Well, traditional media are getting better.
I received the latest issue of Golf Magazine this week and was pleased to see they improved over the last issue. I’ll come back to that in just a minute.
First, though, the editors have come to realize there are actual bloggers out here who write about golf! They mentioned Grouchy Golf, SortaGolf, and No Three-Putts as sites to visit. I dropped SortaGolf myself a while back, but may have to return. Another they mentioned is somewhat typical of all things MSM: Blogger Vance no longer exists. Perhaps he has moved on to another site, but I haven’t located it.
Of course, these articles are written some weeks in advance of publication, but Blogger Vance quit writing some months ago. And no, Bunker Mulligan isn’t mentioned. Of course, I write far less about golf than the others.
There is an excellent article on a golfer I always liked: Fulton Allem. The article is an interview by the man I view as the best in the golf business, Peter Kessler. The two men are close friends.
Fulton is going home to South Africa. He had some very good years on the Tour, but fell on hard times with an injured back. After nearly twenty years in the US, he really isn’t thrilled about leaving.
I saw Fulty play at Colonial several years ago. He was paired that day with Nick Faldo–one of the slowest players on tour. Ever. One thing grates on Fulty on-course, and that is a slow playing partner. He once wrote on an opponent’s scorecard, “You are too slow.” Fulty is nothing if not honest and sincere.
On that tenth hole, both men hit the fairway very close to where I was standing. One nice thing about Colonial is that there is room and potential for interaction with players. I got where I wanted to be before they teed off, and had the distance judged just right.
Faldo walked up and stood by his ball as Fanny, his caddy, stepped of distance for the next shot. He surveyed the shot, then paced off a distance for himself. He then took a bite of banana and got a drink of water. Then he pulled a club, took a couple of swings, then put it back. Then he took a drink. Then he pulled a different club and took a couple of swings. Then he got the original club, took a practice swing, and only then did Fanny pull the bag away. Then he finally hit.
I almost lost patience and I was simply watching! Fulty got to his ball and hit it onto the front of the green. His birdie putt would be over a ridge and downhill to the hole from there. I commented in sympathy, “Tough birdie putt from there.” He looked at me like, “I really didn’t need to hear that right now.” I felt bad, but honesty is part of Fulty’s persona, too.
I’m sorry to see him go. He is one of those guys who sincerely enjoyed playing and being in front of the gallery. Most of his interactions with fans were better than mine, but that was my fault, not his.
If there were more Fulton Allems on the Tour, rounds would go by much more quickly, and fans would enjoy the game much more.
Good luck to you Fulty. It would be good to see you come back.