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Pass
The Lucky Charms
By
Jerry Walters, GOLFViews
Writer
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Stewart
Cink may have summed it up best
when he "avoids superstitions
because all they do is bring him
bad luck."
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Watch Fred Funk flip his coin on the
green to mark his ball. If it lands on
tails he marks the ball in a normal
fashion. If it winds up heads, he'll
fiddle around with the coin because "I
make sure the head is facing the hole. If
it's facing backwards I feel I'll
three-putt the hole, so I always have if
facing the hole."
So, maybe Fred has played a few too
many rounds at Superstition Mountain Golf
Course. In 2002, Fred had his most
successful earnings season on the PGA
Tour, winning over $2,000,000. Maybe I
should look into that heads up thing.
'WHAT IS SUPERSTITION? To believe in
spite of evidence or without evidence. To
account for one mystery by another. To
believe that the world is governed by
chance or caprice. To disregard the true
relation between cause and effect. To put
thought, intention and design back of
nature. To believe that mind created and
controls matter. To believe in the
supernatural.' &emdash; From The Works of
ROBERT G. INGERSOLL Don't all of the above
definitions describe in some form or
method your own golf game?
Stewart Cink may have summed it up best
when he "avoids superstitions because all
they do is bring him bad luck." Say
what?
Golfers, especially professional
golfers may well be among the most
obsessed group of professional athletes.
After interviewing a number of players at
The International, the superstitions run
the gamut from the expected ones to the
bizarre. It's common for many golfers to
perpetually carry the same number of tees
in their pocket, but how many refuse red
tees because of the association with water
hazards? White tees are shunned by others
because the color indicates out of bounds
markers. So, tell me about your
childhood.
Roger Maltbie once carried a white out
of bounds stake around with him from tour
stop to tour stop because he hit an errant
ball in the 1976 Memorial Tournament at
Muirfield Village. His ball was headed off
the course when it struck an OB plank and
rebounded back into play. Maltbie went on
to win the tournament, and celebrating his
good fortune, decided to lug the lucky
lumber around with him. After about six
months of toting the timber, Maltbie left
the OB stake under the bed of his motel
room because of a particularly bad round.
My guess is too many splinters.
The most famous golfer in the world has
not escaped the superstition bugaboo. Do
you believe that Tiger Woods wears red on
Sundays because fans enjoy the way it
makes his eyes stand out? No, as well as
fortuitous, Tiger feels he can intimidate
his opponents by wearing red on Sunday.
Note to self: try wearing red in important
matches.
Check out this golfer's whacko voodoo.
"If I change spikes on my shoes, each
spike must be exactly the same. No mix and
match jobs. And I change them a lot,
because if one is worn just a bit, out
they all come. And, if someone touches my
clubs prior to a tournament, I'm ready to
see a psychiatrist or withdraw or fight
because I figure I just lost all chance of
winning or playing well." I promised I
wouldn't mention his name for fear the
gallery would storm the ropes to grab at
his sticks to witness his reaction.
Jerry Kelly, winner of nearly $900,000
on the PGA Tour this year and two-time
champion, is super superstitious. "There
are just so many things I can't even begin
to start," he said. "I mean life seems
like a superstition to me. Then you start
talking about tournament days."
Kelly uses dimes dated no later than
1969 to mark his ball each week. Those
dimes have proven to cast a positive spell
for the former hockey player.
Kelly opened last season by shooting
eight of nine rounds in the 60s to earn
his first PGA TOUR victory in the Sony
Open in Hawaii and a fifth place in the
Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Then in July,
he went 4-for-4 to win the Advil Western
Open, including a final-round 65.
If you're counting, the dimes worked 35
times last season. "But," warns Kelly,
"there are superstitious don'ts as well as
do's."
"For a long time it was no black shoes
for me," Kelly remarked. "We broke that
jinx in Ireland (where he tied for fourth
in the World Golf Championships-American
Express Championship), but we are not
really sure if that's going to be just an
overseas thing or if I can actually wear
them back here." Maybe I should pick Kelly
in the fantasy golf league.
Pat Bates scribbles Bible verses on
golf balls. Duffy Waldorf has his wife and
kids decorate his golf balls. Go
figure.
But, the undisputed King of
Superstition has to be Chi(ng) Chi(ng)
Rodriguez. Among the 'lucky' items Cheech
carries around in his pocket on the golf
course are: a tiny marble stone that was
blessed by the pope and given to him by a
fan, a lucky walnut(?), a quarter to mark
his ball on birdie putts, a buffalo nickel
to mark his ball on par and eagle putts,
and a gold piece when the quarter or
nickel isn't working. How would he
know?
According to one Jamaican witch doctor,
it's extremely bad luck for a flag to
touch the ground. Wonder if that applies
to golf flags?
Here, somebody hold this while I
putt.
Jerry Walters is co-host of In The
Fairway, heard every Sunday morning on
850am KOA from 8-10am and is a member of
the Golf Writer's Association of America.
Walters also rates courses for Golf Digest
magazine and was named the 2001 Colorado
Golf Association's Media Person of the
Year.
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