Howard Stern is known as the original "shock jock". Now he is shocking the golf world with wild claims of his golf prowess. He recently attended Jimmy Kimmel's wedding at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa in California where he visited the driving range to kill some time while his room was being prepared. This is the first time he ever swung a golf club and yet he claims to have driven the ball 300 yards multiple times. As proof, he posted this video of his golf swing:
To all the experienced golfers out there, does it look like Howard can possibly drive it 300 yards? I mean it looks good considering he's never hit a golf ball before, but 300 yards?
Howard is also making an impact on the PGA Tour. He's partly the reason why there's ridiculous people yelling stupid stuff during PGA broadcasts now. Yelling "Bababooey" is the calling card of Stern fans and they have been showing up at PGA Tour events with more frequency since Stern has started replaying them on his show. I think all golf fans are now fed up with these antics, but can you imagine how the pros must feel? Ian Poulter is one pro who is clearly annoyed:
This baba boo shit & mash potato crap shouting wouldn't happen at Augusta, The Open, nor would it happen at Wimbledon. Tazer the thrushes. — Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) August 11, 2013
No matter what you think of Poulter, I think we can all support him in this regard.
The tabloid media has grown in prominence dramatically over the last several years. Gossip around the private lives of celebrities has overtaken actually substantive topics across America's water coolers. Nothing is more telling than the simultaneous explosive growth of TMZ and PerezHilton.com in contrast with the near bankruptcies being faced by legitimate news stalwarts such as the New York Times.
But golf has seemed to be immune to this tabloid pandemic. Unfortunately, Tiger Woods' enormous popularity placed him under its greasy microscope. All it took was something minutely unusual in the petri dish for them to pounce. That indeed occurred over Thanksgiving when Tiger drove his Caddy around like a carnival bumper car with his wife going all Nicholson on it (let's just hope it wasn't with his priceless Scotty Cameron putter!). Like a herd of great whites drawn to a drop of blood, the media descended upon Tiger's Isleworth sanctuary with dollar signs in their eyes. Could this be evidence of a domestic issue?!
So friggin' what? A couple of years ago on my Bandon Dunes golf vacation, a friend of mine told us he knew a person close to Tiger's entourage. According to him, Tiger was quite the Casanova who was not opposed to "stepping out" and playing much more than just 18-holes. He also emphasized that it was more about quantity rather than quality. I didn't entertain the discussion because I didn't really care. Lots of people step out and it's almost a given amongst pro athletes. Big deal.
It turns out that it is a big deal to many. The Chinese have gone so far as to create a CGI re-enactment of the whole incident. Not quite Pixar, but way too polished than it should be and just another sign that the end is near (I wonder if they actually mocapped Elin swinging that club!):
But why all this attention? My guess is that people somehow build up a fanciful notion that famous people lead perfect lives. When anything surfaces to dispel these fantasies, it devastates them. It's just absurd. In the case of Tiger Woods, why should we think that he is better than us commoners at anything outside of playing golf? As a society, we need to come to the realization that all people suffer from faults. No amount of fame can make them go away. If anything, fame does the opposite. It would be naive to think otherwise. Accept it and move on. There are many more important things in the world be concerned.
To those who still think that most famous people stay on the straight and narrow, just remember that a wise man, Chris Rock, once said, "A man is only as faithful as his options." Ponder that for a minute. It's probably safe to assume that virtually all famous people are cheating. Certainly that's a better assumption for us as a whole than to deitize them if we want to put an end to the tabloid fascination. Lastly, for the record, I'm an extremely faithful guy by choice, not due to a lack of options!
P.S. Check out some of my blog friends' posts on this topic:
Not that the PGA really ever had sexiness to begin with, but it sounds like Justin Timberlake is intent on bringing it back. A couple of weeks ago, an unnamed source close to the star said, "Justin is a very keen golfer and he's playing to a very high standard now. His aim it to take it into a pro event - just for a tournament or two. He practices every day, has a coach and takes his clubs wherever he goes." The rumor persists here in LA-LA land.
The nerve that this arrogant sumamabitch thinks he has even a minute chance to make it on the PGA. Somehow being a Musketeer, fronting a boy-band, bedding a few Hollywood's A-listers (including the Club Chucking Cameron), and winning a couple of Grammys has convinced Timberlake that he can do anything. Currently a self-proclaimed 6-handicapper, he is clearly suffering from prolonged delusions of grandeur.
I, for one, hope that this megalomaniac tries to make it to the PGA. I will laugh with glee for days when Q-School (if by some miracle he makes it that far) thoroughly humiliates him back down to earth. His ego-adjusted handicap of 12 is about even with my true handicap. When I tried to play one of Q-School's courses, the Stadium Course at PGA West, it whipped me silly. I happened to play the best golf of my entire life on that course, and yet I still could only muster up an 89 from the middle tees! If I had to play that course from the tips with a tournament setup, I doubt that I could break 100 with my A+ game. That's what's in store for the Mr. *NSYNC. If he is cocky enough to pursue the PGA, it will be far more embarrassing than Michael Jordan's attempt to make it to Major League Baseball.
Just the notion that he thinks that he can hang with the pros supports his position atop US Weekly's biggest ego list. According to the entertainment magazine, "(Timberlake) has claimed that McDonald's shares climbed 25 per cent when he walked into their offices and changed their image." I'm sure that the Golf Gods can't wait to strike down this überposeur and start singing, "Bye bye bye!"
