It has been fairly well established that Tiger Woods can get fairly hot at himself during a golf tournament. Especially when things are going badly, as was the case yesterday.
Sure enough, angry Tiger let out a fierce “God damn it” after a couple of bad shots. They were heard in all their glory on ESPN.
Perhaps “God damn it” is acceptable language for conventional TV these days, but I am sure many viewers weren’t thrilled to hear it, especially if they were watching with kids.
What bothers me about all this is that Tiger always gets knocked for having a foul mouth. Like he should say, “Golly, gee whiz” when he hits a bad shot. Or in the vernacular of Ken “Hawk” Harrelson, “Dad gum it.”
The reality is that golf is a maddening game. Often a “Dad gum it” just doesn’t cut it.
Golfers swear. I swear. I wouldn’t want a boom mic around me when I hit a bad shot. Neither would you.
Tiger should have the same freedom go off on himself when things go badly during a round. Believe me, he isn’t alone out there.
If the networks want sound from Tiger, use a 7-second delay so any expletives can be edited out. And if that option doesn’t exist, then keep the boom mics away from him.
It’s really as simple as that.
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Aside from that, I want to hand out props for ESPN’s British Open coverage. Mike Tirico was superb as always as host, and Scott Van Pelt and Sean McDonough are solid with on-course coverage.
Wish we heard more of Paul Azinger on a regular basis, and always a treat to listen to Judy Rankin.
I couldn’t agree more, Dad Gum It!
Are not boom mikes all over the golf course, yet the only one regularly cursing is Tiger. Seems others can control themselves but Tiger who was famously trained by his father to block everything out and focus can’t. And why isn’t there an uproar when he curses God? What if it was Allah, or Budda or some other politically correct person, special interest group, or thing. Oh yeah that’s right it’s only Christian Bible thumpers who get offended. No big deal.