"Slaying The Tiger", And Transparency On Tour

A book came out this week that will likely be the most important book detailing this generation of professional golfers. It is called "Slaying The Tiger", written by Shane Ryan, and it details Ryan's life covering the PGA Tour and some of his experiences and opinions on the big names on the PGA Tour.

In full disclosure, it will be some time before I get my hands on the book, so I may or may not do a full review of the actual contents Many others who know more about golf (and writing) have given their opinions, which you should seek out at your own leisure. For the most part, golf writers seem to love it, and golfers seem to hate it, mainly for the content.

What I am discussing is a recent discussion about Ryan's book, mainly by former LPGA golfer and current Golf Channel analyst Paige MacKenzie. MacKenzie says that she is "disgusted" by the book and says that no one should come to the conclusions Ryan does just based on inside the ropes experiences. You can find her full argument on Morning Drive in this video.

MacKenzie is speaking from the eyes of a former touring professional, and I can respect her opinion; however, it speaks to a terrible trend in professional golf, and that is protecting the golfers from the "evil media" and outside criticism. In all professional sports, we demand transparency among all athletes. It is why most sports have mandatory press conferences and fine players if they do not speak. If a player does not wish to open up, as is the case for Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, he is usually made the topic of a joke. Right or wrong, the NFL, NBA, and all other major professional sports leagues require a certain amount of insight into a player. It's what makes them marketable, and what keeps them in check - things like domestic violence or drug use are put out to the public and a player loses their job, as they should.

This is not the case with the PGA Tour. It is shrouded in secrecy, where players only have to give up as much of their lives as they wish, suspensions are not made public, and players are not required to speak to the media (except for very specific occasions). This means we get a side of the golfer that they WISH to portray, and perhaps not the honest truth about them.

Golfers like to look as if they are just like "the rest of us", and that they are above all this criticism and the tabloid era that has become professional sports. Here is a little secret, however - they're NOT like the rest of us. The rest of us do not receive million dollar endorsements and play for million dollar purses every week. They may be human, yes, but their lives and their experiences are drastically different than those who struggle each and every day. This does not make them bad people, nor does it make them ungrateful. I'm sure most professional golfers will tell you how thrilled they are to live the life they do. After all, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make it to the highest level. So many never get that opportunity; however, there are so many others who will pay for a ticket for a golf tournament, or will purchase golf equipment based on the endorsement of a particular golfer, and it would be nice to know the kind of person we are supporting. After all, no fans, no ratings, no revenue, no endorsement.

I'm not saying we should have camera inside the homes of every professional golfer, but I do think books like these are important to get to know those who play the game of golf. Not everyone is an angel. In fact, some pro golfers are down right jerks. If this book requires golfers to be just a little more hospitable to those at PGA Tour events, then it would have done a positive deed for the sport.