CADDIE'S ROLE:It is understandable that the golfing industry would like the sport to be included in the Games
WHATEVER THE original mandate of the Olympic Games was back in the days when Greco-Roman wrestling was all the rage and activities that were vital to man’s survival, like running quickly and being able to hit targets with sharp sticks, were the mainstay of the Games, we have moved a long way from those ideals.
Last week in Copenhagen a host of lobbyists from the European world of golf, Pádraig Harrington, Matteo Manassero, Suzann Pettersen, Colin Montgomerie and Peter Dawson, congregated to show the depth of support for their game to be included in the 2016 Games in Brazil.
The best the US contingent of players could muster was an appearance by Michelle Wie and a video from Tiger Woods conveying his support for golf’s inclusion. It may be fair to suggest the video of Tiger would carry more weight than the entire membership of all European Tours attending the ceremony with bells and whistles. However, if it was that important to the most successful golfing nation in the world to have the game included then the physical presence of a big hitter might have been appropriate.
The World Cup of Soccer was conjured up in 1930 and was, and still very much is, the pinnacle for national teams every four years. Unless the past winners have fallen upon hard times they will more than likely cherish their medals and hand them down to their off-spring as a keepsake of one of the most important accolades in their careers.
The World Cup of Golf was first played in 1953 and has been kept going in recent years with a 10-year contract to host it in the emerging golf nation of China. Originally it was a prestigious event with the two doyens of US golf, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, playing and winning the event on numerous occasions. Today it is an event that has to use sticks and carrots to get top players to represent their country in what can only be described as another end-of-year event that lesser players relish but the stars look forward to with less enthusiasm. It’s a nice idea but it doesn’t get the ambition juices flowing.
No matter how many players you ask, and no matter what professional level they are at, the dream for a golfer is to win a Major, the Masters, the US Open, the British Open or the US PGA. They are the yardsticks as to how we evaluate the true quality of golfers. Of course I am unable to say what in 50 years’ time will be the status of Olympic golf on a player’s list of goals but I just cannot see it featuring very highly.
The World Golf Championships are a recent creation in the golf world to try to create a higher tier of tournament with quality fields which try to distinguish it from just regular tour events. I have not heard of players relishing a World Championship trophy more than a US Tour event trophy. The fact is no matter how hard they try to make the events global the vast majority of them are played in America. America is the mecca for professional golfers. If you make it there you’ll make it anywhere. Sporting a golf medal on the Copacabana beach in 2016 will be a little marketing side-show.
It is understandable that the golfing industry would like the sport to be included in the Olympics. The number of people playing golf in the western world is declining. Perhaps the industry itself can be partly blamed for this with prohibitive pricing for the unconvinced golfer pushing him or her away from the game.
I can see the attraction of medals for emerging golf nations like China, where not coincidentally the World Cup of Golf has found a semi-permanent home. With a sea of potential new golfers on the horizon in China, Olympic Games are more identifiable for the masses than some crusty old Caucasians wearing Kermit the Frog green jackets in the spring time in Augusta, Georgia.
In this modern era of the golf professional I can see how appealing it would be for players to aspire to win an Olympic medal. Many of today’s professionals would not look out of place at a track and field event with tight fitting singlets, flexing their muscular limbs and torsos before the start of a race. The modern pro tends to be a finely-tuned athlete as well as a hugely talented and dedicated golfer.
Many of these guys are physically trained by Olympic physiotherapists, bio-mechanists and nutritionists. Such is the progression of most sports, physical conditioning has been recognised as beneficial for events that traditionally have not been seen as such. It is a trend in everyday life, normal people aspire to be fitter for longer and not specifically for a sport.
I recall images of Greg Norman carrying the Olympic torch across the Sydney Harbour Bridge for the Australian Olympics in 2000 and thinking he was indeed the first real athlete in the game of golf. Obviously Tiger Woods has replaced him as best golfer and most finely-tuned athlete. The rest have followed. You need to be strong to play the modern game, if you don’t have length you are going to struggle to compete.
Let’s not clutter the already extensive Olympic Games with a sport that has four major events and numerous others that define a golfer’s true place in sporting history. Leave it to the true athletes.
