Watching golf on television can be more painful than slamming your head in the glove compartment. Unless of course you learn how to watch golf on television properly.
In less than one minute of viewing on Friday, I remembered why it can be so much fun. There are few things more exhilarating (on basic cable television, that is) than watching professional golfers hit bad shots.
It's a reminder that they, too, are human. It helps us just-hoping-to-break-100 recreational golfers relate to the pros a bit better. Plus, it's really funny!
I flipped to the PGA Championship and lucked into a Tiger Woods sighting. At the time, he was 7-over and struggling to find his form.
He was hitting from a deep rough off the fairway. Woods played an iron and struck the ball toward the pin. The ball landed on the green, about six feet from the pin. Nice shot. But, and this is where the fun begins, the ball kept rolling. And rolling. And rolling. And rolling right off the green. And rolling right off the fringe.
The ball came to a stop on the fringe/deep rough border, making it an extremely difficult putt or an extremely annoying chip. I didn't watch his next shot because odds are he hit a good one and that would have ruined the moment.
By no means was this an awful shot, but it turned out to have not-so-good results. There are worse shots to be had, by Tiger or anyone else, but in my brief window of viewing opportunity, it was all I saw.
Let me be clear here. This is not Tiger hating. I enjoy all golfers hitting bad shots. Jean Van de Velde's triple bogey on the 18th hole to lose the 1999 British Open in a playoff was my nirvana.
Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh (especially Vijay Singh), Mike Weir, Ben Curtis, Retief Goosen, even Scott Verplank! Whoever wants to shank a shot, I'll be there to enjoy it.