Judgement

You know... as I sit here I'm thinking about a few things that happened in recent times. It's always so easy to pass judgement from behind a computer screen on something that happens to someone else. To pass judgment on something that somebody might be without truly knowing who or what they are. It's happened to me over social media and with that I say that social media is both a blessing and a curse. Without it, the likelihood of me sitting here expressing my feelings or views for people to read would be very low. My website.... and opportunities that have arisen from it would in likelihood never have happened either. I'm not suggesting for a second that I have never cast a stone because that would be a bald-faced lie.  So what's prompted this... outburst or rant?

Well, it was something that I saw on Facebook that was on the Golf Channel feed. In an article covered by Rex Hoggard (without getting into the meat of his piece) Mr. Hoggard wrote about Bubba Watson in this past weekend's WGC Cadillac Championship held at Trump National Doral - Blue Monster Course won by Adam Scott. On Bubba's final hole while getting ready to tee off Bubba backed off of the shot not once but three times. When asked about it afterwards Bubba stated "I'm going to go with this. I'm just a head case and I had to back off to get refocused" and then he followed that statement up with "I'm going to get blasted if I say what the true answer is..." Why? What could be so bad that he could not tell the truth about what really happened out there? So bad that he had to concoct a reason that consisted of terms like "get the cobwebs out" and "head case". I could speculate here. Depression, Autism Spectrum Disorder who really knows? Certainly not I. But I will just say that we don't know who or what Bubba is. We just go by what we see on the television whether it's a one on one with "Feherty" or we just see a long hitting golfer with an imaginative short game whom many refer to as... and I quote "Douchebag". While never referring to him as that adjective, I have referred to him as a "villain" and a real life "Shooter McGavin". While not being a "Bubba Basher" I am by no means a "Bubba Booster". That said, when I met him in Orlando he was a different guy than the guy who lashes out at his caddie which ultimately leads to the #PrayForTedScott hashtag on social media during golf telecasts.

It's so easy for us to judge and it is one of mankinds lesser qualities. While watching golf on a Sunday many don't truly comprehend the pressure that these guys play under. A couple of years back, Kevin Na was the proverbial whipping boy. Remember when he was going through the "pauses and whiffs"? No doubt it irritated his playing partners because it really pissed off many viewers and of course commentators like Johnny Miller. But how in the world do we not know if he was going through a swing change? As a guy who has played in competition during swing changes (albeit poorly) it isn't easy. If one feeling doesn't feel quite right or one swing gives you a poor result suddenly all of the "little demons" come flowing back... and you aren't trusting the swing at all. So now you're searching... it's a really fricking hard proposition.

Here's another example. Ready for some potential controversy? Tiger Woods. Remember when everyone was asking "What's wrong with Tiger?" Of course, this was post "the incident" and "post-Elin". All of these guys are playing and living in a "crucible dish" where all eyes are on them to pass judgment... and then there's Tiger. When was the last time you saw TMZ do a piece on anyone? Maybe there was a DJ/Paulina story but other than that? I fail to come up with one at this time. But Tiger? Wow! Now I admit that I don't condone his "actions" of the past and who is to say that I'm wrong or right in my convictions? How do we know that while Tiger was having the "chipping yips" and "full swing dry heaves" there weren't more important things going on outside of golf like... custody hearings? The truth is that we don't know, but for a golfer of Tiger's legend to become what he did... you have to know that something wasn't right.

Again, I'm not claiming to be some "Dudley Do Gooder" because I have been guilty of passing judgement as well. But remember as you pass judgement there might be ongoing issues in one's head that nobody else is aware of.

Until the next tee.