Terry Foster: Old Tiger Woods Isn't Fun To Watch
By: Terry Foster
@terryfoster971
I'm officially tired of Tiger Woods. I do not want to see replays of every errant shot.
I do not want to see him slam in clubs in frustration. I no longer want to see him grimace in pain after another frustrating shot.
Tiger Woods is golf. I get it. The guy I see now is not.
He can barely finish rounds. He doesn't always make cuts. All Tiger Woods is now is a bad highlight reel that boost television ratings in random Thursday and Fridays for ESPN.
The Masters begins April 6 at Augusta and Woods said he hopes to play. Even if he plays we are unlikely to see the old Woods. I will settle for a glimpse of greatness here and there. The last time we saw him on the course is when he dropped out of a tournament in Dubai in early February because of his balky back. He's played one practice round since which is far too little golf to compete in the Masters.
"I do have a chance (to play)," Woods said during a book tour in New York. "I'm trying everything I possibly can to get to that point. I'm working. I'm working on my game. I just need to get to a point where I feel like I'm good enough, and I'm healthy enough to do it."
Let me know when the real Tiger Woods shows up again. I want to see that guy. The current Tiger Woods is too painful to watch after three back surgeries. He meant a lot to golf. He meant a lot to black people and his story got this old man to take up golf again.
I was one of those guys who played too slow that frustrated good golfers on courses in Northern Michigan and in Metro Detroit. But at least I replaced all my divots and never drove my golf cart onto a green or into a lake.
I loved his story and what he meant to the game. I loved reading about his relationship with his father and how dad groomed him into the golfer and the man he became. A lot of those stories are in Woods' new book The 1997 Masters: My Story.
Some celebrate his struggles. I do not. The current Woods reminds me of Willie Mays on his last leg or Gordie Howe skating with the Detroit Vipers just to say he played professionally in six different decades.
The best part of Tiger Woods is the part we don't see. He is building a relationship with his children. That means a lot. My younger and single friends don't understand why I would turn down an evening of drinking and laughs to have Mexican on a Friday night with my son B.
Some of my best moments are when Celine comes bouncing into the living room and we just sit and talk or go out for ice cream. It is not exciting, but building relationships with your children is heartwarming. It means that they still love you and sometimes value your advice.
Woods has discovered the joys of fatherhood, although his marriage disintegrated.
I'd love to hear the roar of the crowd as Woods dances up the leaderboard. I want to see that fist pump after sinking a 30 foot putt for a bird. I want to see the fear in opponents' eyes again as Tiger roars again.
I do not want to see him slugging up and down the course like an old person on seniors day.
