Which is also strange, to see Tiger cosy up with curly hair Rory. We know Tiger would rather pound Rory into a pulp and spit on his carcass…so why the friendly strategy? What is going on up in the devious mind of Tiger?