Until about a quarter of a century ago, golf was trapped in its easy-going traditions. Out-of-shape players on the course – a result of the fondness for the pint and an aversion to rigorous physical activity – were a common sight. Some critics even wondered whether it was a sport at all, with the particularly well-read among them excelling in getting under the skin of golf lovers with uncharitable – and often, unprintable – quotes on the game.
Then, virtually out of nowhere, a phenom called Tiger Woods stormed the scene and turned the game on its head.
Almost overnight there was a massive infusion of sponsorship money riding on Woods’ broad shoulders, raising the stakes for everybody. Players no longer headed to the bar after the end of a round. Instead, they made a beeline for the gym.
If current golf pros employ a fitness regime that is not out of sync with that of top athletes or footballers, they have Woods to thank for it.
Doha Golf Club general manager and tournament director Gary McGlinchey spoke on Tuesday of how players these days are driven by a near-manic urge to stay fit.
“The guys are athletes now, too. Twenty years ago, these guys, they don’t go to the gym, but now every guy on Tour, they are like professional athletes,” he said at a press conference.
“They live, breathe golf. They go to the gym. Their diets, they all have dieticians. I think globally overall, golf has become a much more athletic sport than it used to be.”
Most of the credit for that goes to one man – Woods. His fanatical obsession with fitness meant other players had no option but to fall in line or lose out on the big bucks.
In 1999, when the young Woods turned up in Germany for a tournament, he discovered to his horror that the hotel he was booked into did not have a gymnasium.
“We are outta here,” he reportedly told his manager. Of course there was no need to do that because the hotel management was so alarmed at the prospect of the negative publicity that Woods walking out would bring them that they converted a conference hall into a full-fledged gymnasium in a couple of hours.
Nobody could afford to displease Woods, even when he was barely 25. When his chartered plane to Dubai from Los in Angeles in 2001 developed a snag before takeoff, no effort was made to repair it. Another plane was readily placed at his disposal.
Thomas Bjorn, the 2011 winner in Qatar, spoke of how Woods forced players to mend their ways after beating the American in a thrilling finish at the Dubai Desert Classic in 2001.
The Dane ended up playing all the four rounds of the tournament with Woods and got a firsthand insight into the working of his mind, not to speak of his body. Tiger may not look intimidating when you see him from afar but when you watch him in the gym it can get intimidating, Bjorn pointed out after his victory.
“Golf has gained a great deal from him. The game has really developed and the prize money has also gone up as a result,” Bjorn said.
“Golf should thank him that he did not choose to play basketball or American football.”
Woods may have had his problems on the personal front in the past few years, but nobody can deny him the credit for changing golf’s work ethic. So much so that nobody jokes about the game anymore.
Tiger Woods
