Despite its essential tranquility and idyllic nature of its playing fields, professional golf has been plagued by controversy with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf/PGA Tour Imbroglio. By its very nature, the sport has emerged from the coronavirus crisis with grassroots momentum. As the divisions grow and the disunity in the country's politics grows with it, a veteran broadcast journalist said: Ann Liguori We were looking for something that got to the essence of the game's top performers, and perhaps the essence of the game itself.
“We've been through so much controversy in the sport, and it's also a very divisive time in society,” said Liguori, who will be covering the 26th Masters next week. “So I wanted to write something inspirational as a starting point.”
Liguori, who has been on the beat for decades, appears to have discovered just that in his book, Life on the Green: Lessons and Wisdom From Legends of Golf. This is an ode to the tutorial that perhaps only a lifelong hobby like golf can provide.
Asked about his motivations for writing his second book, Liguori said, “After years of reporting, I realized that golf is a microcosm of life and society.'' “You can never really master it, so it's a lifelong learning journey.”
Fortunately, the 12 male and female golfers interviewed for this book are sufficiently advanced, and in most cases far enough away from the game, that their outlook on life is like a lighthouse on a foggy coastline. Shining like. They are all Hall of Famers, including: jack nicklaus, Annika Sorenstam, gary player, jan stevenson, tom watson, padraig harrington, Bernhard Langer and nancy lopez.
The depth of diversity in the interviews was remarkable, with golf strategies and tactics generally being set aside in favor of golfers' life strategies and tactics that, in some cases, have the perspective of having grown up since leaving the links. Masu. Based on what Nicklaus told Liguori, his fans are probably more enthusiastic about his enduring record of 18 wins in golf majors.
“I don't care what I did as a golfer,” Nicklaus told Liguori. “Golf is just a game, but it happened to be a very good game to me. If it wasn't for golf, we wouldn't be sitting here. People talk about philanthropy and how important it is, and it also happens to be a very good game for me. talk about how the money they raised for charity benefited a variety of causes. …But it all happened because I made a few 4-foot putts. …I was pretty lucky. . I have five really wonderful children and 22 incredible grandchildren. It's okay. They all have a lot of ideas about what life is, what they're doing, and what they're doing. I understand what is right.”
Equally, if not more convincingly, interviews reveal that the player's difficult childhood in South Africa was the basis for his success on the course. If you grew up without a mother from an early age, and your father works in the mines, driving a car into the wasteland will not be considered difficult.
“The reason I was able to become a world champion in this era was because of adversity,” the player claimed. “My mother died when I was eight years old, and my father worked in the gold mines. My older brother left South Africa to go to war for the Americans at age 17. My younger sister went to boarding school. I went to a great school, but when I drove home an hour and a half each way, there was no one there. [when he arrived home]. So I had to make my own dinner and iron my clothes. And every night I lay in bed crying and wishing I had died. That's why I became a champion. ”
Motivation is a universal quest and a source that top athletes consistently find appealing. Asked about his most unexpected interview answer, Liguori, who still competes on the European Tour, Champions Tour and PGA Tour (he has won three majors), mentioned Harrington by name, saying that fear is his driving force on the course. , “He plays with fear every time.'' he will solve it. ”
“Rather than normal nerves, Harrington says fear increases focus, gives you adrenaline and sharpens your game,” Liguori said. “His message is: embrace that fear and you'll get better.”
Veteran broadcast journalist Ann Liguori spoke to Hall of Fame golfers about their lives and approaches to the game. Getty Images
The LPGA says Stevenson, an Australian with the sex appeal that the LPGA once used to promote the tour, is now worried about being both a model on the tour and a professional athlete. He calls it “two jobs at once.” Stevenson says he would have won more if he had focused on his game instead of being the tour's “it girl” (not that he isn't impressed with his 16 LPGA Tour wins). After years of performing stunts such as posing in a bathtub with little to cover him except for a golf ball, Stevenson says, …What was so offensive to the players above all else was that 90% of the players were against it…that it was an insult to women. ”
Their careers in the Big Four were much shorter, and not many players pay homage to what they learned from playing with their predecessors.But Watson shared that they played together Arnold Palmer And the teenage Nikals set him on course to eventually win eight majors.
As for life lessons? Watson sticks to his theory that defeat is a great teacher. When asked what Watson learned the most from, he was quick to reply: “It’s definitely because we lost. bobby jones “I learned nothing from victory.'' I only learned from defeat. ' And that's not far from reality. What was the cause of the defeat? And God, sometimes I hit bad shots during a round of golf. I was always going out and practicing. ”
Terry Lefton can be reached at tlefton@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
