he was the young guy challenging the great Bear, and I loved him for it. I remember running around the house during the '82 Open when he chipped in.
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Never played. Are they still anti-female?
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As far as I know, yes. Have a feeling that probably wonât ever change.
I think there are times during the year when females are allowed in the clubhouse for parties and what not. But no females on the golf course.
I think you underestimate the monetary impact Tom Watsonâs had on KC golf. The TW academy at HOA, his tournament and support of First Tee KC. Maybe heâs not benefitted you personally (sure hasnât benefitted me), but itâd be hard to make an argument against his contributions to the community as a whole.
Thatâs⌠something. Pretty crazy, and⌠yeesh. Thatâs all I can muster so that this thread name doesnât get changed to âCan I Like Men Only Clubs?â
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There are more of these than youâd imagine
I hear ya. Mentioned all the things you just said previously. Just donât think he has fully embraced KC. He essentially hasnât done anything more then what was required/guaranteed to happen as a successful pro from KC. Glad he is there and happy he has contributed to KC golf at the junior and amateur level.
Really this post was meant to share that as a fellow Kansas Citian, Tom Watson is far from the âidolâ or influence on the golfing community an 8 time major winner could/should be. He should be celebrated way more.
Donât get me wrong, I love Tom Watson and everything he has done for golf, but Gary Woodland had a bigger impact on me growing up than Tom Watson did.
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Woodland is a bit after my time.
But, i played golf prior to Tiger. Everyone thought it was dorky. Tiger comes around, our HS golf team went from 6 guys to 16, and suddenly i had a little bit of respect for being good at golf.
Before Tiger, Freddie Couples was the cool guy in my mind. Having met him when i was like 7, and he was #2 in the world was awesome.
naturally. Gary Woodland wasnât an itch in his dadâs pants when I was being âimpactedâ by players. I wouldnât expect Watson or Nicklaus or Palmer to âimpactâ anyone born after 1980 unless they met him or something at a young age.
Let me clarify on this. From a local standpoint, Woodland had a bigger impact on me than Watson did.
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Had to do a little experiment. Asked 3 friends if they knew who Tom Watson was. 2 have lived in the KC area their entire lives, 1 for 10+ years.
2 knew he was a golfer
1 thought he was an active player and had no idea where he was from
1 knew he was a KC golfer but didnât know he is a major winner/elite generational golfer
1 had no idea who he was, period.
All these folks are big sports people and play golf from time to time but are not âgolfersâ.
This feels like a crime. He should be celebrated. He may be the most successful athlete to ever come out of KC.
Everyone from Ohio knows Jack. Everyone in Pennsylvania knows Arnie.
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I think he is the most successful athlete to come out of KC. Not really even an argument.
youâre right. BUT, and itâs not an excuse, itâs an explanation, Jack and Arnie were bigger than life. HUGE characters, HUGELY gregarious. TW was not. Just a different breed of duck.
I think he steers away from fame for fameâs sake.
What about husker legend Tyronn Lue?
Weâre about to go here soâŚ
Bigger KC impact: Watson or Brett?
100%. You are so right here. Just wish we had that LEGEND here in KC. Watson could be that guy! To each their own.
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I smell a Mount Rushmore of KC sports coming pretty soon. Maybe itâs just generational. I grew up in KC in the 80âs-90âs and Brett is a clear #1 for me with Watson at #2. I just remember seeing that Watson did have a ton of KC pride, was always giving a KC shoutout in interviews and stuff like that. I never went, but I remember his annual âtournamentâ at Blue Hills being a big deal, as he often brought in guys like Jack to play.
as a guy who always loved him, I agree that I wish he could be that guy.
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what about Freddie Patek?