Can golf survive without Tiger? Of course! It may be a silly question to ask and an even more obvious answer to give, but that hasn’t stopped millions of people searching that very question online. Deer Creek Golf Club has the following insight on the subject.
Tiger’s hiatus, coupled with Nike’s exist from the golf equipment business, sent some shock waves throughout the popular golf community; but it is important to use that term correctly, the ‘popular’ golf community.
The current golf climate has incredible players like Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, and Jordan Spieth. Earlier this month in Los Angeles, 6-year-old Jaden Soong, considered a prodigy, finished fifth in a youth golf tournament and is now ranked as the best youth player in the United States. How about Jim Furyk scoring a record shattering 58 in the Travelers Championship this month? Can golf survive without Tiger? According to championship golf courses in South Florida and the popular golf community, it already is.
Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golf players of all time, followed closely by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. He shattered records on an almost weekly basis, and it was hard to find someone who didn’t think he was one of the greatest golfers of all time. But can golf survive without Tiger? Again the answer is yes, and it is surviving as we speak.
No sport is dependent on a single athlete. Basketball still exists after Jordan retired; hockey still exists after Gretzky retired; baseball still exists and holds the World Series years after Babe Ruth passed. Golf will survive without Tiger Woods.
Golf’s origin is traced back to Scotland in 1457. The game is over half a century old and is a part of human history. Courses like Deer Creek Golf Club are intertwined with that history and that tradition. If Tiger never returns he will be missed, he was an incredible golfer, but the game will continue. It may be that ’popular’ golf is suffering, but golf, the beautiful game, will survive without Tiger.