Inspriational Story in Golf

The long and difficult road to playing professional golf — and making it to the bigs — is amass with obstacles to overcome. Golfers are bound to encounter challenges, whether they’re health-related and/or financial. For 31-year-old Andrew Parr, it’s been a combination. At 24, Parr was a highly accomplished golfer. As an amateur, he’d earned multiple titles throughout the U.S., Canada and Great Britain. He was also an All-American at Texas A&M University. When he graduated in 2007, he captured his maiden victory at his first ever professional tournament on the Gateway Tour. Then out of the blue Parr had a stroke which caused damage to the left side of his brain which controls the right side of the body, language and speech. As he was regaining feeling back on his right side, he found simple tasks, such as typing, “nearly impossible,” and he also stumbled with his speech. But through hard work and determination he has since been able to play golf again, competing on tours around the world. A mere six months after having the stroke, he qualified for the Shell Houston Open on the PGA Tour. Just a short time later that summer in 2008, Parr tied for first before losing in a playoff at an event on the Canadian Tour. He earned another runner-up finish a few months later. In 2009 he qualified for the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black and led briefly after the rain-delayed first day. In 2012 Parr competed in several European Tour events and in his debut, he finished 13th at the Joburg Open. Then, in 2013, he qualified to play on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica. Over the last four years, Parr has found himself more grounded and in tune with himself as a person and a golfer.  Even though last season he couldn't complete a full season on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica due to financial reason but he is still determined to work on his game and one day make it to the PGA Tour.














http://www.weiunderpar.com/post/meet-pro-golfer-andrew-parr-hear-his-inspiring-story-and-contribute-to-his-crowd-funding-campaign

Corruption in Golf

The Ryder Cup is one of the most prestigious golf events there is.  The Ryder Cup is played between the USA and the European countries every 2 years.  It is a team competition where players compete in different formats to try to win points for their team.  The Ryder Cup is where most legends make their names.  In my opinion, winning a Ryder Cup is just as equally important and amazing then winning a major.  The Ryder Cup brings out a new energy that regular golf events don't have .   As the world’s leading golfers fight over a bonus pot of $35million in Atlanta weeks before the Ryder Cup ,they then contest for the Ryder Cup “for free,” with no prize-money or pay to compensate them for appearing in one of the world’s great sporting events.  Players play in the Ryder Cup for the love of the game and their country.  Its an event that is based on tradition and history, its the Meca of golf.  People think that if players received money for playing in the Ryder Cup it would turn corrupted.  Captains would pick players that didn't deserve to play and countries would be corrupt in the bid for where it is held. I think that it is fine at where its at.  The event is in an amazing place and is only helping making the game grow.  Having players compete for no money is the right thing to do as Olympians don't compete for money and I don't believe that Ryder Cup players should compete too.

Cheating on the PGA Tour

A survey was taken by the caddies on the PGA tour and more then half said they have seen a form of cheating while playing a tournament.  This is a conflict with the games long standing tradition of integrity and so called "scouts honor".  "You see guys tamping down the rough behind their ball with a 3-wood and then hitting a 9-iron out," said one of the caddies, all of whom were granted anonymity so they could speak freely without fear of repercussion. "It's illegal, but it happens all the time."
  Another caddie said that one player in particular has a reputation for marking his ball illegally.  "Everyone knows it," the caddie said. "The way he marks his ball, he'll turn a 23-inch putt into a 21-inch putt, which is huge psychologically."  There are also problems with players manipulating the rules. Many plays are employing the rules to gain an advantage.  "I have seen a lot of 'manipulation of the rules,' if you know what I mean -- people wanting drops that aren't exactly ethical but that they've somehow justified in their minds," one caddie said.  Players find ways to use the rules to their advantage.  It goes against the games integrity and needs to be watched more carefully by not just the rules officials but by the caddies and players as well.





















































http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/survey-finds-more-half-pga-tour-caddies-have-witnessed-cheating

Reaction to League of Denial

League of Denial was a documentary about how concussions are starting to become a big issue in the NFL.  It showed the side effects on the players brain after years of playing football.  They have linked brain damage later in players lives to the concussion they have received playing football.  As a golfer this is something that I do not have to worry about as concussions in golf are pretty much impossible.  I have never heard a story where a golf has received a concussion or second impact syndrome.  This is something that does not cause a concern in golf and is never going to be a problem.

King of Golf

If I was the king of golf and could do anything to the sport, I wouldn't do anything to rules or youth programs but I would change the prices of equipment.  Clubs in todays world are way to expensive and the sport in general is very expensive.  Clothes, clubs, golf balls, golf bags are all incredibly expensive now a days it makes a problem for people to be well equipped to be able to play.  The price of new driver cost around $500 when it was made at a cost of around $50- $75.  They charge way to much for clubs and I feel that this is a reason that more people don't play golf.  People see that the sport is expensive and they don't have the money to play it continuously.  Golf clothes now are getting pretty expensive, Nike charges around $80- $100 for a golf polo and for pants also.  I feel that cause golf charges an arm and a leg for either clubs, clothes, or even to play, that people don't want to use their money for those things.  Especially in youth sports, for parents to have their kids play in tournaments they would have to play in the hundreds of dollars for them to just play.  That's not including the cost of their clubs, clothes, and other stuff that is need for them to play in a tournament.  If I was the king, I wouldn't change the rules of youth golf or change the promotion but I would change the price of the sport as I feel that the prices of equipment is the reason that more people do not play. 

Conflicts of Interest

Back in 2009 the editor of golf digest was also the editor of tigerwoods.com and to some people that seemed like that could have been a conflict of interest.  People thought that since he is the editor of both golf digest and tigerwoods.com that he would either favor Tiger Woods or cover up his wrong doings.  Some people think it is a problem as seen in the following quote, "It seems that Mark would only edit pieces for Golf Digest that were bylined by Woods himself, which seems a little disingenuous on Golf Digest‘s part."  There has also seemed to have problems with Tiger Woods and his pay roll.  With parent company Condé Nast making so many staff cuts, they somehow still have room to keep Tiger Woods’ personal editor on the pay roll.  People feel because it's Tiger Woods that he gets special treat even with his people that work for him.  So if Tiger had something good that happen to him , people feel that if that happens golf digest will cover it for the longest time and build it up bigger then it is.  But if Tiger did something against the rules or made him look bad, they might try and cover it up as best they can.  So there is that feel of conflict of interest as the editor of Golf Digest also works for Tigher Woods.  

http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/tiger-woods-scandal-provides-journalistic-conflict-of-interest/14235