Connection, Not Control (Part 2)

In today’s Washington Post, Sally Jenkins waxes poetic about Tiger Woods’ struggle for control in golf’s rain-soaked US Open at Bethpage Black in New York.

“That Woods hates disarray has always been obvious from his preppy-perfect appearance,” she says. “You can see it in the neatness of his vests and slacks. He is a self-admitted control freak who even irons his new shirts, fresh out of the bag, so they crease just right. Woods wins major championships with the same meticulousness; he is a fanatic for preparation and predictability, a man who likes to know the answers in advance. He sets his mind on a specific number that is most likely to win, and shoots it. The mud upsets his calculations. He doesn't like guesswork.”

After describing a dozen instances in which Tiger Woods remarked on the unpredictable influence of mud during various golf events, she considers the effect of mud on the course of world history.

“Woods is hardly the first titan to struggle in the mire” Jenkins writes. “Perhaps he could take some lessons from the past. According to Mud: A Military History by C.E. Wood, mud has been a decisive factor in world history. Napoleon postponed his attack at Waterloo to allow the mud to dry, and got beat by Wellington. In November 1942, Russian mud stymied the Germans, who could not advance until the temperature dropped low enough to freeze the mud. Then again, those results are hardly encouraging for a man seeking world domination. Maybe the best way for Woods to play the mud ball is to quit worrying about it so much. Simply ignore it. Like the rest of us.”

Woods may be struggling to control the mud. But this is a temporary phenomenon. After all, Tiger has a greater knack for connecting with the ball than perhaps any person in the history of golf. That connection will likely help him earn many more victories.

-- Pat Jones