Bubba Watson and The Masters!
This past weekend, my kind of guy won the Masters Golf Tournament! Bubba Watson from Bagdad (a small town in the Florida panhandle) won The Masters! He did not grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth. He does not have a posse of swing coaches, sports psychologists, a putting instructor or Zen Master following him around to help secure his success.
He is the ultimate “grip it and rip it!” guy. Bubba’s never taken a golf lesson in his life; he’s an old-school, throwback golfer who relies more on feel than mechanics. He leads the PGA tour in driving distance with an average drive of 315 yards. This is the stat of what separates the men from the boys. Simply put, he’s a natural.
So why has America embraced him with this win?
Most men like him because he effortlessly knocks the crap out of the ball. Women like him because he plays with a pink PING driver. The rest of us like him because he doesn’t care what you think of him, Bubba will be Bubba! When he plays on tour, he will always wear something pink (a sign of raising awareness in the fight against cancer, which is what his father died from), he is open about the love of his faith, wife, family and golf. More importantly, in that order!
The Monday morning after the tournament, while in my local Starbucks, a guy was reading the sports section with a picture of Bubba sporting the “Green Jacket.” I commented on how much fun it was to watch him win the way he won. The only comment that he could grunt out was, “ya, but today he couldn’t punch his man card because after he won, he was crying like a baby.”
So let me get this straight, his parents sacrificed everything in order to provide Bubba with every opportunity to succeed, and he shows his gratitude by crying tears of joy after winning THE golf tournament EVERY pro golfer wants to win? And this thick-headed moron Neanderthal has the gull to talk about Bubba not punching his man card because he was crying!! This just in, real men cry!! The good Lord did not give you tear ducts to see how long you can go emotionless without crying!
Here’s the real reason we like Bubba Watson and why this Masters winner is so popular. In life, ALL of us have obstacles, adversities and, yes, even demons we are fighting. Either in our past or we’re dealing with them right now, we are all weak and struggle with something. Bubba’s no different than you and I. He’s not ashamed to tell you the difference between the “Old Bubba” and the “New Bubba.” The old Bubba had a temper both on and off the course that would verbally lash out at other people, throw and break golf clubs, and outwardly show his hatred toward other players. His demon is one of the seven deadly sins, Envy. He envied the other golfers because of their success. He wanted to win like every other golfer, but he could never get over the winning hump. But that’s all changed now. Once he got his priorities in line he started trusting God, his wife, his family and his golf swing, then life became easier. Winning became a natural order to his professional life. His winning The Masters became a natural aberration to his work ethic.
Everyone wants to see others succeed, because it gives us hope that we can overcome our obstacles, adversity and even our demons. I know I’ll never win the Masters, or any other golf tournament for that matter, but it does give me hope that I can succeed at what ever I set out to do. If I put the kind of winning effort in to succeed, the outcome may be the same as Watson’s.
I feel a shift in this country, Tim Tebow, Peyton Manning, and now Bubba Watson. Good guys who finish first. I feel this shift towards men who are real, men who make mistakes and own up to them, Men who face and overcome their personal obstacles, adversity and, yes, sometimes even their demons. We all have them; Bubba Watson proves that you, too, can face them and overcome them.
Tiger … just a thought, you may want to add another coach to your personal coaching team, Bubba Watson as your “Life Coach!!”
Couldn’t have said it better. Get your priorities straight and the rest will follow.
Congratuation Bubba. Keep the faith!
Mr. Rovi,
Thanks for honoring a tremendous accomplishment. Weeping for joy because you reached the pinnacle
of your profession is understandable.The neanderthal you spoke of was probably fed up with politicians, preachers, and public individuals who got caught doing something not so nice, and get up in the public stage to cry and say I’m sorry. That I think we’re all fed up with that !
Another interesting note. You mentioned Ping. Did you know that they are the only top brand that is designed and manufactured in the U.S.A.. Somehow they have managed to build a product here and make a dollar at it. They should also be honored !
John,
Your insightful thoughts about Bubba and The Masters are right on target. For me, his accomplishment is even more moving because of what else he has been able to overcome in the past year, something not mentioned in your post (although I suspect you are aware of it). Bubba suffers from ADD, a condition that has affected his ability to focus, to remain calm, and to take his time over shots when under pressure, especially on Sundays when in contention. It seems, however, that beginning around the time of his father’s passing last year, he started to exhibit the ability to rein in those inner demons a la Payne Stewart — how or what has allowed him to do this I don’t know; medication possibly.
Something you may not be aware of based upon your admonition to Tiger is that Tiger and Bubba are good friends, at least according to an acticle appearing in Golf Digest several years ago (Of course, they may not be such good friends any more in light Tiger’s recent off-the-course transgressions.) Here is what that article had to say:
“‘You[Bubba]’re too good not to be winning and doing this and that.’ I [Tiger] said, ‘Yeah, I [Bubba] understand that. But my mind just wanders. I have some stuff going on up there.’ So we keep talking, and I said, ‘Tiger, thanks for letting me play with you. You’re the only person I want to play golf with. Watching you play golf, I know you’re the best ever. I want to beat you, but watching the way you do it, the way you handle yourself with the crowd, how you practice, and then letting me chirp in your ear and ask a question, that’s what really helps. I appreciate it.’ And he goes, ‘Man, I like watching you play.’ It was neat. It was neat.”‘
While this quote makes it seem that Tiger is (or was) in effect coaching Bubba, I understand that Tiger thoroughly enjoys playing practice rounds with Bubba precisely to learn from Bubba, including how to work the ball and other shot-making magic that Bubba has mastered (no pun intended). As you suggest, we can only hope that Tiger has the fortitude and humility these days to learn more from Bubba than just how to shape shots.
Regards,
Kim